The Tower in the Sea(Unfinished)

It was the night of the fourth week that the first cry was heard. The watchman on the leadship had spotted it. At last. The young captain gripped the timber of the wood's rail until his knuckles turned white. This was it. They had finally found it. He glanced back at the armada that followed him. They were ships from all the seven seas, most salvaged and patched from older shipwrecks, forming a ghostly fleet spaning ages. And here they were finally.

"Veritas. To me." He said beckoning a man standing aways away, with his white milky eyes fixed towards their destination.

"Yes, lord." he spoke with a voice that commanded respect.

"Tell me again. Tell me about the tower." He said eyes shimmering with passion.

The older man placed his hand to his head, covered by the white cowl.

"The tower was forged of ivory, wrought together with iron and blood. It stands here, in the middle of the ocean, in the place where no land can be seen within a hundred miles of sailing. Here, it towers over the stormy waves, and looms as high as it decends into the swilring ocean and into the very heart of the earth's furnace. Nothing can breech it. Nothing can break it. Nothing can destroy it. It is the ultimate cacoon." spoke Veritas in a hollow voice.

"And what lies within?" asked the young lord.

"Milord, within lies the greatest treasure in the world. Locked up deep in its vaults, high in its towers. But nothing will breech it. Nothing will allow any to see it. No, as I said, nothing can give passage into the tower's secrets."

"We will see." spoke the young lord as he looked down towards his hands still gripping the wood.

***

It was the third day that the large armada of black ships lay at anchor around the white tower. The people were silent. None spoke. The canons had failed. The grappling hooks and ladders had failed. Even ramming a ship filled with gunpowder set to ignite did not even leave a trace of soot on the gleaming, milky walls. There were no nitches, no place to provide foothold or entrance. All of the people were silent, but with a silence that spoke of fear. Fear of that which defied all they knew.

The gathering of the emperors was equally as quiet. All had heard of the tower. All had heard of the legendary wealth within. All had also heard that it was impassable. The impassable part seemed true enough, which lent credulity to the wealth part of the legend. They therefore found themeselves in a paradox. If the tower was impasable then it must also contain the great treasure. But if it contains the great teasure they would have to find some way into it. Which would then render it pasable. However, it was prooving to be quite impassable. Therefore aggravating their quagmiresque conundrum. The young lord looked over the befuddled old men and found Veritas on the other side of the room.

"Gentlemen, I have with me, someone whom may shed some light on our situation. All of you have heard of him. The one here, whom is like a god among men, or more like a god among insects. He who can see that which our eyes cannot, even without sight. He who can read where our thoughts run, who can even now enter that tower if he so wished. You know of whom I speak. The old one."

All the eyes turned to Veritas, who looked first at the young lord, before making eye contact with each eye in the room and aknowledging their silent plea with a raised hand.

"Great Ones among the earth, I am but a man, as you are. I am no god. But it is true. I am blind and see more than all the seeing together. I am not the wisets man you shall ever meet but I am the wisest man you will ever meet."

"Enough platitudes!" spoke one large, liver-spotted man, "Speak plainly, man! How do we breech the tower!"

"Nothing can break the walls. Nothing can get in." he answered before sitting down.

"Thats all well and good. You're nothing but a direlich old seer who utters nonsense! I am the Emperor of Ishmala. I rule over 340 kingdoms. Those men out there, they have risked their lives to get the treasure. We cannot simply tell them that we shall do nothing. They will mutiny. They will kill us!"

"Do you fear death so much, majesty?" spoke Veritas.

"Ha! Don't try to change the subject! We will not be led by some blind sage! I for one will not risk my neck and my kingdom just so that some lunatic can be indulged! Who's with me!" He called to the assembly.

***

As the sun set that day, the young lord stood on the bow of his ship seething as he watched a third of the armada sail over the horizon.

"Those fools!" he spat.

"Do not be angry with them sire. It is the tower. It does not even have to raise an alarm or begin to defend itself to drive off the unworthy and unwanted. Its mere presence has scattered those whose fingers would soil its precious treasure." Veritas said, appear from behind the young lord.

"But without them, how will we retrieve the treasure now? Once we gain access to the tower, we will need all the help we can get to secure the treasure." the young lord spoke.

"Do not fret, master. The treasure will not be easily attained, but once attained, it will be secured firmly." spoke Veritas.

"Hmph. I hope you are right. For all our sakes."

