Part One:

  The Sea

  Chapter 1: The Exchange

  A large island slowly drifted toward the shore; Corin, like the others around him, stood frozen in place, staring at it. He had last laid eyes on that stretch of sea the previous night, a smooth, mirror-like surface, but now an enormous expanse loomed close to the bay. Its appearance signified one thing: catastrophe.

  "Leviathan," Corin whispered.

  The others turned their heads and gave him an icy glare that was equal parts horrified and damning. Corin confirmed what they all knew, what none of them wanted to believe was true, what they saw with their own eyes.

  Waves broke around the large creature. The distinctive pattern that it carved in the sea hinted that it was slowly and steadily moving. Toward them.

  Corin's entire being screamed. It urged him to flee, to abandon everything and run and not stop, to get away. But his body would not listen.

  A gust picked up. From above, where not a single cloud could be seen, thunder rang out.

  "Jokasta, on this day in which we are spared from our mortal coil, please show us your grace." An older man shed all his outer garments and sprawled on the ground, facing the sky. His eyes were closed. He had accepted his fate.

  Others around followed his example. They all shed their clothes and settled flat on the ground. Corin saw the old and even the infirm, those for whom even the slightest movement would be a monumental challenge, assume the same sky-facing pose.

  "Jokasta, please judge us worthy of receiving your grace," the chants continued.

  Corin felt the first raindrop on his face. He looked up and saw the storm clouds form opposite from where the creature in the sea approached. A loud roar pierced the sky, and thunder rang all around them. Two titans would battle each other. The site of the conflict would be their village.

  Corin moved his hand to his head. He was not a strict adherent of the faith, but he knew the customs. The headpiece was always the first to be removed as a sign of respect. The cracks of thunder came at a more regular pace now.

  "Corin!" someone shouted in front of him.

  He squinted at a familiar man who bore a striking resemblance to Corin, with the same dark complexion, and whose manner of being Corin sought to emulate his whole life.

  "You must go now! Warn the others!" his brother, Cyril, screamed in his face.

  Cyril seemed to be the only one who refused to accept his fate.

  "The others?" Corin asked slowly, his hand still wrapped around his headpiece.

  "The hunting party, Corin! They were to arrive today!" Cyril shouted.

  Corin still struggled to understand.

  "Think, Corin, think! Remember! Come to your senses!" Cyril continued. His eyes were wide, and his easygoing smile was nowhere to be seen. His deep, dark eyes filled with dread.

  "If we don't act now, the whole village will be lost. You must warn them. Tell them to flee, to hide, to get away!" Cyril dug his thumb into Corin's shoulder. An intense pain shot through him, which finally pulled him out of his stupor.

  Corin understood now. He was to run to the mountains, find the hunting party, and make them leave. His lot was the coward's lot.

  "But, Cyril, what of the villagers, I can’t leave them!”

  “Corin, those that are left cannot escape this,” Cyril explained. “I will stay and tend to them.”

  Corin knew it was true, the only ones that were left in the village were the old and the infirm.

  “But it is our duty is to protect the village, why we stayed behind—" Corin argued but was stopped.

  Cyril once again dug in his thumb. Corin winced. This was Cyril's way of letting him know this was not the time for an argument.

  "Yes, our duty is to the village. That is why you must warn the others. I will stay behind. I'll salvage anything that is left behind, but you need to go!" Cyril said.

  He smiled now, trying his best to ease Corin’s worries, but it wavered.

  Even Cyril with his silver tongue, who could stare down the mightiest on the island and not flinch, could not keep his composure in this moment. Corin could see his brother’s fear.

  There won't be anything left after this!

  "You will see me again." Cyril smiled weakly at Corin.

  A loud explosion shook the surrounding air. A giant shard of ice shot from the massive creature in the sea towards the sky. There was no sun anymore; the sky was completely darkened. Rain poured down, mercilessly.

  "Hurry, Corin, go!" Cyril turned Corin around and pushed him.

  Without thought, Corin dashed like mad to the mountains. He ran ceaselessly, slipping multiple times on the wet ground but never stopping.

  Stop! Go back to him! Save him! Save your brother!

  The din of the thunder was so loud that Corin could barely hear anything else. His heart pounded, he gasped for breath, he did everything he could to put as much distance between himself and the village.

  Listen to me! Stop running! Cyril! Save him!

  A flash of light. An intense heat bloomed in front of Corin. He was thrown back, flat on the ground and he faced the sky. The clouds parted. A large golden figure emerged from behind them. Its eyes were completely white, its fangs were the size of a person, and its wings could summon storms with their sheer power.

  The creature roared, and lightning erupted. Corin thought it might come for him, but he was mistaken. He was of no significance to a titan. The creature continued on its path to the leviathan.

  Corin got up and continued running.

  Cyril must be dead now.

  But Corin continued running, leaving his town and his brother to its fate.

  ***

  Corin awoke. His eyes quickly adjusted to his surroundings. He held the handle of his blade, grasping it so tightly that his hand started feeling numb.

  That day. It's been ten years, but I still can't stop dreaming about it.

  Corin's heart continued racing as he awoke. The dream of that day started becoming more frequent in the previous weeks. Corin dreaded reliving it.

