A Dreamer's Worlds

The Fire Dances Yet (Part 4 of Eyes of the World)

 Back again, are we? Of course we are. I'm sure you're eager to see what I've been leading up to. I've certainly been eager to tell you.

Well, I'll not start this when I wake up. That's a bunch of faffing around that you don't need to know about.

Instead, I'll start shortly after the anchor was thrown into the water by yet another invisible force. I had rushed out onto the deck the see the commotion. The anchor rode, the pulley that attached the anchor's rope to the ship, shrieked as the anchor dove to the bottom.

We were at our destination.

I leaned out over the railing, searching for a glimpse of the land I knew was there. Unfortunately, the fog covered it all up and I could've spent my time better looking for a rabbit in a snowstorm.

My helper interrupted my search by tapping me on the shoulder. I turned to look at them, then turned again to see where they were pointing.

There, on the other side of the ship, a boat was dangling above the water. I darted across the deck, leaping into the boat and knocking myself against the side of the boat. Attempting to regain my dignity, I ignored my pain and crawled back to the side of the ship.

My helper was laughing. I could only tell by the shaking of their shoulders, but I knew they were laughing.

And so I laughed too, a high pitched noise that seemed so wrong in the midst of the fog and bodiless shipmen. Yet still I laughed, not caring about any of this.

My laughter turned to giggling as the boat was lowered. I assumed that at least one of the crew had joined, but I hadn't felt the boat rock to show anyone's entrance.

The mechanisms to lower the boat were quieter now, likely oiled in the time we'd been sailing.

I lost sight of the sails as we hit the water, waves rocking the boat and splashing onto me. If I had company, they were also untouchable by water.

The oars moved from their racks and splashed into the water. I tried to shake myself off, but it was hard to get dry surrounded by so much water.

The boat began heading to the unseen shore at a pace no human could keep up, and we soon broke through the fog to see the land.

And what an amazing sight it was.

It was an island so covered in trees that it looked like a stone covered with hearty moss. Even from here I could see flying beasts launching themselves from trees, their silhouettes in stark contrast with the veiled sky and sun.

The water beside the boat parted, and I leaned over to see a monstrous sea creature raising its head from the water. It eyed me, the slit pupil twitching in the sea of gold.

I stared, breath torn out of me by the creature's appearance.

It yawned, tongue stretching in its toothy maw. It shook its head, flinging water from its horns. It blinked at me, then dove back under the surface.

I leaned over the side of the boat, watching it disappear into the depths. The water here was clear, letting me see that the beast that had made an appearance was far from the only one.

The sea serpents swam beneath me, bodies twisting in the water. A few smaller ones played together, but the sight of the largest one, a massive beast with horns as large as trees, brought a word unbidden to my lips.

"Leviathan."

As if summoned by the name, the beast turned skyward. It tunnelled through the ocean and hurtled out of the water. It arced above the boat, creating an archway made of the water monster itself.