Chosen: The Legend of Saqui

BOOK III CHAPTER II

CHAPTER II - AEGEIRA

Delsin, the Lefitray's representative to the Council of Six, offered to send seekers to find the other four elements while Saqui went to find the aegeira.

"Thank you, Delsin," she said. "That would save me some time."

After packing a few supplies, she left for Yottoko. The ocean was just outside the village.

As she left the palace, she began to think back to the day she was told she was pregnant.

For the past few months, they had tried to conceive a child. They knew it could take time, but they hoped it would happen quickly.

Then one morning, she woke up feeling a bit different. She knew something had changed and hoped it was what she thought it was.

It was the happiest moment of her life to that point when her doctor told her she was expecting her first child. Equally happy was Jumoke.

Thinking of this helped relieve some of the pressure. It also made the time go just a bit faster.

When she got to the ocean, she called upon the Spirit of the Rochin and dove into the water. The aegeira was miles out to sea and seven miles deep.

As she dove deeper and deeper, it became darker and darker. Soon, it was pitch black. Saqui used the glow from the quesmi to help her find the bottom. She also used the Spirit of the Dowo to guide her.

Finally, she reached the bottom. However, because of the intense pressure, she could not move. If not for the Quesmi, she would have been crushed by it. She called upon the Spirit of the Mageeac just to move.

She opened the 100-gill container the doctor had given her and filled it with aegeira. When it was filled, she put the lid back on and headed for the surface.

As she was ascending, she felt a presence. She could not see it, but she knew it was there. She drew her sword.

Suddenly, it grabbed hold of her. She struggled to break free of its grip. It was not as tight as the pfarrno's grip; still, she had to stab it to release its grip.

She continued her ascent. When visibility got better, she could see it was a karybdon, a sea creature similar to a squid. It had many tentacles and lived in the darkness.

As the karybdon reached at her with its tentacles, she sliced them away. When she reached a depth that was too bright for it, it crawled back into the abyss.

What Saqui did not know, however, is that while the karybdon had her in its grip, the Quesmi was loosened from her belt. It began shaking as she swam upward.

Finally, the Quesmi fell from her belt and descended into the abyss. Saqui knew with the Quesmi gone, she would no longer be able to use the Spirit of the Rochin.

She had only about a minute of air left before she would drown. She called upon the Spirit of the Jevaja to help her. She flew as fast as she could to escape her watery tomb.

With just seconds of air left, she emerged from the ocean. She was gasping for air.

After taking several deep breaths, she felt better. When she recovered, she flew as fast as the jevaja would take her to Nielol to find the second part of the cure: myritele.