Oceans Call

Chapter 11: Attack

"There are millions of specimens in the oceans, over three quarters of which are unknown to humans," Eriladar said.

We were sitting in his office again, and he was lecturing me about the animals and plants of the ocean, specifically the ones that lived near and in Trocien. The topic was actually appealing to me and I was dreading the next lecture: battle tactics and my role as princess.

"Here," Eriladar dropped a huge book in front of me. "I have some business to attend to, so you can study by yourself. Enjoy."

He walked out and I looked at the book's cover:The Ultimate Guide to The Underwater Animals and Plants of Trocien.

I sighed and turned to the first page of the thick book. I was determined to learn everything so I didn't look like an idiot. I wanted the people to trust me as leader, not accept me because they had to. I wanted to be believed in.

My eyes trailed over the page.

Thunderfish
A large fish with a huge mouth, the Thunderfish releases a deep howl to stun large groups of fish and other prey then swallow them in their maw. Long fins are used to communicate with others of their kind. Thunderfish live in dark caves near the ocean floor and use their glowing eyes to scare away their few predators. Some have reported that their eyes have a hypnotic quality and believe that they are also used to entrance prey. Most fish live alone, but some live in small pods of three to five. If you ever enter the beast's mouth, break through teeth and you can escape. This sentence made me especially eager to meet a Thunderfish. 

Wave Glider 

The Wave Glider is an extremely rare creature travels over the ocean searching for the sunset, which it draws energy from. Because of this, they are most often seen in the evenings  but there have been a few rare sightings of Wave Gliders in the ocean. 

I was flipping through the pages when Eriladar entered the room with a smile. "I think that's enough for today. I have something for you."

I closed the book and pushed it to the side. I watched Eriladar pull out a long object wrapped in a violet cloth. He gently set it on the desk in front of me. I trailed my fingers over the soft fabric and carefully unwrapped it. Underneath was a long, thin sword. It had a simple black hilt and a pristine white blade covered in runes. I gasped, running my fingers over the beautiful weapon.

"Is this for me?"

"Of course. You need to be able to protect yourself. The blade is crafted from a giant turtle's shell, even stronger than steel."

I didn't know what to say. "Thank you."

"You'll need to learn how to use it of course. The sword is infused with the power of the sea, but you can't use the power until you've mastered the ocean. If you are powerful enough though, you probably wouldn't even use the sword."

"What do you mean, 'mastered the ocean'?"

"When a Royal Undine is born, the ocean often gives them the power to control it. It is a rare gift, as the ocean is controlling, and it is one that I did not receive. But I'm hoping that you've been given the gift. And you have the potential to obtain it with practice and patience."

I highly doubted that I would be able to "master the ocean". "What do these runes mean?"

"You will find out soon, once you've learned to read Undine."