  As Corin felt himself starting to get worked up, he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. The gentle touch instantly soothed the rising tide that stirred within him. He embraced the hand.

  "Is it that day again?" Livia said in her gentle, falsetto voice. She knew him better than anyone.

  Corin could see the concern in his wife's dark-brown eyes. He had known those eyes for almost the entirety of his life, and he knew they would always be there to reassure him. Standing so close left him in awe of how beautiful she was. Her dark short hair, her glowing smile, her soothing voice. It reminded Corin that there were still things worth living for on the island of Trinixo.

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  "It's nothing, it's-" Corin tried to think of something to say, something that put her at ease, but there was no use hiding it from her. "Yes. I keep dreaming of it lately. I don't know why."

  "Sometimes I dream of that day as well. It's been over a decade, but I clearly remember you running to us and helping us find shelter. I don't know what we would have done without you," Livia said, reassuring him.

  Corin smiled weakly at her. She leaned in, kissed his forehead, and pulled her head back to look him in the eyes.

  "Remember, we will weather the storm together," Livia said. "So shall we get going?"

  Corin felt his spirits rising and stood up.

  "Let's," Corin replied as he rubbed his pendant, which always brought him good luck.

  There was not much for them to prepare before they set off from their camp. The majority of their provisions for their ten-day journey were neatly stowed in their bags. They had a quick meal and set off on the last leg of their journey.

  Although the sea was visible from their campsite, they were still far from it. They always avoided sleeping near the sea.

  While the day was hot and the sun beat down on Corin and Livia, they were able to find respite in the tropical landscape. Palm tree fronds would provide shade, and the occasional coconuts provided them with some needed fluids. A slight breeze would wander in and out during the day, tempering the hot climate. Whenever possible, Corin would keep his eyes on the sea. Even the slightest hint of leviathan activity would mean they'd have to abandon the trip.

  Corin and Livia arrived at the beach. There was not a single hint of a leviathan visible in the sea. He looked up. The clear skies hinted at no dragons in the area either. Now he looked across the sea to Aubea Island. The small uninhabited island was directly south of their home island of Trinixo. Like the myriad islands that surround Trinixo, Aubea would normally not attract much attention. But that all changed several days prior when a gargantuan piece of a dragon temple fell from the sky onto it.

  The structure was impressive to observe, even from this distance. Pieces of floating dragon temples fell all the time from the sky. They normally ranged in size from small boulders to objects the size of a small hill. But the structure that Corin saw across the sea dwarfed anything he had previously seen. The structure across the sea, seemed more like a mountain.

  Part of it was on the water, burgeoning out from the island it landed on. When Corin and the rest of the villagers saw the structure falling from the sky, some remarked that the moon was crashing down to the earth. The ensuing crash shook the ground and could be heard even in his village. Now, all that stood between them and the gargantuan structure was the calm, placid sea and whatever might lurk within it.

  "You have them, right?" Livia asked.

  "Of course I do! You told me to bring it, and I did," Corin replied as he removed his bag.

  "It was just a question," she said as she waited.

  Corin knelt down in front of the sea and put his bag down. In it he rummaged, looking for two items. He found the first quickly, Livia's contraption. It was a glass case that housed two bells within it, each one etched with a symbol. One with a triangle and one with a square. There were a variety of interlocking gears within and a small crank on the outside of the device to operate it.

  He held it up high so Livia could see that he had not forgotten it.

  "I see it," she replied.

  He rummaged for the second item. It was smaller and harder to find. Corin looked all over the bag and could not find it. He emptied the bag out and tried to search through every nook, coming to the grim realization that he'd neglected to bring it.

  "Oh? Are you looking for this?" Livia asked, revealing a small object in her hand.

  Corin turned his head and quickly identified the flute he had been looking for, the one he forgot to pack. He hung his head in defeat.

  "Well, that's odd. I thought you said you brought it." Livia smirked and winked at Corin.

  "Thank you," he muttered as she handed him the flute.

  Corin grabbed the two objects and waded into the water. Once the water was chest high, he took a deep breath and dove in. Within the water, he took the flute and blew as hard as he could. He saw bubbles emerge from the end but was not able to hear anything.

  I must look like a fool.

  Rising up from the water, Corin was surprised to find two figures in front of him.

  "Agh!" Corin yelled as he fell backward from the shock.

  Corin splashed into the water and quickly came back up. As he did he heard Livia and the two figures laughing at the distress they caused him.

  Corin stood up and stared at the thin, muscular humanoid figures that half protruded from the water. The two of them smiled as they looked at Corin.

  "You almost killed me!" Corin complained loudly his entire body soaked in water now.

  "Our apologies, we did not mean to startle you. We saw you enter the sea and were surprised that you wanted an audience with us. Long has it been since any land dwellers requested the presence of our people," the female said, shimmering scales running along her body. Like her male counterpart, she was a siren.

  Corin was entranced by her. Her body was slick, pure muscle, and iridescent, like a figure from a dream. She like her companion, wore a skintight armor woven from the dark teeth of moesars. Her features were smooth like other sirens, this helped her wade through the water with ease. Her scales dark blue scales were iridescent and they shone beautifully in the light. Legends have been told of men who have fallen so deeply in love with sirens that they swam to their deaths in the sea. Corin could see why.

