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miscellaneous_sectionCollection Title: Beyond the Haze
Chapter Title:A Stranger in Strange Waters
Author's Name: OverthinkingMind
Chapter Title:A Stranger in Strange Waters
Author's Name: OverthinkingMind
Warnings: "Choose Not to Use"
Fandom: Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
Characters: Virulina, Cindarr
Ratings: Not Rated
Pairings: N/A
Word Count: 1,267
Collection Summary: A small collection of ficlets dedicated to the Darkling Lords. Be it character explorations, leisurely moments, or battles; these are their tales on Prysmos.
Chapter Summary: 'What are those?'
Cindarr and Virulina set up camp to rest for the night, but they're low on food. Virulina decides to go hunt in the sea in her shark totem, but her quest comes to halt as she stumbles upon creatures more alien then the last.
Author's Note: Inspired by Thinking by swordznsorcery
Archive of Our Own
At the edge of Gravestone Bay, a campfire snapped and crackled as Cindarr added more wood. He admired the yellow-orange sky as the green sun rested at the horizon. The large red sun hung above waiting for its turn. Virulina had returned from her search in the forest, a few twigs of berries in hand.
“I see you found something,” said Cindarr, pushing the pieces further in the flames.
Virulina dropped them by his side and sat down, her hands cupped to her face. An aggravated sigh escaped her as she fixed her hair a bit
Cindarr stayed quiet as he studied the sunsets, but he knew that their rations were running dangerously low. His stomach had been grumbling since he started putting the camp together. He looked to the crackling flames of the campfire, the gentle breeze combing the fire like fine hairs. He glanced to the waves of the bay and an idea came to him.
Cindarr stood up and stiffed through the underbrush. Virulina grew more irritated by the trip, and her eyes darted over to him.
“Now what?” she said, bitterly.
Cindarr looked over his shoulder and answered, “Fishing. What else?”
He continued his work on a make-shift fishing rod in silence. Virulina watched as he worked, and the boredom was becoming a menace to her.
‘I can fish faster than that old oaf,’ she looked to the totem of the shark upon her breast and smirked, ‘In fact, I think I’ll go on ahead and do just that.’
And with that, she hopped up and went straight for the bay’s shores.
Cindarr was startled and shouted, “Where do you think you’re going?!”
Virulina was already waist-high in the water and yelled back. “Fishing! What else?”
She dove into the water, a green light shining through the surface before fading out. Cindarr only saw her dorsal fin cutting through the water before it disappeared from sight.
He had finished his finishing pole, grabbed a few pieces of bread, and went over the grassy edge of the shore. There he waited for a good catch and Virulina to return.
The water was bathed in the golden glow of Prysmos’ sunsets, and Virulina in her shark totem cruised passed the rocky ledges of the shore. The sandy floor of Gravestone Bay started to slope more and more as she traveled. She had reached the beach’s end, below her were cliffs and trenches of the unknown.
‘But what to get is the question,’ she thought, ‘Cod? Haddock? Tuna? Tuna sounds pretty good right now.’
She picked up her pace and dove further into the deep.
The light of the suns faded behind her as she swam, the sea creatures that inhabit these waters hid themselves from view as she went by. From holes in the trenches to sea anemones to burying themselves in the sand; staying still as much as they can from her.
‘Hide as much as you like, but my prize is else where,’ Virulina mused as she pressed on.
It was smooth sailing until appeared to her right several blue lights darting about in the distance.
Virulina spun around and wondered, ‘What are those?’
The lights grew dimmer as they went further away. Her curiosity got the better of her and decided to follow them.
Virulina stalked the mysterious light-makers, the small scattered lights were moving in unison. She continued until she saw they were squids. Judging from a distance, they were no bigger than her hand in her human form.
‘I remember reading or hearing about these creatures. Firefly squids? I believe so,’ she pondered.
But the squids noticed her and swam off else where in the sea.
She cut through the waters and passed on through, continuing into the murky depths of Gravestone Bay.
As Virulina swam, she saw more interesting sea creatures along the way.
A sea slug that glowed red with a transparent body, it looked as though it had little horns on it’s head. It flapped it’s little delicate film-wings to shallower waters.
‘It’s kind of like an angel, I suppose.”
