Dialogue and descriptions from The Longest Journey by Funcom - Transcript compiled by Bluejay, slightly modified by me
Nothing remained to mark the watery grave of the White Dragon, saved debris. In the aftermath of the storm, the sea was calm, glistening in the clear sunshine. A black speck glided this way and that in the sky, searching and spied the girl laying on the floating planks. It dove immediately to land near the girl who did not move.
Crow:
Thank the Balance, she's all right. Are you all right, April? April? Are you sleeping? (He peered at her face) She's sleeping, bless her little heart. Boy, is she cute. Too bad she's just a chick, and not a bird. (louder) April! Wake up!
She blinked, half wondering where she was and sat up.
April:
Crow? I was so worried. I thought the storm got you.
Crow:
Me? Honey, I'm the sidekick. Didn't you ever read any legends? The sidekick always survives.
April:
So you're fine?
Crow:
A few singed tail-feathers, and I'm so charged up sparks fly when I try to peck something. Other than that? Better than ever. The sea air does wonders for my allergies.
April:
I didn't realize you had allergies.
Crow:
Exactly!
April:
Do you know what happened to the crew?
Crow:
As far as I know, they got away in the lifeboat.
April:
There was a lifeboat?
Crow:
One of those magic fold-up types, yeah.
April:
I guess they forgot all about me.
Crow:
I think the captain said something like "Let the wench drown and justice be done". But, uh, I could've been wrong.
April:
Any idea where the lifeboat is heading?
Crow:
South, I'd guess. From what I can remember of the old man's stories about the sea, Tagate would be the closest civilized island.
April:
I'm gonna look around a bit.
Crow:
Look at what? The sea? There's nothing here, April. Nothing.
April:
Any idea how I'm gonna get to the islands now?
Crow:
You could swim. Humans swim, don't they? They must, or you wouldn't be here now.
April:
I don't swim. And nobody can swim that far. There's no land visible in any direction.
Crow:
Well, I'd suggest flying, but you don't have the necessary equipment.
April:
Why don't you try to find the nearest island?
Crow:
I could do that, but I'd have to leave you on your own.
April:
Crow -- I'll be fine.
Crow:
All right, all right, don't blame a bird for trying to be a gentleman... gentlebird. Whatever. I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't go anywhere.
April:
Where would I go?
Crow:
Girls always disappear on me. Trust me.
After Crow had flown off, April felt even more alone and helpless. She looked out to the sea. She was a long way from anything and the ocean had never look so big to her from her small solitary point. Debris was all around here, all that is left afloat of "The White Dragon". She was either the luckiest person alive or the unluckiest person about to die a slow horrible death. She had no food and no water, still had her pack which was waterproof, fortunately, so all the things were still as dry as tinder. She had better update her diary while waiting for Crow.
Friday, August 4th, 2209.
At sea, and in deep shit. Not that I don't deserve it. Whatever punishment I get, I definitely deserve it. I sunk a ship, jeopardized the lives of everybody aboard, and stranded myself in the middle of the ocean with a blazingly hot sun and no land in any direction as far as the eye can see. Not to mention the very obvious fact that I have no food nor water. At least I got Crow, that's something. Not a lot, but something.
I can think of only one word right now, and it won't really do me any good: HELP!
If God or the Balance or some other cosmic force is watching right now, why don't we agree on this? You get me out of this, I owe you a favor. Deal? Is that a yes?
Time seemed to crawl as she sat there, waiting and wishing Crow would hurry up, a splash caught her attention. A pair of dark eyes in a sleek head looked at her from the surface of the water not far from the planks, giving her a fright.
April:
What the hell is that? ... Uh Oh, for some reason, the story of the bloodthirsty cannibal mermen of the Sea of Songs suddenly pops to mind. That might be one of the merman I heard horror stories about.
The head dipped beneath the water and appeared again. This time, she discerned two reddish flaps on either side of its head. Ears? It had a pointed sleek head like a seal. There was intelligence in its eyes as it looked at her. Thus far, it had done nothing threatening. Her fear ebbed away as curiosity took its place. She decided to try speaking to it the next time it appeared.
