[Quest] The White Obelisk: Act II of Darkling Tides

[Tallis]

When Tallis set to the task of pouring his res into the water, he had been forced to look away from Anselm’s guiding finger. He needed all his concentration to maintain control over the pool of magic or else it would dissipate and their one chance of successfully stopping the leviathan would fail. Hands above the water and eyes flicking towards wherever the vague shadowy shape appeared, Tallis couldn’t see what had happened to the spear he had given to Poole. If it had been turned into a harpoon, he could only hope that whoever wielded it now had the skill or luck to hit the leviathan. And then it surfaced. Only moments away, a fin pierced through the water accompanied by a scream from the hooded old man. The shock almost caused Tallis to lose control of his res. Now as the boat rocked under his convulsions, Tallis was forced to lower his stance even further to keep himself from careening over the edge of the boat. A shiver ran through Tallis’ body, not from fear or coldness, but from the exhaustion of maintaining his concentration on staying balanced, controlling the large amount of res, and resisting distraction. Fiera’s djed was a welcome gift. Drawing on the latent energy, Tallis combined it into his own res. He could feel a part of Fiera with him now and the surge of magic tipped him over the edge. Tallis was entering a state of overgiving. Confidence in his power removed any fear and indecision Tallis might have had. As the leviathan came ever closer, it began materializing into view. At this distance, the transparency did nothing to conceal the beast and Tallis quickly moved the large pool of res, forcing it far enough to intercept the incoming beast. It was as if Fiera’s soul were speaking to him from within her djed. The calm and controlled hunter spoke to Tallis, assuring him that with the leviathan’s size and speed, it wouldn’t be able to avoid colliding with the res. All Tallis needed to do was transmute the res before the leviathan plowed through it. Even trapping just its tail would be enough. Feeling the power course through him, everything around Tallis seemed to stop. Somehow, his body automatically adjusted to the rocking of the boat. He became deaf to the shouting, hearing only the lapping waves. Then even those sounds disappeared as his vision focused solely on the fin gliding swiftly towards them. The only thing Tallis could see was the leviathan, and that was all that mattered.

[Echelon]

