[M] Runes

[Azazeal849]

“We need your help.” she said plainly.

The Ambassador raised her gaze furtively, and emitted a stream of dolphin-clicks that the Wanderer hoped was a translation.

Several of the Mer lashed their tails to drift closer, and the trilling of clicks around them trailed off into a slower, more menacing tick.

Help? The word sifted through the humans' minds like sand through dry bones. One of the Mer tilted its head to regard Red's outstretched hand. The Ambassador kept herself low, and clicked another alien explanation.

Change. The unblinking eyes of the Mer fell upon the humans. Some merely drifted in place; others began to circle, trailing streamers of sand as their tails disturbed the seabed. Change!

Leveler? Another mind-voice whispered, and then others took up the name - rising and falling like the crash of surf. Leveler. Leveler! Leveler-leveler-leveler-leveler-levelevelevelerelereler!

The Mer who had been regarding Red's hand drifted closer, until Wanderer and Red could see themselves reflected in its bottomless black eyes. Though they were no experts on such things, the Mer appeared male. His expression was blank but he seemed agitated, with tiny tremors of his arms and fins stirring the water around him so that his hair drifted like seaweed. He tilted his head again, and emitted a single sharp click.

How help? threaded through the humans' minds, low and suspicious.

[Kiro Akira]

"Leveler-Leveler-Leveler" The Merfolk repeated over and over, their voices rang in Solars head as more of an annoyance. "Yes the Leveler..." He grumbled and scratched at his head as a few more repeated it even after his words. "For fucks sake, yes the Leveler. Now shut the hell up or I'm going to be having a rather fancy fish dinner tonight!" He spoke up above the creatures and finally silence. "Are you going to help us or not? If not I'm wasting time here when I could be finding someplace helpful."

As Solar finished his wprds, he hushed himself retreating to his thoughts. ' Stupid fucking Merfolk, useless ass fish is what they are. Always causing me headaches....' Soon after his short mind rant he paused realizing they were telepathic creatures.

[Katrina]

Her hand still loosely outstretched, Red looked to Ambie for any hint at what to do next. She was shocked when she vaguely heard one of the mens remarks involve fishy dinner. He had the audacity to threaten these magnificent creatures?!

Red felt a sense of alertness, and hoped to any god that would listen, that the Mer didn’t anger over his comment and decline to help them altogether. Again, Red looked to Ambie for a hint or cue of any kind.

[Scottie]

It reminded her of feral dogs. A pack slowly circling their prey, the sand bursting up was just another distraction from an attack. The clicks sounded more and more threatening with every burst. The Wanderer was as subtle as she could be in shifting her body to a more defensive stance. She would be ready for any attack that came their way. “Help?” The word made shivers drag up her spine. She wanted them to stop with their mind tricks. If they could force words into her skull...what else could they put there? ”Change! The wanderer visibly tensed with every bubbled word forced into her mind. Her arms tensing up as the intrusion brought her deep discomfort.

Worn molars ground themselves together as a violent intrusion burst through her mind. They knew the name. That much was clear. A mer drifted closer into her vision. Red’s hand was stretched out….reminiscent of children reaching for a dog to pet them. “Keep your distance. Let them have their space.” Her words were not only for Red but for the group. They did not need to make the Mer concerned. Her next word was specifically for Red, for she had an inkling the woman would not drop her hand. Red’s gaze was fixated on Ambie. As if their next cue would come from the Mer who was shying away, her own eyes planted to the sand beneath them. The Wanderer let her stare flick to the Mer who was clearly not pleased by the gesture of peace from Red and back to the woman who kept her hand raised. “Please.”

“How help?” The words rumbled through her skull. A deep heavy voice asked a question that the Wanderer did not know the answer to. Before she could formulate a coherent response, Solar interrupted. His brashness and impatience clear to all. “There is no where else helpful.” The wanderer did not gift him her eye contact, her words were spat over her shoulder at him. “If you wish to return up to the surface, go. But if you are staying….you will be silent.” Her words held a scolding tone familiar in many people's youth….that of a mother who was at the end of her tether.

The crowd of Mer before her seemed to remain still but their tails picked up a steady stream of sand. It danced around their brightly coloured tails and gave them a further mystical look. The wanderer swallowed back her previous rage and took a moment before forcing herself to plead for help (Something she had always promised herself that she would never do.) “The Leveller is too strong. She is destroying cities with no effort. She has the Gr...Greater Moonstone…” She paused for a moment, letting the words slowly roll off her tongue. Yes. The Greater Moonstone that was correct. “We need whatever help you can give us. Please.”

