closest of the two blades, however, her quest into the depths
of the underground pool took a surprising turn as her Pendant was
suddenly not the only other thing with a mind of its own. Kaho
froze in shock as long tangles of sea grass that surrounded the
newfound weapons began to move on their own, slithering towards the
swimming Veha. She attempted to escape, but found swimming against
the force of her Pendant’s pull to be an impossible task. Fear
coursed through her body and panic ran rampant in her mind as the
weeds encircled her arms, pulling Kaho further down and effectively
immobilizing her. She looked upwards through the darkness of the
water, beginning to feel the need for oxygen finally creeping up on
her after all this time. It seemed that her new powers had their
limits, and along with the end of those abilities, Kaho realized at
that moment, could very well come the end of her journey, lost in
the depths of the water where it was quite possible that nobody
would ever find her.
And so her thoughts
wandered now as the world grew foggy around her. They wandered
towards the distant light that still broke through the darkness far
above at the surface. That light appeared to engulf Kaho as the
world around her began to change shape, spinning uncontrollably
until it finally settled upon a scene that was far from the seaside
caverns of Af’Lanu. Kaho found herself standing before the Tavar
Mafa, looking on at four familiar faces. Before her was Ikani,
standing triumphantly alongside Lanaru and Enoke on either side. To
her right stood the towering figure of Veha Oren. All four of them
appeared to be in good spirits, smiling and laughing as they
overlooked the surrounding Hub City beneath a cloudless afternoon
sky. All seemed well.
“Hey!” Kaho cried,
reaching out towards them. Her voice seemed to echo from all
directions. “Over here!” she exclaimed. “Enoke,
Ikani!”
There was no response,
not even a single sign of acknowledgment.
“Lanaru?” she asked
finally. Still nothing.
She tried to run
towards them, desperate for recognition, but her body seemed
trapped – immobilized on the spot by some invisible force as tears
began to run down her cheeks. Watching on, her brothers all seemed
to be perfectly happy without her presence; they had even located
Oren, who now seemed to be amongst their ranks as well. His
addition it itself seemed to fill the void left by her absence, and
then some. Though she could not see into their minds, Kaho was all
but certain that she did not even exist there as a memory – for
that matter, she feared that she would never rise to be more than a
passing thought that would only serve to darken the blue skies as
they reminisced about her failure to survive out on her own. To
them, she was perhaps but a reminder of the dark days that were now
behind the other Veha – lost, along with her legacy, deep below the
surface.
The
surface.
The light seemed to
grow closer. Yes; it was now in reach. Kaho’s fingers brushed upon
the metal handle below, and her eyes snapped open anew. There was
no looking back. With one swift movement she had grabbed hold of
the first Blade, quickly cutting herself free before grabbing the
second. From there, she darted towards the surface, not daring to
look behind. The light above only continued to draw nearer as the
broke the surface of the pool, gasping for air as she struggled to
remove herself from the water in her greatly weakened state
following the sudden adrenaline rush. Still shaking violently, Kaho
forced herself onto her feet, glancing upwards at the hole towards
the surface. Her eyes widened when she came to the realization that
her eyes had not been playing tricks on her at all – it
had
gotten
larger! Squinting at the blinding daylight, Kaho watched in
amazement as the pool at her feet was suddenly showered with
falling rocks, plunging into the depths from which she had just
escaped. She looked upwards in disbelief as a familiar face
of the underground pool took a surprising turn as her Pendant was
suddenly not the only other thing with a mind of its own. Kaho
froze in shock as long tangles of sea grass that surrounded the
newfound weapons began to move on their own, slithering towards the
swimming Veha. She attempted to escape, but found swimming against
the force of her Pendant’s pull to be an impossible task. Fear
coursed through her body and panic ran rampant in her mind as the
weeds encircled her arms, pulling Kaho further down and effectively
immobilizing her. She looked upwards through the darkness of the
water, beginning to feel the need for oxygen finally creeping up on
her after all this time. It seemed that her new powers had their
limits, and along with the end of those abilities, Kaho realized at
that moment, could very well come the end of her journey, lost in
the depths of the water where it was quite possible that nobody
would ever find her.
And so her thoughts
wandered now as the world grew foggy around her. They wandered
towards the distant light that still broke through the darkness far
above at the surface. That light appeared to engulf Kaho as the
world around her began to change shape, spinning uncontrollably
until it finally settled upon a scene that was far from the seaside
caverns of Af’Lanu. Kaho found herself standing before the Tavar
Mafa, looking on at four familiar faces. Before her was Ikani,
standing triumphantly alongside Lanaru and Enoke on either side. To
her right stood the towering figure of Veha Oren. All four of them
appeared to be in good spirits, smiling and laughing as they
overlooked the surrounding Hub City beneath a cloudless afternoon
sky. All seemed well.
“Hey!” Kaho cried,
reaching out towards them. Her voice seemed to echo from all
directions. “Over here!” she exclaimed. “Enoke,
Ikani!”
There was no response,
not even a single sign of acknowledgment.
“Lanaru?” she asked
finally. Still nothing.
She tried to run
towards them, desperate for recognition, but her body seemed
trapped – immobilized on the spot by some invisible force as tears
began to run down her cheeks. Watching on, her brothers all seemed
to be perfectly happy without her presence; they had even located
Oren, who now seemed to be amongst their ranks as well. His
addition it itself seemed to fill the void left by her absence, and
then some. Though she could not see into their minds, Kaho was all
but certain that she did not even exist there as a memory – for
that matter, she feared that she would never rise to be more than a
passing thought that would only serve to darken the blue skies as
they reminisced about her failure to survive out on her own. To
them, she was perhaps but a reminder of the dark days that were now
behind the other Veha – lost, along with her legacy, deep below the
surface.
The
surface.
The light seemed to
grow closer. Yes; it was now in reach. Kaho’s fingers brushed upon
the metal handle below, and her eyes snapped open anew. There was
no looking back. With one swift movement she had grabbed hold of
the first Blade, quickly cutting herself free before grabbing the
second. From there, she darted towards the surface, not daring to
look behind. The light above only continued to draw nearer as the
broke the surface of the pool, gasping for air as she struggled to
remove herself from the water in her greatly weakened state
following the sudden adrenaline rush. Still shaking violently, Kaho
forced herself onto her feet, glancing upwards at the hole towards
the surface. Her eyes widened when she came to the realization that
her eyes had not been playing tricks on her at all – it
had
gotten
larger! Squinting at the blinding daylight, Kaho watched in
amazement as the pool at her feet was suddenly showered with
falling rocks, plunging into the depths from which she had just
escaped. She looked upwards in disbelief as a familiar face
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