What Thrives in the Deep
We start away from the rising cliff, down the blood-slick slopes, following the ichor down to a red-stained lake, and the creatures beside it. We see Laguna, staring at her reflection in the muddied waters, and the shape that thrashes beneath the surface.
Laguna reached down, dipping her hands in lake, and grabbed hold of the old wizard's mane, raising his head above the water. He gasped, inhaling deep, desperate breaths, eyes searching wildly for her face, which latched on with frightful clarity.
Wizard: "Please! I didn't know who she was--"
Laguna let go of his hair, and the water pulled him down. He thrashed some more, bubbles bursting above him, before Laguna reached down once more.
Wizard: "I didn't even make the rings!"
Laguna: "What was their purpose?"
Wizard: "A bride! Valentina promised me one, in exchange for my work on the Road."
Laguna: "The petty traps that endanger my Mother?" The wizard blanched, and Laguna dropped him. Another minute in the water would keep him from hesitating. She counted down the seconds, and then pulled him up again. Wizard: "Yes! Yes, I made them. But then she made me forget! It's all wiped -- not hidden. I can't tell you anything!"
Laguna: "Is the Road attuned to you in any way that would help Mother?"
Wizard: "Sh- Sh- Sure! Absolutely, yes!" The water rippled around the wizard, spreading out across the lake... A lie. Laguna's face must have betrayed her, for the wizard began to panic. Wizard: "No! Alright! Sorry! But I can be of use--"
Laguna: "You have sought the hand of my bethrothed Mother..."
Wizard: "--help you with spells! Do you need anyone killed--"
Laguna: "You seek to take a woman's hand by force..."
Wizard: "--easily break the barrier surrounding this place--"
Laguna: "Father, I bow to your judgement." The wizard continued to ramble at her, and so he missed the sound of wings overhead. A single, black feather descended from above, lilting ever-so-innocent to the surface of the lake. When it landed, it made only a single ripple. As the ripple spread, eyes glowed up from the depths -- the bonded creatures of Night. It was Fernleaf who got to him first, her teeth digging into his ankle. He vanished under the water as if Laguna had thrown him, fading from the surface faster than a sinking stone. Fernleaf dragged the wizard straight to the middle of the frenzy, bodies roiling all around the screaming form, inaudible under the water. Laguna pursed her lips, cleaning the stink of the man off of her hands, and then extended her will. One by one, the denizens of the deep responded to her call, and ceased their feeding. Fernleaf fetched her prize, and rode up from the depths, depositing it into her waiting hands. A skull, dyed red by the lake, but picked clean of all flesh and skin. Laguna smiled, patting her friend on her chin, and strode up the rising cliff. Some of her sisters were waiting, while others rested at the edge of the wood, weakened after their ordeals. Laguna followed the trail to the stump, where twelve threads lie waiting, and placed the skull in the center. She spoke the binding words of her ritual, and felt her energy drain into the working. Laguna: "Queen of the Deep, I call thee, my greatest friend below. Gozreh, I call thee, across the Mirror that binds you. Ragadahn, I call thee, to a debt owed by your eldest daughter, the mighty Entity. Bless this working." Laguna pushed more of her energy in the circle, stretching her will to the ends of the universe, and three calls responded. The power that followed was massive, well beyond anything she could generate on her own -- even diminished as they were, after forcing themselves through the barrier. She bent it all into shape, filling the skull with bloody water, which bled from the eye sockets and into the mouth, and then up and out again. She locked it in place with the last of her power, and blackness surrounded the edges of her vision. She smiled, and then limped her way to the edge of the wood, and rested her head on a sister's lap -- she didn't bother to look at which. The vision fades...
Laguna: "What was their purpose?"
Wizard: "A bride! Valentina promised me one, in exchange for my work on the Road."
Laguna: "The petty traps that endanger my Mother?" The wizard blanched, and Laguna dropped him. Another minute in the water would keep him from hesitating. She counted down the seconds, and then pulled him up again. Wizard: "Yes! Yes, I made them. But then she made me forget! It's all wiped -- not hidden. I can't tell you anything!"
Laguna: "Is the Road attuned to you in any way that would help Mother?"
Wizard: "Sh- Sh- Sure! Absolutely, yes!" The water rippled around the wizard, spreading out across the lake... A lie. Laguna's face must have betrayed her, for the wizard began to panic. Wizard: "No! Alright! Sorry! But I can be of use--"
Laguna: "You have sought the hand of my bethrothed Mother..."
Wizard: "--help you with spells! Do you need anyone killed--"
Laguna: "You seek to take a woman's hand by force..."
Wizard: "--easily break the barrier surrounding this place--"
Laguna: "Father, I bow to your judgement." The wizard continued to ramble at her, and so he missed the sound of wings overhead. A single, black feather descended from above, lilting ever-so-innocent to the surface of the lake. When it landed, it made only a single ripple. As the ripple spread, eyes glowed up from the depths -- the bonded creatures of Night. It was Fernleaf who got to him first, her teeth digging into his ankle. He vanished under the water as if Laguna had thrown him, fading from the surface faster than a sinking stone. Fernleaf dragged the wizard straight to the middle of the frenzy, bodies roiling all around the screaming form, inaudible under the water. Laguna pursed her lips, cleaning the stink of the man off of her hands, and then extended her will. One by one, the denizens of the deep responded to her call, and ceased their feeding. Fernleaf fetched her prize, and rode up from the depths, depositing it into her waiting hands. A skull, dyed red by the lake, but picked clean of all flesh and skin. Laguna smiled, patting her friend on her chin, and strode up the rising cliff. Some of her sisters were waiting, while others rested at the edge of the wood, weakened after their ordeals. Laguna followed the trail to the stump, where twelve threads lie waiting, and placed the skull in the center. She spoke the binding words of her ritual, and felt her energy drain into the working. Laguna: "Queen of the Deep, I call thee, my greatest friend below. Gozreh, I call thee, across the Mirror that binds you. Ragadahn, I call thee, to a debt owed by your eldest daughter, the mighty Entity. Bless this working." Laguna pushed more of her energy in the circle, stretching her will to the ends of the universe, and three calls responded. The power that followed was massive, well beyond anything she could generate on her own -- even diminished as they were, after forcing themselves through the barrier. She bent it all into shape, filling the skull with bloody water, which bled from the eye sockets and into the mouth, and then up and out again. She locked it in place with the last of her power, and blackness surrounded the edges of her vision. She smiled, and then limped her way to the edge of the wood, and rested her head on a sister's lap -- she didn't bother to look at which. The vision fades...
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