". . . Who are you?" My eyes glossed over them, staring at the sea lit up by the night sky. It was a beautiful sight, driven to complete confusion by the two people in front of me. A faint but clear whisper of mana ran through them, a sign of them being a part of some kind of magic species. Well, whatever they were, they were certainly 'magic'.
Gray skin, a dog shaped head, spines jutting from their back, a long tail resting on the sand, and turquoise eyes. They certainly could not be called human, but they were most definitely Earthlings.
"I am Ohtli, and this is my beloved sister, Nenetl. Apologies for our previous display, she can be a bit ill mannered." His voice was gentle, and his smile was wide. Showing off the sharp teeth in his mouth as he sent a glance towards his sister filled with back handed banter.
"Oh? I'm ill mannered? You can't even use the right language while under zero pressure. Perhaps I alone should guide the human to his residence? At least I know he'll be able to understand me." She leaned in a bit closer to him, her head tilting upwards in an attempt to look down on him despite their height being nearly the same.
Ignoring their earlier formality, they quickly descended into bickering without any pause.
"It's not my fault you didn't say a word, I had to at least say something to cover for you. Still, you failed to give any proper explanation of what was going on and merely expected him to believe your words without building any rapport?" He held a long sleeve over his mouth in a thin attempt to hide his smirk as imaginary sparks slammed into each other between their eyes.
"You spoke before I could even do anything dumbass, my rushed response only came out because of your feeble attempt to get on the Champion's good side! Then you try to pull crap like this!"
My head was turning back and forth as they continued, with Gaia's embarrassment leaking into my head I couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed as well.
"Pull crap like this? You kicked me, I think I may have to go see the healers after this brutal wound. In fact, it's entirely possible our mission will fail due to this unforeseen betrayal. How heartbreaking." He held a clawed hand over his head, collapsing onto one knee before his sister, Nenetl I believe, kicked him in the shin again.
"Mierda!?" He shouted out an expletive, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the absurdity of the situation. This sort of sibling fight, it was fun to watch.
Their heads slowly turned to me, their grayish skin turning a pale color as they tuned back into what they were actually doing.
"I- Forgive us." It was the sister who spoke, coughing lightly into her sleeve as she collected herself.
I was surprised they were mostly speaking in English during their argument, but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't even realized.
During my musings the brother leaned in to whisper something to his sister, and I pooled mana in my ears to listen in.
"-Ya cometimos un error. Intentemos solucionarlo sin causar más problemas. Nosotros hablaremos más tarde."
". . ."
Well, listening in doesn't help if I can't understand the language.
"We deeply regret our previous actions, please allow us to escort you to a temporary place of residence so you may rest for your journey south."
They seemed mostly harmless, judging by their actions and mana flow I didn't think they would or could hurt me easily. Gaia's gentle hand pushed me towards them with a faint gust of wind, causing me to briefly brace against the earth as I stared at them. Then I smiled.
"Very well. Where do I need to go?"
"It's . . . It's underwater." The two of them awkwardly shuffled in place, then I activated Atmosphere. The film surrounded me and pressed away the air as I walked forwards, giving them an odd look.
On the other hand, they looked surprised at the spell I was casting. The slowly vibrating mana in the palms of the woman dispersing in her shock.
"I can't keep this active while I sleep. How am I supposed to 'rest' if this is underwater?"
"We have prepared a place where that won't be an issue. Again, forgive our previous display of ineptitude." The man bowed his large head, his expression focusing as he slowly turned his eyes up to me.
Additionally the woman bowed as well, muttering under her breath again in spanish that I couldn't understand.
What did I even do? Why has the atmosphere changed so much? Was it my casting of atmosphere? It was a pretty basic spell . . . Gaia why are you laughing?
"Alright then, how far is it?"
"It's underneath the coastline, only a few miles out. If you feel any discomfort with the depth pressure, please let us know immediately." His voice took on a monotone edge, disinterest buried in the face of pure professionalism.
The pair turned, exchange a brief glance as they did so. They began wading into the water, and I followed closely behind. A small press of the water attempted to wash against my feet, but the Atmosphere softly brushed it aside.
I continued pressing forwards, until I was fully submerged in the Gulf of Mexico. The mana cost of Atmosphere quickly ramping up, but its mana was quickly refilled. A strange echo came from the deep as the feeling of weightlessness settled in, I wasn't sure if it was the Ocean itself or Atmosphere reacting to the water but I suppose it wasn't the biggest thing of importance at the moment.