[Azazeal849]

Again, Red looked to Ambie for a hint or cue of any kind.

“Keep your distance. Let them have their space.” Wanderer’s words were not only for Red but for the group. They did not need to make the Mer concerned. Her next word was specifically for Red, for she had an inkling the woman would not drop her hand. Red’s gaze was fixated on Ambie. As if their next cue would come from the Mer who was shying away, her own eyes planted to the sand beneath them. The Wanderer let her stare flick to the Mer who was clearly not pleased by the gesture of peace from Red and back to the woman who kept her hand raised. “Please.”

The Ambassador nodded rapidly.

The other mer seemed agitated. The one before Red shot upward with a powerful sweep of his tail and floated above, watching them. He rattled a long trill of clicks, gradually slowing until it was a low, heartbeat tick.

How help? the whispered words came again.

“The Leveller is too strong. She is destroying cities with no effort. She has the Gr...Greater Moonstone…” Wanderer paused for a moment, letting the words slowly roll off her tongue. Yes. The Greater Moonstone, that was correct. “We need whatever help you can give us. Please.”

The Ambassador clicked what was presumably a confirmation of Wanderer’s words. The circle of Mer seemed to consider for a moment.

Balance. they murmured, clicking among themselves. Book.

With startling suddenness, one of the drifting creatures flicked its tail and darted away into the kelp. The others didn’t move, silent now. The disturbed sand of the first Mer’s departure drifted slowly to the seabed once more.

The Ambassador caught her companions’ uneasy looks. She held out her hands to brush against Wanderer and Red’s.

Mer wary. The Ambassador’s voice was a bright stab against the slow, insistent scraping of the other Mer. Know that no destructive force in existence greater than landwalkers in grip of absolute certainty.

Certainty. the Mer around them echoed, the word slithering through their minds like cold oil. Certainty! they whispered again, and this time it sounded more like a demand than a statement. The clicking struck up once more, intensified.

Wanderer and the others understood; the Mer wanted certainty that giving them this power was the right thing to do.

Names. the Mer whispered, as several of their number flitted forward, rippling through the light cast by the coral towers. There was one Mer for each of them, all holding a slender arm forward with their long nails glowing blue under the bioluminescent light.

Names. they urged again.

[Katrina]

Just as Red was about to withdraw her hand, Ambie brushed their skin to relay her message. Red understood instantly.

Certainty. For a war to be fought, both sides must be certain they are fighting for something. Participants must be certain of their actions. To WIN a fight, a battle of any kind, one must be certain of each step, breath, strike, and blow.

“But humans....” she thought loosely. “Humans are such uncertain creatures.”

It had taken Red most of her life and so so many mistakes to be certain of her actions as they are now. All this attention on the leveler, and on winning this war, Red felt unsure. She hated that feeling. She withdrew her hand completely.

She was unsure about this groups larger goals, but she was sure of her own. She wanted to find the red mage and beat him. That was her certainty.

A Mer held out its slender arm, requesting a name. Again, Red felt certainty. The certainty that came with her name. The name she had given herself. The name she was sure was true.
Red.
Alive, Red is all she will ever be. Inside, she is red blood, and muscles and tendons and organs and bones, all drenched in red blood. If she were penetrated by any weapon the Mer could conjure, the water around her would swirl with blood. She is certain of her own existence, and with that certainty in mind, Red took the Mer’s outstretched hand. She hoped he would see her thoughts for the certainty they held.

[Scottie]

The Wanderer dug her teeth into her tongue with the Ambassadors words. They sounded so fucking pious. Creatures who possessed such power but stayed away from the petty squabbles of man….yet...they know of no more destructive force. It made her see the creatures in a new light. Certainty. It was an obvious demand. There was no trust with the newcomers. Why should they help them when they do not trust them?


The first time they asked, it was ignored. Her attention was on the Mer who were slowly drifting closer to them. A hand outreached. Names. It finally clicked. Her stomach dropped to her feet. They wanted her to give her name. The one thing that could bring her to her knees. The one true power over all those that held runes. They expected her to give it freely.

Not bloody likely.

Trust is a two way street. They have her nothing but hostility since they arrived. Yes, once she uttered her name they would help them...supposedly. The ambassador trusted them enough to bring them here, but the once proud Mer now stared only at the sand beneath her tail.