The moment seemed to slow to some terrifying drum beat, which all realized where their unified thumping hearts. The scattered group had gone from complete strangers with no comprehension of one another to all agreeing completely and utterly to focus on one singular goal, survival. The transformation only taking a span of perhaps a chime or two. Tallis fronted the assault, using his self destructive magic to formulate a strategy at about twice the speed his skill level should allow. The creature was large, and as such the Res would need to accommodate, enough to fight its immense musculature. Hands swaying over the water as the boat rocked and shook to the disturbance of Laviku's domain beneath them, Tallis realized the first complication immediately. As all could see the thick yellow Res, twirling like mist but falling onto the water like oil. It did not permeate the water, and some fist sized globs spilled onto the side of the raft. It would not do, and so Tallis had no choice but to allow himself to fall to his knees, and double over the raft's side. He hesitated not, allowing his hands to fall into the dark water below him, the home of the impending monster. There the yellow mist turned to a green well of faintly glowing dye, spreading throughout the water. Though the air created a barrier against Tallis's hastily shed Djed the water worked as a conduit. Like some sick form of mitoses, the Djed flowed slowly from Tallis, and fear grasped him. It wouldn't be fast enough to save them, nor undo the beast. Feira's reckless, and selfless thoughts lended aid, however. She could not have predicted, with her measly training, the consequences of her actions, however. It hurt to force a strand of Djed out so quickly, it twisted awkwardly and invisibly through the air toward Tallis, and to aid it she let her hand fall firmly on his shoulder, both to strengthen the transfer and to steady herself as her head instantly grew light and airy. It only took a moment for Tallis to recognize the conduit, however, and scarcely before he could consent to the decision he greedily began weaving it into his own mass of Djed, accumulating within the boat's turbulence. It felt amazing, flowing through her, bits of the Kelvic, her raw powerful energy. It made Tallis feel invincible, and his fingers spread confidently within the water. He might have lunged into his elbows, had he not be weary of breaking the bond with his new host. Feira felt an entirely other sensation. Her training had not allowed for such demand on her body, on her very life. She knew but one way of thinking of this exchange, and that was through her auristics. A sense which exploded with input as soon as Tallis took hold of her offered Djed. She felt static run over her skin, and a powerful wind tasting of metal fill her lungs, escaping out of her nostrils as her eyes flared open but saw nothing save a deep and dark slate blue. She had entered Tallis, and her own mind her own awareness had been lost. No input could be distinguished from another, instead she was left with the twirling and tumbling sensation of being whipped around in a powerful storm. All her body did was grasp tighter to Tallis' shoulder, digging her nails in, as her life force was drawn savagely from her weak human shell. All of this disturbed Poole to no end, though not enough to tare his eyes from the beast which quickly sliced a thick line of the ocean in two, as it almost gracefully rocketed toward them all. It was Leigo who won the honor of first strike, however. He waited as long as he could, reluctant to let the unwieldy weapon out from his deathly firm grip. Still, his anxiety and lack of training had the best of him, and he truck with eyes firmly shut, a moment before the beast was upon them. It did not stop. Tallis was met with a myriad of other issues, however. The Djed grew unwieldy in Liviku's domain, and his control over it was not as thorough or quick as it would have been in the air. Instead it responded sluggishly, only weakened by Tallis' attempt to milk Fiera for all she could give. Still, the situation worsened as he noted, with more a detached concern than a true terror (that was no doubt warranted) that the strong glowing green Djed, beginning to pulse with Feira's energy now began to worm it's way into the wood of the boat, clinging dangerously to it's exterior. In places it even conspired to join with the wood, fusing intimately. It was Anselm's voice, unaware of this rocky doom which crept against their bottom, which called out the command to Tallis. In truth it was not a command to anybody, but a dazed and confused yell resonating soly from his strong will to survive. One stronger than any other in the boat. "Now!" The command seemed almost insulting to Tallis in his state, and he wondered for a shameful moment if there would be enough time to sink Anselm as well. Still, from surprise alone, and an awareness that Fiera's energy was beginning to dwindle anyway, Tallis let out a whim of a command to begin the transaction from Res to stone, the thought of it's firm cling to the boat only an afterthought. He did, however, find it in his awareness to finish with perfection the transaction, expelling the water, and leaving only his Res to solidify, as to avoid a simple area of mud surrounding the raft. He hadn't thought of that detail earlier, but with what he believed to be clarity it simply came to mind. He was, truly, a genius. He could almost hear a sweet whisper telling him just that. Oh, yes, he could. Poole saw it all, with wide and shocked eyes, as he clung desperately to the raft. The pulsing water, bright with the hue of an unnatural green