A Gleaming Path

by Jeffrey Pawlak

  “Is the kelp what we’re supposed to hold on to?” Tridian asked, apparently not sure what to make of it, just as Alamor was.

  Sharq looked down at his ankles along with Alamor and Rawner. The Onda seemed to have total confidence in the kelp strands as he answered. “Yep, once you get these wrapped about your hands, there won’t be a chance in the world that you get separated from us while we pull you along. This kelp is what we call tideweed. We’ve grown it for years here on the island in tide pools where the most runoff from the streams collect. All of those minerals in the water help make it as sturdy as a tree branch; you need to take a few sword strokes to it to just to cut through.” He glanced back at the other Onda, who had gone over to Tagran and the other King’s Fangs, and began to help them take hold of the tideweed. “If fact, why don’t you all come with me and we’ll show you the best way to tie them around your hands. I think everyone’s just about ready to leave.”

  Alamor and the others followed Sharq across the beach. Rawner chuckled as they walked, a hint of embarrassment coming through in his expression. “I hope that tideweed—and you Onda—are as strong as you say. After all, I’m a bit heavier than everyone else around here.”

  Sharq laughed, and patted Rawner on the arm. “Trust me, my friend, you’ll be no problem for us. If it makes you worry any less, know that I’ll have the two biggest and strongest Onda attached to you for the journey.

  Alamor also laughed, but for a very different reason. “I think you’ll need closer to five,” he muttered, just loud enough for Sharq and Rawner to hear.

  They joined the rest of their companions, and within a few minutes every one of them was properly attached to the Onda scouts who had been designated to guide them along on their way through the ocean.

  Once all were secured, Sharq crossed the sandy beach until he stood within the rolling tide at the very front of the gathering. It did not take longer than a few moments before all eyes began to settle upon him. He eventually addressed his comrades. “Remember the plan, everyone—no one goes ahead of me. I’ll stay at the front and lead the way. Stay tightly packed together so that we frighten off most creatures. We don’t want anybody trailing off too far from the group. It’ll make you a ripe target for some hungry beast down in those waters, especially if the packs of Longjaws are still making their home inside Waverock like they did the last time Samuras wasn’t around.”

  “What exactly is a Longjaw?” Rawner asked.

  “It’s a very large predatory fish that prefers the depths of the ocean,” Sharq explained. “Each one is big enough to swallow a man—or Onda—whole. They have a pack mentality, and whenever Samuras is roaming for extended periods of time or resting here at Onda Reef, they take refuge inside Waverock. Since she’s been dormant for a while, we suspect the Longjaws may have returned there.”

  Rawner grimaced. “Well, that’s definitely something to watch out for. You Onda will be able to keep us in the know if things get ugly underwater, right?”

  Sharq nodded. “We Onda communicate underwater with soundwaves that only we can produce. The sounds we emit are our way of ‘speaking’ to each other, so to say. They can also bounce off of objects; this helps us understands our surroundings if we’re in a spot where we can’t see very well, and can tell us if there’s another creature in the distance. Our projections are much clearer than any other vocalizations in the water, and they spread farther, so our ears are always alert while we swim. You won’t be able to make any sense of our messages between one another, but if you keep an eye on us, we’ll make plenty of gestures to let you know what to do.”

  Sharq lifted his gaze over the entire party. “If no one has any questions, we’re going to dive in.”

  “May luck be with all of you,” Tsunari spoke aloud from behind them all, capturing each member’s attention. “We will be anxiously awaiting your safe return here while you’re gone.”

  Sharq flashed a confident grin. “No need to worry. We’ll be back here in no time. And we won’t be alone.”

  Tsunari smiled in return. She had no more to say, though, and merely lifted her free hand.

  Alamor’s brow furrowed. He felt a pang of magic suddenly manifest around him, and as if in response to it, globs of water leapt from the tides. They inexplicably, deliberately, hovered through the air, settling just above the heads of everyone in Alamor’s party.

  “What in the world…?” Alamor gasped.

