Solo Unknown Waters

[Onix]

90th of Spring, 522 AV

As the landwalkers settle new homes in new territories, so, too, do those who dwell 'neath the surface of the sea. Oceans, coves, lakes, and springs unclaimed and unseen cover every corner of Mizahar, begging to be charted and traversed by those with the gall, determination, and need to see. By those who can nay remain in the seas they were born, with the family what raised them, with the comforts and safeties known since conceived.

Onix was one of those few. Still yet a young lad, with naught but an explorer's heart thumping under his blue chest. A heart that could not remain home, that could not still beat with the same strength if it did not get that for which it yearned. If he did not get what he so wished and wanted and prayed to Laviku for. If he did not leave, if he did not chart those waters, if he did not traverse the swells, the tides, the horizons yet unseen.

And thus did he leave. Not only did he, but already was he somewhere he did not know, that the kin he traveled with offered nary but a mere shrug. A new place that made his heart buzz with excitement and anxiety, that made his mind expand and explore the possibilities, that made his fingers itch and twitch to grow corals new. Change of season was coming in no more than a day, and brought with it the scent of a new life.

A new dawn, a new horizon, a new home.

[Onix]

But he could not yet call this new place home. As his kin departed as swiftly as they came, astride seahorses and wares pulled by hyteras, he could do naught but look at the shores. At the sands that rose until they broke the surface of his world, at the bottom of a boat that rocked and swayed with the gentle laps of the waves, at the manmade pillars of wood and iron that stood sturdy against the currents.

"That there is a dock, boy, next to the boat. You will find some manner of people living near. Be careful," the merchants had told him before they continued their way to Riverfall. They had long moved, but he stayed still. Seconds turned into minutes turned into a half hour before he stirred, shaken from his anxious and uneasy staring by the passing of a school of fish. Fish that were new, but not unlike ones that called his home their home, too.

And a new home was what he needed, a place to rest his head when the light of Syna fell below the horizon and Her rays did not pierce the sea. His hand strayed to his hip, to the small bag tied to the loop of his loincloth. Questing fingers stretched the pouch's tight opening open to be immediately met by the familiar feel of his home's coral. The pads of those fingers rubbed softly, longingly, against the miniscule branches of the marine creature that had built Charbosi. That he was so familiar with, that he felt so safe with.

His eyes moved down to the seafloor below him, searching around for the new reef he would have to learn and explore and nurture for himself. How dearly he wanted to simply swim down and immediately plant his little piece of home, to turn a small piece of this land into one he could call his own, but to build was to be smart. And to be smart was to explore this new floor and understand it, for not every reef could accept every coral, and not every coral could flourish in every reef.

Webbed fingers and toes and fins propelled him quickly down deeper into the depths, immediately toward what coral he could find. No small amount of relief and happiness washed over him, warmed him, at the abundance of life that graced the seafloor here. At the health of the habitat he would inhabit, grow, and nourish into a home for him and the wonderful creatures that darted around in curiosity.

[Onix]

While there was plenty of coral sitting along the bottom of the seafloor (Falyndar was perfect, geographically, for coral to flourish), he was a bit picky. He wanted coral that was naturally sturdier and about middle-aged, not too young nor too old, and which grew in a way that would make it easy for him to make a small shelter. The location, too, felt important the more he looked around - some coral grew on the side of small cliffs, some stacked up on top of another, others grew straight up like seagrass.

He was still a novice at building coral, and so he wanted one that was half-done for him, but that could still provide him with a bit of a challenge. He always wanted to learn something new and test himself, of course, otherwise he would not grow.

It took a fairly short amount of time, mayhaps half an hour, before he found a spot that looked good. It was trident's toss away and then some from the human dock, but deep enough that it would take better than average swimmers to get down, and not so deep that large predators would roam near.

And here, starting right above a small, bare patch of ground, grew some rather thick, light yellow coral. It was not bright enough to attract much attention, and it grew somewhat stacked with other coral above but not in a way that would restrict access much. A bit of giddiness welled up in his chest as he swam down to it, setting his things down on the floor and running his fingers along its branches.

He closed his eyes. He could feel the hum of energy emanating from its core. Coral did not have heartbeats, they had no organs, but they still lived and had energy just as every other living being had. He could feel the constant thrum of vitality. It was not particularly strong, but it was not very weak, either. It was what one could deem an average piece of coral, yet was anything but.

