Whispers of the Furtive

FEAR - Corin, like all around him, stood frozen in place staring at the large island in the bay. It had been less than half a day since Corin had last laid eyes on that stretch of sea; a smooth mirrorlike surface was all that could be seen. But now, where only a mere night before the moonlight shimmered upon a calm surface, a large expanse of land loomed close to the bay. Its appearance signified one thing – catastrophe.

“Leviathan.” Corin whispered.

The others turned their heads toward him and fixed upon him an icy glare that was equal parts horrified and equal parts damning. Corin confirmed what they all knew, what none of them wanted to believe was true, what they could see with their own eyes.

Corin could see the waves breaking around the large landmass. He could tell by the distinctive pattern that the landmass carved in the sea that it was slowly and steadily moving, and he could tell where it was headed. In their direction.

Corin’s entire being screamed. It urged him to flee, to run, to abandon everything. To run as far as he could, for days even, just to get away. But his body would not listen.

A gust picked up. From above where not a single cloud could be seen a loud cracking sound, thunder, was heard.

“Jokasta, on this day in which we are spared from our mortal coil, please welcome us into your kingdom.” An older man had shed all his outer garments and lay on the ground facing the sky. His eyes were closed. He had accepted his fate.

Others around him followed his example. They all shed their outer garments and lay flat on the ground. Corin saw the young and the old, and even the infirm, those who even the slightest movement would be a great challenge, assume the same sky facing pose.

“Jokasta, please judge us worthy of being in your kingdom.” The chants continued.

Corin felt the first rain drop on his face. He looked above. He saw the storm clouds begin to form from the opposite location from which the landmass approached. Two titans had decided to go at war with each other, the site of this conflict would be their village.

Corin moved his hand to his head. He was not an adherent to any faith, but he knew the customs. The headpiece was always the first to be removed in a sign of respect. The cracks of thunder came at a more regular pace now.

“Corin!” Someone shouted in front of him.

He looked ahead of him, confused at the familiar man in front of his face. The stranger who bore a striking resemblance to Corin, with the same dark complexion, and who’s manner of being Corin sought to emulate his whole life.

“You must go now Corin! Warn the others!” The man, his brother, Cyril, screamed in Corin’s face.

Cyril acted as if he had been the only one to not accept his fate.

“The others?” Corin asked slowly his hand still wrapped around his headpiece.

“The hunting party Corin!! They were to arrive today!” Cyril shouted in Corin’s face. He knew that time was not on their side.

Corin still struggled to understand.

“Think Corin, think! Remember! Come to your senses boy!” Cyril continued shouting in his face.

“If we don’t act now, the whole village will be lost! You must make them! Flee, hide, tell them to not come here!” Cyril dug his thumb into Corin’s shoulder. An intense pain shot through him which finally pulled him out of his stupor.

Corin understood now. Corin was to run to the mountains, find the hunting party, and make them leave. His lot was the coward’s lot.

“But Cyril, our duty, to protect the village, why we stayed behind-“ Cyril once again dug in his thumb. Corin winced. It was Cyril’s way of letting him know this was not the time for an argument.

“Corin, what can we do against a conflict between titans? I will stay and help those who cannot leave. Salvage anything that is left behind.” Cyril tried his best to impress upon Corin with his sly smile, but it wavered.

Even Cyril, he with his silver tongue, he who could stare down the mightiest on the island and not flinch, he could not keep his composure in this moment.

There won’t be anything left after this!

“You will see me again.” Cyril smiled weakly at Corin.

CRACK

A giant shard of ice shot from the land mass into the sky. There was no sun anymore, the sky was completely darkened. It started pouring rain, mercilessly.

“Hurry Corin, go!” Cyril turned Corin around and pushed him.

As if acting of its own volition Corin’s body began a mad dash to the mountains.

You will not see him again!

Corin ran and ran, slipping on the wet ground constantly, but never stopping.

Stop! Go back to him! Save him! Save your brother!

