Seas has a minion!

Bubbles the Hydro-Matter

"Cap'n, sir!" The shouts could barely be heard, even though the door to the shack was open. The winds were whipping too strongly, and the rain pelting the windows too steadily. The young man's shouts were lost to the elements, but could only be found again as his sopping wet form came through the door and forcefully shut it behind him.

"Cap'n," the young deckhand started again, slightly breathless from his battle against the weather to get to the shack. "Ain't no going out tonight, either. The sea... she just won't be quelled! She's been raging for three days now..."

The captain who the deckhand was addressing seemed inattentive to the boy. A well-worn soul, his scarred form stood by the window, gazing upon the fury that was occurring outside. Indeed, it was fury; a rain filled with pain. Some hidden shape among the darkness told him this.

"Cap'n? Did you not hear me?"

"Aye lad, I did," the gruff old man replied as the deckhand rung out his clothes. "Put on one of those coats from the rack and come here. I want to tell you something."

"Is it about the rain, sir?" The young lad was quick to comply and join his boss and role model by the window. It was hard to see anything through the glass. The harbor's ships were nothing but large gray masses amongst the darkness.

"Yes, boy. It is about the storm." The captain took his eyes off the turmoil outside long enough to look over his companion with a concerned face. "Boy, you ever hear the myth about raging seas?"

"Raging seas? No sir, I don't think I've heard you tell that tale yet."

"Then listen well, lad... this tale may be very important to you soon," the captain replied, his eyes returning to the storm outside. "The Myth of the Raging Seas..."

.............................

Back when the world was first born, there was only the ocean and the sky. The ocean bubbled and boiled, and the sky was filled with noxious gas. Yet, somehow, the ocean fell in love with the sky. But the sky was vast and airy... and too unwilling to consider the ocean's feelings. The sky often did as he pleased and ignored the oceans. But his touch... how it would make the ocean ripple and wave! She would let herself be overcome with this sensation, calming from his gentle winds. She moved with the feeling, and how happy she was!

With time, the ocean's heat calmed, and the sky's poison dissipated. In this time, the ocean's love for the sky only grew. She desired to give to the sky a gift of herself. Whenever his heat made her flush and steam, she would send herself to him. But he would never keep her gift, and always returned the missing pieces back to her as rain. This rain would always make the ocean sad and cold. Her heart would ice over from the sky's harsh behavior, and he in turn would send her pieces back as snow or hail. The ice she created would separate the two, but the sky always found a way back into the ocean's good graces, and so she would steam all over again.

And so was born the rain, the snow, the hail, and the ice.

For many centuries, this is how the two would act... cycling between affection and distance. But things did not always remain this way. The ocean wished to give of herself more to the sky... she wished to touch him! Unable to do this, outside of the rain or ice, she reached below her, and with great strength, gave birth to the land. The land pushed upward as a symbol of her love.

The sky liked the land. It was new and interesting. It had much potential, and he liked that. The sky's winds could change the land, and as he poured the ocean's pieces upon the land, new life formed. The sky was pleased.

The ocean was not.

The sky was scattering her across the land, and making her smaller. The sky urged her to spread the land further, so he could always look upon it, and she did so. Her love for him controlled her actions. Soon, to protect her heart, she placed it in the deepest sea.

But the sky was still unsatisfied. Though living creatures had already grown within the ocean, the sky seemed for more entranced by the land. He enjoyed crafting it into a new paradise of entertainment. He grew bored of the ocean, and the ocean grew angry.

Her anger boiled for so long, but she did nothing. She let those creatures on the land grow and grow. But then man was made, and she could handle it no longer. The land taunted her for so long, and now the creatures that grew upon it sought to hunt her children!

Man used the water for sustenance and the fish for food. This outrage could not be left alone.

The ocean's anger spilled over. She'd boiled and boiled, steamed and steamed. The sky could barely contain all the water. The two began to fight, and a massive storm overtook the land. It was destructive in many different ways.

And so was born the hurricane, the typhoon, the tornado, and the blizzard.

Man was going to die if this did not stop, so he reached into the ocean and begged her to be calm. He offered her respect, honor, and love in return.

The ocean had never been offered such things before... and certainly not from any creature on land! Taken by surprise, she was pacified by the kindness and accepted the offer. As long as man did these things, she would be calm and meet their needs. And man did as he promised. He worshiped the ocean and all that she gave him. He would build shrines and temples for her. He would leave her offerings. And most importantly, he would offer her sacrifices when she desired.

A sacrifice would be picked and thrown into the deepest part of the sea. The ocean would sweep the person into the currents and drown them at the bottom. All the parts of the human would be fed to her fishy children except for the heart. The ocean kept the hearts as a symbol of man's love for her. Over time, she grew a collection of them, often keeping them in bubbles or offering jars.

For a long time, this was all the ocean needed. She would still fight with the sky, trying to win his affections, but she would always protect man. When he was thirsty, she gave him fresh water. When he was hungry, she would offer him her children for food. All was well and at peace.

But as time passed, man saw more power in the sky and was swayed by the gentle breeze. He began to pray less to the ocean, and more to the sky. He changed the ocean temples to sky temples. He gave his offerings to the sky and not to the ocean. And his sacrifices were given to the heavens, not the seas.

This betrayal was too much for the ocean to bear. She wailed and screamed and tore the land in pieces. She scattered the land far apart, placing vast amounts of herself between them. She swore she would no longer have peace with the land or the sky. All would feel her fury.

No one knows how long the seas raged. Some say it was only stopped by her freezing heart and the ice age. Others say, she is still enraged, but her strength wanes so we get lulls in the permanent storm of her broken heart. I believe that the water at the bottom of the deepest sea is made of her tears as she cries over her collection of hearts.

Regardless of these discrepancies, all agree that there is only one resolution; only one way to quell a raging sea...

.............................

"A way to quell the sea?" the deckhand repeated. "It's possible? Some old sailor trick to make a storm like this pass? Really?"

"Aye lad. There is."

"Cap'n, what is it? What can we do to--" The deckhand stopped and stared out into the darkness. Amongst the storm's chaos, he could clearly see the form of a woman, walking towards the docks. "Oh no! Cap'n, there is a woman out there! And she's crazily heading for the docks! The seas have been washing over them all day... she'll be swept off her feet and carried away!"

"Aye lad, a sacrifice for the seas."

The young deckhand's face went white as he turned his gaze to the captain. The old man's face was just as pale, almost looking like he would vomit at any moment. But he was clearly serious.

"No Cap'n! Not like this! I refuse!"

The deckhand bolted for the door and rushed through the rain out towards the docks. The old captain remained, his demeanor changing little. He sighed and somberly grabbed his corncob pipe from his jacket pocket.

Sorry, lad... you were a good boy...
But the seas can only be quelled by a pure heart like yours.

.............................



/Art/
By User not found: toastie - XxX
By odduckOasis - XxX
By me, Lexx - XxX

Profile Credits:
CI by Ryxe.
Pet Overlay by Kyphoscoliosis.
Headshot by odduckOasis.
Seas Bust by User not found: toastie.
Portholes from Subeta.net
Poem by Theo Williams - LINK
Background is an edited version of THIS background.
Profile coding, image collaboration, and story by me, Lexx.