Defending the seas of the Shimmering Islands from foreign invaders felt like a nearly pointless task. Anyone who didn’t know how to handle the seas wouldn’t find themselves welcomed by the storms. At best, they would tough it out by absorbing the lightning and dampening the waves with their own spiritual energy. They would arrive at their destination beaten and battered.
Dealing with such people didn’t feel like an important task, but rather like something you assigned to a little kid to get them out of the way. Or at least, it felt that way to Nitza. Her father had taken over leadership of the clan while far younger than Nitza currently was. Both of her parents were off guarding the coasts- though which ones varied from month to month. Yet here she was, sidelined to a place that never saw any action.
At least she had Carl. She lay back on the massive leviathan, resting her head on one of the random protrusions. “You think I could manage, right?”
Of course, Carl didn’t respond. But he didn’t need to, to be comforting. His spiritual energy was so calm, and the way it merged with the sparkling light from the surface above was quite nice.
Nitza was stronger than the previous clan head. She knew that… but she was also aware that in the current climate, anything below the Ascending Soul Phase was a liability. She didn’t think she really counted, though. Yes, she was technically just in the late Consolidated Soul Phase… but if you factored in her bond with Carl, the power she had access to was far greater.
A while back she had gotten her hands on the manuals of the Titanic Serpent Clan. She could tell how they dominated their region. The techniques were effective, if nothing else. Of course, Nitza’s connection to the leviathan wasn’t one of coercion or bondage, but friendship. Nitza had known Carl her whole life, just like the sea.
Using a leviathan’s energy was in her blood. Her grandmother had done so without any sort of long term bond, but she still managed it. Nitza had her own practices and a few insights from the Titanic Serpent Clan’s stuff, so she was able to make better use of such energy. Not that Carl was yet comparable to his parent, but Nitza could access far more of his energy with his permission.
“I’m just saying, your energy should be counted as part of my strength! Mom and dad count each other. Ereli gets to count Ciaritzal… sometimes. We could totally take down Ascending Soul Phase cultivators. And yet we’re here where nothing happens.”
Nitza was supposed to be on one of the ships, but nobody could realistically say a daughter of the sea such as her should spend more time outside the water. But they absolutely could stop her from slipping off. Carl would obviously go along with her, but that was the problem. Hiding a creature practically the size of the whole fleet from people who already knew its location was beyond difficult.
Nitza might have tried it once. But while Carl was perfect at becoming part of the sea, that only really worked when people weren’t already watching. His presence disappearing from people’s senses was sufficient cause for alarm that people would instantly be on alert. As if Carl would hurt anyone from the Shimmering Islands. He barely even ate any fish. Relative to his size, anyway.
Nitza sighed, bubbles rising above her as air left her lungs. It wasn’t a problem for her, as she could convert water into breathable air. She didn’t even have to think about it. She did filter out the salt as she breathed in the ocean, though. It was so irritating on the lungs if she left it, taking ten times as much effort to resolve if she left it for later. “Carl, you would tell me if there was an easy way to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, right?”
The leviathan unleashed a melodious noise, much like a whale cry. Not that Carl was really like a whale. He was more like a manta ray, probably. He also didn’t breathe air. Anyway, he sometimes responded to her words with noises of his own. People said it was coincidence, but Nitza knew better.
“Yeah, I get it,” she said. “I just have to keep diligently practicing and wait for enlightenment. But I can’t go seek out someone to fight. Yonit wouldn’t let me.”
As much as Nitza was nominally in a leadership position in their little fleet, her bodyguard had matching influence over their actions. And of course, if there was a worthy foe Yonit would fight them first.
Carl let out another sound, though this time it was different. A warning. Nitza straightened up. “What is it?” she asked. Carl began to move. Nitza had to project her voice up above the waves. “Carl has detected something. Prepare to change course.”
For her own part, Nitza attuned herself to Carl as much as possible, trying to feel what he felt. She couldn’t read his mind. Humans couldn’t even do that to each other, and the leviathan was far different. But she could get a picture of where his energy was flowing, and even share in some of the feedback as she twined her own energy with the leviathan’s. Interpreting what she felt was her own responsibility.
A large disturbance in the seas. Not a storm, though it felt much like one. It was a bit too focused to be a natural storm. Directed. She could feel the fluctuations of a powerful cultivator. No, three.
She shuddered for a moment. Nitza wanted a challenge, not death. But… this wasn’t the Triptych. She had felt her father’s energy at the Exalted Soul Phase, as well as Aldara during the tournament. These didn’t have the signature of the Exalted Soul Phase. They were merely in the Ascending Soul Phase… if powerful. Nitza shared what she could with the fleet above. Most of the rest likely wouldn’t feel anything for a few hours, but she could help guide them towards their target.
Carl would reach them eventually on his own, of course. He just wasn’t very good at heading off an enemy’s trajectory without guidance. Not that it really mattered if he maintained a path directly towards them, because he was simply fast enough. But for the sake of the rest of the fleet, a more efficient route was better.
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Nitza had battled against the Windswept Sea before, if only a few of their sects. As she approached closer, she felt the signature styles of several sects she recognized. The Ascending Soul Phase cultivators weren’t part of them, however. How could they be, when they had only recently come from the war? She had personally witnessed the deaths of their most powerful cultivators. Of course, not every single cultivator had been present for the war. But most of the strongest had been, and of course the source of their stability in their grounds had been annihilated.
With the minimal peaceful contact they’d had with the Windswept Sea, Nitza didn’t recognize whether the trio might be from the Windswept Sea itself, or if they were originally from the Sovereign Primacy and merely leading the group. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. They had to deal with them before they could make their way to an island.