The din of the thunder was so loud that Corin could barely hear anything else. His heart pounded as he ran, gasping for breath, doing everything he could to put as much distance between himself and the village.

Listen to me! Listen! Stop running! Cyril! Save him!

A flash of light. An intense heat in front of Corin. He was thrown backwards. He lay flat on the ground as he faced the sky now. The clouds parted. A large golden figure emerged from them. Its eyes were completely white, its fangs were the size of a person, its wings could summon storms with their sheer power.

The creature roared and lightning cracked the sky. Corin thought it might come for him, but he was mistaken. He was of no significance to a Titan. The creature continued on its path to the landmass.

Corin got up and continued running.

He must be dead now…

***

Corin awoke. His eyes quickly adjusted to his surroundings. In his hand he held the handle of his blade. He grasped it so tight that his hand started feeling numb.

That day.

Corin's heart did not stop racing as he awoke. The dream of that day started becoming more frequent in previous weeks. Corin dreaded reliving that day.

As Corin felt himself starting to get worked up he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. The gentle touch instantly soothed the rising tide that was stirring within him. He closed his eyes as he embraced the hand on his cheek.

“Is it that day again?” Livia’s soft voice spoke. She didn't have to ask, she knew Corin better than even himself.

Corin could see the concern in his wife’s deep brown eyes. Corin had known those eyes for almost the entirety of his life, and he knew they would always be there to reassure him. Standing so close to him made him be in awe at how beautiful she was. Her dark short hair, her glowing smile, her kind eyes. It reminded Corin that there were still things worth living for on that island, on Trinixo.

“Yes.”

“Sometimes I dream of that day as well. It's been over a decade but I clearly remember you running to us and helping us find shelter. I don't know what we would have done without you.” Livia said as she sought to reassure Corin.

Corin smiled weakly at her.

Livia leaned in and kissed Corin's forehead. She pulled her head back and looked him in the eyes.

“Remember, we will always weather the storm together.” Livia said to Corin.

“So shall we get going?” She added.

Corin felt his spirits rising and stood up.

“Let's.” Corin replied as he rubbed his pendant. It always brought him good luck.

There was not much for them to prepare before they set off from their camp. Aside from ashes from last night’s fire in front of him there was not much around that would indicate their presence. The majority of their provisions for their tenday journey, were neatly stowed in their bags. They resorted to hunting and foraging for food whenever possible. But today they had to rely on salted meat. They needed to make an early start and time was of the essence.

Corin fished out some salted beef from his bag, handed some to his wife and the both of them started their trek down the mountain. Although the sea was visible from their campsite, they were still far from it. They would always avoid sleeping near the sea if possible.

While the day was hot and the sun beat down on Corin and Livia they were able to find respite in the tropical landscape. Several palm trees were large enough that it would shelter them from the sun, and the occasional coconuts provided them with some needed fluids. A slight breeze would wander in and out during the day, which provided them much needed respite as they made their way down. Whenever possible Corin would keep his eyes on the sea. Even the slightest hint of Leviathan activity and Corin would not even hesitate to abandon the trip.

Corin and Livia made their way to the beach. Not a single hint of any Leviathan activity to be seen in the sea. He looked up. The clear skies hinted at no Dragon activity either. He looked across the sea, to Aubea Island. The small uninhabited island lay directly south of their home land of Trinixo. Normally there wouldn’t be much of interest in Aubea. There are lots of islands that surround Trinixo, some large, some small, but all equally boring. Aubea used to be no different from the rest, but as of several days ago it now hosted a gargantuan piece of a Dragon temple that fell from the sky.

The structure was impressive to observe, even from this distance. Pieces of floating Dragon temples fell all the time from the sky. They normally ranged in size from small boulders to objects the size of a small hill. But the structure that Corin saw across the sea dwarfed anything he had previously seen. The structure he was looking at seemed like a mountain.

The structure was so large that parts of it lay in the water, burgeoning out from the island it landed on. When he and the rest of the villagers saw the structure falling from the sky, some remarked that the moon was crashing down to the earth. The ensuing crash shook the ground that they stood on and could be heard at a great distance. Now all that stood between them and the gargantuan structure was the calm placid sea, and whatever may lurk underneath it.

