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Water God[06.26.01] » by Kallah Leviathan did not remember his birth. He simply remembered being, when once he was not. He spent the first period of his existence simply enjoying the waters of his birth, the darkest depths and the sunlit area just beneath the surface, the soft susurrating murmur from the spirit power flowing in the heart of the earth. Time was not a concern of his, and he had no idea when it was that he first soared into the air above the waters, to feel the sun on his scales and dive back into the waters with a merry splash. It was then, when he was revelling in his existence, that he first became aware of humans. Things floated on his waters that were not alive, that rode the waves clumsily, if at all, and carried creatures in them. Several of them sank to the bottom of the sea before he learned how to glide under them without making them tip over and spill the creatures into the water. They were poor swimmers, and they died in gibbering fear. Leviathan did not think less of them for it; most of the ocean creatures died in fear, if they saw their death approaching. He found them interesting to watch, since they were so unlike the creatures of his waters. When they were aware of him, they would cower in awe and fear, and address him in their strange fashion; he learned their method of speech by hearing their emotions. They called him the Water God, and brought him offerings. He had no use for the offerings. But it seemed to mean something to them, these gifts, and so he accepted them, hiding them in a cavern beneath the land. He learned to speak so they would understand him. It only reinforced their conviction that he was a god, and they would do what he willed. He found his first priestess then, though he had not been looking. She was a child, put out to sea in a tiny boat, not intended to return to land alive. He felt her crying in her tiny boat; she did not want to die. When he rose, only his head breaking the surface, she was not afraid of him. She had even smiled (it had taken him much time to understand what a smile was, for there was no such thing in the ocean), and greeted him in a respectful manner for her people. He had given her fresh water, for it was hot, and the sun burned. She had thanked him, and told him that her name was Kaoru. She had asked him to kill her quickly. He had said he did not kill; he did not eat, and nothing could hurt him. In that time, he had believed that nothing could harm him. He had told her he would put her back ashore, and she had said they would kill her then. He did not understand then. Later, he understood all too well. But then, he had simply said then I will take you with me . He had not known how to do it, the way he did later. But he had found his way into her mind and the hot waters of her blood, casting the shadow-image of his scales over her skin as he did. It was the first time in his existence he had not been alone. Kaoru, though, grew lonely for other humans as the years passed, afraid of them as she was. Leviathan took her back to her land, promising that he would not leave her. And he did not, but it was then that he found the ultimate limits to his powers. Her people did not kill her, but saw the shadow-image he had cast upon her skin, and fell down at her feet as the voice of the Water God. They gave her all the things she could desire (which was little, for her time with him and him alone had not instilled a desire for things in her), and listened to her every word. He thought, for he understood little of these things then, that there would be no more threat of her loss. But he could not stop her death, could not stop time to hold her to him. He felt the changes in her as she grew and aged. She bore a single child (the pain so great he could not bear her to experience it again, and forbade it; he was jealous, also, though he did not know he was, of the man who fathered it on her). And she spiralled relentlessly down into death. and his powers could only make it less painful. He felt her soul break free of her body. Do not leave me alone, he asked. I kept my promise. I will come back to you, she had promised. I will come back. And then she was gone beyond his seeing or hearing. The oceans rang with the keen of his grief, and the seasons after her death (for with Kaoru's presence in his mind and his heart, human time took on meaning) were stormy. Imperfect Soul |
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