April:
Hi, do you speak... Arcadian? (It looked at her intently but remained silent and vanished beneath the sea again) Guess not. Doesn't seem so bloodhirsty and cannibalistic up close, though, does it?
Perhaps it was curious which would explain why it kept returning to the surface. She hunched down at the edge of the planks and waited.
April:
Hey, come over here and let me pet you. (She stretched out her hand. It swam nearer and lifted a wing-like arm to her) You're just like a seal, aren't y --
With a sudden tug, it pulled her into the water before she realised what it was doing . Instinctively, she held her breath. It turned out there were two of the mermen, the second lurking below the water. With one on either side of her, holding her hands, they pulled her swiftly down into the depths. She could do nothing but be towed along. Down, down, they went. Just as she was about to gasp for lack of air, an array of huge seashell-like buildings appeared on the seabed. After that, everything became confusing as she started to lose consciousness. A strong shove propelled her up onto dry ground and she laid there coughing and gulping in fresh air. Meanwhile, on the surface, Crow returned and surveyed the empty raft in disgust and resignation.
Crow:
Oh, bloody typical. I told her, she didn't believe me -- girls always disappear on me. Always.
For several minutes, April lay unmoving as she slowly recovered from the near drowning. With her respiration returning to normal, she sat up to survey her surroundings, pushing her wet hair hair back from her face. There was no one else but her in a small round chamber with a small water pool entrance in the centre of the floor. Of the mermen, there was no sign. She shivered as chills racked her body and taking off her wet clothes, wrung them as dry as she could before putting them back on. In an effort to ward off some of the cold, she did some exercises before sitting down to write in her diary.
Captured! Kidnapped! Abducted! By mermen! I'm trapped underwater, in a tiny little bubble of air, and why am I not panicking right about now? If I'm ever gonna panic, this would be a good time. I'm claustrophobic AND I have a fear of water. This situation combines all my phobias into one, tidy little package, and yet I feel...relaxed. Like it's all gonna be okay, it's gonna work itself out.
April...listen to me...you're screwed! How are you gonna get out of this one? By using your HEAD? Right. My head. That'll help me breathe under water. No, what I need is some scuba-diving equipment. Either that or gills. And I need to talk to these merpeople, find out why they saw fit to "rescue" me and bring me here.
There were three groups of drawings around the air chamber. Presumably made by the merpeople. She examined first the group on the left.
April:
It's a drawing of a man cutting his finger opened and squeezing some blood into a bowl together with some green mossy stuff. Then he mashes it together, and ...oh, gross.he dips a black pearl in it and eats it. That is barbaric. Maybe the stories about the cannibal mermen are true after all.
She moved to the next drawing.
April:
But, hey, in the next one he seems capable of speaking fluently with the creatures that brought me here. I wouldn't mind that, if it could get me the hell outta here.
She moved to the last drawing.
April:
It's the drawing of a man -- a human -- sticking a strange polyp-shaped object into his mouth... Ugh..in the next drawing, he seems able to breathe underwater. Convenient. If somewhat. (She looked at the wall dotted all over with glowing blue lights) The wall is organic and those blue things... (She walked closer) I think they are polyps of some kind. which live inside the wall and are part of the structure. National Geographic would go nuts over stuff like this. (She bent closer to the polyps) There's fresh oxygen coming through here.These apolyps must process the oxygen in the water somehow. That's how I'm able to breathe in here.
She heaved a sigh. With no other options in getting out of there, it looked like she would have to follow what the illustrations dictated. She was so not looking forward to putting strange things in her mouth. Carefully, she prised a small polyp out of the wall. It came out easily and lay puffing in her hand. It looked like a flower with a stalk. She tried to still the rebellion in her stomach as she prepared to insert the polyp.
April:
Oh, this is so disgusting.. but I have to get outta here.
Taking a deep breath, she inserted the polyp into her mouth. To her surprise, it settled into the back of her throat easily. She could hardly feel if there was anything there. Now to test it. Nervously, she prepared to slide into the waterpool, reminding herself to breathe through her mouth and not her nose. Once in the cold water, she experimentally dipped her head beneath, opening her mouth to respire much like a scuba diver would through diving gear. To her relief, there was no impairment in her breathing. Confidently, she pushed herself off and exited the chamber.
