Sea Bound

Chapter 4

Arin's P.O.V

 I swam for home after spending the afternoon with Mara wondering how I was going to get myself out of this one, I had skipped out on a royal assembly to discus matters of the kingdom,now would have been an especially time for me to have been there since the storm happened.

As I swam to the palace gates I was greeted by Admiral Edran.

"Greetings Prince Arin, you missed the assembly this one was more interesting then the previous held, seems the islander's dwellings have been destroyed, seems some had escaped the storm by rafts this is going to be investigated by my men."said Edran

 "I already knew of the storm wiping out the islander's dwellings, but do we really need to investigate the possible rafts when they may be trying to leave our waters." I said

"they still would have broken treaty which would need to be investigated" the Admiral said haughtily as he swam past me and out of the palace gates.

My thoughts drifted to Mara and what may come of this investigation if she stays here under the briny depths. I swam into the palace and to my favorite room to think in I headed to the library, I swam under the familiar arched doors and into the vast collection of scrolls each stacked in their own nook  safe from harm and in the center of the whole structure a wrap around desk that was bustling with the activity of the single being that keeps watch over the books her name was Avalee and she was the librarian, Avalee was young for her occupation just barely 18 years of age and she was doing just as good as any of the elder librarians in the kingdom.

"Hello Avalee, how are you today?"I ask keeping a light mood despite all going on.

"today has been great Arin, and you?" she asked in her usual quiet voice.

I swam over to a seat and curled up then said "today has been....eventful" I say with a sigh.

"ah" she said slightly amused.

she swam over to put more scrolls into their proper places and  swam over to me to hand me one that she thought would help me, she normally did this even when we where kids growing up together she would always try to help with whatever predicament I found myself in even when she didn't know the full story.

I open the scroll to find it to be a history book of different quests members of the royal family had gone to do.

the table of contents read:

-Prince Avalon and the sea dragon's lair.

-Princess Rianes the brave and the battle of the sea spire

-Princess Aurilia and the Pirate capture

-Queen Astraea and the laserators of the Casran sea

-Prince Wieland and the swords of pixis

-Prince Ardhendu and the fruit of the sea

 Prince Ardhendu he was my Great-Great -Grandfather and the only one to find the fruit of the sea, it is said that the fruit can grant the gift of gills to anyone who eats from it the only thing is that many think that the fruits are only myth even I believe that they are myth but I still head to the page to read the story.

I had seen her again, the islander I had talked about before Agata she and I have been meeting near the shores of her island for a very long while and I have wanted her to join me in the ocean recently, I wish that we could be together. I had gone to the elder named Cybill with my problem she had told me of a fruit that could give my dear Agata the gift of gills she told me that if I where to go I would have to pass through many dangers to reach the fruit but I was willing to do anything.

She told me then that I had to first pass through Serpentinez path in the Balric Sea then from there I had to reach land and traverse the cliffs of Brinnr to the Otrian salt lake and in the middle of the salt lake there will be a guardian of the orchard that will test me with 7 trials to see if I am worthy to take the one of the fruits she also told me that there where more than one type of fruit in the orchard and that the others would turn you into a horrendous monster if you ate it.

I went ahead onto the journey that I faced.

within two weeks I had reached the opening Serpentinez path which was shaped like a monstrous sea dragon with its gills flared out in attack stance as if it was about to swallow us and my men and I had to swim into the jaws of this monolithic statue, I swam up to the statue but I could feel my men where intimidated by the journey that lay ahead and I turn around to tell them that they didn't have to join me if they didn't want to and that I'd understand if they headed back to their families, some headed back but others stayed and of those where my most trusted that included my head of gaurd Ajara, my life time friend Freyia, and her mate Woden.

to pass through Serpentinez path took an entire 2 months and we faced many trials such as bandits and sea wverns that hunted us constantly, some where lost including Woden, Freyia was very distraught with the loss of her mate but stayed with us on the quest, we had reached the cliffs of brinnr and began climbing up the steep cliff face, while we where climbing I noticed from the corner of my eye something flying  and it was pacing with us but we had to keep climbing to reach the top but before we could the flying thing swooped in and grabbed Ajara in it's hideous maw and with a sound crunch I knew Ajara was no more, with that we took to running as fast as we could across the plane atop the cliffs, Freyia had grabbed her trident and threw it at the beast knocking it to the ground, she ran to the beast grabbed her trident from its body just as the beast regained its footing, the beast resembled that of the sea dragons with the body but had two heads attached to the body one of the heads resembled the skull of a long deceased monster that had been found by the building crew the other was unlike any animal I had ever seen before, horns where on either side of its head both came down then circled, the eyes where coal black and the maw was that of a kupala, Freyia had fought the beast and with a final blow killed it but she to was injured by the beast, I had done my best to treat her wounds and give Ajara a proper funeral.

The next morning we had set off for the Otrian salt lake and had reached it by sundown, Freyia and the three remaining solders stayed on land while I had dove into the depths of the lake to face the guardian and complete the tests.

The guardian was not as I expected to them to look, the guardian was in fact a giant sea serpent, in my mind it spoke.

"traveler what brings you to the garden of the sacred fruits" the serpent spoke in a rumbling voice that echoed through my mindscape

"I come to take of the fruit of the ocean" I say with confidence

"Then prepair yourself for the seven trials of the dagger's edge"

after that line everything was blank as if no one bothered to write the most importaint part of the story.

I grabbed my head in frustration at the lack of infomation about the trials, but atleast I knew what I had to do to protect Mara, I had to get the fruit.