Abatement of Kings

For a lifetime I’ve been waiting: being an environmentalist takes time and patience. Research after research, I’ve become one with the sea. After graduating from Duke, I found myself traveling everywhere except land itself. From the Caledonian Barrier Reef all the way to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.

Going on expeditions, I have seen all types of marine life, creatures from producers to predators. From dangerous bull shark encounters, to simple tasks like tagging the shell of a sea turtle.

Believing this next adventure would just be another free dive down to the deep to check upon the Indo Pacific sailfish, reminiscing I think it looks like a large hundred and twenty pound betta fish. As we came to a stop, I dove in, getting distracted by the changing colors of the waves. The water feels about seventy six degrees, because the Australian currents had finally expanded for the fall season. As I lurked around in the water, diving under, over and over again, I saw there were no crustaceans, sardines, anchovies, or any schools of fish. It's like the life of the sea had disappeared.

An hour had passed by, as I remained drifting there for a while, hoping something would come along soon. In the distance, I recognize what only appeared to be in my dreams. My heart beat slowed, as I became nothing but the flow of ocean waves to these beautiful creatures. The butterflies of the sea have come to bless me with a realization that this great deep dark blue sea is filled with angels.

Free diving didn’t allow me to come up for air when I needed it. Although, every time I come back down, it changes. Always flowing, I see that more have appeared. As their wings flew through the water, I felt my acceptance from the manta rays to come closer. As if they wanted to play and this rare moment was destined to happen, just for me.

Sparkling through, the bright sun's skylight reflects upon the majestic giants. Slowly and softly they danced for me. I am in no harm. I am where I’ve always wanted to be.

As the mantas continued to move with the current, I watched them go one by one. A straggler stayed behind who seemed to be amused by me. Strange as it could be, it looked like the mixed ray remembered me, he acted somewhat as if we'd met before. Being the biggest ray out of them all, he stayed with me, getting as close as he wanted to. He dances around me in circles, bumping into me most of the time, his rubbery pectoral fins felt like they had cuts and marks that had healed over a long period of time. I reckon that he was big enough for me to hold onto, grabbing his damaged fin. He brought me up to the surface every few minutes, knowing I was not like him, and was soon to be out of breath.

Being under the great pacific, I couldn't see what was happening above. Another boat had entered our radar; I was not expecting how dangerous this encounter could have been. I heard gunshots and watched bullets enter the water as I rose to the surface, bringing me back to reality. The group of scientists grabbed and pulled me up and out of the water as fast as they could. The marine biologist yelled, “The pirates threatened to shoot us if we didn't leave the area.”

I knew they weren't pirates; this was something else that gives me nightmares.

For a moment I started to cry. As I shed tear after tear, one after the other, my breathing proceeded to get heavier as the motor started. As the motor turned the water to speed away from the situation, I reminisced counting every meter we got away from the spot where I had lived my dreams. I knew something was wrong and that leaving wasn’t the answer. I noticed that one of the poachers grabbed a harpoon and speared the manta ray right down the back. Watching him struggle and try to get away put me in a daze that left me speechless.

I recaptured memories that I had locked away when I was a child and I couldn’t help but to go into a trance. I started hallucinating about my enthrallment with these giants. The spellbinding stories my grandfather would tell me of manta rays being one of the mystical gods in the ocean excited me, thinking I can pursue the mythological.

Teaching me everything I need to know about every creature there is. I followed the maps all the way to freezing waters that left my hands numb and clothes reeking in the smell of fish water.

Never will I forget when my grandfather got on one knee and grabbed my hand saying, “You will always be a part of this deplorable place and be caught in a path you may not want to be a part of. Just know our world will show you more life taken away than given.” I nodded knowing I was heart broken and still will be as long as I am alive--always a different day to mourn for the same reason.

As my thoughts spun around in my head, my thoughts were non-stop since we got back from the boat incident. I couldn't think straight, reliving repressed memories that had been sealed away. The marine biologist came over to tell me everything was going to be okay and that we wouldn’t be going to that area again. Ignoring him, I looked out the window as the boats started to rock ferociously, as if the gods were mad and telling me to wake up.

