NOVEL WEB Chapter 11: The Tearathian Roars
Brian
The Traversphere shuddered as the creature roared and pulled itself free of the portal. Something so massive shouldn’t move with such beautiful grace. That was all I could think as it drew ever closer. The writhing tentacles looked out of place, detracting from its terrifying majesty. Its maw was open wide, showing a legion of gleaming teeth. Each looked to be as tall as I was and more than capable of rending our vessel asunder.
I wanted to move, I wanted to scream, I wanted to do something. Nightshade sketched symbols onto the walls with his finger, leaving glowing lines wherever he touched, while Ellya wove threads of light around us. Another wave of vibrations from the bellowing creature slammed into the sphere and I huddled closer to Gwen. She held me tight as I stared past her, watching the Tearathian swim towards us with increasing speed.
It was nearly upon us when Nightshade gestured and the sphere was flung to the side, just out of the Tearathian’s path. My vision was consumed by a wall of silver and blue as the sphere skidded along the beast’s flank. Cracks formed in the sphere’s surface and Nightshade swore under his breath as he redoubled his efforts. Every bit of damage he repaired was replaced by even more.
There was a soft chime and Whisper’s voice filled the cabin. “Hold on a little longer, help is–”
She was cut short as something else slammed into the sphere and it shattered into pieces. Light surged around us as Ellya’s spell cast the debris away from our bodies, but the force sent me tumbling away. I lost sight of the others as I spun into the open sea. My throat burned as I breathed in the much colder water of the depths. It took me a moment to stop spinning; my head hurt as I struggled to hold back my nausea.
It was going to be okay, I was going to survive this, I was going to–
The Tearathian was suddenly right in front of me, staring at me. Its serpent head loomed before me, vast as a mountain. The creature tilted its head, sending a jolt of terror through me, centering me before three of its eyes. Red eyes glowing like the campfires my father would build on our mandatory father-son trips. For a moment, awe overcame fear and the glow almost felt…comforting. The moment stretched into eternity as I held its gaze. Its eyes bored into me, right into the heart of me. What did it see, when it looked at me?
The creature pulled back and roared again. Its hands reached for me, each claw as large as I was, faster than I could swim.
Something in me broke and I started to cry.
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry–” This was all my fault, wasn’t it? Dressing up, ignoring my father’s commands to deny Gwen. I’d broken the rules and now I was going to be rightfully punished for it. Death at the hands of a divine beast. A storm given flesh and bone to strike down my sinful body.
But the end I feared never came.
Titanic spears of light flew past me and slammed into the Tearathian. It screamed in pain, a sound almost like the yelp of a stricken puppy. As they embedded in its flesh, radiant tendrils extended from each spear to connect to the others, forming a web that pulled tight, holding the creature in place. I spun around, looking for the source of the barrage.
Behind me was a gargantuan woman with an eyeless helmet and snow-white hair billowing behind her. Her skin was smooth black marble shot with streaks of gold, and she was garbed in flowing silks and ebon armor. She had six arms, two of which were held before her with her hands forming a diamond pointing right at the Tearathian. The other four hands were rooted in her back and held more spears of light. Floating behind her was a golden symbol, a cross with a circle at the center and a triangle at its head. The symbol flared as streams of light poured from it into the spears, and she hurled another volley.
The beast pulled back, hurt by the onslaught, before surging forward. It pumped its limbs as it cut through the water in a sinuous pattern with terrifying speed towards the woman. She followed the motion, keeping the beast within the diamond as panes of light formed around the creature. A prison of light to contain it.
The panes contracted tighter and tighter. The creature bellowed as its movement ceased, halted by the glowing diamond encasing it. It thrashed at the walls, and cracks began to show. The woman poured more light into the prison as she pitted her might against the Tearathian’s strength.
The Tearathian began to glow with a sickly aura that warped the light and fractured it into a kaleidoscope of colors. I gasped as the diamond began to fray wherever it contacted the warping aura. The seafloor nearby shimmered as another woman, identical to the first, emerged from beneath the shining rocks and added her own efforts to the seal.