It was unfortunate that this group was both powerful and not ignorant of the ways of stormy seas. Indeed, they seemed to be gathering the chaos of the ocean intentionally. Nitza could already feel the churning of the seas.
“Yonit,” Nitza spoke with confidence, “You’ll have to handle two of them for as long as you can. I believe the rest of our forces can deal with their subordinates. And of course, Carl will be facing off against their third Ascending Soul Phase cultivator.”
Yonit was obviously suspicious of Nitza, but she really meant what she said. She intended to leave the fighting to her much stronger companion. Being with Carl was the safest place for her to be, though. It was possible that they wouldn’t try to target her, but she would be slightly insulted if they didn’t. Nitza knew she was important, even if it wasn’t entirely on her own merits just yet. Her capture could be used as a bargaining chip, while killing her could provoke people to madness.
She obviously wasn’t going to let either happen, though.
Nitza was the sea, because the leviathan beneath her was the sea. They were as one as they approached their foes. “Don’t hold back,” she informed her companion. Carl was usually quite good at recognizing enemies, but he still remained ‘gentle’ with humans unless given permission. Nitza couldn’t say how the leviathan would act without her around, but Carl trusted her in various ways. Enemy recognition, target prioritization, and the like.
Storms raged as they approached the intruders into their seas. The Shimmering Islands were fully united with the rest of the continent against the Sovereign Primacy. It didn’t matter which clans the fleet planned to assault, now that they had been spotted they would be dealt with.
Carl let Yonit and those on the surface fully engage before picking out a target. Nitza helped with the ‘small scale’ control… which allowed Carl to create a waterspout that sucked in only a single ship, carrying it away as the leviathan swam beneath the fleet. The Ascending Soul Phase cultivator came with the rest of the ship, because even if he could directly resist Carl, wasting energy to stop something that wasn’t a direct attack wasn’t something a human would prefer. Perhaps if they tried to carry the man much further he would split away from his ship, but he was content leaving the two Ascending Soul Phase cultivators for Yonit and the rest of the Shimmering Islands cultivators to handle.
The man doubtless thought he could defeat Carl. After all, even if Carl had significant power… humans possessed a versatility and focus that the leviathan wouldn’t. Carl was strong, but that was all.
Or at least, that was what Nitza imagined he was thinking. But Carl was stronger than he thought, and even if he wasn’t more clever… she could make up for that.
Her own energy signature was small compared to the Leviathan. She kept it that way on purpose. Her contributions didn’t need to be running people through with a spear.
“Down,” Nitza said. Whether or not Carl actually understood the word, her true intentions were clear as her energy mingled with his. With the single flip of a wide fin- Carl had more than a few of those, not all of which fit with a typical anatomy- a whirlpool was formed.
The ship responded by pulling away, unifying their strength against the leviathan. Nitza hadn’t ever expected it to work to begin with, but instead it was a test for their leader. As the whirlpool exposed bits of the leviathan, the Ascending Soul Phase cultivator up above threw bolts of lightning into the sea. He even reached to the skies, prompting the clouds above to do the same.
A powerful storm cultivator. Nitza felt the lightning approach and strike the seas. It didn’t disperse until it struck its target. Lightning tore through the diffuse spiritual energy protecting Carl, striking various knobs and spikes.
The leviathan wasn’t immune to lightning… but it would be a waste of energy to make an active defense against that little. The electricity dispersed throughout the vast bulk of the leviathan, leaving barely visible scorch marks where it first connected. Against other targets, a storm cultivator might have maintained control of the lightning even after it pierced the skin… but the leviathan had made its home in the Shimmering Islands. An attack such as that simply wouldn’t be sufficient.
Carl launched many attacks with his vast bulk, suffusing waves with spiritual energy and battering the cultivators above from several different directions. Raw power was the preferred method, and if they didn’t defend properly their ship would be torn apart. That very ship was made to shield them, helping them to engage in mutual defense, so they couldn’t just abandon it.
Nitza was looking for an opening. If the man let down his guard for a moment, she could do something. The spear in her hand might work… or she could direct Carl’s energy into something more fine tuned. He could easily batter things to a pulp, and impaling foes upon his spines was always a valid option. Doing so carelessly, however, would be a risk even if he had great power of both body and spiritual energy.
She spied just the right opening. She hefted her spear as the cultivator above focused all of his effort on lightning, just for a moment. He could maneuver his defenses to react to the ponderous attacks of Carl, but he wouldn’t be expecting a powerful jet of water carrying Nitza’s spear. None of the other cultivators could get in her way, and Nitza had positioned herself just right upon Carl’s back that she had an angle to avoid the ship’s hull.
Her spear flew forward… only to nearly hit Carl’s fin as he twisted in the water. Nitza was more than surprised as she herself was turned over, the leviathan performing more than just a little twist but instead a full roll. She dropped her spiritual energy around her spear so that she didn’t accidentally harm her companion… but the attack would have revealed her presence. Her best chance had passed. And she couldn’t even follow up, because she was now beneath Carl. Why?
Then she felt it. Somehow, she hadn’t noticed… but Carl did. A second Ascending Soul Phase cultivator- one of the two that Yonit and the others should have been occupying- had come up from behind on a massive wave. He would have swept up Nitza without her noticing. Instead, Carl had protected her- though he left himself open. Spears charged with spiritual energy pierced up to their length into Carl’s hide as he hastily protected Nitza, leaving no time to properly concentrate his defensive energy.
What had happened in the other battle? Was Yonit okay? Nitza spread out her spiritual energy, cursing herself for her carelessness.