“You have them, right?” Livia asked.

“Of course I do! You told me to bring it and I did.” Corin replied as he began to take off his bag.

“It was just a question.” Livia asked as she waited for Corin.

Corin knelt down in front of the sea and put his bag down. In his bag he started to look for the two items. The first he found quickly, Livia's contraption.

He held it up high just so that Livia could see that he had not forgotten it. He then started to look for the second item. It was a lot smaller so it would be harder to find. Corin looked in the bag and could not find it. He emptied the bag out and tried to find in every nook he could look.

“Oh? Are you looking for this?” Livia asked looking perplexed at the object in her hand.

“Well that's odd. I thought you said you brought it?” Livia smirked as she looked at Corin.

Corin sighed in defeat. He had indeed forgotten to bring the flute. Livia laughed as she saw Corin trying to put everything back in his bag. After finishing Livia winked at him and handed him the flute.

Now he had both devices, the flute and the glass case. The glass case had three distinct objects within it and one attached to the outside. There were two bells, one inscribed with a large triangle and the other with a large x. Aside from the bells there were interlocking gears that connected the two bells. Outside of the glass there was a small wheel that could be turned by a hand.

Corin grabbed the two objects and waded into the water. Once the water was chest high he took a deep breath and submerged himself completely in the water. As he did so he brought the whistle up to his lips and blew as hard as he could. He saw some bubbles emerge from the object but was not able to hear anything.

I must look like a fool.

As soon as he finished he got out of the water. A moment earlier there was not a single being in front of him. Now, two thin muscular humanoid figures half protruded from the water in front of him. The two of them stared at Corin with eerily similar wide grins.

Upon seeing the two figures Corin let out a loud yelp. He fell backwards into the water and struggled for a second to set himself straight. The two figures, along with Livia, were laughing at his expense after seeing the distress they had caused Corin.

“Our apologies, we did not mean to startle you. We saw you go into the water and were surprised to see that you wanted an audience with us. It has been a while since any land dwellers had reached out to seek an audience with our people.”

The two figures in front of Corin had shimmering scales running along their bodies. There was one female and one male siren. It was the woman who had first spoken to Corin.

“Ah where are our manners? I am Nishandra, this is my mate, Gavlin.” Nishandra, the female siren, continued in a friendly tone.

“You may call me Corin. That over there is my wife, er mate, Livia.” He replied as he spat out some of the water that he had inhaled when he fell into the water.

Livia waved as she waded through the water towards the three of them.

“Do you require passage?" Nishandra asked quickly.

All of them knew the answer. The only reason a land dwelling furtive would contact a siren would be to request passage across the seas. No matter how short or long the trip was, the sirens were the only furtives capable of providing voyage across the sea. Other furtives efforts at mastering the seas always ended in failure, with any significant sea faring ability being crushed by the leviathans as soon as it began to emerge.

"That is correct." Livia replied.

"If I may ask. Is it to go to that hideous thing over there?” Gavlin motioned behind him without looking. The way his words escaped his lips let Corin know that he was not a fan of the new structure on Aubea.

“Yes, I must be honest, we are here to request passage to go into the Dragon temple." Corin replied.

Gavlin sneered.

"But I must ask," he continued "has there been any activity that you have seen toward it. Any other people approaching it. Or, well Titans.” Corin replied and he spoke that last word quietly. The two sirens winced at the mention of it.

“No, no such thing. We have seen many Dragon temple fragments fall into the sea before. Sometimes they are interested, but most of the time they are not. But we have never seen anything of this size, and for some reason that we do not know none of the them have dared try to approach it.” Nishandra spoke.

Corin knew who the they and them were.

“I see. Well normally we would not want to cross the sea under any circumstance but this opportunity seems like one we cannot pass up. My wife has been able to construct items that have greatly improved life for our villagers from items scavenged from the Dragon ruins. Such as this.” Corin now showed them the glass device that he brought with him.