***

For three months they sat at the base of the tower. They fished. They sat. They waited. But nothing happened. Finally, another third of the men left, after apologizing but insisting that they would not waste their time any longer, and urged the others to follow. So the mighty armada was wittled down to a small fleet. The young lord looked over the gaunt assembly with weariness. He had waited for so long. And now, to see the men slowly give up drained his ambition.

"Steady, milord. Almost. Hold on. We are almost there." Veritas assured him.

"How can I, Veritas? I am not like you. I cannot do all you can, I cannot see all you can see. I am nothing but a child. How did I think I was able to find a way into the Ivory Tower? I can't even command my men to remain. I am nothing but a child. I am nothing."

"If what you say is true, then we have finally reached the end of my journey. But the begining of yours." Veritas spoke, smiling his face into a million wrinkles.

"What do you mean?" asked the young lord.

"I said, 'Nothing' can enter the tower. 'Nothing' can see the door in. 'Nothing' can gain the treasure. Behold, Nothing, the door." He said as he beconed towards the tower.

And there, as clear as the young lord had ever seen anything, was steps carved of glass, ascending straight up towards a large door made of glowing white traceries over the threshold. He gasped, not believing his eyes, before turning to Veritas and noticing for the first time that his eyes were actually an icy blue color.

"Your eyes have been opened, Nothing. Now, will you ascend the stairs and take the journey to the treasure?"

"Yes." Then turning to the other men he called, "Come on, men! Look! The way in! Come on! Hurry! Follow me!"

As he got up on the rail, several men ran forward and restrained him, "Sire! Don't do it! Its the heat! And being around this infernal tower for so long. Its only cabin fever. Don't give in to it, Sire. Don't throw yerself overboard!"

Nothing struggled against the many hands holding him down. He faught and kicked and bit and screamed, but more and more of them descended down on him, gripping him in vice like grips and pinning him down harder. As he looked over the tan sea of skins and hands holding him, he saw Veritas, as if outlined by the mealestrome of the arms and hands, reach towards him.

"Veritas!" He yelled hoarsly and grabbed the older man's hand.

The second he made contact the two of them were on the rail, looking out over the water. His eyes stung and he couldn't see. He could only here Verita's voice.

"Trust me. Jump."

And so he took a deep breath, readying himself for the plunge and the sudden shock of the cool water that would follow. For a horrowing instant he was in the space between wooden deck and water. That dreadful space of the inevitable and of dread and regret. The next moment he landed, as if on land, an echoing clacking sound, like ice ringing in a glass. He opened his eyes and they were there. In front of the door.

"Who dares approach here?" asked a voice.

"Nothing." spoke Nothing.

"Hmmmm. So it seems. But why? What do you seek?" said the voice, materializing as an old man in flowing white robes, with flowing white hair.

"The greatest treasure, which is housed within." he answered boldly.

"Ha! Fool! The treasure cannot be housed within. It is housed.... within." and here he placed his hand to his head. "The tower has no riches for you, boy. It has only the great gain, or loss, of wisdom. This is the Ivory Tower, a sanctuary created by the wisest, to harbor the wise. But I am sure that Veritas here can speak more of that to you, can't you brother."

Veritas stepped forward and pulled back his hood, revealing a strange, glistening silver mark, similar to the other man's on his forehead. His eyes met the other man's for a few seconds, and a visible conversation passed silently before he turned and spoke to Nothing, "As I said, I am not the wisest man you will ever meet but I am the wisest man you will ever meet. All the wisest in the land retreat here, to the Ivory Tower, from whose hights they can see all the kingdoms and observe all the star and from whose depths they can retrieve the oldet things, those that have been forgotten. So while I am wise, they are still wiser. You will just never meet them, because they are in the tower. And there they remain."

"Yes. It is rare that one of us leaves the tower." spoke the other with a strange look towards Veritas before he looked once more on Nothing, "We are in the tower because we have gained... perspective..."

(Ends here... and so does the inspiration)

Fairytale

Because of my long unexcusable absence from any kind of fiction and because this is what you get when you put my iPod on shuffle and then have me doodle to the music and then write a story from the doodles. :D Enjoy and please forgive the horendous spelling errors. I wrote all this in less than 3o mins. More just of a "got to get it out" deal than a "hard work and polishing" one.




Fairytale
The two grey horses rode alone in the empty sound of horsehoofs muffled in the deep loam of the forest. No creature stirred in the stillness before the morning. The two figures upon horseback were robed in grey valvet robes, hemmed with the slightest of silver. As they reached the edge of the forest, the world seemed to vanish in clouds of grey fog that was hard to breathe and smelled of smoke. It was smoke. Miles and miles of smoke.

