Seabreath: Battling the Elements
I remember the ancient hands that carved Seabreath into dwellings for our Skimmer Den. The monolith was adorned with etchings of brave Underling warriors, fighting against colossal sea creatures from ages past: serpents with scales as hard as iron, giant birds whose wings blotted out the sun, and mighty leviathans who ruled the ocean depths.
Life in Seabreath was never peaceful. We lived on the edge of an angry sea, constantly at its mercy. The ocean would hurl monstrous walls of water at us, shaking our homes and sending tremors through the labyrinthine network of dwelling chambers.
This rocky outcrop with craggy peaks and tortuous valleys was a stark contrast to the lush landscapes of the Wild Lands. The air was thick with salt and earth, both tangy on the tongue and prickly in the nostrils. Large crimson crustaceans scuttled across granite-hard sands, while sky-blue shellfish clung to the jagged rocks that rose defiantly from the sea. Mother Nature had no mercy here; we were like sparrows in a wild tempest. This land was not for the faint-hearted, each morning bringing a new threat: tidal waves, earthquakes, quicksand, or treacherous undertows.
But we grew to be a hardy tribe, nestled in tiny huts woven from fish scales and sea kelp that glistened under the weak sun. Our homes dotted the landscape like scattered pearls amidst the barrenness.
Adapting to the harsh waters, we had evolved into swimmers of unparalleled skill, our bodies sleek and robust. We could hold our breaths for unthinkable lengths, diving deep into the sea to hunt for food and other resources. Our hands moulded the treasures of the sea into tools and weapons; the sharpened teeth of deep-sea predators became knives, while their bones were fashioned into sturdy spears.
Our predicament birthed innovation. We constructed a unique system of pulleys and ropes that ran throughout the dwelling chambers, allowing us to traverse the vertigo-inducing heights with agility and speed to escape threats or simply to travel from one end of Seabreath to another.
The sea could change at any moment - calm one day, raging the next. When it was calm, we feared deceptive undertows that could drag us down into icy depths. We learned to tread water with respect and caution, always watching for shifting currents and sands beneath us.
"Reminds me of home," would say someone from the Island of Smouge, on Argentii, sea-spray gathering mysteriously in the corner of their eye.
Haly, the Moonlight Bard
Summer Camp in Avalon
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