To Fly the Soaring Tides

At a glance, reducing gold to dirt may seem counterintuitive, but we weren’t making just any dirt. This was going to be fertile soil. That’s what Cira said, anyway.

We took the ship down a different branch in the river until the place where it split into many different directions. The choke point of each began to glow bright cerulean while her shining orichalcum staff floated above it all with an increasingly large cloud of what Cira claimed were minerals floating around it. It looked like glittering dust with specks of dirt in it.

Cira recalled how Kuja and I figured out how to craft the essence loom from before and tasked me with making us two more crystal glasses to drink from while we waited for this stage of the process to finish. Part of me didn’t want to drink again for the rest of my life, but it was also very tasty, so I obliged.

I struggled to conjure mana crystal in general, having only played around with it following a single tome with an old woman a thousand times wiser than me, but symmetrical objects felt like child’s play compared to giving it an open top and putting a handle on it. I started to wonder whether it was all a dream, and I had never actually conjured mana crystal before.

She chuckled watching me struggle, “There is no shame in taking it slow, but I am thirsty… Just forget about the handle for now.”

It only took me ten minutes or so after that to make two cheap looking cups, slightly misshapen, then a stream of ale floated from somewhere over the hill.

Cira took a long, satisfying sip, “And now we wait…”

We drank and we waited, and we ate until there was a large enough shroud of dust above us to dim the sun. At this point, Cira flipped us around and we followed the river back down. All the way down. The dust was blown away somewhere else.

It was a relatively straight path and picked up speed as we descended, as if Cira had chosen this path specifically. We launched off the edge and I once again held on for dear life, failing to suppress a scream as Cira just sat there with a grin until we hit the sea.

“There’s two main ways to go fishing,” she said, “I could craft us some fishing poles and harpoons, or we could get on down there and handle the matter personally. I, for one, am curious to see how deep it goes.”

“I, for one, am not!” I took the drink away from my face to display my frown. “Fishing pole for me, please…”

“Good idea, we’ll split up.” Dammit… it’s my fault this time. “We don’t have any bait though, so the best I can do is enchant you a shiny lure.

She did as much then attached it to a hook. The rod seemed flexible despite being solid titanium by the looks of it, from a pouch at her waist, and the line was more of a thin cable. She also crafted a little basket hanging off the side for me to put the great amount of fish she expected me to catch inside and keep them fresh, then she disappeared with another step and a watery plop.

___

Cira descended through the water until light no longer reached her. Fighting the storm fiend, she didn’t realize how quiet and lonely it felt down here. It was an all-encompassing darkness that reminded her not of Archaeum, but of the depths of her own sea of consciousness.

The pressure all around her only became greater as she fell ever deeper, but it bore no curses, nor the sins of her past. It was just a sea like any other, if a little more potent. The weight wasn’t uncomfortable this time. It felt like she was bundled up in bed, wrapped in a heavy blanket.

She passed a lot of fish of various sizes and species, plucking a few out here and there, and noticed they grew thinner the further she sank.

It’s surprisingly pleasant down here… I’ve already gone a mile below the surface, and I still can’t see the end. What an incredible amount of water.

It was no simple matter maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem—outside of the actual ocean. Cira had seen a fishing village with a saltwater pond for raising fish in the off-season, and it was constant work to keep stable. If they slacked off, all their food could die, and they may starve.

Fish produced a lot of waste, especially if they were supposed to grow for generations in the same pond. Sea water existed in a delicate balance, and this realm’s sea was no different from a massive pond. Sure, it really was massive, but to still be so healthy and beautiful after untold centuries was a feat that left Cira breathless—despite the fact she had been underwater for a while now.

Not only did he conjure this realm, but he wove it together such that the natural laws persist in perfect equilibrium even after all this time. I can’t begin to imagine the vast wisdom this person must have possessed.

Cira always knew there had to be other legendary casters on par with her father. He claimed there were, for one, but this was the first time she was faced with the result. With undeniable proof, rather. It was somewhat humbling, but she became a little frustrated. Dad was still the best…

The thought soured her mood a little, and she started fishing to keep her mind off it. She didn’t want to decimate the population, so she only took every third fish, leaving some of the cooler looking ones alone.

Cira came across a spot of light and found a luminescent jellyfish with glowing pink tentacles that hung like ivy. She contemplated taking a seat on it and riding it around for a little, but didn’t want to fight it in case it got made. The jellyfish was like a flower on the shore of a passing island.

Thus continued her descent. The fish she gathered had amassed a school behind her, safe from the varying pressure within Aquon’s flow. Then a rumble in her stomach opened her eyes to what might be dinner later.

She passed up a great many fish, because they were boring ones she had seen or eaten before. A couple rare specimens, but nothing that looked particularly meaty.

She was beginning to think it was time to head up and settle for more tuna when a little yellow squid darted past her face and disappeared below.

Are there bigger squids…? Maybe I just have to go deeper.

Luckily, there was no sign of another giant snake, and she was able to catch up to the tiny squid. By Cira’s estimate she had to be a couple miles down and it was getting spooky imagining all the water between her and the boat.

Squid Junior and his sorcerous sidekick passed by another one of those pretty jellyfish, and Cira was beginning to get irritated that the fish variety hadn’t seemed to change much despite the depth. She was getting plenty for her agricultural plans, but wanted to find something she’d never eaten before calling it quits. Also, it was disturbing that she still hadn’t reached the bottom. How big could a conjured realm be?

Around the time she passed yet a third jellyfish, Cira stopped for a second and placed her arms on her hips, peering thoughtfully into the abyss.