"We're here." spoke the woman.

"Milady, please." said the man, pulling back his hood to reveal long perfectly straight black hair, each strand in perfect place, framing a strong but delicate face with pointed ears. "Please, reconsider. There is only death here."

"I'm sorry Arohd. Thank you for coming this far with me. You may return to my father and relay to him that you fulfilled your duty and escorted me...here...." she spoke in her low voice.

"Lady Sigial, what if all this comes to naught? I beg your ladiships' pardon, but I must speak. The odds of survival in the Destitution is almost impossible, even for our kind. And what if he is not in there. Then would you sacrifice your life without even gaining anything in return?"

The grey mantel parted slightly and the silver veil that had covered her face until now was pulled up over her face, and allowed to fall to the ground forgotten. The face that stood in the darkened nook of the grey mantel's hood was deathly perfect and set with so much resolution and iron. The weight of her gaze caused Arohd to slip off his horse and kneel before her, placing his hand on his chest as he spoke.

"My pardons, milady. Please, I spoke out of turn. I...." suddenly Arohd went rigid and his eyes closed, while his voice dropped an octave and became fierce, not at all fitting his face or frame. "Sigial! I forbid you from entering! This incompitent may not have made you see reason but I am still your father, even if I am not physically there and I forbid it!"

"I am truly sorry father... goodbye." she spoke monotonously before turning towards the smoke.

"Sigial! Please, dear, look at yourself! Look at what you have become, how you have changed! Do not go further. Do not give into this darkness. He is not worth it."

"I will be back, father. Keep the lights in the Hollow burning for us." and with that she snapped her fingers and the cape on Arohd's back expanded and enveloped him and the two horses, before enclosing completely and then vanishing in a pop.

"This I must do alone." she said as she walked towards the wall of smoke before here, solid yet fluid, without room for even a breath.

She reached beneath her mantel's folds and brought out a shining orb of translucent blue. Tendrils of blue and green light began gently winding out of the orb, like vines growing slowly yet repidly from the soil. They wove together to form a large translucent tree of light. Then suddenly the light exploded into a million tiny sparkles which all cascaded back into the orb in her hand. This was followed by a sudden gust of wind from behind her, which carved a path like a tunnel through the smoke.

She walked through the swirling smoke for what felt like days. The chamber the wind carved for her contracted and expanded. At times it felt like she was walking between giant walls that went up for miles. Other times she had to duck as the walls all came so close she barely fit. Finally she reached the end. Behind her, a rushing sound could be heard as the tunnel closed, the heavy smoke falling back in place.

Before Sigial was what was left of a vast forest. An endless stretch of blackened stumps and solitary trees, scorched and leafless, that were the only markers of the miles of ash. She threw a stone into the ash and saw it disappear into the depths. Gingerly, she place a foot on the surface, and carefully stepped out. It held her weight, but she still sank an inch into it. Carefully she began making her way across the ashen ocean.

Midway through she found a small island in the ash, covered in burnt trees. However what made the island strange was that there was a large circus tent in the middle seemingly untouched by the mark of fire. When she stepped within she could not even smell the scent of smoke. It was completely dark except for the shaft of light that illuminated the center of the stage.

"Hello, is anyone here?" she called.

The next moment, what she had first mistaken for a pile of odds and ends in the middle of the light moved and stood up. It was a man. A tall thin man with pale skin, beady eyes, neatly trimmed facial hair that stood out at unneat angles, and hair which came to two sharp points, like giant horns, from his head. His coat was covered in all manner of odds and ends, pots and door handles, clocks and feathers, a chart of an island and two golden coins. He stood, gave a flourishing bow with his white glove covered hand, which was missing the finger tips on the thumb and middle finger, and then spoke in a voice that echoed and rebounded.

"I say someone is here. It is I, Othanan. And where are we off to today?" asked the man as he bounded towards her.

Othanan had first appeared after he disappeared, and when she first began looking for him. That was when Othanan's circus tent was fist pitched in the clearing on the road to her grandmother's city on the souther sea. Sigial was traveling there to hopefully find some leads to find him, but instead, she found Othanan, and he had turned out to be the best lead of all. Time after time the mysterious ringmaster would appear and aid her in her quest, and it was all his leads which had led her here, to the sea of ash.