She would not give them her name. It was hers. It wasn’t forced upon her, it wasn’t a number that was branded into her skin. It was a name that was brushed onto her forehead with a soft kiss one morning when she was 7. Even a false smile could not hide the tears that dribbled down her mother's cheeks. A 7 year old that couldn’t follow simple orders was merely sent onto another Master. It was the last time she had heard her name uttered with kindness, with love...not hatred.

No. The wanderer would not give them that name. It was too important. She could not bring herself to give it...but she would give them something equally if not more precious.

***

“What is your name, Boy.”

Dust danced along the freckles that kissed his nose. A small wrinkle of a button nose chimed as large green eyes fixed on the large man. His lips remained in a tight line as the oaf of a man scanned the child again. Just 7. He was a runt. But he was that stubborn slaves runt. Having something over her always helped. If he could get the boy on his side, even just his name….he could perhaps stop the quick tongue of that bitch.

A simple nod was all the man was gifted.

“Boy. I asked a question”

The unmistakable glean of intelligence echoed in the child’s eyes as he tilted his head. “Ma calls me A chroí .” A short puff of hot air left the nostrils of the ogre before the child. “I don’t give two fucks what your ma calls you.” Brown curls twisted onto his shoulders as the child tilted his head to the other side. The green eyes should have been warning enough. Any child of Vexie would not give a simple answer. They were stubborn down to their very bones.

“Ma also calls me A chroí ” Bare feet brushed the sand beneath him as he took a step back. “Or A mhuirnín” Another step backwards from the man who loomed closer, his anger clear for all to see. “Sometimes A ghrá”

“Listen here, you little shit”

Grubby fingers reached out to grab a handful of curls when the child took another step backwards. His head softly hit against the warm body of another. A voice that he found comforting but others compared to metal hitting hollow rock. “My child’s name is Engis. Is that all?” His mother's fingers gripped his shoulder and in one swift movement, he was behind her. Squared shoulders and a glare enough to make a charging bull think twice. The man rolled his shoulders before spitting at her feet and heading off to take his rage out on another poor soul.

****

That earned him two more scars….and she was gifted three new stripes on her back. But he reminded her of herself when she was younger. She needed to quell that stubbornness in him before he was taken from her...or worse.

The small smile that had drifted onto her lips suddenly left. Lifeless eyes dragged up to the Mer before them as her left hand moved to the small pouch hidden under floating cloth. Her eyes were momentarily dragged from the creature to find exactly what she was looking for.

The name she wished to give rang in her heart. It was a name she gave. A name she chose. A name that was more precious than any stone that lay in her palm.

“This.” She held the rune in the middle of her palm. The rune that had saved her life so many times...but failed to save his. “This...belonged to Kian.” Painful tears pricked at her eyes. His face clear as day in her mind. His laugh echoing in her ears. She could still smell him and feel his small hand in hers. She paused to swallow back some tears. “This belonged to Kian...son of Agrona. My son. That is the name I give you.”

[Azazeal849]

Red took the Mer’s outstretched hand. She hoped he would see her thoughts for the certainty they held.

If she were not already surrounded by water, she would have felt like she had just been plunged into it. A shiver ran down her spine, and her vision blurred with bubbles - but instead of air, each bubble was a thought.

Alana. the Mer’s voice whispered, draining down through her brain like water through a colander. Child of Sirshe.

The others were looking from her to the Wanderer, and for a moment she wondered if they had all heard her most dangerous secret, or just her.

“This.” Wanderer slowly held out her palm. A smooth runestone sat in the middle of it, reflecting the light of the coral towers. The Mer facing her flitted back half a metre. To their consternation, the others could see that Wanderer was crying. “This belonged to Kian...son of Agrona. My son. That is the name I give you.”

The Mer was silent. For a moment, the mages weren’t certain if it was moved by her words at all, or if it even understood empathy. It looked down at the rune for a moment with its abyssal eyes, then fixed them back on Wanderer, scrutinising her expressionlessly.

Agrona. the creature whispered without voice. With a long rattle of clicks, it withdrew.

Solar glanced at Illusion - still uncertain, and for once, quiet. Illusion looked back at him.

“If this is what needs to be done.” the defector said, and put out her hand to clasp that of the Mer opposite her.

“I will do this.” Wraith said, the magnifying effect of the water turning his voice into a deep growl. “But know that I reserve judgement on the Leveler until I see her for myself.”

They took the Mers’ hands, and for a moment the clicking all around them ceased. Suddenly, there was nothing but the slow rumble of the current, and the gentle swaying of the kelp.

Orin. a whisper inside all their heads broke the silence. Orin, child of Ava.

Sage. another took up the sussurating words. Child of Scarlet.