exploded upon the shark's impact, all to the command of Anselm. A wall of sheer white met them all, and a sudden high pitched creak of the boat beneath them could be heard muffled through the water wash. He had expected the boat to buck and shake, but instead it suddenly grew eerily still, almost suspended in place. When the white had left, terror struck him as a shadows stretched over them all, and more notably he could not see the entire crew. Two of the ship's members had vanished... perhaps forever. Once thrust Leigo felt a shockingly strong push from the water. The sound of splintering wood met him just as the wash of white water flew forth from the bay. Something warm, that later would be discovered as a wound touched upon his high cheekbone, along the right side met him. A sensation he had little time to process before the rest of the awkwardly thrusted spear came folding back upon him. His hand felt shredded, and the last of the force connected squarely to his chest. Nothing could be seen, little could be heard, and his own shout was thwarted by the gush of salty water which flooded his mouth the moment it opened. His feet came out from beneath him, and there he was flying weightlessly through pure white salty water. Fiera had less awareness of her undoing. Even the burst of white was lost in the insurmountable sea of head splitting information which poured into every sense she had. Instead, she noticed the sharp and dulling lack of awareness once her hand was violently removed from Tallis' shoulder. It was odd, really, how damp and lackluster the pain seemed as she tumbled backward splitting her head on the bench behind her, and when the oar brace pierced shallowly into her back, nearly breaking a rib. The most note worth sensation was, in fact, when she dropped over the opposite side of the boat. Anselm found himself the physically best preserved, out of some level of irony, out of all in the raft and out. And, while checking the state of the remaining crew his eyes were drawn toward the commanding sight of their leviathan. Yes, there it was, with the gigantic maw of a shark, it's skin transparent and almost trembling in the dim sunlight. Through the skin pulsed vivid thick veins, flooded with blood perverted by the storm. A beast, and a person, entwined, both trapped. And quite literally so, its mouth was poised, and thrashing open, only a foot's length from Tallis' head. Tallis who had not moved himself from the side of the ship, facing the creature. The beast was stuck there, held out of the water by some unseen force. It's eyes looked both pleading, and viciously at Anselm with a sense of familiarity. Tallis could quite clearly see what suspended the creature, however. And in his passive state he looked, more curiously than afraid, up toward the thrashing beast only a foot from cleaving his head form his body. It's mouth seemed to be bleeding profusely, not only rowed with deadly teeth, but also impaled by a series of wooden shrapnel splinters. Indeed, it appeared as if Leigo, who seemed to have vanished did in fact hit the creature, directly in mouth. Brave man. The beast itself was fascinating, and Tallis had to wonder what sort of magic held it together. It's skin seemed thin, easy to cut, but the musculature faintly outlined under the invisible skin seemed more than capable of delivering quite a powerful blow. Calmly Tallis went to sit up, from his awful posture, crouching over the edge of the ship. However, he found quite quickly a firm defiance from his hand. With a look he could tell his Djed had performed it's duty well. The shark had been hit directly in its midsection, the boat had even been held firmly in place, and along with it all his hands were implanted firmly. He realized how lucky he was that he did not explode his own hands during the creation, or crush them. A sense of intense pride washed over him, as red blood began dripping from his nose and eyes. The over giving was serious. A hard impact found both Feira and Leigo, then a restriction. Around Leigo's right arm and shoulder, and Fiera's lower left leg. Leigo could see Fiera cast dazed and confused looks around. Both had fallen on, or rather into, a large and hard construct of stone! Feira's energy had caused the Res pool to expand so far it had turned several feet around the entire raft to stone. This would almost be impressive, if water didn't immediately begin to rush onto the platform, sucking the shark, the three fixed into the stone, and the entire ship downward toward Laviku's embrace. The monster, still very much alive, though trapped, had an entirely other idea, however. With it's powerful tail it pushed against the water below them all, and thought is gasped for life against the bitter and unbreathable air, it fought blindly and stupidly to stay afloat. Showing quite strongly it's prayer to die. The side of the stone platform housing the shark rose upward, and the opposite sunk quickly. Fiera and Leigo found themselves nearly instantly submerged in the salty water, and all of the crew realized it was not yet over. The ship tipped severely, Rolling Anselm to the low side, and forcing Siarak and Poole to dive for the high side, which Tallis still stuck firmly to. If not freed from the stone Fiera and Leigo would drown within chimes. Soon the shark would weaken then they would all sink if Tallis could not in within him focus enough to separate the stone from their fragile ship. All while Poole pondered upon weather or not to slay the beast now that it was confined. Questioningly he looked to Siarak. Would they jump upward and finish the monster off, or simply cling and wait to drown?