With a mighty roar, it focused the aura into a halo that stung my eyes to look at and the diamond shattered. In a flash, the creature plunged towards the closest woman, slamming her into the ground. I stared on in horror as the Tearathian took hold of her arms and pulled, the sickening crunch of cracking stone making me flinch as it tore her apart. The top part of her face was covered by her helmet, yet her mouth was visible and drawn into a grimace of pain and rage.
Symbols of golden light gathered around the Tearathian as the first woman drew close and wrapped her main arms around its torso. Its amorphous tentacles lashed at her rocky flesh, leaving bleached scars that shimmered like an oil spill. Her other arms stabbed into its hide with her bright spears, onyx blood flowing from the Tearathian’s wounds as it roared in rage. The symbols coalesced into obsidian blades that flew towards the creature’s hands and feet, pinning it and its victim to the seafloor. The blades held for only a moment before its thrashing freed it once again.
There was something deeply unnerving about how, even as the Tearathian’s cries rattled through my body, the women were completely silent. Even the horrific damage it was inflicting on the woman did nothing to elicit a response from her beyond gritted teeth. I wanted to flee, to swim away, but my body wouldn’t move.
The frenzied thrashing of the combatants kicked up plumes of silt and I lost sight of what was happening. The creature’s cries faded as everything grew still.
I flinched and nearly screamed as something took hold of my hand, only to look over and see Gwen’s terrified face. Behind her, Ellya was grimacing in pain and holding one of her arms as Nightshade poured light into it. The water around her was tinted pink from her blood.
“Bri, are you okay? You aren’t injured, are you?” Gwen asked.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I settled for shaking my head and gripping her hand tighter.
She pulled me close, rubbing a comforting hand along my back, as she gazed at the clouds of silt. “Do you think they–”
The view was suddenly clear as all the silt and water was pushed away by a growing sphere of air. The Tearathian stood in the center, wounded yet defiant. Both of the women had been embedded into the ground by its hideous strength, one missing the right half of her torso. The creature glowed with crimson light shot with streaks of black lightning. More streaks shot out of it to the edge of the sphere, crackling along the edges as it held the water at bay.
The Tearathian let out a shuddering gasp and released the sphere, letting the water rush back in. It stood immovable as the returning waves slammed into it and held that stance for a moment longer after the waters returned. Then it began to walk along the seafloor, step by relentless step, drawing closer. Yet again, it reached for me, yet this time its movements were slow, careful. For a moment, it looked like it was beckoning me, beseeching me to come to it.
Nightshade stretched forth his hand, aglow with magical energy, trying to sketch a symbol only for his strength to give out and the symbol faded away, incomplete. I held on to Gwen as tight as I could.
A spear flew out to slice into the Tearathian’s side. The more intact of the two women was standing, one arm outstretched as the others gathered light into more spears. The creature winced in pain, but continued to reach for me. She tried to throw another spear only for her arm to crack and shatter.
I looked up at the creature’s face. Something felt…wrong. Its eyes were wide, maw clamped tightly shut in pain. It didn’t look enraged– it looked sad. I felt a pang of sympathy. For all its terrifying strength and massive stature, it was a beautiful creature. It reminded me of an elephant I saw on a documentary as a child. Its eyes were like that elephant’s eyes: intelligent, expressive. For a moment, I almost felt like I could understand what it was trying to do. It wanted me to understand.
Then a series of symbols filled the water between us and flashed, turning into a wall of ice. I looked around to see a new, unfamiliar figure standing before the shell tower. They lowered their hands and then raised them swiftly as more walls of ice flashed into existence. The water around me grew biting cold.
The Tearathian pulled back slowly, tired, before shaking itself and letting out a quieter, pained roar. It surged forward and slammed its head into the ice, again and again, whimpering. Its claws raked the frigid walls but left shallow scratches. The creature’s chest heaved as it struggled to reach us.