With a quick motion Gavlin snatched the item from Corin’s hand. He deftly moved the device in his hand, studying it closely. He held it up to Nishandra who also grabbed it and studied it.

“What is it?” She asked as she pored over the device.

“An alarm bell for titans. Or better said a Leviathan alarm.” Livia replied.

“I don’t understand. This device is supposed to warn us if one of them is coming? Is that right?” Gavlin looked at Livia with an amused look.

“That is correct. It operates on a very simple concept. You turn the wheel which will activate this bell.” Livia said while pointing to the bell with the triangle inscribed on it.

“That bell will continue to ring, but you won’t be able to hear it. What it does is that it rings in such a way that it is able to travel very far into the ocean.” Livia added.

“Well what about this bell?” Nishandra asked, pointing to the bell with the x inscribed on it.

“Ah see, that is how the device alerts you. If an object that is large enough is moving towards you the bell with the x will be able to tell from the reflection of the sound from the triangle bell. If that happens the bell with the x will ring and you will be able to hear it.” Livia added.

Both Nishandra and Gavlin looked at Livia with disbelief painted all over their faces. Corin was not surprised. He knew how insane what Livia had just said sounded.

“You do realize you are making quite the claim.” Gavlin retorted with a slight smile.

“I know it is hard to believe and I know that what I am asking you to put a great deal of trust that what we are saying is true. But it works, we've tested it. The device does work.” Corin added, trying to reassure both of the sirens.

Both Nishandra and Gavlin looked at them with disbelief once again.

“Well we've tested it under certain conditions. We wanted to be sure that it would react to a large object in the water. So we went to opposite sides of the island. On one end Corin had the device and on the other I had rigged a contraption that would let one of the larger pieces of a Dragon temple that was lodged high up in our island fall into the sea.” Livia added.

Corin could tell that both Nishandra and Gavlin were now intrigued.

“Once she gave the signal I knew that there was about thirty seconds before the temple fragment struck the sea. But once it did I saw it clear as day. The bell with the x on it started ringing. At no other point has it rung.” Corin replied.

“This you swear?” Nishandra asked. Her hand reached underneath the water.

Corin knew this would happen. He had prepared himself for this moment. Nobody knew if it was magic, a learned trait, or just propaganda that was now taken for fact. But it was well known that it was impossible to lie to a siren. Well not physically impossible, but they knew if you are lying. If caught so, well your head would not be staying attached to your body much longer.

“I swear this to be true.” Corin replied.

Gavlin and Nishandra both looked at each other in amazement. They knew that Corin spoke the truth.

“But how? How is it possible?” Gavlin asked, still observing the device.

“Well every single component in the device is crafted from objects obtained from Dragon temples.” Livia added.

Nishandra and Gavlin both gasped in amazement.

“The properties of those materials are unlike anything else we find on this island. That glass is nigh impossible for any of us to shatter. To even cut it we had to use metal obtained from the dragon temples. And to work the metal we are only able to do so at a forge that fell from a dragon temple. It is the only thing we know that gets hot enough to be able to work with the metal.”

“And you did all this?” Gavlin asked.

“Well I had some help.” Livia replied while looking at Corin. He sheepishly smiled back at all.

“Amazing!” Nishandra spoke while holding the device in her hands.

“Oh and one more thing. I think, I do not know for certain, that if you hear the alarm go off, then you have at most ten minutes before you encounter whatever it is that caused the sound.” Livia added.

“Well even a minute of warning would give us so many options.” Nishandra added.

“And you would give this to us? I feel as if we could not take this and leave you defenseless. Those sea bastards love to play with you as much as they do us” Gavlin added.

“Let’s just say yours is not the only one in existence.” Corin replied, assuring the pair of Sirens.

“Well the agreed upon rule is to pay in kind.” Gavlin replied.

“Passage for you two to the island then?” Nishandra asked gleefully.

“Well us and some provisions. And passage back would be nice” Corin replied.