[Fiera]

Just as usual, the strand of djed twisted and spun out of her intended direction. Placing a hand on the man’s shoulder made the connection easier to accomplish. In her brief moment of stupidity, Fiera didn’t realise that the strand was still connected to the pool of her djed and that in giving him one end of it, Tallis could draw out however much he wanted. As soon as she made contact with Tallis, Fiera’s eyes widened and her pupils dilated to the size of pin pricks. Her back arched slightly and she slumped even more heavily onto his shoulder. Now she could see her mistake, and her uncharacteristic trust. She tried to tell him to stop. Tried to scream at him to let go of her, but all that left her mouth was a suffocated gasp. Then, darkness. And silence. In that moment, it felt as if her very core was wrenched out of her body and tossed aside. Had she been able to think straight, Fiera would have thought she had died, but the only thought that registered in her mind was that of dull panic. For an indeterminable amount of time, Fiera knew nothing. Her state of being shifted a little but it took a long time to understand what had brought about this change and even then, it was unclear. At some point, Fiera felt pain when she was impaled in the back with an oar, then again as her head split open, but the pain was half-hearted, as if she was severed from it. She was most aware of her flight out of the boat. Fiera felt the rush of air against her skin and then another dull impact. This time, when she opened her eyes, light came streaming in. That was all, though, no distinct shapes, just blinding light. She moved her head to the side but was met by acute pain at the base of her skull. The next time she opened her eyes, Fiera was underwater. The dullness had vanished, but so had her disance from pain. The salt hardly stung her eyes when compared to her other injuries. Her arms flailed wildly in an attempt to rise to the surface of the water, but her progression was impeded by one of her legs, which was trapped firmly by the now solid res that Tallis had made. Her end of the stone platform lifted just enough for Fiera to take a breath before once again being dragged down beneath the water. There was nothing Fiera could do to save herself. She was defenceless against the waves of pain and water that rocked her small frame. A few more times she was able to lift her head above the water, each time, trying harder and harder to say something to those still on the boat. “Do something!” when she finally did manage to annunciate the words, they sounded strained and raspy, and so soft that it was unlikely anybody would have heard her. White spots played on her vision and she sunk back down under the water in resign. Under the water, it was oddly calm. Everything seemed slower and more purposeful. Pain was just a sensation. Nothing more. If she were to die now – a possibility that grew more and more likely with every second – so be it. Finally, Fiera let go of her battered body and curled up within herself. She recited scraps of poems in her head until she could almost distance herself from the pain. Curled up in the very centre of her being, Fiera had one more idea. If she could just detach herself from the damn platform…

[Tallis]

Invincible. That was the only way to describe how Tallis felt. Despite the blood running down his face, he felt no pain, for his mind focused solely on the intoxicating power he held. Tallis looked down proudly at the work he had done, solid rock encasing the midsection of the leviathan. With its gills covered, the leviathan’s mouth pulsed open as if gasping for breath and the shattered spear caused its desperate thrashing to spray blood into the air. Tallis grinned wildly at the leviathan and a laugh escaped his throat. Bloody visage met bloody visage and Tallis knew that he had won. A thin stream of res leaked out of Tallis’ hand, reaching out to where it lay encased in rock, and with a sharp crack his hand was free. With the mental high caused by his overflowing magical power, Tallis haphazardly sent internal djed rushing into his free arm. Powered by flux, Tallis sent his rock-encased hand careening into the sharks jaw, sending several of the leviathan’s teeth scattering into the boat. Tallis didn’t even feel the pain in his now sprained wrist. But using the magic had caused him to realize something. He had lost Fiera. Calling forth res into both hands, Tallis set to work undoing the bonds of rock that held him and the shark to the side of the boat. Perhaps it was for the best that Tallis had broken the connection with Feira, as his renewed control over the magic meant that he wouldn’t accidentally free the leviathan of its deathly bonds. Breaking the rock came simply enough to Tallis. Forming it had required compacting and connecting the djed, so to break it, he simply had to loosen those bonds. Where the strands of Tallis’ res touched the rock, the bonds that held it together began to stretch and weaken. As he wove the res through the rock, Tallis’ mind was beginning to clear. The laughter subsided into giggling and the pain returned. He suddenly became acutely aware of the blood streaming down his face and his wrist burned with white hot electricity from punching the shark. Blood from Tallis’ nosebleed not only leaked down his throat, it also dripped onto the boat, mixing with blood from the thrashing leviathan. And still, as the blood sprayed from his mouth and nose with each grunt of pain, Tallis maintained the stream of res coming from his hands. Tallis’ body shook with the effort and each time the boat bounced, short screams of pain erupted from him followed by deranged giggling as his body crashed into the boat. Tallis knew that he only had one chance to get this right, and his death grip on the rock held firm. Cracks began forming in the stone, at first from Tallis’ magic and then from the struggles of the leviathan itself. Tallis’ blood flowed through the gaps in the rock. If his body didn’t give out from physical exhaustion, it would break from overgiving. A web of cracks began forming on the stone platform, with tinier webs forming closer to the boat. Shallow cracks appeared in the rock between Tallis, the boat, and the leviathan. They soon deepened and spread and finally the stone anchoring everything together broke off. Unlike Fiera’s painful fall, Tallis’ descent was stopped by the presence of Anselm’s body. Landing awkwardly on top of the Nuit, Tallis arranged his body into a kneeling position amidst the mess of blood, teeth, rock, and reanimated body. Suddenly, the boat was tossed up off the water. The sudden disappearance of weight had caused the boat to bob out of the water. But it wasn’t over yet. The sinking weight of the leviathan had caused a small whirlpool to appear, and as the boat fell back in the water, Tallis felt the entire boat twist haphazardly in the vortex as he crashed about. Moments later, Tallis was thrown forward. With the leviathan detached, the stone platform that held Fiera and Leigo had no counterweight and the boat leaned dangerously towards them. Tallis couldn’t help it when another laugh escaped him. The sight of the two weakly flailing in the water was hilarious to the mentally detached mage. They just looked so damn stupid. Tallis pressed his hands firmly into the stone platform and sent thin strands of res towards Leigo and Fiera. As the strands of res got closer to the bodies, they began intertwining, forming an intricate web. In a few moments, the rock began splintering. It was like watching an icy pond crack apart with the coming of spring. Large chunks near Tallis broke apart and fell towards the ocean floor. On the edge of severe overgiving, Tallis lost control of the res. The smaller pieces that were supposed to fall away from Fiera and Leigo didn’t. Detached from the boat and much of the island, chunks of rock still clung to their skin and clothing. Wost of all, Fiera and Leigo were still attached by a large piece of rock, side by side and quickly sinking. Tallis tried to reach out with his res, but as the weight of the rock platform detached from the boat, Tallis was sent flying backwards. As his back hit the bottom of the boat, Tallis knew that he didn’t have the energy to do anymore. They would have to save themselves.

