I felt my body respond, moving in a way to allow my arms to move freely, as if I could still practice magic. James's hand hovered on his satchel filled with potions, staring intently at the shadow, trying to gauge what potion would be most effective. He took a step closer, standing next to me rather than behind me, in relation to the glass wall.
In all the years I'd worked in this room with Celeste, the most dangerous animal we'd seen swim by was a shark. Sometimes we'd see more than one, but often times it was alone, and felt no more dangerous than a trip to the aquarium. Still, as I stared at the dark shadow getting bigger and bigger, I knew this was different.
"They won't be able to see through the barrier, right?" I wondered out loud. Mostly out of my own curiosity and partially to check if something had happened to the barrier that protected the vault from view of the outside. If the Lizari swam by, they'd look over and see a rock wall rather than our Vault.
"That doesn't look like it's planning on stopping at the rock wall." James's answer was breathy, almost as if he couldn't believe something could see through the magic. If this was Eris I certainly wasn't prepared for battle.
"There is no need to be frightened." I heard a deep voice echo through the room. I spun around, trying to see where the voice came from, but there was no one with us.
"I heard it too," James said when I turned toward him, as if he could read my mind.
"I am here to speak with the leader of Silverleaf." Finally, the blurry dark shadow came close enough into view that I could see it was a blue whale.
"You're looking at him." James crossed his arms across his chest. It felt familiar to my first encounter with him. "My apologies, but my knowledge of marine life is more limited than I remember, how are you talking to us right now?"
"I hail from Coralis." The whale gave no additional information. I had no knowledge of Coralis, but I wondered if James, as the leader of the coven, did.
"I'm going to need more context." James held firm in his position, not moving an inch. I felt like I'd seen such a different side of James than others often see when looking at the leader of Silverleaf as an outsider. He seemed so gruff and unlikeable when first meeting.
"I'm here to invoke the Trilateral Accord of Unity." James and I continued to stare at the sea creature. "I see you have forgotten. Our people have not."
"Look," James answered. "I'm the current leader but our people have gone through many leaders across the last century. Our records show nothing of the Trilateral Accord of Unity, nor does any knowledge exist of a city called Coralis. Given the current state of the world, we will not be communicating further and will be asking you to leave."
The whale let out a deep moan that shook the Vault. Water crashed through the ceiling and into the wading pool, the statues standing in restless water. I grabbed onto the table next to me for support as James continued to stay still, remaining composed through what I could only imagine was a threat.
"Apologies," the whale answered. "I did not mean to cause alarm. The kingdom of Coralis exists in the ocean's depths. When this land was given to the inhabitants of Silverleaf by the Lizari and Coralis, it was done so under the Trilateral Accord of Unity, in which, in exchange for land, the inhabitants of Lizari, Coralis, and Silverleaf would collaborate under extreme duress. Given the current state of the world, Coralis has come to lend aide to Silverleaf as it has the Lizari."