The Truth of the Facade

Discussion in 'Great Sea' started by Hyrulian Hero, Jun 1, 2012.

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  1. Hyrulian Hero

    Hyrulian Hero Member new

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    Airgid Vulpes: (early evening, on the Wave Author just south of port Mido)

    The wind was favorable today so Airgid was making good time. The tip of Dragon Roost Island was barely visible in the distance and Airgid didn't have a care in the world. Hours of time were completely open to him now. Sitting on a box of supplies, Air took from his pouch, the pad he always kept on his belt. Opening it, he flipped page after page until he found what he was looking for, a page titled, "A Day With the Sea". Shifting his weight, the sailor brought himself to a comfortable position and began to read.

    The darkness was still, the world was quiet and docile save for the rhythm of the water. It was constant, never stopping for sleep or nourishment, for if it was to stop, what would nourish us? I slowly picked my way down the path and through the long blades of grass, sharp as razors, growing strong and tall from the sand. The cool of the morning surrounded me and I shivered a bit at the breeze. I would turn back but the call of the sea wouldn't be squelched, it called out to me with every wave, beckoning me to its shores. It drew me ever closer as I crept down the stony ground, feeling my way with each step. I found a dry spot on the edge, the sheer rock cliff falling straight down in front of me and I could see the clouds obscuring the moon. As I sat, legs in front of me, arms holding me up from behind, my shirt whipped against my body a bit with the wind. Beside me, a tuft of grass had held out against the elements for long enough to germinate. Gently, I plucked one of the longer stalks and chewed on the end a bit, the first rays of sun were about to hit. The wind stunted pines growing up behind me were beginning to show a little light around the edges creating a gorgeous silhouette.

    The sails of a fishing ship a few miles off danced a bit as they bobbed up and down, gently, slowly. I wondered if they ever took the ocean for granted? Did they ever just sit on the deck and stare out at the sea for an hour? Could they still see the beauty? The clouds in the distance started to brighten up and the rays shown through the trees behind me, a tiny brown sparrow lit upon a gnarled tree branch nearby. I turned to watch it for a second. It hopped around the branch a bit and dug for some tasty meal it had found under the bark. It's little jerking movements and twitching motions all flowed together, making this little bird a dynamic meld of color, movement, and dexterity. All of its delicate pieces moved seamlessly together in a beautiful dance on the branch. Its tiny beak moved deftly along under the tree's outer layer until it emerged clutching a squirming, green caterpillar. With prize hanging from its squat little beak, the sparrow took flight and was instantly alit by sunlight.

    When you're watching the ocean, you can't blink without missing something extraordinary. The sun was shooting golden rays across the water now and the breeze was beginning to contrast with the warmth from the sunrise. It was more than just warmth though, it wasn't hot, but it was subtly intense like a beautiful song right on the edge of perception. If it was possible to feel a glow, the glory of the sun would have felt just so. I could see the intricacies of the water now, the deep blue flowing toward me constantly but never reaching me. I settled a bit and stare out to sea...

    I got up after a few hours, the cool of the morning had become the heat of the afternoon without my notice. I would have to go find a sheltered place to keep the sun off my back. Time always seemed to stand still when I was watching the ocean. The waves rolled in and out at their leisure, nobody rushed them, why then should I be rushed? They took their time flowing from one shore to another, always moving, but never in any direction. I really admired the waves, they had no appointments to keep, no deadlines to meet, no time to follow, they were eternal, unbound by temporal masters to do as they wished. If they wished to flow near, they did, if they fancied another shore, the wind blew them in that direction. They really were majestic as they rolled lazily across the water until they were close enough to the rocks to leap onto them and shatter themselves into a billion tiny drops. Then they'd group themselves together again and have another go at it. And then again and again until they grew bored of one stretch of land and moved on to another local to test their mettle against those rocks.

    I stood up and walked over to the edge of the cliff. There was a small path that started at the top and faded to hand-holds and crevasses as it went down. About sixty feet above the pounding surf, there was a small outcropping of rock covered in white barnacles, just big enough to sit on. A gull flew overhead, I had always liked how they would fly forward but the wind would blow them in the direction it had planned for them and there was nothing the seagulls could do about it. But they didn't seem to mind, they appeared to be content going where the wind took them. Or maybe they had simply learned to accept that their fates were put in the hands of the breeze. As I started down the cliff, I wondered what it would be like to fly as they did. Above the ocean, wind in my face, so high above the ocean...it was so beautiful...but then was not time for my mind to be wandering. The ledge I crept along was growing smaller and before I knew it, I was holding onto nothing more than a few loose rocks and standing on a thin strip of stone. The cold rock I clutched offered little grip but that was the way I preferred it: grabbing life by the throat and letting it know that I was its master, not it, mine.

    Dozens of feet below boiled a bubbling cauldron of white sea and jagged rocks. The salty brine shot up from the base of the cliff as the sea came and went, spraying me in the face every seven or so intervals. Holding fast to the few stones below were dozens of star fish arrayed in a brilliant assortment of colors, pastel pink, bright gold, deep violet and electric blue. These curious predators contented themselves with prying open the jet black muscles that covered the rocks two and three deep and swallowing their soft insides. By the time I got to the ledge, the sun was beating down and I felt like I was backing up to a fire. Sliding down against the wall to sit on the rocks, I watched a purple rock crab scuttle away and slip into a crack in the stone. More gulls were flying overhead now, there must be something tasty bobbing around in the surf or caught up in the rocks. The gentle wind blew them sideways and, as the gull do, they followed its wanderings, wherever it would lead them. Below me the water roared and foamed but off in the distance is where I placed my eyes. One of the most spectacular things about the ocean is where it meets the sky. Where the sky and the sea meet, they become one, holding together across the horizon, one huge sheet of beauty, covering the earth from the beach to the heavens, never ending, always enduring.