Further down, she discovered the largest and reddest crab she ever laid eyes on. The crab had long, spindly arms and legs like a spider. It didn’t notice her swimming by as it walked along the ocean’s floor, it seemed slow and calculating to her.
Next, she found a bony looking fish that was almost as large as her shark totem. It’s scales were black with splotches of white across the body. It had one too many fins in her opinion, but she guessed it had seven or eight of them. They passed each other with no incident.
Deeper into the bay, where no human could see or survive the pressure-crashing depths, she found a huge maroon jellyfish. The bell was the size of a small shrub, but the arms were something else. They were long, and frilled like kitchen curtains dancing in the wind. It looked majestic, yet haunting as it propelled through the dark waters.
She dodged it’s frilled arms as she swam deeper. ‘I don’t need that thing mistaking me for dinner!'
As she dashed off, there was a murky brown blubbery fish that drifted onto her path. It had the biggest frown on it’s face, but it looked as though it never had a single thought on it’s mind for a very long time. It noticed her and darted off to the opposite direction.
She continued on until she encountered a fish with silver scales that reflected the dull blue light from it’s body. One moment it was swimming beside her. The next it turned back, vanishing into the night of the sea. She’ll never forget the large, protruding black eyes, and the ever gaping mouth on that fish.
‘Ugh! The further down I go, the uglier they get!’ she cringed.
As Virulina journeyed further into the cold crashing darkness, she could barely make out some lights in the distance. It was a bluish-green but the glow was different. It seemed brighter than the others. Morbid curiosity got the better of her, and she swam towards it.
As she crept up to the unsuspecting animal, it’s appearance became more apparent the closer she got. But the mere sight of it almost made her stop dead in her tracks.
This was a gray fish that merely floated there, waiting as it occasionally opened it’s mouth. The harder she looked the stranger it got. Such as the light shining wasn’t throughout the body like the last fish she saw, or even little specks like the firefly squids from before. No, the light was only coming from its transparent head. She couldn’t tell which were its eyes. Was it the small white dots above it’s snout? Or was it the two big green orbs pointing up like a telescope?
The fish rotated it’s big green eyes forward and darted back into the inky black. She didn’t know what to make of this thing when it left. She kept on swimming in the dead silence of the sea: dazed, confused, and more disgusted than ever before.
Virulina reconsidered her food options as she slowly ascended back to the surface. ‘Maybe Cod, or even Haddock, sounds better tonight.’
The darkness of the sea was gradually pushed back by the faint light of the final sun setting, and she was lost in thought. She didn’t know if it was a story worth telling by the fire. Would anyone, even Cindarr, believe her?
‘Doesn’t matter,’ she thought.
Eventually, she reached clearer waters and resumed her hunt for evening dinner.
“I see you found something,” said Cindarr, pushing the pieces further in the flames.
Virulina dropped them by his side and sat down, her hands cupped to her face. An aggravated sigh escaped her as she fixed her hair a bit
Cindarr stayed quiet as he studied the sunsets, but he knew that their rations were running dangerously low. His stomach had been grumbling since he started putting the camp together. He looked to the crackling flames of the campfire, the gentle breeze combing the fire like fine hairs. He glanced to the waves of the bay and an idea came to him.
Cindarr stood up and stiffed through the underbrush. Virulina grew more irritated by the trip, and her eyes darted over to him.
“Now what?” she said, bitterly.
Cindarr looked over his shoulder and answered, “Fishing. What else?”
He continued his work on a make-shift fishing rod in silence. Virulina watched as he worked, and the boredom was becoming a menace to her.
‘I can fish faster than that old oaf,’ she looked to the totem of the shark upon her breast and smirked, ‘In fact, I think I’ll go on ahead and do just that.’
And with that, she hopped up and went straight for the bay’s shores.
Cindarr was startled and shouted, “Where do you think you’re going?!”
Virulina was already waist-high in the water and yelled back. “Fishing! What else?”
She dove into the water, a green light shining through the surface before fading out. Cindarr only saw her dorsal fin cutting through the water before it disappeared from sight.
He had finished his finishing pole, grabbed a few pieces of bread, and went over the grassy edge of the shore. There he waited for a good catch and Virulina to return.