Something’s not right. These jellyfish sure get around, but… I’ve gotta be over three miles deep by now. One whole league under the sea. Even my five percent undine content is starting to feel a little stiff. Why are all the fish the same…? And why does the jellyfish look identical every time?

Come to think of it… the pressure has barely increased in some time. Nothing like it should be down here—

The moment she had that realization, Cira had to resist gasping a few million pounds of ocean into her lungs. She floated there and shuddered for a moment as a wave of discomfort washed over her mind. She swore she was keeping track of her movements, but the map she had in her head suddenly became much smaller.

Impossible… This whole time—It’s been repeating? Cira’s eyes went wide as it all became clear under her gaze. Ever since around the mile mark, she had actually only traveled about a hundred feet or so, but the edges of this realm was comprised condensed space so distorted she hadn’t even noticed she was caught within it. For all she knew, it could have trapped her forever if she let it, or if her undine senses hadn’t tipped her off.

Cira was still reeling from the shock. The sense of disorientation dissipating in an instant was jarring to say the least. Squid Junior was long gone.

I think that’s quite enough of that… Cira came face to face with an eel that seemed to be sizing her up, “I guess you’ll do.” She spoke into its mind.

___

“I can’t believe she left me here again!” I shouted to the lonesome ocean. “Fishing sucks.”

I caught one drab looking fish about the size of my hand, but I was under the impression we needed mass quantities of fish. How long would this take exactly?

Suddenly, I felt a tug. Much more powerful than that pathetic little thing earlier, like someone had tugged on it with their hand. I pictured a small shark or something as big as that tuna. Even if I failed to catch much, a single impressive catch would at least make me look half-competent.

Who knew fishing was a skill a sorcerer needed?

I was ready for it this time. I had been waiting quite a while, after all. I reeled it in carefully, tugging on it and speeding up when I felt it weaken, then letting it ease away a bit to tire it out when it started to struggle. Just like Jimbo taught me. It was strong, and it took everything I had to stop from getting ripped off the boat, but this fish was mine.

My spool whined as I watched it fill up and I could tell we were close to the surface. I couldn’t see through the glare on the waves, but I was in the home stretch. I felt it wear out again and reeled it in for one last effort, feeling like my arm was about to fall off when I finally watched it break the surface.

“A—a hand?!” I shrieked as blonde hair broke through the surface.

“Ahhh, you got me!” Cira popped out of the water and flopped over the edge into the boat, holding her belly and cackling while I stared at her dumbfounded.

“You… you can’t be serious!” She could hardly look at me in the midst of her snickering. “I—I thought I finally had one! That took like half an hour!”

I threw the pole in frustration and it quickly sank, then I sat down across from her, fuming and speechless.

“Oh, lighten up.” She found her ale again and inhaled awkwardly afterward, “Oh yeah, I can breathe again.”

“Did you even catch anything?!” I was about to pull my hair out. If we were relying on my fishing skills this would take until the end of time.

“Of course.” She smiled as a river rose from the sea holding hundreds if not thousands of fish from smaller than my catch to bigger than the tuna yesterday. Then a massive eel that looked like it could swallow me rose up, “And I caught lunch.”

I sighed my frustrations away and did my best to look past the irritation. If I thought about it, it was pretty funny. Can’t say I expected to catch a sorcerer…

A few glasses, and I had forgotten about my anger entirely. I intently listened to her regale me over her tale of the depths.

“Still, I can’t believe there’s really casters out there as powerful as my father…” Cira shook her head.

“No offense, but, looking at this place… are you sure the creator wasn’t more powerful than him.” I mean, Breeze Haven was amazing and all, and the training hall gave me a similar feeling to this place, but this was an entire world—at the very least it was a small, but entire world. That was something on an altogether different level, I thought.

“There’s nothing to suggest he was a talented master in anything other than space!” She slurred, spilling her glass over the side. It almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself. “My father, you see, was the great sage! All known elements and many more were like butter in his hand.”

“Why was there butter in his hand…?” I mused, watching the golden plains come back into view as we resumed our ascent.

“I-it’s not about the butter!” She turned red and I got to witness another rare flustered moment from my master. “It’s… it’s—never mind! It’s time to begin.”

We stopped at a clearing set against the river. Nothing but flat sand for a good couple hundred feet.

“Take notes, Tawny.” She said, tossing her notebook at me. Whatever she had written was in a language I had never seen before. Why can I read it though…? How strange. “You never know when you’re going to have to terraform something. It could be a matter of life and death on any other day.”

I flipped the page before getting too upset at the creepy letters. “O-okay.”

“Consider this. Gold is merely our base medium. Keep in mind that it will do nothing for our plants. Typically, I would say metal dust is far too fine, but this particular sand of Paradise is well suited to allow aeration, drainage, and root expansion. Can you tell me why?”

“Uh…” My face went stiff as I drew a blank.

She rolled her eyes at me, “Because, as you pointed out earlier, the grains of sand are all different sizes and, if you noticed, different shapes. This is to mimic true sand, but it also makes it a viable base. Now first I must mix in our loose minerals.”

The silver-speckled dust we strained from the river, which I had forgotten about, fell from the sky in streams, enshrouding her staff that I guess was just hanging out somewhere while we went fishing. It followed countless paths to spread through the sand evenly, then I watched the entire field begin to churn like a rough ocean in a storm.

“Now, the idea is to mix it until we have a rich, consistent substrate, but we won’t get very far without introducing organic compounds.” The river of fish swirled before us and formed a seawater sphere to cast ripples of light across the landscape. “Can you tell me what makes fish and, well, all living beings decompose?”

“Um…” This is an easy one, right? I got this. “Death?”

Cira wagged her finger with a slight grin, “Close, but not quite.”