OOCAnselm, I hope you don't mind Tallis landing on you! Fiera, Leigo, please direct all unhappiness towards Echelon.

[Leigo]

If there were two words that could explain his current position, he knew only one. And it was pain – oh so very much of it. The other word was quite likely ‘petch’ or one of its cousins, but the boy’s wounded peace hadn’t the time to get it out. He could still remember, his struck broke foolishly against the beast and then, as a whole, Leigo too went for a swim. Usually there would be some form of entertainment involved with the thought, but when it was his life that kept washing away, the blond couldn’t find it amusing in the least. Never again would he consider such foolhardiness – alright that was probably a lie, he was much too able to give up after just one failure. Yet would it be his last? The stupid attempt of screaming ruined his sanity further as water pushed down his throat. Lungs were filling with a burning sensation and were it not for one more swing of the magical earth, he would have been completely out of air by then. The rock came through however, and his lungs still clasped firmly onto his livelihood. Finally, Leigo could open his eyes to observe the undersea. Eyes never quite used to the feeling of salt against them, he remembered once more just why it was that his father never continued their diving lessons. To let go and just close his eyes was all he wanted, but he was much too alive to give up so soon. Formless tears started flowing out in the water around them – of all the pains his body felt, salty sight seemed the worst ordeal. Gazing over to his side, he could see the mirror that kept his rhythm while rowing was still thing of present. She flailed slowly with the currents, refusing to let go of the huge chunk that pinned them both down. Leigo couldn’t tell if she was completely unconscious, but it was evident she wasn’t trying to free herself. An Abranox could and should deal with a damsel in distress, but seriously?! Couldn’t she have looked like life was one of her prime aspirations? Petching sea! Day be damned when he’ll let anything even remotely fishlike live again. Forcing small chunks off his body, Leigo thought he could hear cracking sounds, and in a horrifying flash he was proven right. Just as his left hand reached over his right shoulder in order to tear apart the rock with his own magic, their part of the platform started sinking. He tried using his legs to propel them up immediately, but all his attempts could do was slow down their anchor without even halting it fully. Under panic’s enticing grasp, Leigo could feel great amounts of res being deployed through both his hands. He would have opened his mouth to speed up the process, but in their situation that seemed needlessly stupid. Instead of what he didn’t know Tallis had done, his res didn’t try to find cracks and fill them slowly – there was no time! Instead, djed and res (it was hard to tell them apart by this point) slowly started pulling decent sized chunks from around his shoulder. In mere seconds, the shoulder was free. A more ominous note was drumming in his ears however and it wasn’t the water pressure building up. If he wanted to save the girl too, she would need to be freed first else she would sink too fast for him to try. Too prideful to let her go, Leigo’s unbound arm reached out as close to her leg as it could. Res followed, its movements impeded by the thick water. He still pulled at it, but somehow both his control and speed were significantly lesser. The man could no longer feel the sinking, but when the girl detached and stopped the downward spiral somewhere above him, Leigo quickly became aware just how deep a shyke he was in. Struggling to break free, he was losing control of his res to greater extent as the pebbles he already broke off stated sinking when magic couldn’t hold them up any longer. If he was panicking before, he was downright terrified then and it did little good for his focus. Just as he was about to free his lower right arm completely, the whole thing stopped. Too low on air to try it all over again and too scared to continue, he did the only thing that seemed right – he pulled his arm away like a maniac. There would be wounds later certainly, but he couldn’t feel the pain just yet. Quickly forcing his legs up, he swam quickly like he was taught to. Obvious fatigue from djed abuse slowed him, and if not for some rest the girl he had just grabbed and his own wet clothes would be his undoing. Flexing his muscles further as his free arm and both legs paddled upwards, he was completely oxygen deprived. His mouth opened and his eyes closed, but he was still pulling them up or at least he thought he was. As soon as his fingers parted the surface, Leigo’s body became strong beyond measure once more. Another push and they were floating again. One fainted and another not quite there yet, it was only a matter of time until they sunk again. He wanted to yell for help but some inner wall stopped him well before he became aware such attempts would be futile with all the commotion. Asking for help was shameful after all! Come on, someone notice them! Someone notice them, please!

