Work Text:
Surfacing" by Karen
I am alone except for a Dog. It never occurred to give the animal a name. He came to me under what for the sake of expediency call dire circumstances, we save each other lives, and
A dog is a dog. It was once foretold, at my birth, according to my Lord, that it was my destiny to fulfill the meaning of my name, Haplo. It means one who is alone. And so it seems, that it is coming true.
Outside this prison cell of a room the water continues to rise. The leaded glass panes cut into geometric hexagon shapes are dingy and wet and hardly let in any sunlight at all. In fact, I get more light from the shimmering bars of red rune magic that hold me prisoner in this place far more securely than any prison made of wood, metal, or stone.
Ironically the liquid element that is the lifeblood of the water world of Chelestra, is to my captors and my people, debilitating. It drains the possibilities that ordinarily would be limitless
to those of the Patryn and, as much as I hate to admit, the Sartan, our time immemorial enemies. I wait for the water to rise beyond the first floor room and up here to second floor,
it will set me free, and then what?
The Sartan are still out there, which is something I convinced is being dealt with by the mensch of this world, humans, elves, dwarves all working together towards a common cause, and one that had been in operation long before I arrived to become their 'savior.'
"Some savior,' eh boy." I address the dog as he peers up at me, distracting him from attempting to puzzle out our strangely liquid environment that surrounds us.
The dog approaches with his tail wagging. His ears are up to show that he is, as ever, alert and loyal to his master's wishes.
The true enemy, the enemies that I must convince my Lord, Xar, that they are more dangerous than any threat the newly awakened Sartan pose. The dragon-sakes. For the first time in my life, for the first time I can remember, I have felt true awe at their power; they are shape-shifters, pure evil, agents of chaos embodied. True, Xar did say we wanted to cause chaos, so that when the other races called out for salvation, we, the Patryn would be there to pick up the pieces. Now, I am not easy in mind that it what we will save us.
Although, until the magic nullifying magic melts these bars and I secure my release there is very little I can do to rectify matters, so I set here, going a little stir crazy, making plans by the score, then discarding them as rapidly.
The water continues to rise, the dog barks at the flooding, probably thinking that it will realize its mistake and reverse its direction. I rub the animal between its ears, and he lies beside in the bed, "We'll be gone from here soon enough, boy." I tell him aloud, which will solve our immediate problem.
I must tell my Lord the truth about the dragonsnakes of Chelestra. That fool of a Sartan Lord, Samah, opened the connection that leads to other worlds of the Sundered Realms, the Death Gate. The dragonsnakes were quick to take advantage of the opportunity it presented. Now their evil will spread to the other worlds.
Up until now, the Patryns and grudgingly, our polar opposites: the Sartans believed ourselves to the most powerful beings in the world, and we have never had any reason to believe otherwise. Certainly we were as close to demi-gods, perhaps. Now the dragonsnakes are awake and moving to spread chaos and evil. They will destroy everyone and everything.
They have nothing so rational as conquering and enslaving; they live simply for destruction and misery. In fact, they feed off of it.
The water laps at my thighs, my natural instincts are to avoid it, but it releases me from the prison. I run out through the door, down the stairs, and once more emerge in the sunlight out of doors. The city of the Sartan, The Chalice, appears broken apart in the aftermath of a storm that has come, spent its fury, and passed on to other areas. The streets are abandoned, in the distance I hear distant cries. It does not sound like a struggle. Flotsam and jetsam slide past, I and find a large piece of wood, which was once some ones' front door, most likely; it makes for an adequate raft. The dog jumps into the water, with some hesitation.
Now I must decide in which direction I must go. The decision to inform my Lord of the dragonsnakes's threat has been made, call it a betrayal of his trust, for remaining silent, or revealing what the knowledge, or opening his eyes to the truth, I shall leave for others to decide. So be it.