  “Stay calm, Alamor,” Tiroku urged, the Champion of Light standing perfectly straight. “Tsunari is using her magic known as Waveweaving. She will manipulate the water around us so that we can breathe while we’re swimming. That’s what Sharq and the other Onda used to bring us here safely the other night.”

  Alamor’s widened eyes had not settled. The explanation sounded impossible.

  With another gesture from Tsunari, the globs of water slowly began to descend toward the humans.

  “Stay still, everyone,” Sharq called out. “You can’t be moving around much while Tsunari is commanding the spell. It may seem a little scary, but you’re in no danger.”

  That’s easy to say for someone who practically has gills… Alamor thought to himself.

  When the watery sphere was inches from his head, Alamor looked down and shut his eyes. He held his breath. He felt the water wet his hair and his face, but it did not feel as if he was submerged. In fact, it felt like he was surrounded by fresh air. The only water he could still feel was at the base of his neck.

  He opened his eyes, amazed to see his view filled by water, but none of it was over his face. His head sat within an empty air bubble. He was able to breathe no differently than when he stood on dry land. Alamor turned his head and looked about; the water that Tsunari had placed over him moved with him, as if he wore a helmet. Tiroku, Rawner, and all of the other humans in his company had the same aqueous globes fitted to their heads. Although his sight was somewhat obscured, Alamor could see that most of his companions were just as astounded as he was.

  “Tsunari’s spell is powerful enough that it should last you the entire time we’re swimming to and from Waverock,” Sharq announced. He raised his voice, as sound was somewhat distorted for Alamor within the watery globe. “Your hearing and your vision won’t be quite what it is in open air, but you’ll be able to speak, and we Onda will be able to hear you. If you have any concerns along the way, especially with the air bubbles that Tsunari has made, call out to us, and we Onda will be able to help. All of us who are going are Waveweavers, too. I promise that drowning will not be any fear for you whatsoever.”

  With that, Sharq turned and leapt into the turquoise waves, propelling himself downward into the waters. One by one, the other Onda followed, with the respective human they were tied to by the tideweed right behind them. Eventually, the entire group had descended into the ocean and beyond anyone’s sight on the beach.

  Alamor was still amazed at how effective Tsunari’s Waveweaving proved to be. He could not quite wrap his mind about the fact that he breathed effortlessly while venturing deeper and deeper within the water. It was a strange feeling to be totally submerged, enshrouded by the ocean’s touch, and yet be able to draw breath as if he stood out on dry land. He glanced around at his companions as he was pulled along by the Onda. Tiroku, Rawner, Tridian, and the King’s Fangs all seemed to be just as comfortable as they held onto their tideweed strands and let the Onda tow them through the depths.

  It seemed to Alamor that time slowed beneath the surface of the ocean, where everything moved in a gentle, unhurried pace as it floated within the blue miasma. There was hardly any sound that traveled throughout the vast, watery realm, a serene hush that was only broken by Alamor’s breathing, and the occasional, faint droning of noise that echoed far and wide across the ocean from unknown sources, and from unknown distances.

  Some rays of light managed to break through the ocean’s surface and cut through the blue canvas before them, filling the shallower waters with luminous curtains. The oce
an depths were not altogether dark, but they were somewhat murky, particularly in the distance, where it looked like clouds of indigo engulfed the water.

  That, above all things, made Alamor uneasy during the beginning of their journey. In time, the ocean floor came alive before Alamor and his company. Aquatic flora and marine creatures of all colors, sizes, and variety seemed to appear in mere moments, filling the once empty, blue void in all directions.

  Thick stalks of kelp rose like trees, their green forms swaying rhythmically, as if dancing with the currents. Shorter strands of seaweed the color of garnet grew together in tightly packed patches, some groups so large that they looked like rolling fields. Clusters of vibrant coral and sparkling rock, much like what comprised Onda Reef, gave shelter to countless creatures that swam about peacefully and rested within the natural domains: fish, turtles, rays, eels, crustaceans, mollusks, cephalopods, and many more that Alamor did not recognize.