[Echelon]

Secret :

I have no words. Nothing flowery or poetic to reiterate or edit. This was brilliant you three. I am so very impressed in all accounts, and so I'm going to let you guys just rotate again.

Fiera
Tallis
Leigo

Anselm and Siarak you are still up at your leisure. Keep up the great work, we are almost there!


Edit: (feel free to use Poole as you wish.)

[Anselm]

Anselm had missed most of the action. In particular, he had missed Tallis' impressive display of reimancy. This is because Anselm had been lost in his own psychotic world, fighting desperately to find his way back to reality. Then Tallis solved that problem by landing on top of him, which brought him back into the present moment. He quickly assessed the situation and decided he might have been better off in his own little world. The good news was that Tallis' Earth reimancy had stopped the monster and it looked to be going down. The bad news was that Tallis' Earth reimancy was threatened to sink the boat and take its passengers with it. Then he saw Leigo thrashing around in the water just a few feet away trying to keep both himself and Fiera afloat. “Poole!” he shouted at the sailer, who didn't appear to be doing anything important at the moment. “The boy and the girl. Help them.” He pointed at them. The old seaman at last saw something he could do. He dropped his weapons, let out a shout and leaped into the water. He reached them in a few deft strokes and grabbed them both from behind, one with each arm. Then he let himself float on his back as he kicked his feet to keep them afloat. Anselm was already working on detaching his left astral arm from his body. He projected it toward the three people thrashing around in the water, grabbed hold of pool's shirt, and began to gently pull them back to the boat. Now that's a helping hand, he thought as he reeled them in.

[Fiera]

Fiera wasn’t dead, although she certainly looked it. A ribbon of red blood, stemming from the back of her head, undulated softly in the swirling water. She was vaguely aware of the building pressure as the platform sank, and added it to the list of numerous pains and discomforts she would have to ignore. Her leg was sunk far too deep in the stone to be pulled out by brute force, and by this time, magic would only bring about her death faster. Fiera had, indeed, given up. She was imagining how she would be greeted in the other world when she was freed from her anchor. For a moment she managed to open her eyes. All that registered in her mind was the swirl of hair the colour of desert sand, but that was enough. She knew then, that she had sunk into something more profound than water; debt. The deprivation of oxygen had its effects then. Her eyelids closed and Fiera lose consciousness. OOCSorry for the short post, couldn't really write much about Fiera being unconscious

[Leigo]