The water was bathed in the golden glow of Prysmos’ sunsets, and Virulina in her shark totem cruised passed the rocky ledges of the shore. The sandy floor of Gravestone Bay started to slope more and more as she traveled. She had reached the beach’s end, below her were cliffs and trenches of the unknown.
‘But what to get is the question,’ she thought, ‘Cod? Haddock? Tuna? Tuna sounds pretty good right now.’
She picked up her pace and dove further into the deep.
The light of the suns faded behind her as she swam, the sea creatures that inhabit these waters hid themselves from view as she went by. From holes in the trenches to sea anemones to burying themselves in the sand; staying still as much as they can from her.
‘Hide as much as you like, but my prize is else where,’ Virulina mused as she pressed on.
It was smooth sailing until appeared to her right several blue lights darting about in the distance.
Virulina spun around and wondered, ‘What are those?’
The lights grew dimmer as they went further away. Her curiosity got the better of her and decided to follow them.
Virulina stalked the mysterious light-makers, the small scattered lights were moving in unison. She continued until she saw they were squids. Judging from a distance, they were no bigger than her hand in her human form.
‘I remember reading or hearing about these creatures. Firefly squids? I believe so,’ she pondered.
But the squids noticed her and swam off else where in the sea.
She cut through the waters and passed on through, continuing into the murky depths of Gravestone Bay.
As Virulina swam, she saw more interesting sea creatures along the way.
A sea slug that glowed red with a transparent body, it looked as though it had little horns on it’s head. It flapped it’s little delicate film-wings to shallower waters.
‘It’s kind of like an angel, I suppose.”
Further down, she discovered the largest and reddest crab she ever laid eyes on. The crab had long, spindly arms and legs like a spider. It didn’t notice her swimming by as it walked along the ocean’s floor, it seemed slow and calculating to her.
Next, she found a bony looking fish that was almost as large as her shark totem. It’s scales were black with splotches of white across the body. It had one too many fins in her opinion, but she guessed it had seven or eight of them. They passed each other with no incident.
Deeper into the bay, where no human could see or survive the pressure-crashing depths, she found a huge maroon jellyfish. The bell was the size of a small shrub, but the arms were something else. They were long, and frilled like kitchen curtains dancing in the wind. It looked majestic, yet haunting as it propelled through the dark waters.
She dodged it’s frilled arms as she swam deeper. ‘I don’t need that thing mistaking me for dinner!'
As she dashed off, there was a murky brown blubbery fish that drifted onto her path. It had the biggest frown on it’s face, but it looked as though it never had a single thought on it’s mind for a very long time. It noticed her and darted off to the opposite direction.
She continued on until she encountered a fish with silver scales that reflected the dull blue light from it’s body. One moment it was swimming beside her. The next it turned back, vanishing into the night of the sea. She’ll never forget the large, protruding black eyes, and the ever gaping mouth on that fish.
‘Ugh! The further down I go, the uglier they get!’ she cringed.
As Virulina journeyed further into the cold crashing darkness, she could barely make out some lights in the distance. It was a bluish-green but the glow was different. It seemed brighter than the others. Morbid curiosity got the better of her, and she swam towards it.
As she crept up to the unsuspecting animal, it’s appearance became more apparent the closer she got. But the mere sight of it almost made her stop dead in her tracks.
This was a gray fish that merely floated there, waiting as it occasionally opened it’s mouth. The harder she looked the stranger it got. Such as the light shining wasn’t throughout the body like the last fish she saw, or even little specks like the firefly squids from before. No, the light was only coming from its transparent head. She couldn’t tell which were its eyes. Was it the small white dots above it’s snout? Or was it the two big green orbs pointing up like a telescope?
The fish rotated it’s big green eyes forward and darted back into the inky black. She didn’t know what to make of this thing when it left. She kept on swimming in the dead silence of the sea: dazed, confused, and more disgusted than ever before.
Virulina reconsidered her food options as she slowly ascended back to the surface. ‘Maybe Cod, or even Haddock, sounds better tonight.’
The darkness of the sea was gradually pushed back by the faint light of the final sun setting, and she was lost in thought. She didn’t know if it was a story worth telling by the fire. Would anyone, even Cindarr, believe her?
‘Doesn’t matter,’ she thought.
Eventually, she reached clearer waters and resumed her hunt for evening dinner.