#not enough hours of daylight for me to finish reading 'leviathan'

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Can all you women start reading Hobbes so we can have a book discussion

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Wordtober Day 6: Sword

The sun rose through the trees and he throws his arm across his face to block it out. Something the size of a cat pounces on him and he jumps; the sleep in his eyes making the world appear hazy as he blinks at the small, rust coloured figure.

“Not now. I just got to sleep.”

“Aaand now it’s time to get up”

He groans and rolls over, hauling the blanket up to cover his head; knocking the creature off him in the process. He can hear it curse at him as it struggles to stay on the bed.

“I feel sick.”

“You should've thought about that before staying up all night.”

He grumbles as the sheet slowly becomes transparent; exposing him to the burning sunlight.

“You’re awful.”

A small chuckle can be heard; well, the equivalent of a chuckle anyway and there’s a flap of wings as he sits up. He stretches, watching as the blanket returns to it’s normal, solid, tawny brown. He yawns as the dragon sits on him again and presses its head into his hand.

“I made breakfast.”

“Lord help us.”

This particular dragon’s idea of ‘breakfast’ consisted of a variety of grubs, worms and whatever it caught in the island's shallows; not the most appetizing meal for… basically, anyone who wasn’t a dragon.

“Oh relax, Xen. There’s scrambled eggs and toast for you”

Xen raises an eyebrow in confusion. Usually, when something humanly edible was made it was cooked oysters or fish or crab but eggs?

“...What kind of eggs?”

“Chicken, I think.”

“Chicken, you think. Better question, where did you get the eggs?”

The dragon hesitates for a moment, manoeuvring itself to the end of the bed; out of arm's reach.

“Zeothess. Where. Did you get. The eggs.”

“From Poppy.”

“Poppy.”    

It had been it hadn’t been that long since he’d last seen her, only about a year. At one point they’d dropped out of contact for nearly a decade; leading him to believe she was dead until she showed up on his island one day.

“I visited her yesterday but you were so busy you obviously don’t remember me telling you.”

Xen had used the lighthouse’s power supply to aid a Mergirl he’d seen sitting on the shore a night ago. It had cost him a great about of energy to cast the spell and when he’d attempted to turn on the light the following night it had burnt out. That prompted the loss of several daylight hours and the all-nighter he was currently regretting; his own fault for deciding to live there he supposed. He was just thankful the emergency light had turned on without a problem. The one thing that made it worth it, was hearing Poppy’s voice carry across the waves that night.

“How’s she doing?”

“She’s alright. Still looking wrinkled.”

Xen swats at the dragon but Zeothess dodges it; cursing at him as they do.

“Shut it. She’s only as wrinkled as I am. What about the girl? Is she alright?”

“After you lead her into the water, with that creepy glowy-glow trick? Yeah, she’s good; hasn’t found all her scales yet though. Poppy says thanks by the way.”

He sighs and swings his legs off the bed; stretching into the sun to let his scales absorb some of the light. Being only half Mer, his scales wouldn't absorb enough to completely rejuvenate him, but it helped. He stands and throws on in his robe before heading down into the kitchen.

Xen was a person that couldn't be classified as a Mer, nor could he be classified as a Shift; and he was certainly not a Fae. He fell into a completely different category and for this and many other reasons: solitude suited him.

“Whatcha thinking ‘bout?”

“Lots of things Zeo… lots of things.”

He absentmindedly runs his hand across the dragon's back, used to the smooth, water-worn texture. The radio springs to life when he waves his hand at it and the weather report echoes through the stone tower.

“Expect a rough storm to roll in mid-afternoon with winds reaching speeds upwards of fifty knots and five-foot waves. Boats are recommended to stay in port and beaches to be cleared until it passes.”

Xen turns it off when he finishes breakfast and rubs the pale gill scars on his neck. Zeothess studies him carefully; attempting to read his expression, bat-like wings rustling in concentration. He makes eye contact with the little dragon; thin and lanky, a newt but larger and magical.

“You're not thinking what I think you're thinking… are you?”

He doesn't answer. They both knew they had to enter the Mer realm.

“No.”

“What choice do we have, Zeo? We can't weather the storm out here; we're too exposed.”

“Xen, they tried to kill you remember?”

The dragon was right; they had tried to kill him. They'd lashed at him with swords of sharpened coral and whips of kelp. Not to mention the leviathan that guarded the nearby city. He may be a Mer halfling but he was also a halfling of the forbidden realm; the human realm.  

The storm could be seen on the horizon as Xen began to pack the necessities in a waterproof sack. He'd chosen to ignore Zeothess’ warning; with some difficulty.

“We could take the boat and stay with Poppy-”

“We both know we'll be caught in the storm before we reach land and the water's too choppy for me to swim ashore without being smashed into rocks… we have no choice.”

Zeo whines softly, wrapping their tail around his leg in a failed attempt to stop him.

“We'll be fine. Seaton said there's a cave under the island; we’ll find it and stay there till it’s over”

The two of them finish prepping the lighthouse to weather the storm and head down to the water's edge. Xen eyes the black clouds; closer now.

“We wouldn't stand a chance up here”

A statement. Something to convince himself that this was the best solution. He hated storms with a passion after his father's ship had gone down in one; nearly fifty years ago. But his mother's realm wasn't friendly either; at least not to him.

The wind billows around him, wishing him luck as he steps into the water and he knows that she'll carry a message to Poppy. With the pack slung over his shoulder, he dives, relishing the feeling of his gills reopening after a long time on land. Zeothess joins him and the pair swims down, looking for the cave as the waves start crashing on the rocks.

It's quiet below the storm, almost eerily so; no sign of anyone to stop them. Xen turns on his waterproof lantern attached to his pack instantly illuminating the storm darkened waters. As the pair dive deeper they’re faced with a haunting sight: skeletons lay on the seabed, preserved in the salt-laced water. Weapons of all sorts lay scattered across the sand; coral swords and tridents, spears, daggers and others Xen couldn’t identify. He does his best not to focus on them as the remnants of dull scales catch the light. These people were Mer. Mer that had rebelled against their queen and council millennia ago and were destroyed for it. Zeo draws closer to him as they swim on; trying not to look down.

They’re almost at the cave entrance when an ancient shipwreck looms out of the darkness. Zeothess lets out a small squeal at the sudden appearance and latches onto Xen’s pack. He swims in place for a moment, admiring the wreckage; here long before the lighthouse was built to prevent its sinking. Something near the bow reflects the light; half buried in the sand. Everything in him advises against investigation but Xen feels himself drawn toward the object and finds himself swimming down for a better look; reluctantly followed by the little dragon.

“Xen, what’re you doing?”

He ignores Zeo’s hissing and brushes the sand aside, uncovering a sword of glistening iron. Its hilt was gilded and decorated with shards of aquamarine. A single, sparkling diamond adorned the end of the handle and an inscription could be seen on the blade itself, written in Eldoshi; the Mer language. Xen brings the light closer so he can read it.

“What is it?”

Zeo leans over his shoulder as he begins to translate it.

This sword, this blade of all waters, created by only the finest of workers, was once wielded by our gracious Queen, Andromeda Ochena II and used to dispose of those who dared rise against her.  

Ochena… When Xen was born he’d been given his mother’s last name; as Mer were traditionally matriarchal. His thoughts race as the stories his mother had told him, so long ago return in hazy fragments.

“Xen? Who’s Andromeda Ochena?”

Xen shakes his head and lifts the sword, unburying the sheath with it and marvelling at how it fit in his hand like it was made for him. There were no indications of a date; no clue to when Andromeda ruled but Xen knew one thing with absolute certainty:

“She was my great-grandmother.”