  At first, he was nervous about passing through their territory, in the environment where land dwellers were at their mercy. But, as Sharq referenced earlier, few creatures would dare threaten them while they stayed together in such numbers.

  It allowed them to take in the amazing sights without concern. They swam throughout the underwater ecosystem for much of the morning, seeing so many different lifeforms that Alamor eventually lost count of them. He was positive that there were plenty that he missed during the journey, either because they were hidden among the ocean floor’s kelp, coral, and rock formations, or because there were simply too many of them for his eyes to keep track of at once, even during the times where the group stopped to take a brief rest.

  After roughly three hours, the ecosystem began to fade from their surroundings. The multitude of aquatic creatures dwindled, and the numerous varieties of kelp and other underwater flora thinned, gradually being overtaken by nothing but dark rock. Alamor was surprised, initially, until he noticed that the ocean floor was also beginning to rise as they pressed on further. It slowly climbed throughout the watery realm, running upward in a journey to the surface, where water and air met in their eternal divide.

  The portion of the ocean floor that Alamor and his companions followed did not stop when it breached, but continued to ascend until it formed the island that the Onda called Waverock. It looked like the peak of a mountain jutted out from the waters, a towering mass of stone that sat ominously out in the open ocean. Unlike Onda Reef or the ocean floor they just swam through, there was little beauty in Waverock. There were no beaches of soft sand—only steep, jagged bluffs of sharp rock that the swells slammed against. There was little if any flat terrain upon the island, most of its surface running up in slick slopes to its pinnacle. It wore no vibrant coral or lush kelp. All it featured were pools of saltwater left behind by the waves, and loose stone that had managed to break free from the island’s imposing makeup.

  Sharq had their party stop along its rocky shores so that the Onda could rest a final time before diving inside, as well as for Alamor and the other humans to detach themselves from the tideweed ropes. Several of the Onda were beginning to feel the effects of swimming several miles throughout the ocean, and Sharq emphasized that every last member of the company needed to have as much of their strength as possible while they swam within Waverock. Once they entered the island’s depths, there would be no returning to the surface and the open air until their mission to free Samuras was complete.

  The sun’s position in the sky suggested that it was just past noon when Sharq had them submerged once again and ready to head inside. He guided the company along Waverock’s base beneath the waters, eventually bringing them to a massive chasm that served as the doorway to its inner depths.

  As they swam into the deep cut along the island’s rocky base, shadows encroached around them. The blazing sun’s rays did not reach far enough to brighten the long tunnel that they swam through, leaving them to venture through inky black waters that grew darker with each stroke.

  It was around this time that Alamor began to hear a distinct clicking sound all around him. The noise was the keenest that Alamor had heard since he was submerged that day, not at all distorted by the water or depth pressure. He was able to hear it as clearly as he would a sound in open air. It was like the cadence of ice chips raining onto a hard surface, a continuous string of strident pings that shot throughout Waverock’s depths.

  Alamor eventually determined that it must have been coming from the Onda, and that it must have been the special soundwave that Sharq mentioned earlier. The unique biological mechanism intrigued Alamor when he first learned of it; now it amazed him. The soundwaves that the Onda released appeared to tell them just as much about their surroundings as if they could see straight through the dark depths. Based on how those soundwaves traveled, the Onda scouts were able to assess what direction they could take to safely swim through the shadowy tunnel. It was a remarkable feat of navigation, as Sharq and his fellow scouts examined the watery passage, all while coordinating Onda and human alike to swim in their protective formation.

  The party eventually rounded a corner, and the darkness suddenly lifted. Shrouds of light fell through large crevices in the tunnel’s ceiling, their bright touch stretching to the sandy floor. The illumination revealed just how massive the tunnel was—it must have been nearly one hundred feet tall, and nearly twice that width. The long chasm was so big that the light that spilled in through the gaps high above could not fully brighten it, as shadows gathered in gloomy clouds along the further corners of the steep walls.

