Everyl/LeviathansCall
This is a (very) short story I wrote on the White Wolf forums, in response to a call for ideas from Rhubardin. He was (and, as of the time of this writing, still is) working on expanding some details for Leviathan and his long-term plans for the Western Silver Pact. He put out a call for other forumites to write up short stories of how various Lunars from throughout the West heard and responded to his summons... and this is what I came up with. It wound up being rather different from my original vision, but I think I like it... it's not great, but it's pretty good, IMHO.
The Story
The fishermen smiled as their ship entered their home harbor, sailing at a fast clip thanks to the favorable winds. The porpoises were racing them, always a sign of good luck. Young Toram Tiderunner was hanging over the prow of the ship, watching the playful creatures dancing under the clear waters, a beautiful sight he could never get enough of. It had been a good day for fishing, and they were confident of more to come. The porpoises scattered as they neared the ships mooring point, but the fishermen and their waiting wives could still see them dancing and playing out in the water. Life was good for all around this small Western island, one of the small bastions of happiness and peace left in the Age of Sorrows.
Toram remained on the beach for several hours, watching the little dolphins play in the setting sunlight. All the other men his age were married, but he was alone, and did not enjoy going to the feasts alone. Several women had proposed to him in recent months, giving him seashell neclaces as was custom in this tiny village, but he had always returned them, feeling it would be somehow wrong to accept... like marrying someone else would somehow mean betraying her. His loneliness was overpowering most of the time, and he only felt complete while watching the harbor porpoises play.
The pod out on the shimmering waves. The porpoises were eating well, too, as their new master had shown them how to catch fish fleeing from the fishermen's nets without getting snared themselves. Life was happier and more comfortable than than they could ever remember it being before.
And then they heard it.
The entire pod felt it, and immediately stopped splashing around. They listened intently, hearing a distant whale's song, echoing from impossibly far away. It sounded like an orca's voice, but oddly deep... perhaps an unusually large member of the species. All of the porpoises listened to the call, but they could not understand the meaning of the sounds... not true words, but a message nonetheless.
The pod circled uneasily, sensing that something big - and not necessarily good - had happened, but not understanding what. One of them swam off towards the shore. The other porpoises remained silent for several minutes, their normal chatter and splashing forsaken as they waited for their leader's reaction to the call they could not fully comprehend.
Toram was shaken from his reverie when the porpoises suddenly stopped. One second they were happily jumping around the bay, the next they were silent, not even breaking the surface. He waded into the water and strained his eyes to see what was going on, fearing that a shark had found its way into the bay. He struggled so hard to see any motion further out into the water that he almost failed to notice a dorsal fin breaking the surface close to shore, and coming closer. Not a shark... one of the harbor porpoises was approaching him! He cautiously waded out deeper, hoping to get closer without scaring it... and it waited for him!
When he got close enough, he cautiously reached towards the porpoise's head. It did not flinch away, and he gently stroked it. Softly, he said, "Absolutely... beautiful." He stared at the porpoise for almost a full minute before noticing that it was staring directly at his face. As soon as it had his attention, the porpoise turned and lifted its nose out of the water - displaying a beautiful purple-and-green shell necklace hanging off the end. Shocked, Toram stared dumbly as it gave a quick nod, flipping the necklace at his chest. He fumbled and barely caught the necklace before it fell into the water.
He carefully examined the necklace, unable to believe what had just happened. It was a beautifully-crafted piece of jewelry, like the kind used to propose marriage among his villagers. And it was made of her favorite colors, too - and suddenly he understood. He bowed his head and put the necklace on, then said, "I don't quite understand how you came to me like this, but I gladly accept." The porpoise nodded excitedly, then sank down with a mournful look in its eye. Toram leaned down and kissed its head, then said, "Don't worry. I'll wait as long as it takes."
The porpoise nodded one final time, then swam slowly back out into the bay.
At least I understand why the Silver Lady would ask me not to set foot on my home island for a year. thought Cerinia Harbor-Dancer as she left the harbor for the open ocean. If I'd married Toram before, I would never have been able to bring myself to answer this orca's call. At least now I know he'll wait for me; he's already waited this long. With no regrets, she started her long journey to answer the distant summons.
Toram returned to his village wearing his marriage necklace proudly. Nobody asked where he had gotten it or who gave it to him, though certainly they all wondered. From that day forward, he always wore the seashells proudly, no longer ashamed to be alone at the community feasts. For he knew that, no matter what else had happened or would happen, he had the love of Cerinia, and nothing else mattered.
Comments
Comments, questions, and criticisms are welcome. :-)