Channeling Windwalk I moved through the water, following the now bioluminescent glow of the turquoise marks upon the pair. For a moment I wanted to call it Waterwalk, but that wouldn't be even close to accurate. Adjusting my controls slightly for underwater travel, I still decided to move slow. I had to use a lot less force to move, but a lot more mana to keep the water from slamming into me.
Gravity affected me differently in this environment, and this was probobly the closest I was going to get for space flight. I felt Gaia clutch me, and though I should never leave her and I smiled slightly at the gesture.
Not even a quick trip to the Moon? She swayed lightly in my mind, before seeming ot come to a conclusion and nodding her head in agreement. I guess its fine to go to the Moon then? Focus, Emile. I'm getting distracted.
Using my enhanced vision via Mana Boost it was easy to see the light scatter through the water and perceive a lot more than just them in the dark.
We mostly stuck against the edge of the coast as we moved, until we came across a large drop. They swam downwards, and I followed suit through the inky deep.
Then I felt my mana being supplied by Gaia have to be partially supplemented by my own. My eyes narrowed and my vision enhanced ever so slightly as I perceived the mana around me.
Fire mana and Earth mana deep below, Water mana all around, and a funnel of Air mana being shunted from the sky down to me with its connection slowly fading.
My mind quickly whirled for an answer and potential countermeasure, but my thoughts only dredged up things I didn't like. Water, One Hydrogen, Two Oxygen. I'd assumed that I could use that Oxygen to supplement Atmosphere, and that much was correct. However actually using Mana for the spell could be more taxing as Mana wasn't tied to base chemical elements but instead concepts.
The Ocean was full of Water, not full of Sky. Therefore, it was almost completely barren of Air mana for Gaia to easily provide me.
The woman continued to press the mana into me, but our upward connection grew fainter and fainter as I pressed deeper in the waters.
Should I turn back?
I felt the water pull me down as the pressure of a certain woman dragged me for a moment. I nearly let out a sigh as I watched the two people slide down the rocky wall beside us.
I really wish I could just talk to you about why you want this so much Gaia.
I felt a rush of need enter into me, and blushed slightly as I followed a bit closer to the two. I wasn't sure if she intended to send that sort of emotion rather than just 'wanting something', but at the same time it wasn't a bad feeling.
Just something quite strong when I was trying to focus!
The pair wasn't moving, staring at me while my expression grew into a flat line. My mana was at about 75% capacity. Meaning this trip in total required about 25% of my own personal stores until Gaia could provide the rest.
The wall cracked open, like an automatic door finally creaking open and light flowed through. Past the doors was a thin film run with water mana and within was white clay tablet flooring, as well as a large group of what appeared to be marble pillars holding together the large path with a larger door at the end.
A few racks of towels also sat next to the entrance causing me to smile. While I wasn't wet thanks to Atmosphere, I couldn't help but be drawn to them after being submerged.
The two of them stepped inside, gravity returning to them as they grabbed their towel and shook like two wet dogs after putting the towels on their heads.
I stepped inside, and sound shifted back to normal from the strange echoing it was earlier.
"Alright, where to now?"
"A-are you not exhausted after spending that much mana?"
Why are they looking at me like I'm some kind of freak?
"Gaia was helping me out." Their skin paled again, turning that weird shade of light grey as they nodded their heads dumbly. I wanted to be nice and not ask any weird questions as they were hosting me, but at this point I just couldn't stop myself.
"Why do you two keep acting so weird around me? First you basically ignored me, and now you're acting like I'm the prince of a foreign country." I tried to sound as gentle as I could, I wasn't really 'mad', just really confused.
The sister interjected before her brother could say anything, her hands rubbing together slightly in a bid to quell her nervous thoughts.
"Well you sort of are a prince." Her words left her mouth quickly, as I processed her words my expression only fell further.
Am I basically the prince consort of Earth? I felt the water mana just behind me go still for a moment, before slamming against itself in embarrassment.
The barrier behind me shuddered momentarily, before stabilizing itself. Then I felt the slow build up of hot air behind my head causing my eyebrow to quirk.
Gaia are you panting???
I heard the sound of a throat clearing, and then nothing but a beautiful smile. I'm just going to ignore that for now. This can be addressed later.