  What the light did manage to reveal, however, was that Waverock’s inner depths were a stark contrast from its exterior. While on the outside, Waverock was a daunting, foreboding mass, on the inside it was beautiful and adorned by ancient features. The teal rock that made up the walls glistened, even where the sunlight did not touch its spangling surface, as if the rock and water had become one after coexisting for countless ages.

  For much of the tunnel’s length, the walls were decorated by friezes that must have been sculpted hundreds of years ago. The renderings depicted the endless ocean, with a band of crashing waves running over the rock as far as the tunnel appeared to stretch. A litany of figures were carved above the swells, some representing islands or sailing vessels, but most serving to portray the ocean’s many creatures that called it home. There were carvings of octopi, whales, serpents, sharks, schools of fish, and fearsome reptilian monstrosities—likely Samuras and other leviathans of her nature.

  As Alamor’s eyes washed over his stunning surroundings, he caught glimpses of those creatures hidden within the huge stalagmites that climbed from the tunnel’s sandy floor. Collections of bones lay trapped inside the enormous mineral deposits, the fossilized remains of primordial beasts who once skulked about Waverock’s depths. Alamor saw the remnants of fins, claws, tails, and skulls. In some cases, the bones amassed into a full skeleton to display the entire form of what antediluvian monster had perished beneath the island.

  Alamor was so enthralled by the many ancient sights around him that he did not initially notice the huge, dark shape that raced past one of the lead Onda.

  Sharq and the other Onda scouts came to an immediate halt. The pings of their internal soundwaves ceased, but silence did not descend upon the submerged tunnel. As Sharq began to make a number of hand gestures to direct the Onda into a new formation, he uttered a sound that was both fascinating and eerie to Alamor. Sharq’s throat vibrated, the veins bulging against his blue scales. He released a prolonged thrum that rang throughout the water. The sound pulsated with such intensity that it was as though he roared without having to open his mouth.

  As the Onda scouts began to take up a circular formation, Sharq looked directly at the humans in their party. He brought both of his hands together repeatedly, slamming his open palms against one another. The gesture may have resembled applause, but Alamor and his companions recognized that Sharq’s actual intent was for them to huddle together.

  A
nother dark form suddenly appeared as if it was simply hurled out of the cavern’s gloom. Alamor got a look at this one, enough to discern that it was a large creature, but no more than that. It sped through the water so fast that his eyes barely managed to follow as it blindsided one of Sharq’s scouts and captured the doomed Onda in its jaws. It never stopped moving, even as it clutched onto its quarry, swimming away just as quickly as it arrived.

  Panic beginning to rise, Alamor glanced about. It seemed that a pack of the creatures who Sharq earlier referred to as Longjaws had beset their company. More than a dozen emerged from the shadows in the tunnel, some pouring out of crevices in the walls. They were huge fish who looked like they emerged from a nightmare. Each was larger than a horse, with corpulent heads that were as plump as the rest of their thick bodies. A bony ridge lined the center of their backs. Their scales were dark purple, and their wide fins, which looked like wings, were a lighter tint. Each beast’s lower jaw protruded far beyond the top, forming into the shape of a shovel—the perfect design to scoop up helpless prey.

  Alamor reached for his sword and pulled it free from the sheath. Tiroku did likewise, while Tridian and the King’s Fangs also brandished their weapons. Rawner balled his hands into huge fists. The humans converged onto one another as tightly as they could, placing themselves back to back as they floated in place. Few of them looked away from the pack of Longjaws that circled their group like vultures. The predators’ hungry, red eyes glowed in the murky waters as they waited to strike.

  Two finally broke away from the pack. They sped toward the party, fearlessly swimming head-on at the gathering despite being outnumbered so greatly.

  Three Onda scouts intercepted the first, throwing themselves upon the monstrous fish and tearing into it with their spears. Sharq met the other on his own. Proving that the Onda were superior swimmers, and enhanced by what Alamor sensed was the aid of his Waveweaving ability, he deftly maneuvered to the side just moments before the Longjaw’s teeth reached him. As it rushed by, Sharq hurled himself onto the creature and drove his coral blades well past its purple scales. The Longjaw swam off in disarray, thrashing about as it tried to shake off Sharq.