    At that point, the gulls become fish and the fish become gulls, nothing separates them. The birds no longer feed on the fish and the fish are no longer confined to the earth, the water lifts and the sky crashes into the sea, mixing and stirring itself together until sea and sky have melded into one. The salmon and the tuna join the ranks of the gull and piper, entering into a sacred brotherhood in which all creatures become equals, living together far off from the soil, flying and diving, dipping and soaring.

    A whale peaked and spouted a mighty spray far out on the water. As its tail sunk, it slapped the water. From my perch, it seemed such a small and insignificant gesture but I could feel the power from all those miles away. I could hear the thundering crack as the giant's massive tail fins crushed the water with strength enough to shatter me a hundred times. I felt the spray sting my face as it receded back into the depths. I felt the gentle ripples after it was gone again...

    The sky had began to show its colors and the sun prepared to touch down, sinking across the sky and sea, falling down, plunging into the fathomless waters. A few gulls flew across the sunset, the water ripped around below my rock throne, the wind lifted my hair across my face and away from my eyes, it was the most perfect sunset imaginable. The seagulls began making their final calls to each other, bidding one another goodnight, and returned to the cliffs where they nested. The water turned darker, the wind grew cooler and the sun sank even more. Like a kingdom under siege, our source of light and life would not go down without a struggle. The nearest cloud to me exploded in a vibrant flourish of reds and oranges. The sky above me snapped to an intense pink. Another cloud combusted overhead, showing a deep crimson red as another faded to orange. The sun set the sky ablaze in a battle to the end. The water itself erupted in a flash of rusty orange and cobalt blue.

    But the sun had never won its battle since the beginning of time though and as the fiery clouds smoldered and went out, the sun began its death throes and turned its surrounding clouds into a raging inferno. The atmosphere detonated in an unspeakable conflagration as the final clouds immolated themselves in an blinding combustion of flame and light. But for a mere moment, for within seconds, the clouds were extinguished and the world returned to dark, peaceful night. The stars shown as the remnants of the eve’s conflict. They winked as they mourned the sun and ushered in the moon. The celestial orchestra crescendoed as the galaxy unfolded and cast ancient splendor across the cosmos. I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythmic patterns of the breakers complimenting the chorus of the sky. And the waves brought me dreams...
  2. Hyrulian Hero

    Hyrulian Hero Member new

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    Airgid Vulpes: (early evening, on the Wave Author just out of sight of port Mido)

    With Dragon Roost rising in the distance, Airgid still couldn’t truly feel away from it all. No, he might as well be on the shore until he was out of sight of even the most prominent mount. Out past the smell of the rich earth and away from the troubles of men. Where economic plight couldn’t reach and kings ruled not men. Out there. The clouds surrounding Dragon Roost were pure and calm today, a reassuring sight to sailors as the contentment of the great dragon cast a positive probability on the weather. Valoo seemed to be in high spirits today though, if the clouds were any indication. What that meant for the catch, he had no idea. At times, the clear weather seemed to make fish rush to the surface in droves but other times, the sunlight seemed to scare them off. The trawling net ought to have picked up something by now. It’ll be good to eat some fresh fish after so many months of salted and frozen carcasses at home. Taking up the lines, Air began pulling the net up, hand over hand.

    Even before the net was visible under the waves, Airgid knew there wasn’t a fish to speak of. The sea was less than fruitful today but it wasn’t really a bad thing. The sea gave and took as it saw fit and today, she had decided not to yield any fish.

    “Seeker . . .”

    Airgid froze mid-pull. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and his eye twitched a bit. He had heard a voice…but not a voice to be heard…a feeling. More than a feeling. More than a spoken word. He perceived a personality. Slowly looking from side to side, Airgid searched for the source of the sensation. What his eyes saw then made his stomach turn. It wasn’t the source of any ethereal voices, it was a violet dorsal fin making a bee-line for the Wave Author. Gyorg! Immediately, Air slung up a dart and spun it, bringing the weapon to lethal velocity. The gyorg never even got close and a smile snapped to Airgid’s lips as he watched the fish flip over on its back in the water and lie still. Bringing the sail down, Airgid paddled over to the corpse and flipped the monster over once again and began digging the dart out of its head plate. As he freed the blade, Airgid stood up and wiped the weapon down, cleansing it of the foul blood of the gyorg.

    Wind’s rising and the gyorg are coming out to play. Night’s pressing in. Indeed, the sun had been taking a dive for a few hours and had now half submersed itself in the sea. Airgid hoisted the sail and once again, his ship raised its bow and began plowing through the waves. As he finished pulling the trawling net back on board, Airgid noticed something caught up in the net. As he reached in to untangle it, the waning light revealed what appeared to be white feathers. And they were, as Airgid soon discovered, white feathers.
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