The Quorin Saga: WattALegend 2021

Aeqor

When I was younger, my Father would tell me many stories. He was a crewmate on the Captain's ship, so he had plenty to share. One evening, when I was six, I sat on my Father's knee and he told me about Aeqor.

"Aeqor was a city of magic and water-dwellers," he had said, "They weren't humans, and they were much smarter than any human could be. They...saw the world differently than us."

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Well, I've never seen them. They've been gone for many, many centuries. But," he poked my freckled nose with his finger, "if I were to see them, I'd let you know."

I laughed to myself. Now, it might be me letting him know. I stood on a short cliff overlooking Aeqor's bay. Much like Abyssos, the tips of old buildings poked out of the glassy blue water. The water here looked much fresher than the Dead Waters, with silver fish darting around its banks and other creatures occupying the sand. Among it all, I could sense the faint touch of magic woven through the air.

"I feel something here," the dagger said.

"Me too," I agreed, "I'm going to go check it out."

Sable and I descended the peak until we stood at the shore. I spent the next few hours searching for the cube among sand and rocks. Eventually, I came to a stop in front of the water. Beautiful, clear blue waves lapped at the sand and Sable eagerly pranced around in the water. I couldn't blame him; we had been cooped up on the flier overnight and for almost the whole morning, then spent the rest searching. He deserved to mess around for a bit.

I let my feet rest in the water, enjoying the sun and warm wind. It was really similar to the island and I felt a little homesick. I missed Father and Gloria. I missed the safety of the island and the feeling of being surrounded by my people. I detached the air pendant from the flier and held it, hoping to feel a bit more connected.

I heard Sable barking and looked up. At first I thought he was just calling for attention, but then I noticed him slowly sinking deeper and deeper into the sand. I leapt up and ran towards him, reaching out an arm to grab him. His small body wouldn't budge and I could feel myself sink knee deep without any progress. I began to panic, frantically tugging at Sable, who had his face pointed toward the sky.

I was up to my torso in wet sand when he went under. With a quiet gasp, I let my arms fall limp and felt tears prick at my eyes. After everything, I lost Sable to some sand? I stood in the sand, letting myself sink deeper. I couldn't get out if I wanted to; I was too stuck. I stared up at the sky while I descended, letting myself fall fully into the silt.

This supposedly fatal event then took a massive turn.

I could feel myself running out of air, but then I...fell? My feet and torso slid out of the sand and I fell into the water. Once again, it seemed like the worst case scenario, but then I discovered that I could breathe. I heaved a deep breath while floating through the water and everything was okay.

Sable swam up behind me and nudged my back. I pulled him close, and scolded, "Don't ever scare me like that again. I thought you had died!"

"Thought who had died?" A voice questioned.

I looked up and saw a person who was definitely not human. Their skin had a slight green tint to it with large green freckles plastered across their whole body. All of their appendages had some sort of multicolored gossamer fin attacked. Their clothing was loose and free-flowing, created out of some kind of thin material, which was secured around the body with shiny metal cords. They didn't appear male or female, just a pleasant mix of androgyny.

"Um, who are you?" I asked cautiously, cradling Sable a little bit closer.

"I could ask the same for you, Traveler," They opened their arms, motioning to our surroundings, "Look where you are."

I was standing in the middle of a stadium filled with hundreds and hundreds of people. They had all been silent during our small conversation, but they had begun cheering when I noticed them. Gigantic sea lamps hung from the sandy ceiling and underneath me was another layer of sand and, at the opposite end of the stadium was a huge eel with beady blue eyes.

"A formidable opponent," the green-skinned creature stated, "and a formidable fighter. Best of luck to you," Then, they swam off towards the stands, leaving the eel to charge at me.

On the island, eels were common. They were slimy and gross, but they weren't a surprise. This jet-black eel was gigantic and swam faster than anything I'd ever seen. It flicked it's tail towards me and caught me in the chest. I gasped for air, which was still new to me considering I was underwater, and Sable grew to full size next to me. The crowd collectively gasped before cheering louder.

I drew my dagger and slashed at the creature, drawing blood that branched through the water. "Be wary; it's blood is poisonous."

"Nice," I muttered. I tried to scrape up a plan as we swam around the coliseum. The eel was much faster than me and managed to get two hits for every one I had to offer. I called Sable off, commanding him to not bite. If it's blood was poisonous, Sable's bite would be counterproductive.

A familiar weight on my side caused me to grin. As quickly as I could, I sped to the other side of the stadium while pulling the air pendant out of my satchel.

"Boy, do not test the pendants. They are evil!" The dagger warned.

I ignored the warning. I had connected with the elements before, I could do it again. I placed the metal on my forehead, calling to front my desires. I wanted speed and force that was unmatched by any sea creature. With enough wind, anything could be defeated.

I felt something chilly coarse through my veins just in time to see the eel darting towards me. I reached out a hand and willed a blast of air from my palm. It smacked the creature straight in the face, snapping its neck to the side. A series of angry clicks spilled from its mouth and I didn't wait another second to hit it with another shot.

Sable flew at it with his claws, slashing its hide. It screeched and began to sink the smallest bit. I took the opportunity to try a more difficult maneuver. I wasn't sure that it was possible, but I circled around its body, pushing air at it in just the right way. I curved its spine, criss-crossing its head and tail, then wove its end through the loop. I smiled triumphantly as the eel fully sunk to the ground, struggling against the knot I had made out of its own body.

The same person from before floated back onto the field, and shouted, "Our winner, the Traveler!" They grabbed my wrist and raised it in the air. Sable swam around in happy circles while barking over the roar of the crowd.

"Traveler," the person said, "thank you for participating as a guest in our games. As a reward, we offer you the chance to pick your prize. Come this way," They kicked their legs and glided through the water towards an exit. I followed close behind with Sable, who had shrunk, at my feet.

I stared at the lanterns on the wall as they placed three boxes in front of me. How did the flames work underwater? "These are your choices, Traveler," they said, splaying a hand over the boxes.

In the first box, a plain brown trunk, was a pile of gold pieces. My eyes widened. I had never seen so much money in one place before. Eagerly, I opened the next one, a red leather lined box, which held a large collection of corked bottles filled to the brim with liquids.

"Those are potions," they stated, "Just a collection; healing, empowerment, poison, you name it. It's in there."

I cracked open the final box, which was just plain black, and my heart stopped. Sitting at the bottom was a cube, the Captain's cube. It was made of copper and had circular indents on each plane, just like the picture had shown.

"This one," I said, "I'll take this one."

"Perfect," they said with a smile, "Farewell, Traveler, and thank you for visiting Aeqor." They snapped their fingers and Sable and I rose up towards the ceiling. We were sucked into the sand, the cube in my hand.

Word count- 1,497