Tundra

Aais was sinking. The air bubbles that escaped his panicked gills drifted further and further away, disappearing into blackness along with his hope. His descent was gathering speed, as though the density of the darker water was drawing him in. He saw the jaws of the pit rise up around him, closing above his head as he struggled hopelessly. As he sank, the water pressed his eyes shut, so that there was no longer any up or down, right or wrong. There was only the gravity of the ravenous ocean.

And then, there was an arm around his waist, and Aais was dragged from dream. Something had come hurtling out of oblivion. It was a something wholly encased in a greenish bubble, a bubble which came to engulf Aais as well. He soon found himself floating next to the largest and strangest man he had ever seen. The newcomer’s naked back and shoulders were tattooed with markings that resembled squids and seaweed. He had a long ponytail, and wore leather pants. Best of all, however, he was swimming.

Together, the two plunged for a while, but Eiron’s powerful stroke quickly pulled them back up. The bubble removed the necessity to breathe, but his arms still ached, and every muscle in his body screamed out for release. He couldn’t help but idle for a moment, until he felt the tug of the abyss and realised what was at stake. As hard as he had pulled on the oars, Eiron stroked, shoulders bulging as he cut the water with wide hands. He was built for survival, but it wasn’t in the direction of the surface that he swam.

Rather, it was into the murkier water that he carried his new companion. Here, tall forests of kelp began to appear, as long as three longboats from their barnacle roots to their rough, rubbery tips. Amidst this jungle swam leopard-spotted creatures with dark eyes liquid as the sea itself. Unlike the Seafarer tribes, which warred constantly with one another and looted and pillaged rival camps at will, these creatures were peaceable, and they had made a pact.