“Stop, please,” I found myself pleading with it, my voice a whisper.
The distant figure gestured again and more ice shimmered into view around the Tearathian. It ceased its efforts and floated in the water. For a moment, its eyes locked with mine. The campfires had dimmed to mere embers. The ice began to press in around it and it looked away from me reluctantly.
With a strained roar, the Tearathian summoned forth that halo of warped light around its claws. It reached forth and tore into the space in front of it, creating another portal like the one it had entered through. The ice cage constricted with even greater speed, trying to stop it, but the Tearathian’s tentacles held it back as the creature slipped through the portal and vanished.
“Is it over?” Gwen’s voice was a soft, almost musical whisper in my ear. How did she make her voice do that? Was it voice training that did that, or…? The thoughts were absurd, but I was latching on to any kind of mundane detail I could to avoid thinking about what had just happened.
Try as I might, I couldn’t shake the image of the Tearathian’s sad eyes. The words I’m sorry reverberated in my head again and again. For what, I couldn’t say. I just curled into a ball and hugged my legs tight against my chest.
Gwen touched my shoulder slowly, gently, waiting until I relaxed at her touch before wrapping her arms around me. I took deep, shuddering breaths as I calmed down. My heart stopped thudding so hard in my chest and I closed my eyes. I felt safe around Gwen. She always knew how to calm me down.
Another soft hand patted me gently on the head and I opened my eyes to see Nightshade smiling down at me. Behind him was Ellya and I got a good look at her injury. A shallow gash along one of her human arms, but other than that she seemed okay.
“Are you two alright?” He asked. We nodded affirmatively. “Good, good. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if either of you came to harm,” he turned to Ellya. “Are you sure that was a Tearathian? I thought they were extinct.”
She shook her head. “Most vanished during the cataclysm, but there have been reports of distant sightings in the deep oceans,” she tapped her chin. “I saw an old painting of one, in a textbook years ago. This is the first time I’ve seen or heard of one becoming a fluxbeast. I didn’t even think that was possible, given their origin…” Ellya trailed off, her brow furrowed in thought.
The sound of grinding stone echoed through the waters and I looked over to see that the more injured woman had pulled herself out of the ground and was ripping chunks of the seafloor and attaching them to her wounds. Each chunk of stone glowed upon contact before shattering into motes of light that reformed into new flesh. As her torso reformed, my face grew warm as some of that flesh formed a breast that was bared to the world, her damaged armor no longer covering her.
I looked away to avoid being rude and saw the other woman approaching, her own wounds already repaired. Joining her was the distant figure I had seen before. The smaller figure waved and swam up to where we were waiting. “Ellya! You’re hurt, I’m so sorry I took so long to help, I–”
Ellya smiled fondly at the figure. “Thalassa, it’s okay. A piece of the Traversphere grazed my arm, that’s all. I’ll be fine. You came just in the nick of time to save our guests,” she gestured at Gwen and I. “The ones I was telling you about.”
Thalassa turned to us and held eir arms in front of eir chest, crossing eir wrists. Ey bowed slightly in greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I promise my parties aren’t usually this…dangerous,” ey flashed a charming grin as ey chuckled softly. “Thalassa Ramos, at your service,” Thalassa was only small relative to the giant woman. Now that ey was closer, I could see that ey towered over me. (My fears of messing up eir pronouns vanished once I realized that the translation magic helped here as well, prompting me.) Thalassa was…broad. Broad shoulders, broad bust, broad hips and thighs. My mind leapt to thoughts of grizzly bears, but then I realized a much easier comparison was right there. Eir skin was the mottled pattern of a whale shark, dark blue spots surrounded by blue-gray that faded into a warm brown. Ey had gills on eir neck that fluttered in the ocean currents. A large, smooth tail protruded from eir back and six strange fronds poked out from eir long, brown hair. Three on each side.