  As he looked at them, Corin noticed that they awaited a response.

  "Oh, of course." He began trying to think of what to say, and spitting out some water. "Folks on the island are still hesitant to go near the sea. Even after all these years."

  Corin did not need to elaborate. They knew what he referred to.

  "Of course, we understand." The female siren replied. "I am Nishandra. This is my mate, Gavlin."

  "Yes, I'm sorry I should have introduced ourselves. You may call me Corin. That over there is my wife, er, mate, Livia," he replied.

  Livia waved as she waded through the water toward the three of them.

  "Do you require passage?" Nishandra asked.

  All of them knew the answer. The only reason a land-dwelling furtive would contact a siren would be to request passage across the seas. No matter how short or long the trip was, sirens were the only furtives capable of providing voyage across the sea. Other furtives' efforts at mastering the seas always ended in failure, with any significant seafaring vessel being crushed by the leviathans as soon as it began to emerge.

  "That is correct," Livia replied.

  "If I may ask, do you wish to visit that hideous thing over there?" Gavlin motioned behind him. His tone made it clear he did not appreciate the new structure on Aubea.

  "Yes, we would like to request passage to go to the Dragon Temple," Corin replied, and Gavlin sneered. "But I must ask, has there been any activity that you have seen near it? Any other beings approaching it. Or, well, titans."

  The two sirens winced at the mention of them.

  "No, no such thing. We have seen many Dragon Temple fragments fall into the sea before. Sometimes they are interested, but most of the time they are not. But we have never seen anything of this size, and for some reason that we do not know, none of them have dared try to approach it," Nishandra said.

  Corin knew who she was referring to.

  "I see. Crossing the sea is not something we would want to do, but this is a unique opportunity. My wife constructs items that have greatly improved life for our villagers from items scavenged from the dragon ruins, such as this." Corin showed them the glass device he brought with him.

  With a quick motion, Gavlin snatched the item from Corin's hand and deftly moved the device in his hand, studying it closely. He held it up to Nishandra, who also examined it.

  "What is it?" she asked as she pored over the device.

  "An alarm bell for leviathans," Livia replied.

  Gavlin shot Livia an amused look.

  "I don't understand. This device is supposed to warn us if one of them is coming? Is that right?" Gavlin asked.

  "That is correct. It operates on a very simple concept. You turn the wheel, which will activate this bell," Livia said while pointing to the bell with the triangle inscribed on it.

  "That bell will continue to ring, but you won't be able to hear it. It rings in such a way that it is able to travel very far into the ocean," Livia added.

  "What about this bell?" Nishandra asked, pointing to the bell with the square inscribed on it.

  "That is how the device alerts you. If an object that is large enough is moving toward you, the bell with the square will react to the reflection of the sound from the triangle bell. If that happens, the other bell will ring, and you will hear it," Livia added.

  Both Nishandra and Gavlin looked at Livia with disbelief. Corin was not surprised. He knew how insane what Livia had said sounded.

  "This is quite the claim you are making," Gavlin retorted with a slight smile.

  "I know it seems hard to believe, and I know I am asking you to put a great deal of trust in what we are saying, but it works. We designed a test and tried it, and it worked!" Corin added, trying to reassure both of the sirens.

  Both Nishandra and Gavlin gaped at them again.

  "This you swear?" Nishandra asked, reaching underneath the water's surface.

  Corin had expected this question. Nobody knew if it was magic, a learned trait, or just propaganda taken for fact. But it was impossible to lie to a siren. If caught in a lie, they would not hesitate to decapitate the offender.

  "I swear this to be true," Corin replied.

  Gavlin and Nishandra both looked at each other in amazement. They knew that Corin spoke the truth.

  "But how? How is it possible?" Gavlin asked, still observing the device.

  "Every single component in the device is crafted from objects obtained from dragon temples," Livia added.

  The sirens gasped in amazement.

  "The properties of those materials are unlike anything else we find on this island. That glass is nigh impossible for any of us to shatter. To even cut it, we had to use metal obtained from the dragon temples. And to work the metal, we can only do so at a forge that fell from a dragon temple. It is the only thing we know gets hot enough to work the metal."

  "And you did all this?" Gavlin asked.

  "I had some help," Livia replied while looking at Corin, who sheepishly smiled back at all.

  "Amazing!" Nishandra replied as she studied the device.

  "Oh, and one more thing, if you hear the alarm go off, then you have at most ten minutes before you encounter whatever triggered it," Livia added.

  "Even a minute of warning could save many lives," Nishandra added.

  "And you would give this to us? We could not take this and leave you defenseless. They pose a threat to you as much as they do us," Gavlin added.

  "Yours is not the only one in existence," Corin replied.

  "Well, the agreed-upon rule is to pay in kind," Gavlin replied.

  "Passage for you two to the island then?" Nishandra asked gleefully.

  "Us and some provisions. And passage back would be nice," Corin replied.

  "Then we shall fetch a vessel to bring you to the island," Nishandra said.