Crossing the Bitter Shoals
You have all heard the whispers. The stories of a sheltered city hidden from the world. They are all true, I tell you. The city of Sanctuary Cove is real. A city nestled in a deep cave, cut into the side of a cliff, and protected by treacherous shoals where young sea serpents test their teeth against anything that moves in those waters. The city is a paradise for Mythics and Myth Touched alike. A safe harbor that none who go searching for with malice in their hearts will survive long enough to find. A city of peace and cooperation.
That is what our hero thought when he set sail. A shining city full of acceptance and opportunity, even for those with the most tainted blood. He was born touched by fire, you see. A child with elemental spark who never found a true place in his hometown. So he left to seek adventure and opportunity. The tales were told at every inn, and in every town. For those who do not belong, there is a home in Sanctuary Cove.
After hearing so many tales of this wonderous hidden city, our hero decided he would go out and find it. As he neared the coast, he sought out villages that might lend him a boat or a chance to buy passage on one. For he had heard too the tales of the valiant sailors who rode upon the waves to seek out new lands. However, no matter where he travelled, no one would help him. The waters are deep and dark, they told him. The waves are dangerous. The serpents will get you.
With no crew to take him on, and no vessel to borrow, our hero traveled down to the water's edge. There he sat and thought long about his desire to seek out the home he longed for. On the second day, he was joined by and old man from the village our hero had just left. The old man leaned heavily on a staff as he hopped on his one leg. He sat with our hero for the day and told grand stories of his adventures fishing in the cove before he lost his leg. Before his wife demanded he give up fishing, after he was pulled under by a serpent and lost his good leg. For you see, my friends, the old man swears that was in fact his good leg. The one he still has is useless.
The old man took pity on our young hero and offered him the old fishing boat left lazing on the beach's edge. Overjoyed, our hero ran to the boat and dragged it into the calm beach waters. As the old man waved him off, our hero took out the oars and began to row.
Oh, how quickly he learned his first folly. For our young hero did not know how to sail. He rowed the small boat out into the open waters beyond the bay, and turned to travel down the coast. A few times he tried to raise the sail, but each time he spun the boat wildly or nearly rolled it right over. So he continued to row. Soon his second folly showed itself, for the lad had forgotten to pack travel food for this journey and spent many days and nights in that boat.
On the sixth day bobbing in coastal waters, everything changed. Our young hero decided to try sailing once again and even started off well. As he gathered speed and set his heading well, he was surprised to find a lump of rock just below the surface. He had thought the water was deep enough to not worry about rocks and nearly didn't turn in time. Instead he managed to turn just enough to scrape along the stone rather than crashing against it. With a sigh of relief, he continued his erratic sail down the coast.
What our hero did not understand was that until now his bumbling attempts attempts to sail had kept him safe. The boat's movements did not look like they belonged to a ship, when viewed from below. Now that he had crashed, however gently, he had been noticed. He had no way to know that the rock he crashed into was one coil of a young sea serpent on its first trip to the surface.
While the crash did not harm the beast, it was enough to startle and frighten the poor young serpent. Alone and surprised, its instincts took over. The unknown creature that had attacked it would now be it's prey. For three days the serpent stalked our hero from beneath the waves. As they neared the serpent hunting grounds, the beast struck out and smashed the boat into a jagged part of the shoals.
Our young hero escaped the destruction of his boat by leaping onto an exposed shoal before the boat was ripped back into the water. There he hid while his hunter circled the shoal, searching for any movement. Staying perfectly still in the water may have saved our hero, but he had been hurt in the crash. A long shard of wood had pierced his left arm through. His hand had long gone numb and too much blood was seeping into the water. He would be found soon.
Getting frantic, the lad searched for anything that might help him. Not far from him, the wall of the sea cliff opened into what appeared to be a deep cavern. If he could reach it, perhaps he could get out of the water and safe from the serpent.
During a moment of distraction he took his chance to push himself away from the shoal and into deeper water. Our hero had been paying close attention to the serpent hunting him and knew not to splash around and draw attention to himself. Gliding through the water, as still as possible, he made it most of the way to the cavern entrance before being noticed. The sound of grinding rock behind him was the only warning that his ruse was up. The beast had scented him and was racing his way. Throwing caution to the wind, our hero kicked and struggled as hard as he could, and crossed into the mouth of the cavern just before the serpent caught him.
In truth, what caught him was a net. Just before the serpent could reach him. He was pulled out of the water just in time and tossed onto the rocks. He had unknowingly found the cavern entrance to Sanctuary Cove and was rescued by the Sea Guard, who watched for curious travelers and serpents.
Our hero had succeeded in finding the city of his dreams, but all was not as he had planned. The wounded arm was too damaged and needed to be removed. When he was pulled out of the water, one leg had twisted badly and broken against the rock. He was in the city of his dreams; broken, battered, nearly starved, and in a cell to be held for questioning.
Adventure is grand, but perhaps some dreams should be left to our sleeping hours.
Comments