A whole new world opened before her. Ripples of sunlight glided across the seafloor. Seaweeds undulated gently in the water as schools of fish darted this way and that. The chamber she exited from reminded her ununcomfortably of an octopus. It heaved gently as if it was alive. A large seashell lay a few meters away from a wall of rock with thick and entangled seaweed. The arrangement of the seaweed piqued her interest, it seemed deliberately made that way. The city of the maerum lay farther away, beautiful seashell like buildings with gleaming lights mushroomed across the seascape. The chill of the water was leeching her body heat, she could not stay too long out there. Where could she find a black pearl? Looking at the large seashell, she wondered if it was left there by the maerum. It seemed too incongruous to be sitting just outside the air chamber. Would it be that simple and easy?
To her bemusement, a large black pearl was indeed nestled inside the shell. Picking it up, she looked around for the green moss depicted in the drawings. A thorough search in the vicinity turned up a blank. She swam to the city in the hopes she might find it there. The maerum were expecting her and gestured to one particular building inisistently. Taking the hint, she swam into the entrance. The interior was dome like, furnished with stone and coral and glowing with a green substance spread evenly across the walls. It seemed to provide light and heat. A spear or rather, a harpoon in marine terminology, leaned against the wall next to a small alcove which held a crystal. A merperson, or what the book called the Maerum sat in a throne-like chair fashioned out of coral. It looked at her steadily, not at all alarmed by her entrance. She was not sure what gender it was but she was sure it was not the ones that kidnapped her. It had smaller "wings". Would she be able to communicate with this maerum? She swam towards the maerum slowly and stopped within a few feet from it.
April:
Why did you bring me here?
Maerum Queen:
(strange bubbling sounds)
April:
Lucky me. I'm stuck at the bottom of the sea with Bubbles the Mermaid.
Maerum Queen:
(bubbling sounds)
It gestured to the glowing walls, which on closer examination seem to be the green moss she was looking for. She scraped off a handful with her fingers. Back in the air chamber, she dug out the pushpin and poised it over her finger) If this gets infected, and I have to chew off my fingers to fight the gangrene, I'm suing somebody. (Bracing herself, she stabbed her finger. Blood welled up through the wound which she dripped over the moss) The things I do to save the world. Worlds.(She thoroughly mixed the two and smeared the mixture on the black pearl. Before her astonished eyes, the pearl turned a golden colour) It's glowing with magic! (The size of it was daunting) I've always had trouble swallowing pills. Especially huge, golden, magical ones. Well, here goes nothing.
Taking a deep breath, she popped the pearl into her mouth and had to make a conscious effort to swallow. Belatedly, she remembered the polyp she had inserted and nearly choked as she frantically tried to decide whether she would end up killing herself afterall. To her relief, the pearl slipped down with no obvious obstruction. Time to test whether it worked. The Maerum looked at her expectantly when she returned to the room.
April:
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Maerum Queen:
(noded) Yes. We understand.
April:
Weird. I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I shouldn't be able to understand what you're saying... but I do.
Maerum Queen:
You have passed the two tests of the Gatherer, landwalker. Breathing water and speaking the tongue of the Maerum. You can server us now.
April:
Serve you?
Maerum Queen:
You have been brought here to serve us as the Gatherer of Tanyenn.
April:
I'm nobody's servant.
Maerum Queen:
You are mistaken, landwalker. Your life is ours, now. You serve us. We took you from your death into our life.
April:
I was perfectly capable of saving myself, thank you very much.
Maerum Queen:
Landwalkers do not survive long in the heat of the yellow fire without their unsalted water. You would have been dead by the next darkness.
April:
I'm not supposed to be here.
Maerum Queen:
You are supposed to be here. You are now a Gatherer, and your service will ensure the survival of our people.
April:
(decides not to pursue the question of service to the Maerum) What's Tanyenn?
Maerum Queen:
Tanyenn is life. Tanyenn brings light to darkness, and sustenance to our caves. Tanyenn keeps the Snapjaw from our children, and heats us when it is cold. Tanyenn is life.
April:
Where does Tanyenn come from?
Maerum Queen:
Our Gatherers collect it from the caves and shores of the islands, but there is less Tanyenn to be found each season, and we need help.