"Forgive our previous impudence, the world itself truly does react to you. Our Oracle has been growing a bit . . ." He paused to find the right word, and when it finally left his mouth his sister kicked him in the leg again. "Senile-Ow!? What the- Erm. Apologies again Champion."
"You seriously shouldn't say the crap about her, the Oracle deserves nothing but respect Ohtli." Her voice was filled with a sort of mocking tone, as if she was speaking down to him. She was slightly rocking him back and forth with her clawed hand, he shook slightly because he was thrown off balance, but he seemed mostly alright.
"You were thinking it too." The rocking stopped, and so did her expression. "Anyways, we'll escort you to her. Just stay close behind us."
I gave a small shrug, putting my hands in my pockets and I walked after them. I didn't really care that much about being respected. Disrespecting Gaia was a big deal though. I felt said woman give a soft smile as she came down from her previous high.
The doors ahead were pushed open by the pair, the thick and ornate silver doors requiring much effort from the both of them as they moved.
Looking at their mana flow, I wondered why they weren't using Mana Enhancement, but at the same time it was honestly more impressive that they could do this without using that.
Past the doors covered in silvery waves that felt calming to the eye, was a large open room with two sets of stairs at each edge. Appearing like a ballroom in the house of a mansion, it was a sight to behold. The color scheme remained mostly white, but the glow had shifted to a gentle blue from the jeweled candelabra above.
Its design had similar silver wave patterns to the door, but most interesting was the lights themselves not being candles but some kind of stone.
Five doors were on the ground floor, four to the sides and one ahead. A top balcony connected by the stairs had three. A large door, though nowhere near as large as the one we walked through, sat squarely in the middle.
"Through the big one, right?"
"Y-yes." The woman's voice grew a bit tense, but the brother could only sigh, his face curving with a smile.
"It would seem the champion of Gaia has observational skills outclassing my sister, as expected of the Champion." He nodded his head, and his sister only grumbled incoherently in response.
This guy really loves his backhanded remarks.
We made our way up the stairs, and both of them stood next to the doors. Opening them with substantially more ease.
"The Oracle resides within, once you finish speaking with her we shall guide you to your room. The meeting shouldn't spend too much of your time."
"Alright then, after this I'm going to bed."
I walked into the meeting room, a large circular table that looked well waxed sat inside, a pool of water resting in a bowl near the opposite end. Sets of chairs surrounded it, except at the edge where a large hooded figure lay in front of the bowl on all fours. She was easily three times larger than the previous individuals I spoke with, but her form looked similar.
What species even are these?
"Welcome, welcome. It's good to see you've made it to this place without - issue." Her voice quivered with each word. Rasping out slowly and having an odd pause before her last word.
https://i.postimg.cc/Jn6wHGfk/ahuizotl-the-spiny-water-dog-of-aztec-folklore-v0-ff13wq6aqgd81.png
"Thank you." I paused and let out a small sigh as I took a seat. "If a greeting is all, I'm a bit drained so I'd like to retire for the night if there's nothing else." I figured this wouldn't be it, and their chair practically beckoned me into it even though I knew a bed would be better.
"Soon, soon." She leaned in, her head extending over the table as her round eyes about the size of my head stared at me. "The place you seek lies with the heart of the - Amazon."
I leaned back slightly, Gaia giving a thumbs up and smirk as the equivalent of a quest marker had been given to me. While convenient, I still didn't see the point of knowing this with the best navigator on Earth living in my head.
"Yes, yes." She put a claw into the bowl, and began to turn it, the water churning as it moved in a large circle. Tears pouring from her eyes and into the bowl below as its water cleared. The water spun and spun as the liquid mixed in, until a picture began to form. Blood leaked from her hand and into the water, and thus it began.
First came its colors, countless reds and greens taking the stage, with some greys spiraling into one.
"That which you seek lies with the heart of the Amazon, for it is the - Heart."
Then came the shapes, blobby trees at the edges of a forest filled with brush. Then it dived underneath the earth. Red streaks sliding- no, pulsing on the ground leading towards the indistinct grey mass within a deep cave under the surface of the world.
"Weeping, Weeping. She cries to be born despite the poison flooding into her - Flesh."
A sense of shame stemming from Gaia flooded me. I could feel her staring at it, whatever it was she felt a deep shame filled regret for that most likely couldn't be put into words even without a voice.
It was that powerful.
I steadied a breath, and I locked eyes with the Oracle.
