Black Avatare

41 | LAKE

Mount Meru was humongous, dwarfing everything else as it pierced the clouds and dominated the horizon. The giant orb of a moon outlined its form and bathed the area in a ghostly glow. The monstrous mountain was so far away that Binara couldn't make out anything else about it. As if to dampen any hopes of reaching it, the body of water shimmered in her line of vision. It was so vast that it offered no view of the far bank. The water stretched out in a never-ending expanse—dark and fathomless.

"Let's go," Diyan said, leading the way through the ferns and trees.

"Is that a lake?" Binara hurried to keep up, with Raya at her side. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's an ocean."

"It's an annular lake that surrounds the mountain."

"So it's like a moat and the mountain is an island?" She swatted away a glowy moth. "That must be one big island."

"Once we get there, climbing up the mountain is going to be difficult, because we'd have to trek through dense forest."

"Forget the forest. How do we cross this?" Binara gestured at the water ahead. "Not like we can swim."

A hint of a smile played on Diyan's lips, much to her bewilderment. "You forget that I've made this trip before."

"Okay, so how did you cross over? You said the Monara couldn't go all the way."

Diyan didn't reply as he led her right up to the bank.

As she emerged from the undergrowth, her gaze skimmed over the sheer size of the lake. Minute waves danced on the inky black surface and distorted the reflection of the moon. For a world locked in perpetual night, this side of Holmanloke was a vision from a dreamscape, where everything reveled in moonlight and flamboyant displays of bioluminescence. Raya came to a halt next to her, rustling ferns in her wake.

Just when Binara turned her questioning look at Diyan, he brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled. The sound carried in the tranquil quiet, rising above the lapping water.

A minute passed—and another. Silence enveloped them again but for the constant hum of water and forest.

"Diyan?" Binara finally asked. "What are we waiting for?"

"That." He nodded at the distance. "Watch."

That was when she spied it. The water rippled as if something approached them at high speed. She held her breath, eyes tracking the movement, and flung a puzzled glance at Diyan, though he just watched on expectantly. When the unknown creature drew near, her heart rate quickened, and she recoiled on reflex.

Without warning, a reptilian head exploded out of the water—followed by a body bigger than an elephant. Despite the size, it was a streamlined behemoth, covered in iridescent scales that gleamed grey and blue. Water sloshed off its sides as it floated on the water and faced them.

Binara's mouth fell open, and her legs turned to jelly. "I-is that...a makara?"

"He's grown old," Diyan said softly as he strode forward to the water's edge.

The massive creature drew closer, webbed feet waddling through the shallow water until it towered over Diyan. Binara's eyes grew so big that they were in danger of popping out.

The makara lowered its head, touching its snout to Diyan's outstretched hand. A rumble emanated from the throat, as deep as thunder on a stormy night. The sound made Binara's baby hairs stand on end. That was when she observed the long appendages folded on either side of its trunk. They were wings that reminded her of a bat, but she could only wonder at the size required to lift the enormous body into the air.