April:
How does Tanyenn do all these things you said?
Maerum Queen:
Tanyenn provides warmth, and light. It draw the harvest close --
April:
Harvest?
Maerum Queen:
The creatures of the sea that we eat. The goldentail, and the weedeye, and the sandeater...
April:
Fish. You're talking about fish.
Maerum Queen:
The harvest, yes, that is what we said. The harvest is drawn to the light, and to the heat. But the Snapjaw are clever, they stay away, they know the light allows us better aim with our spears.
April:
Why don't you gather Tanyenn yourself?
Maerum Queen:
We do, but we cannot move far from our cities, or the Snapjaw will hunt us, and eat us. If we travel in force, we leave our men and children without guard. And we cannot travel too close to the islands, or the Wingdemons may catch eye of us. They leave our Gatherers alone, though, so you have nothing to fear.
April:
Who are the Wingdemons?
Maerum Queen:
Ugly, leathery creatures who defy nature to fly up there, in the sky. They are evil, and live tod estroy our people.
April:
Don't the Snapjaw kill the Gatherers?
Maerum Queen:
Rarely. Your meat is bitter and tough, not soft and tender like ours.
April:
(uneasily) I won't ask you how you know that. ... I think I've learned enough about Tanyenn for now.
Maerum Queen:
You have learned nothing. But your training will teach you what you need to know.
April:
Are your people called the Maerum?
Maerum Queen:
We are the Maerum. Most landwalkers call us mermen, or merpeople, but the Maerum is our name in truth.
April:
Who are you, ma'am?
Maerum Queen:
We are the Queen of the Third City of the Maerum, Enlightened Keeper of the Tanyenn, Protector of the Light.
April:
I'm sorry, your... your majesty. I really had no idea you were a queen.
Maerum Queen:
We are just a Queen. Our function is to serve the people, to light our cities, provide food for our men and children, and to protect them from the Snapjaw that hunt us in the dark.
April:
Do you know where my ship went down?
Maerum Queen:
The vessel you foolishly travel in above the water? It rests not far from the city, just past and beyond the landwalkers bubble where you were first brought. I think it is dead.
April:
Do you know the island of Alais?
Maerum Queen:
Yes, we know the island of Alais. Our Gatherers find Tayenn there, and the Maerum once had a city in the shallow waters below it.
April:
Can you bring me there?
Maerum Queen:
Until your training is complete, you cannot go gathering. We can not risk losing you to the Snapjaw, or to have you desert your duties to our people.
April:
How long will my training take?
Maerum Queen:
Six cold oceans.
April:
Six years? Sure, that makes sense. Everything in this world takes ages.... I've been told you worship an old god who lives in the deep.
Maerum Queen:
How did you come by this forbidden knowledge?
April:
I...picked it up on my way here. Could you take me to him?
Maerum Queen:
You? No, we can not. Unless you are Maerum, you are not even allowed to speak of our sleeping god.
April:
Thanks for your time.
Maerum Queen:
We will call on you soon, to begin your service. Until then, you should stay inside the landwalker's bubble, and away from the dark waters where the Snapkaw lurk.
She was definitely not going to stick around for six years but it was doubtful she would be able get away from the Maerum. She did not know where Alais was and it was for certain the Maerum could easily haul her back once it was discovered she had escaped. Since the Queen did not seem to mind her looking around the hall, she swam over to the niche with the blue crystal. It was ensconced in a three-sided stand and looked very old. The three faces of the crystal were inscribed with glyps of a spear, a fish and a huge, pyramidic structure with an eye in the middle. The glyps were probably important. Holding up the crystal, she asked the Queen.
April:
Do you need this?
Maerum Queen:
No, it is of no value to us.
April:
Where did you find it? It looks very old.
Maerum Queen:
I believe one of the children found it just outside the city, not far from the landwalker's bubble, among the seaweed by the rocks. We have used it for decoration in our hall, but you are welcome to it. Consider it a gift, Gatherer.
Could the Queen be refering to the tangled seaweeds by the wall of rock? Worth checking out. Too, she had to retrieve the talisman from the wreck of the White Dragon. If she was swimming beyond the city, she would need a weapon to safeguard herself. Perhaps she could borrow the harpoon. But as she reached out to take it, the Queen stopped her.
