Of Depth and Deception (Part 1)
(POV — Skehl)
A soft purple glow drew his eyes. Someone was coming. A patrol?
Had Skehl been on his own, he could have hidden himself easily enough. But with his sister beside him — tentacle-laden and glowing an ostentatiously bright magenta — there really was no hiding. Not in a place so open as the belly.
So, they waited.
An older sister — slender, with soft-glowing mauve tentacles — approached from the haze of clouding lifelight, her arm draped over the shoulders of a boy barely beyond his youngling years. Skehl noted the boy’s vibrant red-sun tentacles that rustled from his tilted, unbalanced posture. But it wasn’t until he saw the sheer white of his eyes that he knew…
He’s shattered… And nearly the color we need… Skehl hated himself for what he knew he was going to have to do.The boy was technically still alive. Though, not really. And if Skehl could manage to swim back to the palace sooner… It could be that he still had a chance. Maybe…
And a quick death is better than a drawn-out one… Those were his older sister’s words. Binah’s words. Before she had shattered herself. We’d be sparing the boy so much unnecessary pain…
“What are you two doing out here?” the mauve sister said, her tone sharp and expectant.
Just as there was no hiding Thressel, neither could they have hidden the two dead and charred bodies she still held in her grip. And, from the persistent dullness in his sister’s eyes, he was fairly certain she still didn’t have it in her to offer any assistance. So it was up to him.
“They were, uh, Reefguards,” Skehl spoke quickly, crafting his story as he went. “They beat then took our older sister away for smuggling trenchshrooms to help with…” He gestured to his nearly blind left eye.
The mauve sister recoiled when she realized, lips pursed. Revolted. She held her brother tighter, as though Skehl’s own recklessness could have somehow harmed her brother more than he had already harmed himself. Seeing was risky, riskier than Shocking ever was. To See untrained was to call forth an early death — and only the Tide’s Eyes contained the Master Seers, those who had trained their whole lives and have studied the ancient secrets of the craft. Seeing had an allure to it unlike any other gods-given ability, making it the most dangerous. That’s why Skehl needed to return to the palace as soon as possible. There was no life for him without Seeing, and there was only a short life for him should he go on untrained. That was the danger. No one could resist the draw after having submerged themself into the depth of Time, and the infinite futures she contained.
“We haven’t seen our sister in years,” Skehl continued, “So, when we learned that they had passed… well, sometimes vengeance calls with a fervor.”
The mauve sister traced her eyes across Skehl’s form, that disgusted look never leaving her face. Her gaze then went to Thressel, the multitude of pristine-quality tentacles dangling from the gelatinous dome atop her head. Skehl worried, for a moment, that the mauve sister suspected Thressel for what she was: a Reefguard. It was quite rare for any Skaltressian to bear so many tentacles as her, lest they be a Reefguard or a noble.
When the mauve sister finally turned back to Skehl, she said, “Your sister was taken due to your own negligence. You never should have done what you did. This — ” she gestured to her brother, “Is where your naivety will get you. And what you two did to those Reefguards… It’s perverse and disgraceful. They were… just doing as they were told…” Something flashed across her face, then. “Though… I can understand the sentiment.”
She floated before Skehl, keeping her shattered brother close, and then asked in a frightened whisper, “Was it worth it? Whatever it was you Saw?”
Skehl glanced again at her younger brother, still tilted and lifeless. And breathing.
He offered a consolatory smile. “It was. I’ll… never forget it.”
Hey! Glad you read to the end! Skehl and Thressel’s story is just getting started!
Check out part 2 here!
Or… if you’d like to read the whole story now, it’s an 11 minute read and it can be found here.
Stay tuned for more Elspar Stories — coming soon!
Or… if you want more now, check-out these stories that are already available:
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Meet Gar’dumor and Demitra! After years as close friends, Gar’dumor convinces Demitra to slip away from her research for a night of privacy, ready to confess a secret they have long kept silent. (Adventure, Romance, Drabble Series)If you like what I do and want to support my upcoming stories, check out my !
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