"You know more where we are off to today than even I. Lets not waste anymore time talking. Since you have refused to tell me directly, I can only trust that you'll lead me to him, before its too late." Sigial said through clenched teeth.

"Fret not! I can guarentee you that your beloved is alive. Of that I am sure. But the rest is all a bit muddied, muffeled, meandering. Oh what am I trying to say?!" he spoke in alarm and began rumaging through his odd cape, pulling out a stringed instrument, a vase of flowers, and then an old apple. "Ah, thats it! I knew I had my alergic apple here somewhere, oh yes, and that is it isn't it. I don't seem to have my brain, or at least all of it now. Or at least not the memory part. Well no, more not the conscious memory part."

"Othanan! Now! We can discuss your cerebral problems later. For now we have to go!"

She set off, following the clownish man before her, who had donned what looked like snow shoes in order to walk across the ash. They traveled through the ash sea with its pillars of burnt trees, with barely a word exchanged. There was no day or night here. All had faded into obscurity and even time ceased to exist. All was ash. All was smoke. All had been eaten by the unsatable fire.

"What caused this, Othanan?" Sigial finally asked, as they began to near thicker bunches of burnt forest.

"Well now. That one is easy. Even I remember that one. Do I! Do I?.... Yes! Yes I do! The cause of all of this, you will meet face to face. In fact, that cause lurks within.... there." he said pointing to two enormous black trees, as large as a building each, leaning against each other. Between where the trees lay there was a dark entrance, cavelike and dank.

"In there? Is he in there, with whatever it is that caused all this?" she asked suddenly gaining speed.

"Yes, yes. Of course. But there is no need for haste! A proper plan is... are you even listening? We need a proper plan! Come back here! Ah! Infuriating woman!" Othanan yelled as he chased after Sigial.

Within the cave everything was different. The air was warmer. There was light and it wasn't the same sickly white light as before. It was cool, almost aquatic. The sound of a million water drops sliding into water echoed and reverberated around the entrance to the cavern. At the entrance stood a single white horse. Sigial looked back at the figure still wading through the ash. She had come to cherish Othanan's precious character quirks and mannerism throught her journey, but one thing she knew was that he was not known for his haste. And if he was correct and her beloved was in the cavern with whatever caused the fire and ash she had to move fast.

So she got on the horse and began riding. The cavern soon opened up wider into a massive cathedral like structure. All around her were long pillars that disappeared in the darkness of teh ceiling above her. As she moved between them, she could see the individual blocks that made up each pillar. Each block was twice as big as she and the white horse, and each pillar had at least 40 visible blocks before it bled into the darkness. She trotted through them when she heard the omnious crack. From high above her in the darkness, a single pebble fell. As it descended it rebounded of several of the collumns. She held her breath before she heard the loud snap. Turning away from the exit she urged the horse on into a swift gallop.

Faster and faster she rode, as the sound of massive stone pillars collapsing against each other filled the air. Blocks crashed behind and next to her, some missing her barely. Finally she saw the pilars end ahead of her and she urged the horse further on. She made it past the last two pillars and then she was safe. At least so she thought. One moment she was galloping the pillars crashing behind her, victory on her lips, the next moment, she felt the cold rush of air over her as she and her steed flew over the lip of a massive precepice.

She held her breathe and closed her eyes. This was not how she was meant to die. The next instant she felt strong hands wrap around her waist and the air began moving the other direction. She opened her eyes and gasped. She was being carried by Othanan, his arms holding her up, while large wings like dragonfly's were flapping furiously on his back. She gazed down in time to see the horse hit the wheeling blackness beneath her and isntantly turn into a white vapor that simply intermingled with the rest of the darknes.

"Othanan! You're flying!" she called to him.

"Well, I'm trying anyway. These wings aren't made to take this much strain. Hold on, I think I see our destination ahead." he called strainedly as he angled them towards an old looking archway in the cavern wall.

They made it to the entrance and collapsed within the gateway. Othanan was out of breath from carrying her, and she was out of breath from the near death experiance. Both just lay on the dirt for a few momenents. Sigial didn't know why, it must have been the adrenaline, because suddenly she couldn't help herself. She began laughing. Laughing as she hadn't done since he had gone.

At first Othanan looked hurt, but he couldn't keep it in for long and soon both were laughing so hard tears were coming from their eyes and they sides hurt. It was then that they heard it. It was like a scream and a roar and a hiss and a vibratto gurgle all in one. Both were instantly silent and crept forward in the darkness. Ahead of them the floor spread out in a viscous, icy, translucent liquid that glowed bright turqoise.