Maerum Queen:
Leave the spear be. It belongs to the Waterstiller.
April:
Sorry. (Her ears pricked at that. Waterstiller?) ... Can we talk for a minute?
Maerum Queen:
Yes, Gatherer. We may.
April:
Who or what is the Waterstiller?
Maerum Queen:
The Waterstiller is in our prophecies. She is the landwalker who will make us a people united, and end all strife.
April:
So you're at war with other Maerum?
Maerum Queen:
No, and so the time for the Waterstiller is still to come. We are at peace with other Maerum.
April:
What else can you tell me about the Waterstiller?
Maerum Queen:
She will come among us by providence, and she will take something from us that we have kept hidden for many generations.
April:
What is it the Waterstiller will come to take from you?
Maerum Queen:
We do not know. But she will open up the ancient shrine, and bring light to darkness. She will destroy a Snapjaw with her spear, give witness of her mission, and then she will reunite us.
April:
She sounds like a swell person.
Maerum Queen:
She is the Waterstiller. She is prophecy.
April:
Thanks for your time.
Maerum Queen:
My time is yours, Gatherer.
She would just have to do without the harpoon. Retrieved the talisman and then solving the mystery of the blue crystal. Leaving the crystal with her other stuff in the air chamber, she swam for the wreck. The ship lay on its side with a large hole in the hull. Casks and crates were scattered over the seabed. There was no sign of the chest as she checked around. It was probably still within the ship. Just as she was about to approach the hole, she recoiled as she caught sight of a flurry of movement in the darkness of the hole. A flash of teeth, a large mouth snapped and the creature retreated to the shadows. This was probably a Snapjaw. From her brief glimpse of it, it had a head that was twice as big as its body.
There was no way she was going to enter the ship. The Snapjaw was just waiting for prey to get close enough to attack. The talisman would have to wait. Clamping down on her frustrations, she swam back to the air chamber and investigated the entangled seaweed by the rock wall. A gleam of blue caught her eye and pulling the seaweeds aside, she found another crystal, buried in the sand. This one had the glyps of a fish, spear and a wave, probably representing water . Certain that there were more crystals to be found, she pulled at the seaweed to find a doorway behind.
April:
There's an entrance to a cave back here! Judging by the amount of seaweed, it's a long time since anybody's been there.
The entrance led to a small dark cave. Sunlight shone down on a tall pedestal through a hole in the ceiling. Two more crystals lay on the floor. One with the glyps of a spear, water and pyramid. The other the glyps of a wave, pyramid and fish. The pedestal turned out to be a stone altar, with four triangular receptacles in four corners. Just the right size for the crystals, she realised. Each was inscribed with one of the glyps in the crystals: a harpoon, a fish, a pyramid and a bird. In the centre of the altar were four movable rings which could be ranged in a direct line to the inscriptions and a stone mould. They too, were also inscribed with images : a clay pot, a Maerum, fire and bird.
Placing the four crystals in the receptacles and aligning the rings correctly would turn out ... what? Solving a mystery, except she was not sure just what she is resolving. But no harm in trying. She swam out to the air chamber and returned with the first crystal. By trial and error, she managed to arrange everything correctly. There was a subdued hum and the stone mould in the center split into two, emnating a bright blue glow. Simultaneously. the chamber lit up. Upon the walls were more groups of drawngs and just below the first group is a circular indentation. She swam closer for a better look. The indentation was framed with the image of two dragons biting each other's tails. Almost exactly like the markings on her talisman. She looked at the inscribed drawings
April:
They look like some kind of visual history of the Maerum people. According to this first tablet... oh my God, it turns out the Maerum came to Earth inside a type of spaceship from another planet! They're aliens? Not that anything should surprise me at this point... but still... They looked very different back then, though it must've been a long time ago. Their ship looks to have been a living thing, according to these drawings. Wait a minute -- could this be their ancient god, one of the dragons? I think it has to be. After they arrived on Earth, their species divided into two. One crawled into the sea, the other onto land. What does that mean?
She swam over to the second group of drawings.
The last group of drawings was simple.
The Maerum Queen had to see this! April returned as fast as she could back to the hall.