[Onix]

His fingers began at the bottom of the coral, holding on to where the coral initially sprouted. He could feel the roots' energy from there, how the energy begins below the surface and travels upward. He could visualize it, partially, in his mind's eye. His webbed-hands begin slowly sliding upwards, tracing over every groove, notch, and bump, becoming intimately familiar with the similar yet unique build of the pair of coral trees.

He could feel the memory of the nearby ocean in them. It needed to be stronger to survive the powerful tide, and so it grew thick. It was deeper and needed sunlight, and so it grew tall. Fish swam all about it, hiding within the branches, and so it grew closer and in tandem with the other.

As his fingers finally came up near the tip of its branches, Onix pulled. "A son of the sea needs a new home, and so... grow," he thought, his eyes still closed and visualizing the energy he felt in his fingers. He did not pull constantly, no - he timed it to the beats of his heart, so that the pulse of his Djed drew each pulse of the coral's Djed. And with each pulse, each pull, the coral grew inch by inch, following his fingers and his will.

He manipulated it slightly, focusing more on coaxing out growth that was different but not strange to the coral. It still grew like a tree, yet he curved the tips of the branches, so that it began to grow more horizontally above his head. It became a roof, protecting Onix from above, and the beginnings of a wall, to protect him from the back. From above looking below, it would look as if the coral were getting wider and covering more area.

Here, he took a second, his heart beating a bit faster than when he had began. He had a good amount of training for his age, he was decent, but he was not yet competent, and so he could already feel the tinges of tired creeping along his arms and legs. He swam down to his bag and pulled out a bit of food, some seagrapes, and eat for a few minutes as he looked over his handiwork.

It was nothing special, but it was a sturdy roof. The influence and energy he gave to the coral made it grow a tad bit thicker than it was before, and a tad bit brighter, as well. He could curve the roof down a bit lower and create a dome, and grow a few branches from the side to cover the rear of the dome. It would be a small, half-sphere of a house.

And so he did. Setting aside his seagrapes, he swam back to where he had stopped. He took a second to realign himself with the coral, floating horizontally himself, and feeling along the tips of the coral's branches. He pulled the coral's energy with every beat again, guiding the new growth downward by willing that flow of energy to follow his fingers as they moved. It was magnetic, his Djed to the coral's, and so the coral grew out to try and catch that attraction.

It did not take long to complete the dome; instead of growing it completely downward, he let it finished before that point, so that it could continue to grow naturally from now on, albeit obviously slower. He swam back to the original growth of coral, and examined along the sides rather than the top this time.

He was looking for bumps that could have been new growth, nubs that had potential. His fingers drew the energy towards those nubs, though this process took a bit longer - they were nubs for a reason, and had stopped growing. Pulling new growth from coral was hard, and the effort needed was obvious from the new motions his hands were making. He pulled on the Djed to forge a new path, simply focusing on growth rather than guidance. He grew them until they began to form branches of their own, naturally, and he began focusing on this branches, growing them thick and straight.

Past their initial budding phase, they were easier to grow, and he had less space to cover. He could feel exhaustion causing his limbs to grow heavy and his head to nod. The last few minutes of exertion were the hardest, growing the lattice of new branches to cover one side of the dome. Because he had chosen where they would grow, they began horizontally, and so needed less guiding force to get them to cover the entryway. He simply willed energy, supporting it with his own as needed. Growing stronger together, before he finished and simply floated down to sleep.

[Gossamer]

Onix –

First, it’s a pleasure to read a thread written from a non-human perspective of an ocean dweller. I’d like to caution you to ask a Moderator about topography before you assume or let your imagination run wild. Reading this thread inspired me to write a location post about Syka’s Bay to clear this up for future writers. Syka’s bay is mostly sand, especially by the dock, though there is coral around Solitude Island (Deeper out) and further out from that rocky point. There is a lot more coral south towards where Treasure Point is and even further south by the Sea of Palms. But right in front of Swing Beach, the sea is a sandy bottom with bunches of vegetation here and there, perfect for flatfish, rays, and skates. However, you were very unspecific to where you built (other than saying it was a trident’s toss – so you might make that a dozen tridents tosses or something), so that’s not a problem in this thread. Thanks for doing that. Now, for the fun part!

Observation +3, Planning +2, Investigation +2, Meditation +1, Coral Manipulation +2, Endurance +1

Lore: Syka’s Bay Topography, Syka’s Dock, Syka’s Bay: Location & Appearance, Coral Manipulation: Selecting An Appropriate Spot For A Home, Coral Manipulation: Forming Roofs, Coral Manipulation: Forming Walls