From the roof, large waterfalls of the liquid formed collumns as they descended slow and sluggish into the larger pool. Sigial and Othanan quickly made their way across the pool, jumping from stepping stone to stepping stone, while avoiding the falling liquid. Othanan's wings were bent and he couldn't fly anymore. As they were half way across, they could begin to see their destination. There was something like an upside down crysalis or a thin, interwoven tree, gleaming white and cool, with a green-blue light shining from between the branch-veins. But just as they both sighed with relief at the sight of the tree, their blood turned to ice as they heard the scream-roar-rattle again. Turning to look back they saw it.

Slithering towards them, moving around the pool towards the tree was a massive white serpent, covered in spike like scales. Its wings were batlike but without any folds of skin, forming long, scimatar like extensions instead. As it roared once more, it lunged a spear-like wing towards them, the hard white bone smashing the stepping stone they had just been on. Both had jumped to the safety of a nearby stone, but had to move quickly as the creature began again.

"Sigial look out!" Othanan cried, but it was too late.

She was cornered. The creature had smashed all the nearby stones and she had nowhere to go. But as the large fanged head covered in needle like teeth lunged for her, Othanan crashed into her, flapping a single broken wing. She had closed her eyes, ready for the finishing blow, before she realised what was going on. She opened them and the world seemed to go in slow motion. Othanan was in front of her. The creature's head was in front of him, its jaws closed. All three were breathing heavily. Then she realized something. Othanan's arm was in the jaws. He stagged back. His arm did not. The last bit of the sleeve of his shirt hung bloodily from the creature's clenched teeth.

"Hurry! We... have to... go!" he said, grabbing her hand with his other and pulling her onto the creature.

They ran along the length of its bonelike back and were nearly at the tree before it moved, suddenly convulsing and throwing itself into the bright, glowing liquid. There was a sound like a scream and a hiss and a rushing such as heard when fire is suddenly ignited. The creature was gone. The two lay on the island, panting heavily. Thats when Sigial remembered.

"Othanan! Your arm!" she called running to him.

He was leaning up against the crysalis-tree, his face pale and his one arm clutching his bloody stump. He reached his hand towards Sigial while he struggled to speak the words between his clenched teeth.

"P-please! Your. Orb. Please! Agh!"

Sigial pulled the Orb from her mantel. As she held it out, it formed the tree again. Othanan closed his eyes, relief flooding over his face. As the glowing tree finished forming, the thought that she would not be able to free her beloved if she did this entered her mind, but she continued anyway and the tree erupted into a million stars again before falling on the end of his outstretched hand.

"Be whole." she said softly.

He leaned back, letting the bloody stump touch the enclosing crysalis-tree. Suddenly Othanan was enveloped in turqoise light, while the tree's branches each unfolded individually until the light within was released. From within a figure stood up, who Sigial had not seen in almost a year. Her heart leapt for joy in her chest.

"Illium! I found you at last!" she cried with joy.

"Sigial." two voices answered her simultaneously.

She stared in astonishment as the now whole Othanan stood up next to Illium as he stepped down. And now that they stood next to each other Sigial finally saw what she had first only felt around Othanan. He looked very similar to Illium. In fact, he even spoke similar to him, now that she thought about it. As the realization spread on her face, both smiled and spoke simultanously.

"Yes. We are one. When I realized that I was about to be captured, I split a part of me off from myself, to find you and lead you back to me. Thats why I was always so absent minded. I was literally missing parts of my mind. But now you have saved me. And now nothing can ever stop us from being together." Both said, stepping towards her and merging into one figure.

As strong arms enveloped her once again, Sigial closed her eyes and leaned into the warm embrace. Familiar heartbeats were once again playing in time. And in that moment neither wanted to ever let go of the other. And so they didn't. His wings spread out, no longer dragonflyish, but now large ebony wings like ravens. And the next instant they were soaring through the morning air, the sun breaking across the blue world, coloring the gaps between the clouds with orange gold. They seemed to float there, between the heavens and the clouds, as large warm raindrops began falling around them, like millions of small diamonds, refracting the light of the morning sun around them. Their own tears of relief and joy mixed with the rain. Finally, he pulled slightly from the embrace and whiped the tear from her cheek. Looking into her eyes he spoke softly.

"Everything is alright now, Love. We are together again. Lets go home."