These grim days are the ones that make you realize how deep the wound is. I had lost myself before all of this had gone down, having been through so much. “Wake up,” Carlile whispered. He grabbed my sack and looked at me with that big honey comb of hair and said softly, “tell me all about your journey.”

Strange how much I wanted to lie, he begs to come with me every time but it’s too dangerous. I have to protect my baby brother, although something doesn't feel right.

“So are you going to tell me why you’ve been crying?” Carlile said.

I don’t even see why I try to hide anything, he knows me better than I know myself.

“I got to see the manta ray grandfather talked about. You would have loved it, it was just like grandfather described,” I chuckled.

Carlile glanced over and smiled as he grabbed my hand. I tried squeezing his hand but I couldn't feel it. I looked down to find them covered in blood.

I gasped.

I woke up breathing uncontrollably, what a horrible dream. I scarcely looked at my hands to find the blood was real but wasn't mine. Looking around I find myself lying on a large carcass, keeping me afloat. My hands grasping eight inch scales woke the creature to a quick rattle.

“JÖRMUN,” the scaled creature screams with power.

I could feel the salt water brush my hair into my face from behind me. Unable to stand, I turn to meet it in the eye. Light blue scales shimmer out of what is not covered in blood. Teeth as large as crowns they had made for kings. Eyes flooded with stories of long journeys across the far seas of the world. I lift my bloody hands to only find them shaking towards the mouth of where multiple have lied.

Every thought that was going through my mind was cascaded away and suffocating with wonder. I’m still alive.

Wood clashing in the salton sea filled the silence as I had brushed my hand upon the Jörmungandr.

“My grandfather had said you were never to be seen in thousands of years,” I whispered. But when the time comes, the first man to lay eyes upon a water dragon will face one of two fates. The first being death and the second being the true ruler of the balance.

My grey eyes brightly consumed from focusing on the dragon, I forgot to look at my surroundings. The water is filled with floating debris, thousands of ships scattered into puzzle pieces.

“I don’t remember,” I cried.

How can I not remember?

Jörmun shadows his head down to the water. Then that’s when I saw him floating on the surface, my grandfather Alrik Gulbrandenson, the dark haired man who looked after me and my brother all our lives. Our parents died when we were at a young age and that’s all I know. Grandfather told many stories from winged mantas, weapons that shoot fire, pirates, schools that looked like castles, boats that sailed the land, and people who studied life in the sea. Yet he never, not once, told stories of my parents or how they had died. It’s not important anymore, everyone around me eventually dies. My brother Carlile was taken years ago and no one has heard word of him since. He’s probably dead too.

Jörmun starts to coil and defensively rises higher into the clouded sky. As I fall off, dropping deeply into the bloodbath, I hesitantly open my eyes, it looks like the end. Reaching for the surface I had hit shards of wood and amputated body parts. Gasping for air I noticed heathens had showed up with their warships, being able to break through remaining wreckage of what was my grandfather’s ships. The men yelled of war and slaughter but Jörmun was silent. Not being able to do anything I helplessly watch them decorate him in spears and peirce an axe right through his skull.

Soon finding myself being picked up like a drowning wet dog and thrown into the corner of the warship. My long blonde hair was in ringlets from being at sea for weeks and skin darker than it had ever been.

“This is Olrun Runic, keeper of script, shield protector and council of the lands and eastern seas. Who are you?” The men cried out victory and hit their weapons together that could be heard for miles. One of them grabbed me by the nape and held a blade to my throat ready to run it through.

Until Olrun’s striking grey eyes were more noticeable than his red full head of hair covering all of his face. He charges me, throwing the heathen with a knife to my neck overboard and grabbing my necklace while repeatedly yelling, “where did you get this?”

Towering strong men drop to their knees, kneeling looking upon my hallowed heart necklace carved from bones.

“I am Kala Asra and this necklace is my birthright.”