April:
Can we talk for a minute?
Maerum Queen:
Yes, Gatherer. We may.
April:
Why was the cave with the altar and the wall paintings just outside the city abandoned?
Maerum Queen:
What? Show us this cave, immediately!
The Maerum Queen surveyed the cave with wonder.
April:
I lit the cave by placing the crystal from your palace, together with three more crystals I found on the altar, and moving the stone rings into their correct positions.
Maerum Queen:
Can it be that you are...? But you are the Gatherer, You cannot be she.
April:
Who? Who can't I be?
Maerum Queen:
The Waterstiller. She who, by prophecy, will deliver us from strife and unite as one people. She who will uncover the... ancient shrine.
April:
Looks pretty ancient to me.
Maerum Queen:
This is the shrine, yes. And you have brought light to darkness as well. But the other prophecies, you have not fulfilled them. You have not proven yourself to be the Waterstiller yet.
April:
How can I do that?
Maerum Queen:
Come back with us, and we will tell you.
Back at the hall, the Maerum Queen regarded her solemnly.
April:
How can I prove that I'm the Waterstiller?
Maerum Queen:
You have uncovered the ancient shrine and brought light to the darkness. But this could just chance. You must show us the witness you carry of your mission to the Balance.
April:
The talisman! Damn. I lost it when the storm hit us.
Maerum Queen:
You must also kill a Snapjaw with a spear, and then you will have proven yourself to us. Once you have done this, we will aid you in your quest to make us one people.
April:
Where do I begin?
Maerum Queen:
Take this spear and slaughter a Snapjaw. This must be done to prove your strength, and to prove you are of the Maerum.
April:
Where do I find a Snapjaw?
Maerum Queen:
If you are the Waterstiller, you will find a way.
Friday afternoon.
The Maerum Queen believes I may be what they call "the Waterstiller". Why not? After all, I am April Bandu-embata, and I'm probably what the Venar call the Kan-ang-la, so why not the Waterstiller? Thing is, this time I have to PROVE it. The Waterstiller is supposed to uncover an ancient shrine and bring light to the darkness...which I've already done. Then, I have to show some proof of my mission - the talisman, which the captain locked away in the chest - and kill a Snapjaw. Kill a SNAPJAW! What am I, an Amazon hunting woman person? I think not. I have a hard time smacking a fly. But if I wanna get outta here...
The talisman probably went down with the ship. I wonder how difficult it would be to get a hold of it?
April could have kicked herself she knew exactly where to find a Snapjaw. The spear was surprisingly light and easy to handle. Grasping it tightly in both hands, she swam to the wreck of the White Dragon. She propelled herself nearer the entrance of the hole and braced her feet as best as she could on the ocean floor. She waved the tip of the harpoon tentalisingly near the hole. The Snapjaw lunged out and she frantically thrust the spear into its mouth. With a gush of bubbles, the Snapjaw writhed in agony as the spear pierced its brain. It turned belly up as it died. She regarded the carcass with some disbelief, amazed that she had successfully killed it. She would need something to bring back though, to prove that she had killed it. One of its tooth would probably do just fine. She took hold of one and recoiled.
April:
Oh man, that's sharp. I had no idea a Snapjaw had razor teeth. If I did... Better not to think about that now. (Carefully, by using a piece of wood lying on the seabed, she knocked out a tooth. Holding it by the root, she swam into the wreck. A flash of golden light from the talisman catches her eye immediately) My talisman! What incredible luck!
The chest had shattered and the talisman was caught on one of the chains in the cargo hold. Slipping it over her head, she returned to the Maerum city where the Maerum Queen waited patiently for her.
April:
Here's a tooth from the dreaded Snapjaw that guarded the shipwreck, proof of my strength and courage.
Maerum Queen:
You have fulfilled that part of the prophecy. If you fulfill the rest, we will acknowldge you as the Waterstiller.
April:
Here's proof of my mission -- a magical talisman with the sign of the Balance. It means that I'm the Thirteenth Guardian of the Balance.
The Maerum Queen examined the talisman carefully before handing it back to her.
Maerum Queen:
You have fulfilled that part of the prophecy. If you fulfill the rest, we will acknowldge you as the Waterstiller.