"How do I help?"
"Good, good. So unquestioning, I am glad for the - Seamother." Her smile grew sharp, a film of lunacy running through her empty eyes as I realized she was definitely part of some sort of cult of Gaia.
I expected a witty response from the woman, but none came.
"Go, go. Down to the broken womb, and slay the unborn one. Cleave apart its flesh, make it undone, so that from its corpse a new seed can be planted in its - place."
My eyes widened, sheer confusion overtaking me.
"Are you asking me to kill some kind of baby?"
"Yes, yes. It clogs the pores of the Seamother with its pollution, and so it must be cleansed from this world. It was an imperfect creation, stained by human sins it failed in its ascension. For a new path forward to appear, you must clean up this festering wound before its poison sinks so deep into the flesh of the Seamother that she is killed."
She spoke with clarity as she continued on. A faint light returned to her eyes as the madness faded for a moment and was replaced by complete seriousness as she spoke that last word.
Gaia is going to die? The thought hit me like a meteor. My body quivering as I stared at the pulsating mass. It shuddered with each little bit of heat and air pressing against it. Everything, whether intentional or not, was causing it immense agony.
It needed to be put out of its misery. A slightly darker part of myself told me that I'd still do this for Gaia, even if the creature wasn't suffering. I would pick her over whatever this was, if I absolutely had to.
I could see a wry smile on her face, weak with shame as she stared at me.
"Anything I should know about how to kill it?"
"Control, control. It controls those with lesser minds. Minds eroded with its own power. Trust only the speaking within the Amazon, all other creatures are enslaved - already." She took a shallow breath, before speaking with weakness. "Rest . . . Rest."
". . . Thank you. Have a good night as well." I walked out of the room, feeling conflicted, but overall resolved to do this for Gaia. She needed someone to help her, and while the creature needed it too I had made my choice.
Now I should seriously get some rest before I continue my journey.
The Honorable Wavetender of the Northern Ahuizotl 'The Oracle' POV
My mind faintly stirred as I stared into the bowl, at the child of Gaia that failed to be born. Ever since the being beyond the stars had arrived the Seamother had tried desperately to create a child that could combat him.
So close to success . . . Then the pollution leaked in. From the skin of the planet, down to its heart. It could be considered unlucky, or perhaps it was a foolish endeavor all along. Gaia had chosen to spare the humans even after they had mostly separated from their influence, and in doing she had been betrayed.
Not on purpose, but of course, such was the nature of those human creatures. They caused blight wherever they went.
My eyes grew weak, an exhaustion setting in as I leaned against the bowl in front of me. The water cleared, and I saw my old weary eyes staring back.
All kin of Gaia are weak to that thing, it was supposed to unite us after all. The child of Gaia, uniting her other children. Its power distorted by human malice. From a guiding hand, to a collar and leash.
Can that child truly resist its power? Is that child from another world as well?
Humans, paving the way for an outsider to destroy us. Then a completely different outsider aiding us.
This truly is an odd century. It's a shame I won't get to see it with my own eyes.
I stared up at the ceiling, turning away from the bowl.
"Seamother . . . have I done you - well?" My voice shook with pain as I forced the words out.
But no response came. Thus was the fate of one such as I. Her influence so stifled, only one truly blessed by talent could hear her now. Not one who was considered a genius like myself, but one who truly broke the mold and became the path forward.
An individual loved by the world, yet not even her own kin. I felt some envy, but I also understood. I could never pick between those twins after all, even if we weren't flesh and blood.
Perhaps that is the reason why he was chosen after all.
The Seamother is kind to her children, but also so cruel . She blessed us, and cursed us. That was the fate of those residing upon her lands.
Her child. The one destined to lead us. It was supposed to guide the way forward without Gaia holding its hand, but now plans have changed, haven't they?
Oh Seamother, you no longer intend to create a child who will lead the way. That ship has long since left the harbor.
Instead you shall create a body for yourself, and only yourself. Ah - or perhaps for the Champion as well?
My vision started to grow blacker as I rested weakly on the table. My heart slowing down to a crawl. My purpose fulfilled, I felt the abyss take me. Its cold grasp dragging me into nothingness.
"Mother, mother." I weakly croaked. "Please find that which you've seeked for so long. Find - Love."
Please . . . Protect my rascal apprentices.
They may be a handful, but they're good kids . . .
___
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