Beneath the Waves (Ocean Song Book 1)

Chapter 24: Return of the Banished

Axensus looks over the trench with his lips twisted into a bemused smile and eyes alight with an eagerness for the festivities to come. He stands at the edge of a cliff that overlooks a visually bottomless trench as dark as the we can see. The Azarian Trench, known to be the deepest of all the trenches in the ocean. It's where his master's prison sat and where his forces lay dormant. He didn't expect for the Vilmarisan Queen to be so foolish as to imprison them so close to his master but at the same time they are quite far. The trench extends for a good couple miles and the beings he's come to free are scattered about it with intricate seals to ensure they never escape while his master's prison lay at the bottom of the trench surrounded by all-encompassing darkness.

Within the darkness, the screams and screeches of the creatures sealed within rise up from the trench to create a mixture of horribly disturbing sounds that would normally induce a bleeding of the ears. Axensus, however, seems most pleased by the sound as his gaze surveys the trench for the nearest creature.

"Axensus, do hurry up. We should just free them all at once and be done with it all." His gaze momentarily flickers to the female with an irritated gleam shining within.

"Patience, Rusalka," he drawls as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Vilmaris may be preoccupied with its internal affairs but doubt not its gaze is trained on the prison. We must do this right, even if it means gathering the Sirens of the Deep and Beasts of Azrael one by one." Rusalka groans impatiently as her deathly pale features twist up in a look of loathing.

"I fail to see why Lord Proteus does not just destroy that vile kingdom. Their damnable queen is responsible for imprisoning us!" She growls as her rage is expressed in the form of a violent black aura that spirals about her being wildly.

Axensus sighs as he questions as to why his master sent this infuriating woman with him. "You forget, Rusalka, that Queen Amphitrite perished long ago and Vilmaris has often seen the passing of their rulers since then. It is in a constant state of instability and is more alert than ever before," Axensus pauses as he finally swims into the trench with Rusalka following close behind. "So we must proceed with caution lest we draw their attention and risk sound defeat." Rusalka grumbles, but doesn't voice anymore of her thoughts as she begrudgingly admits to herself that Axensus has a point. After all, her knowledge of the current era is limited after spending a few thousand years in a seemingly perpetual sleep. Axensus somehow managed to elude a similar fate and spent those last thousands of years in hiding, preparing for the day when their Lord would break free from his prison and resume his conquest of the world once more.

Meanwhile, Axensus has approached a rather peculiar part of the trench's wall. This part is lightly discolored, not noticeable unless one is paying close attention.

"Let us see who sleeps within," he says with an amused smile as he places his hand upon the wall and begins muttering some sort of spell under his breath. Suddenly a seal appeared on the wall and shone with a blinding radiance. Rusalka covers her eyes to shield them from the harsh light until it dies down and ceases altogether. The section of wall where the seal had been rumbles and cracks as it begins to crumble away as though it be grains of sand that had been forced together to form a stone. The two stare into the darkness of the new whole as a pair of glowing pale green eyes suddenly appear admits the darkness.

"A Siren of the Deep, Aquanetta." A monstrous siren emerges from the darkness with her rows of sharp teeth on full display for all to see in a vicious smile. She runs an elongated sharp nail down the tiny scales of her cheek before pushing her webbed hand through her blackened hair.

"Rusalka and Axensus. How long has it been since I was last awake?" Her voice resembles something of a growl and seems to produce an echo all its own when she speaks. Axensus finds himself inwardly cringing as his eyes roam over her pale scale-clad flesh down to the murky scales of her tail to the battle-worn fin that somehow resembles a stingray. A creature that was once a thing of beauty but twisted to become something monstrous. Oh how I wish she would utilize her other form. At least it is not as unsightly, Axensus muses as Aquanetta flashes him a fanged smile, to which he blatantly ignores by moving on to the next discolored rock that catches his eye.