His hands were so numb. The boy was certain he couldn’t hold them up a chime longer. Muscles slowly relaxing in agony, he knew his limit. As they almost began to sink, he could hear something from the old man, but his waterlogged ears denied sound’s entry. If he could just let go for a few moments it would be all right. Yes, everything would be alright. A strong arm crept around him and soon he no longer needed strength to float. Normally Leigo would be quick to realize it was Poole who held them afloat, but fear was treacherous. As soon as that foreign hand clasped around him, boy found new strength and started to swing his arms like a maniac. It was only when the old sailor turned him around while muttering something that the blond found some peace. This ease however still wasn’t enough for him to let go of Fiera’s hand as it was the only part of her he could still reach. The girl meant nothing to him, but he felt strangely attached – responsible even. When he looked at her, he no longer saw the crude idiot that much like him refused any assistance, but a life. Life that was still there thanks to him and the feeling was divine. His father would’ve been so proud to see him then. Relaxing as much as it was possible for his dried out and neurotic frame, Leigo waited until they got back to the boat. As soon as his hands could reach, he encased them around the boat’s edge, waiting for Poole to climb back up. As the seaman rose up, the water shifted heinously and boy’s head was met with wood – boat busting his lower lip. That hopefully wouldn’t leave a mark. Before he could tell what’s what, he was pushing the girl up with his good arm. Careful not to harm her any further, the two of them raised her up to the crowded deck. Even when she was safe, Leigo struggled with letting go of the hand. But even when he did, it was only because he needed both arms to get himself over the edge. Despite his best effort, the wet garments kept pulling his tired shell down. If he could only push himself a little harder, then the boat’s edge would stop cutting into his abdomen and he would finally be back inside the relative, he was certain of this word, security of the floater. Yet he couldn’t. Not without Poole’s help anyway. The sailor dragged him inside and while he felt grateful for it, no words could leave that petching hole under his nose. “She… her head….fix it!” it was more than he could’ve hoped to say before getting some rest and he did it while pulling down the one who pulled him up moments ago. The older man shook him off and his focus shifted to something else. Someone else rather – there he was! That idiot that had almost drowned them both was safely bleeding inside the vessel. He would kill him, he would… his thoughts were cut short when he fell back to the floor from exhaustion. He would kill him some other day. There was no point in forcing himself any longer. Instead Leigo sat with back against the place where one of the oars should be and wondered how much longer before they reached the obelisk. Surely he hadn’t survived all this to go home empty handed. We really could’ve died. With a look of disgust aimed at Tallis, it was only when it was all over that he first felt frightened.

[Tallis]

Tallis lay face-up in the bottom of the boat. If he had room for feelings other than pain, he probably would have enjoyed the day. The sun shone brightly, and Tallis would have felt its warmth had he not been lying in a pool of cold water. Tallis tried to sit up, but Poole dove into the water, setting the boat rocking once again. Tallis spluttered weakly as the rocking threw him back down and saltwater sloshed over him. The taste of iron and salt mixed in his mouth and, too weak and tired to spit, Tallis simply swallowed the mixture. The boats rocking had jostled the contents lying in the bottom of the boat and something poked Tallis in the hand. It took him a few fumbling tries, but he finally closed his palm over the object. The serrated edge of a shark’s tooth dug into his palm, and despite the salt stinging in the fresh wounds, Tallis held on tightly to his prize. His moment of pride was interrupted as Poole made his way back onto the boat. Pain overwhelmed Tallis and he whimpered pathetically as the tilt of the boat rolled him towards the edge. Sharp bits of debris dug into his sides and Tallis face twisted in a grimace as everyone finally got into the boat. Suddenly he felt Fiera. Not physically or emotionally. Magically? She had willingly given her soul to him and they had connected in an intensely intimate way. Even without seeing her or feeling her, Tallis could tell she was there, lying beside him. Her aura was so faint. When they had first made contact she had felt so strong and brave, not she felt broken and tired. Tallis felt intense guilt over what he had done to her. And suddenly his thoughts were obliterated by Leigo’s shouting. Tallis was glad the ballsy bastard was alive, but did he have to be so damn loud? Hadn’t he done enough for one day that everyone could just leave him in peace? And just like that, the ear-splitting pain was gone. Tallis entire body visibly relaxed as he slipped into the welcoming arms of sleep. Unconscious and unaware of his surroundings, the last thing Tallis saw was the tip of the white obelisk, piercing the blue sky. OOCBowing out now. Not much more to do now that Tallis is completely unconscious. He sprained his wrist smashing the shark in the face, so take advantage of that and grab a complimentary tooth  I’ll still be keeping tabs on this though so good luck to you whether you choose to go on or head back.