More voices joined in, blurring over each other, gaining in volume as they repeated their names like a chant.

Agrona...Orin…Alana...Sage...COLVIN...ORIN SAGE AGRONA-ALANA-COLVINORINALANASAGEAGRONA!

Just when the chorus became too loud to be bearable, it cut off into roaring silence, as the Mer that had disappeared came snaking back through the kelp towards them. It held a book in its hands, bound together with what looked like simple leather. It darted forward and pressed the book into Red’s hands.

GO. the voices thundered as one, and each mage felt a tug and a rushing in the water as they were lifted up by a sudden current, dragged upwards in a scatter of silt and bubbles. The sand sank away below them, the bubbles wriggled away over their heads, and darkness closed in around them as the bioluminescent glow receded to nothing beneath their feet. The water grew colder, then warmer again, and they could feel the weight against their skin lessening as the invisible force carried them inexorably up and up and up.

Suddenly there was light above them once again, dappling down through the murky green. With alarming suddenness they burst out into open air. Wanderer felt her feet dragging on sand and her knees buckled, only to find herself crashing into the shallows at the very edge of the beach they had left. A wave crashed, and foamy water ran through the fingers she had splayed out to catch herself.

“Fucking Mer.” Solar bitched as he too stumbled from the dragging embrace of the water. “I bet they don’t even pay taxes.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” Wraith countered, shaking his masked head so that drops of salt water wept from the eye-holes. “It means that they’re not funding any crazy warlords.”

A long arc of water, rather like someone spitting, suddenly ejected itself from Wanderer’s bag. The Immortal had been uncharacteristically subdued throughout the whole underwater episode, but back on dry land he was reverting to his usual self.

“I don’t suppose you’re going to pull me out of here now?” his voice emanated from inside the bag. “For the record, hell is real and it smells like the inside of your travel bag. And that’s after I cast a rune to keep it dry in here.”

[Katrina]

Red was torn between awe and fear. One hand curled gloved fingers into the sand, while the other hand clutched the leather book to her chest.

While the others made themselves known, she slowly leaned back onto her legs. The tide lapped at her boots and her knees buried deeper into the sand. She breathed softly, her eyes not quite focused on anything, and turned her chin down at the object she was clutching. As soon as it had been passed to her, she’d felt a crucial sense of importance weighing itself in her hands.

The book was not wet or damaged in any way. It looked like it had just been made. The corners were firm and pointed, and the edges were not frayed at all. She pulled it, moving still slowly, away from her chest, and grasped it with both hands. A perplexity she hadn’t felt in a while took her stomach to depths such as the ocean floor they’d just been to. She felt almost sick, yet giddy. What she was holding...absolute power. What had she done? What could she do with this?

Her mind jumped to the red mage. Imaginings of war came to mind immediately after the thought of her enemy. A sense of goodness, disgustingly compelling, ordered her lips apart and her tongue to move.
“Ambie. When we’re done with this book, take it back to your people. Don’t give it to anyone else.” She looked to Ambie to be sure she had heard. “I mean it! This thing can change the world! Don’t let anybody else have it. We find the levelers name and the red mages name, then it goes back under the water.”

[Scottie]

Sand buried itself under her fingernails as cold water violently assaulted her skin. That wasn’t the exit she had been expecting. The moment of silence that she appeared to take was really her waiting for her stomach to catch up with the rest of her. It felt like it was firmly placed down by her feet. The weight of what had just happened finally hit her as her stomach settled back in its rightful place.

Agrona.

Those around her now knew her name. Not the fake one that she gave to them. Not the fake silly name that made her seem more mysterious than she actually was. They knew the name that was screeched in annoyance or whispered with a sickly sweet smile. They knew more about her than anyone else who met her outside those mines.

“Wanderer?” a voice asked in her native Ash.

The quiet question came from the Illusion. Or, as she now knew, Sage daughter of Scarlet. Strange - to know she had the power to render the other woman helpless at any moment. Mages who allowed others the simple intimacy of a name seldom lasted long. It was a hard habit to break, and perhaps that was why Illusion was still stiltedly calling her by her false name.

“Wanderer…” The copper-haired Lightwoman shuffled slightly closer, looking at Wanderer as if she expected her to explode if she got too close. “I...we…” She glanced at the others, still wringing out their clothes. “I never knew you had a son.”

Fingers slowly curled into fists, scooping sand into her palm. The gritty texture rubbed against her calloused palms. Son. She hadn’t realised they had been listening. She didn’t think any of them would care enough to listen.

