Saint Seiya: The Legend of Seiya

83 - Gifts of a Wayfarer

"At the beginning of everything, there was the ocean."

A husky voice aged by time spoke, an old lady with white hair and very tanned skin surrounded by very young children, who looked with their bright eyes at the immensity of the sea from the top of a green hill. It was a wonderful day with few clouds in the sky and the crystalline sea reflected that blue immensity. The attention of the little ones was attracted by the old lady who behind them was filling a ceramic basin with water from a jug.

"A world of water." she continued, draining the water, gently stirring its surface. "And water is an energy of many moods. It can be calm and nurturing, as well as dangerous and destructive."

The children all sat around the old lady, as they always did in their morning classes.

"The sea is the source and foundation of life. And its waves are the moods of the God of the Sea, Tangaroa."

The children were amazed when the lady revealed the dark painting of a large whale on one of the wicker curtains of that open sanctuary. With waves and islands drawn around the majestic creature.

"Listen well, children. This place we live in is huge. With lots of plains and trees, mountains and beaches, islands and caves. And if you take a canoe and sail forever, you will reach even more incredible places, where the water falls white from the sky, very cold, and where there are infinite oceans of sand and houses as tall as volcanoes."

She met every look of those children, who listened to her tell an incredible story; her voice trailed off and her finger raised in the air, pointing at the great whale.

"But the World of Tangaroa is even bigger than this world we live in, much bigger. So big that it is said that it's possible to set everything that exists in our world in the Realm of Tangaroa and there would still be a lot of space left."

The little ones gaped, not understanding how that was possible.

"But everything is hidden under the sea."

The old lady then walked to the other side of that open room to nature and pulled another wicker curtain where many painted creatures were seen.

"The immense Tangaroa had many, many children that you know very well. Like the dolphins of the gulf, the sharks of the reef, the octopuses of the deep and even the mermaids of the lagoons are all children of Tangaroa. For he is the father of all that live under the sea."

She drew back the two curtains on the sides of the sanctuary and pulled back a single curtain that was in the center of the hall with a menacing design that made the children a little scared at first as they snuggled closer to her.

"Among these many sons of Tangaroa, there is one who stands out for his enormous wrath and strength: Ikatere."

The children exclaimed softly, but she continued, always in her ethereal, mysterious tone.

"It's Ikatere who rumbles when storms take over the sky, or even when the waters of the river overflow to destroy the crops. He is brave and very strong. And what he wants most is to live in our World. To have everything his father couldn't have. Heaven and Earth in which we live."

She said, pointing to the ceiling and the trees ahead.

"For when Tangaroa, the God of the Sea, rose from the waters to take our islands and our land, the wonderful Tāne stood before him and did not let him have what he so desired. She protected our land and our islands with the help of her greatest hero of all: Maui."

The kids loved Maui's adventures and smiled at the revelation of their beloved hero, in yet another one of his stories; they often played at storytelling and battling along the beach as if they were inside the adventures of Maui.