Last year there had been too much recent destruction to leave Torchline, even for so solemn and revered a tradition as the Festival of Lights. The Mer had mourned their losses in their traditional way deep beneath the waves of the Arclight Ocean with lanterns of skin and bone, kelp and glass, filled with bioluminescent plankton.
But their losses had been few compared to the humans of Torchline.
A year later and Hadama could move more freely through the world's waters. A journey to the Oerwoud no longer took weeks of swimming around the coast; now a single aquaportation sufficed to get him there, and he would return to his City before sunrise, careful not to leave his people unattended for too long.
For now, however, he swam slowly through the twisting rivers around the outskirts of the party until he found a branch overhanging the stream from which to hang his lantern: a glass buoy, sea-green and filled not with air but with water that glowed blue every time the wind set the branch to swaying. From it dangled delicate chains of sterling silver and gold that chimed with the motion. From the silver chains hung small charms in the shape of forge tools, while from the gold ones dangled small suns and musical notes.
But their losses had been few compared to the humans of Torchline.
A year later and Hadama could move more freely through the world's waters. A journey to the Oerwoud no longer took weeks of swimming around the coast; now a single aquaportation sufficed to get him there, and he would return to his City before sunrise, careful not to leave his people unattended for too long.
For now, however, he swam slowly through the twisting rivers around the outskirts of the party until he found a branch overhanging the stream from which to hang his lantern: a glass buoy, sea-green and filled not with air but with water that glowed blue every time the wind set the branch to swaying. From it dangled delicate chains of sterling silver and gold that chimed with the motion. From the silver chains hung small charms in the shape of forge tools, while from the gold ones dangled small suns and musical notes.