Thalassa caught me staring and smiled. “Never seen anyone like me before, have you?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude–”
“Don’t worry your cute little head about it,” (cute? Since when was I cute?) “Ellya told me all about you two. Honestly, I’d be upset if you didn’t stare after all the work I put into this body. So go on, stare all you like!” Ey let out a loud, booming laugh.
Well, eir attire was certainly chosen with staring in mind. Thalassa wore a tight wrap around eir chest and tight shorts with a loose, flowing half-skirt on the left side. This meant that eir skin was exposed to reveal a host of silvery tattoos that formed a mural of symbols and arrays across eir body. Eir only adornment were simple ceramic bands wrapped around eir tail and similar bracelets along eir arms.
Gwen spoke up excitedly while I was studying the new arrival. “How did you do all that with the ice–” she paused, catching her breath, before continuing. “That was alchemy, right?”
“Got it in the first try, well done! As I’m sure Ellya told you, I’m a rather accomplished alchemist. Transmuting seawater into ice is a simple process–” ey gestured at the cage of ice that was slowly crumbling into shards behind em. “However, doing it at that speed and scale is a little tricky… ice happens to be a specialty of mine,” Thalassa paused, then leaned in close with a conspiratory whisper. “In truth, we were lucky. Tearathians are creatures out of myth and legend, I don’t think we could have stopped it if it had taken us seriously. Though why it was holding back, I do not know,” ey leaned back, speaking louder. “Maybe Chorus has an idea,” ey looked over at the giant woman next to em.
“I’m afraid my knowledge of Tearathians is no greater than yours, Thalassa. I had hoped two bodies would have been enough to slow it down, but the creature was stronger than any fluxbeast I’ve faced before. Taking it down completely would have required my entire armory. Without your aid, our guests would have been in grave danger. I thank you, on behalf of the city,” a soft-spoken voice emanated from the choker around my neck and Gwen’s. It had a resonant, echoing quality. “Please, do not be alarmed, guest Brian. Your safety and comfort is my utmost priority. I am Chorus, wife of Whisper, and guardian of this city.”
I hadn’t realized I’d flinched until she said something. The contrast between her voice and the size of her bodies was a lot to take in and I was already overstimulated. How many surprises could one man–one boy take in a day? I felt guilty over my reaction to Chorus. Her voice was gentle and kind. It reminded me a little of Ms. Lavender. “I’m alright, just a little spooked. Thank you,” Gwen quietly offered her hand and I hesitated for a moment before taking it and squeezing in gratitude. “You…you have multiple bodies?”
“As an eidolon, I have many vessels. The bodies before you are my most combat capable, reserved for Titan level threats to the city–” Chorus paused, her voice quivering with shame. “It is clear that their armaments are insufficient and I will take steps to amend this grievous oversight. Fear not, citizens and guests.”
“Now now, Chorus, you’ve nothing to be ashamed of. Nobody could have predicted such a creature would show up without warning and so far inside the city defenses. The city couldn’t ask for a more capable defender.” Ellya patted Chorus’ leg to comfort her and I almost giggled–no, laughed– at the absurdity of comforting a twenty-foot tall statue.
Nightshade cleared his throat. “I’m glad everyone is alright, but let’s perhaps move somewhere more comfortable before we take this discussion further?”
“Good idea. I’ll get some rooms prepared, away from the party, so you can all relax. We’ll all feel better after a nice meal. I’ve got a nice soup that’ll put some meat on those bones, never fear!” Thalassa pointed at me as ey said that last bit. A nice warm soup sounded wonderful, but why did ey look at me like that? Was I that scrawny?
“I will work on repairing your courtyard, citizen Thalassa. My apologies for allowing it to reach such a state. It shall be restored by morning. Please allow me to join you all with a more suitable vessel, for I would like to discuss these events with you further.” Chorus repeated the gesture that Thalassa had made earlier and strode off to join her other body.
