Legend of Parocaav II: Against the Darkness (rough draft)

Chapter XIX: Deserted Island of Water

The sun has completely set, leaving the large island in total darkness. There is not even a glimpse of light from a distant town or anything. The land is totally dark and quiet. Very few animals have survived here after the fall of the Water Mages. It's mostly small bug and fruit eating mammals that are left here. An owl can be heard from a distant off place, its echo is very quiet.

Drayk illuminates his left palm to light up his path before him. Hours have passed and he has not seen or heard much of anything. He finally stumbles across a town that seems as if it has been abandoned for several years now. Plant life has begun growing up the walls of homes, and the grass in yards have grown a few feet tall. To Drayk, this is almost as sad of a sight as a town that has crumbled to the ground. He can't help but feel sorry for the people of this town, needing to abandoning their own homes.

"Why was an evacuation needed here?" Drayk ponders out loud, "There was never a large enough fleet of ships to bring enough soldiers for an attack. Besides, there's no sign any dark forces have been here. What happened to the Water Mages that lived here?"

Drayk thinks back to his history lessons with his mother as a child. He remembers when she used to tell him of the Water Mages. Such a strong and noble Mage Clan they were, at least that's how she used to portray them. The Water Mages had a real struggle during the Ragnarok Wars, leaving them on the verge of their own demise. His mother told him about how the Earth Mages used their magic to break a large piece of the world off of the Great Comtinent. That land which belonged to the Water Mages anyway. Once the landmass had separated, the Water Mages used their magic to drift their land out to sea. This allowed them to live as peaceful lives as possible, unreachable by most forces.

"I just don't understand what could have happened to you," Drayk sighs.

Drayk walks into the small town to investigate. The entire town is as desolate as the edge of town he had first seen. After a few blocks of houses, he notices a market. Inside the market, shelves are still filled with assorted foods and all produce has all but rotted away. Not a single trace of evidence to show they had taken supplies before leaving. Drayk grabs a warm bottled beer and heads back out to town. He stops just outside the market's door to open and drink from the beer he grabbed. Once he finishes it, he tosses it into a small trash container next to him.

He looks further down the street and spots a large building. The sign indicating its purpose is covered with a thick layer of dirt, making it illegible. Curious, Drayk decides to go check it out. A sense of familiarity strikes him as he makes his way to the larger structure. This is eerily similar to what Grimm had done to Oasis. What reason would Grimm have to wreak havoc here with these people?

Drayk stops dead in his tracks and whispers, "No. There must be more to it. He couldn't have taken on this whole island by himself."

Meanwhile ~

High up on a cliffside, Roku is crouched down looking at a large city up ahead. Not a single light is on in any of the buildings that she can see. Short skyscrapers rise up into the low moon's light, otherwise she wouldn't have spotted the city. A temptation to investigate hits her, so she jumps down the cliff's edge. Just before she reaches the ground, she blasts some wind straight down to slow her descent and bring her down gently. Once she lands she jogs toward the city. The urge to check that city out was too appealing to her for her to take her time getting there. Besides that, she knows that they are all on a time limit. Lady Parocaav will eventually absorb the planet's life force dry.

After a few moments, Roku reaches the city limits. A sign is posted out front, but it's too dust to read. Roku moves her left arm in a sweeping motion and a gust of wind blows the sign clean. It reads: 'Aquose, the City of Tides. Population, 232,009.'