April mentally ran the prophecy over in her mind and realised she had yet to find the object that had been hidden for many generations. The most likely place to search was the shrine and she had an idea where it was hidden.Back in the cave, she placed her talisman on the circular indentation. It glowed and a small niche appeared. Within it was a shard of stone which turned out to be a piece of the stone disc. However, it was only one half of a piece. It looked like it had been divided in two which was strange. She returned to the hall and showed her discovery to the Queen.
April:
I've taken from you the object you've kept hidden for generations. It's part of the disc that will restore the balance, and save the twin worlds from Chaos.
Maerum Queen:
You have fulfilled all but one of the prophecies. You might yet be the Waterstiller. We would not have thought she would come in our lifetime.
April:
Good. Then you'll take me to your sleeping god?
Maerum Queen:
There is but one more prophecy you must fulfill.
April:
There's more? Sure, there's always more. That's the fun part about prophecies.
Maerum Queen:
You must unite your people once again.
April:
But you said you were united, that there's no strife between Maerum.
Maerum Queen:
The Waterstiller will come to bring our people together again, to unite us and save us. This has still not come to pass. Until you do so, the prophecies of the Waterstiller have not fully come to pass.
April:
I think I know now what the prophecies mean when they say your people will be reunited. The Maerum are at peace with each other, yes? But you're not at peace with the Alatien, the Wingdemons.
Maerum Queen:
They are our enemies.
April:
Right now, they might be. But it wasn't always like that. Not according to the carvings in the temple cave.
Maerum Queen:
What do you mean?
April:
Once upon a time, long ago, the Maerum and the Alatien were one people.
Maerum Queen:
What? This is heresy!
April:
I'm just telling you what I saw in your temple. This was a very long time ago, mind, and the one species soon divided in two. One sought refuge in the sea, the other on the winds. But both the Maerum and the Alatien were dependent on the other for various reasons, amongst them Tanyenn. Which was abundant where the two people lived in close proximity to each other. Apparently, there was peace between your two people for a very long time, but then something happened that caused a war to break out. Both the Alatien, and the Maerum moved far away from each other, and ever since then, your people have had a tough time finding Tanyenn. I think the only way to save the Maerum from a slow death -- and the Alatien as well, probably -- is to reconcile you with your, uh, common ancestry.
Maerum Queen:
How can we believe you, Waterstiller? Your words are too outrageous, and the consequences, were you to be speaking the truth, are... grave.
April:
If you don't believe me, check out the temple walls. The whole story has been recorded there, probably when you first came to this place.
Maerum Queen:
But what will our people say? What will they think when we tell them they are brothers and sisers to the Wingdemons?
April:
You're their queen, and so you'll have to make them understand and accept their heritage. As must the Alatien, I expect. And I don't think it'll be any easier for them to come to terms with their history.
Maerum Queen:
You must go to them, then, to find if our temple speaks the truth, and if they are willing to speak with us like civilized people.
April:
I guess I must, Waterstiller or not. If you don't reunite with them, you will die, eventually.
Maerum Queen:
We will bring you to the shores of their closest island, and we will await word from you on their answer.
April:
Does this mean you believe me?
Maerum Queen:
You are the Waterstiller. You are prophecy. We will follow your directions and fulfill our destiny. One of our people will bring you to Alais, a night's journey from here. Once there, you will find the Alatien and speak with their leaders. If they agree to meet, then we will do so in a place of your choosing.
April:
I promise I'll do my best. Goodbye.
Maerum Queen:
Safe journey, Waterstiller.
I am the Waterstiller. How strange it is to be so insignificant, yet so important. There are so many who have been waiting for me, or somebody like me, to come and bring hope into their lives...it's truly amazing. And even more amazing, I'm able to cope with it! I'm still in denial, no question about that, but I'm warming up to the idea that I'm actually not just some tiny speck of dust in the cosmic infinity, but a person with a mission, with a place, with a purpose.
Right now, my purpose is to find the Alatien and to reunite them with the Maerum so that both species can thrive once more. That done, I can find out what the Alatien know, and then pay a visit to this sleeping god of the Maerum. I'm counting on this guy being one of the Kin. If not, I've no idea what to do next.