****
A part of me had expected that Thalassa’s home would be entirely flooded with water. I was surprised to find out that the majority of it was air. Ey had looked amused when I asked about that. “Seawater is fun to swim in, but it tends to be a bit too corrosive to let into one’s home. Never fear, there are flooded chambers if you’d like to take a dip later.”
The entrance of eir home had another airlock structure. After the water had drained, a swarm of cubes detached from the walls and surrounded each of us. The cubes projected a field of some kind that dried off our clothes and bodies in only a few moments. The experience was enjoyable; being enveloped by the field felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket fresh from the dryer. Thalassa asked us to kick off our shoes and handed us some soft slippers to wear that adjusted to the perfect size as I slid my foot in.
After the airlock, we passed swiftly through a main hall that featured Thalassa’s party guests, still engaged in their revelry. They were all relieved to see we were okay; a few recognized Ellya and asked to speak with her before they left. Thalassa gave them all a quick explanation before leading us down a hall to the guest wing. I caught a quick glimpse of the kitchen as we passed, the fragrant smell of grilled meat and hearty stews filling my nose and making my stomach rumble. Past the kitchen was a large common space with great windows looking out at the sea. Comfortable looking chairs and sofas were placed around the room and there was a circular pit filled with cushions in front of what looked like a fireplace. Yet, like Ellya’s oven, the flames dancing inside were entirely magical without a log in sight.
Thalassa gestured for us to take a seat in the pit while ey prepared our meal. I did so gratefully, sighing with contentment as I sank into the soft cushions and let the tension drain out of my body. The cushions molded around me, reminding me of when I was a child and was allowed to have plushies. I used to sleep in a huge pile of them every night until I grew too old. There was a twinge of sadness as I remembered when my father made me burn them after my thirteenth birthday. A rite of passage, he’d said. Family tradition. My conversations with Nightshade made me wonder what the point of that was. Why couldn’t I rest in piles of soft things if I wanted?
Dangerous thoughts; a part of me felt fear and guilt over allowing this place to get to me like this, but I ignored that part. I’d just survived a terrifying event, surely it was okay if I got to be comfortable!
“You alright there, Bri? You look a little out of it and if you squeeze that pillow any harder, you might rip it,” Gwen shook me gently.
I blinked and looked down to see I was clutching tightly to one of the cushions and eased my grip. “Ah, sorry, just remembering something,” I realized that Ellya and Nightshade were nowhere in sight. “Did I miss anything?”
“No, we’re waiting until Thalassa gets back before talking about what happened. Ellya needed to go patch up her cut and she knows her way around this place. Nightshade is helping her, apparently he’s a better healer than she is,” she paused, looking at me with concern. “That means it’s just you and me, Bri. Talk to me. You’re shaking like a leaf and I don’t think it had anything to do with the creature.”
“Li–sorry, Gwen, I’m fine. It’s not a big deal, it’s nothing really, it’s–” I stopped. Why was I afraid to talk to her? Why was I tripping up on her name now? I let out a sigh. “No. No, I’m not going to bury my feelings again,” Looking up at Gwen, I continued, my voice shaky. “It was my father.”
“Your father?”
“I keep feeling like he is watching me, looming in the shadows, ready to jump out and yell at me for something I’m doing or something I’m feeling. He’d be furious if he saw me right now. I mean, look at me!” I gestured with one hand at my face. “I’m wearing eyeliner! Makeup! And I’m sitting here, surrounded by nice soft things, getting comforted by you! His voice is screaming in my head, telling me that I’m acting like, like, like some kind of sissy! Telling me I’m being corrupted by you!” My voice cracked and I took a deep, shuddering breath as a tear rolled down my face. “Why is that scarier than a giant monster attack? He’s my dad, why am I afraid of him when he isn’t even here?”
Gwen reached out slowly, carefully, pausing in front of my face. “May I?” I nodded. She gently wiped the tear away and then reached down to hold my hand. “Bri, I had no idea–” she paused again, looking for the right words. “Bri, something you said when I came out to you has been making me wonder…about duty to your family–”
“Eldest son has responsibilities, you can’t just throw those away…” I muttered.