“There is a lot you do not know about me.” she replied softly as she pushed herself to her feet. Water dribbled down her legs and she kicked lumps of sand free from the bottom of her shoes.

The Illusion chuckled a mirthless laugh that died almost before it had begun. “You’re right, I don’t. Is he why you’re...why you’re here, fighting the Leveler?”

Her folded arms and hesitant shifting from foot to foot told Wanderer that there was something personal in the question.

The woman was uneasy. It showed some weakness in the Illusion. “I started for money. I needed some to get far away from this shit hole.” She flicked her fingers at her feet to release some of the built up sand. “Then I saw them…..the Ashmen. In their hundreds upon thousands. Standing behind her. Kneeling behind her ideals. They were free...but had fallen under another false leader. She does not want their freedom, I know that much. She would not use them if she did. That is why I am here.”

Her gaze finally snapped to the Illusion, meeting her eye as she spoke. “To save my brethren.”


The Illusion went quiet. “I’m sorry to say it took me far too long to realise the same thing. I followed the Leveler through all the towns between Ash and the Estuary, watching her men force them all to submit...watching them kill those who didn’t.”

Her voice was hollow.

“It took me so long to see that now I have no brethren left to save. My mother was a Lightwoman, married to an Ashman...I thought that there could be the same harmony between the cities once the Leveler showed her strength...but I was a fool in that as well.” She shook her head, her tone hardening. “When my mother spoke out against the Leveler, my father killed her without a second thought.”

The Illusion clenched her fists, now visibly shaking with anger.

“And now I’m going to kill him.”

The muscles in her jaw tensed. Her teeth firmly set together as the woman spoke. It was difficult that someone she had travelled with...stood aside and watched innocents be slaughtered. There can never be harmony between the cities, the wanderer knew that much. Never could another city see a slave state as its equal when it bathed in the profits of that very slavery. A single raised eyebrow was all that the wanderer gifted the Illusion. She didn’t wish to give the woman any more information about herself than needed.

“Good.He deserves it” Her words blunt as they sliced through the silence that she left. “You will not find peace until you get the revenge you need.”

A sharp spout of water erupted from the faded fabric of her bag and pooled by her feet. The grumpy voice of the Loaf sounded, reminding all of them of his unfortunate presence. The Wanderer paused for a moment after his comments. Perhaps she could let her bag go drifting off into the water….never to be seen again.

With a deep guttural sigh, she dragged the head from her bag and fixed him with a glare of her own. “If you continue your complaining, I’ll keep you in there….as it dries….in the sun. Imagine hell…..when it’s hot.” She raised an eyebrow and waited for the egotistical and witty reply.

“That would be disconcerting.” the Immortal allowed. “And rather discourteous too. But I can approve of a mage with a mean streak even wider than her arse.”

She snorted softly. “Discourteous.” Had he not met her? Wider than her arse. That made her pause. “You haven’t even begun to see my mean streak…..and keep your eyes off my arse, Loaf.”

The Immortal pulled a thoughtful face. “If you want me off your arse level, you should probably keep me out of your bag.”

The wanderer softly shook her head, “Yes. For the mighty and powerful immortal can see through burlap...Keep your eyes off my arse…..Loaf.”

As she gave the Immortal a pointed look, the others started to slowly come to terms with their land legs once more. In the soft groans of pained limbs and gentle squishes of filled boots, the wanderer let her gaze drift over her companions. Tired green eyes settled on Red who had a tight grip on something….A book. Not any book...The book and it lay in the hands of the newcomer. The one who had only vengeance on her mind.

The Wanderer did not approve of this turn of events. She agreed with the woman on the need to keep the book safe. That it should be put back in the water instantly. It was who the Red one wanted to name that made the Wanderer uneasy.

“We asked for that book to get the Leveler’s name...not the red mage.” She let her words hang bluntly in the air as her gaze settled on the other Red Mage. “You don't even know his mage-name. So why…”

“I know his name.” The interruption was not an unfamiliar one. “Fucker wouldn’t stop saying it first time I fought him. It’s fucking…”

The Wanderer shot her hand up to Solar when he went to speak. “Stop. We did not ask for this book to solve petty squabbles.” Her gaze returned to Red. “We get the Leveler’s name and that is it. If you cannot fight this red mage with your powers now….then you are a coward if you think to destroy his powers and kill him as a weakling.”

The insult dried on her lips as she stared down the younger mage. “If we misuse this book, how are we any better than the Leveler? If we bring her down, her minions will fall as well.”