The Etched Pass Part 2 [One-Hour Story]
Continuation of the One-Hour Story prompt inspired by FA: wyvernknight. I've been thinking lately about potentially bundling some of my short stories that I've been working on into a digital format for sale after some polishing and expansion on them. Is that the kind of thing you think folks would be interested in purchasing? What should I look out for? Thanks to all of you for your continued support and joining me on this crazy adventure. You make all of this possible for me. :)
For details on the "OHS" system follow this link:One-Hour Story System Rules
If you'd like to get the chance for me to bring your story ideas to life, check out my commission information below:https://www.sofurry.com/view/1351132
If you want to see the latest updates with my work, consider pledging your support over at my Patreon page where you'll get early access to more stories and illustrations before they are publicly released elsewhere!https://www.patreon.com/K9Lupus
When the explorer finally awoke she found herself laying on a sandy beach. Waterlogged and hazy-eyed she glanced ahead and saw a mix of purple swaying among the green at the edge of the beach. Focusing the shapes more closely, she realized that they were in fact the purple flowers of the Inli Islands. Somehow she had made it. With delight she attempted to stand, only to feel a searing pain screaming across her back. Her back had been been raked deeply in several places as she had been slammed around by the powerful currents of the pass. A second time she tried to stand, and managed to tuck her feet beneath her until with effort she was once more upright.
Step by step she plodded along the beach until she crumpled before the bed of purple flowers, breathing in their sweet aroma. But where was her chart? Without that she didn't have anything to present to the king upon her return. No matter she thought. As long as she devised a way to bring the flower back safely her fame would be within her reach. She could recreate the map anew later.
"Fate smiles upon me this day." she whispered to the flowers.
From the sea she heard a loud, sound, as if the ocean itself was exhaling a labored breath. Within the shallows she saw a flowing mass turning and moving with the incoming tide. Again the ocean breathed and a spout of mist scattered through the air. A large white whale had positioned itself turned in the explorer's direction, watching her from the sea with a focused eye, a golden halo enveloped within the dark benthic of the water.
"You are awake." the whale spoke with a voice that tingled through her body. "When I found you, you were Death's neighbor. Death does not take kindly to visitors kept away from her."
"If you indeed saved me, I am thankful to you for that.", the explorer spoke with genuine gratitude, never having depended on another before. The explorer held her hand up towards the whale, but winced in pain from straining her injuries.
"But now I must bring this flower back to the land I came from. It is a special flower that will not do well when plucked from its native soil. It is the proof I need to realize my future. I must find a way back as quickly as possible!" the explorer urged with a hint of panic in her voice.
The whale floated there for a while, timeless and serene as it thought over the explorer's predicament. Then it dived down before rising to blow another spout of mist into the air.
"Any wooden creature you devise will not achieve your goal. If you wish to reach the land you came from, then you must become like the water, like me. This I can do for you. However, if you do not touch dry land by sun's set your days shall belong to the sea instead."
The explorer thought about the whale's proposal and looked back to the purple flowers before her. Her goal was so close and if she risked heading into a town she couldn't guarantee the flower's condition.
"Are you certain that I could reach the land by sun's set" the explorer asked as she plucked a single flower from its bed.
"With unwavering focus you can." the whale answered.
"Then I accept your offer. I shall become like you to achieve my goal."
"Place the flower into your mouth and join me in the water." the whale beckoned as it swam further out to sea. The explorer did as she was asked and placed the flower into her mouth before wading back into the water. The sea salt burned her back where it flowed across her injuries, but eventually the pain faded back and was replaced by a new feeling. With each breath it felt as if rising waves were building and coursing through her body, and with each subsequent crash more and more of her began to change. She changed and grew until she had no vestige of her former humanity, a new shape entirely, one now more suited for her expedited travel. She tested her powerful flukes with a pounding of her tail in the water and with the purple flower cradled in her maw she was off towards the land of the king.
She traveled for hours on end, guided by a wordless sense of direction. Late into the day she spotted a glow of red in the distance. With so much uniform blue seen on her journey the change of color was a refreshing change, and now curious she swam towards it to investigate closer. As she neared, she could hear the faint voices of other people, but grew concerned by their panicked tones. She surfaced to get a better view and was startled to see that the glow of red came from a ship that was now ablaze, its few passengers trying desperately to extinguish the flames that were quickly overtaking the ship. The ship's lifeboat had caught fire and with no other alternative the three sailors had jumped into the sea.
The explorer remembered the whale's actions to help her, and with the knowledge that time was precious to her right now, she sped through the water as quickly as she could towards the sinking ship. The men were startled to see such a large creature approaching them, but their hostilities were stymied by their dire situation. The explorer rolled to her back and showed her fins and fluke to the sailors to calm them and share her intent of no harm towards them. She then drew near each one and rubbed her body against them until they understood to take hold. And so it was that with two sailors having their arms wrapped across her striped, scarred back and one clinging near the end of her tail she began to slowly continue her journey back towards land.
Progress was slow with the added weight and hindrance of the sailors, and the explorer thought of leaving them behind to their collective fate for chancing the sea, but in her heart she knew she must repay the kindness that was shown to her. The sun was edging ever closer to its resting place beneath the sea when the vast stone castle of the king came into view.
"We are saved!" screamed one of the sailors. The others joined in his jubilation and the trio sang songs while the explorer raced forward as quickly as her body could carry her. But when her fin and body finally slid against the damp sand, she felt nothing. The sailors slid off and kissed the ground, tossing clumps of sand at each other, but she had arrived too late to break the whale's magic. Defeated, she opened her mouth and spat out the purple flower of the Inli Islands. It would not be needed anymore.
The sailors saw the whale that had rescued them, and its strange sadness. They feared the whale sad and in danger for being out of its element, and together with a mighty effort the three sailors pushed the explorer, now forever a denizen of the sea back into the water. Unknown to the explorer, the three men shared the story of their rescue far and wide, and her story was passed down from mothers and fathers to their children, and those children's children. She had found the fame she sought, but not in the way she had originally thought.
To this day it is said if you find a whale with a striped back and offer it a purple flower that you too can join the sea, if only for a little while.