“It sounds like there is more to it. Bri…did he hurt you?”
“I–” There was a long moment of silence as I struggled to get the words out. My voice was a hoarse whisper now. “A man doesn’t abandon his duty. A man perseveres. Discomfort focuses the mind. Pain reminds a man of his duty. A man doesn’t fail his family. A man isn’t allowed to fail his family,” more tears fell down my face as my father’s voice seemed to speak through me. “I failed. I kept failing. He set me right, for my own good. It was for my own good. If he didn’t give me…focus then the consequences of my failure would hurt so much more. He kept telling me how much he loved me. He kept saying that even as he burned my things.”
“Burned your things…oh no. I-I think I remember what you are talking about. That week you kept missing school, after your birthday. You smelled like ash and wouldn’t tell me what happened. That’s when you stopped inviting me over.”
“Bad influence,” I muttered. “He said you were a bad influence, that you were making me soft. Said I needed to hang out with the other boys more. I said no. Only thing I stood up to him about. You’re my friend, always have been. But…I didn’t want you to see. I didn’t want you to see how empty my room was, after he made me…he made me burn my toys…my friends.”
“Oh no, Bri…” Gwen wrapped her arms around me and stroked my hair gently.
I started sobbing, struggling to speak through the tears and the gasping breaths. “I can’t remember their names, Gwen. My favorites, even the ones I’d had since I was a little kid. Why can’t I remember their names? I spent years thanking him for that, y’know? That’s what a man does, right? Set aside childish things. I was too weak to do it on my own, so he helped me and I thanked him for making me stronger. Only now am I asking myself: how did that make me stronger? It’s stupid, they were just toys, but they we-we-were precious to me!” I buried my face against her shoulder, staining her dress with my tears.
Gwen brushed her fingers through my hair gently as I cried. “Shhhh, it’s okay, I’m here. It’s okay to let it out, Bri. You’ve been carrying this a long time.”
“I, guh, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this now, why it’s hitting me so hard all of a sudden. I’ve been holding it in just fine for years and, ha, it’s just, it’s so absurd. I’m fine, I wasn’t even injured and I don’t think that creature really wanted to hurt us anyway and–” My voice took on a hysterical edge as I laughed nervously and I just couldn’t stop talking. “You’re the one who’s supposed to be a girl, why am I the one crying like this, o-over some s-stupid memory!”
“Hey!” Gwen’s voice was iron and she pulled back and looked me right in the eye. “Bri, that’s your dad talking. You are not him, you hear me?” I looked away and she shifted down, keeping her eyes locked on mine. “You’re not him! He’s not here! He can’t hurt you anymore! It’s okay to be scared, it’s okay to be hurting, it’s okay! Your father doesn’t know anything about strength. It’s just you and me. Same as it has always been. You can tell me anything and I’m not going to judge you. I’m here and I’ve got you, alright?”
She looked at me with caring love and I started to cry again. How was I supposed to keep it together when she looked at me like that? Shouldn’t she be telling me to suck it up? But I knew, I’d always known, she’d never do that. The years we’d spent apart had made me forget how much she meant to me. No matter that she wasn’t the guy I thought I’d grown up beside. This was Gwen, my closest friend. I pulled her close, hugging her tightly, as I let go of some of my pain.
As I did, I felt cleansed. Like a river had rushed through me and scoured out the mud and dirt that had built up. I cried and cried, my body shaking with exhaustion. It felt good. It was healing. Maybe Dad was wrong. How could something like this be wrong? Fuck him and fuck his rules.
There was only one thing that bothered me. Gwen had said I could tell her anything without judgment. I knew she meant I could tell her anything at all. But, as I pulled back and I stared into her beautiful emerald eyes, surrounded by all the dazzling makeup that made her outshine any star, I realized there was something I could never tell her.
I could never tell her that I was falling in love with her.
