As the whale corpse landed, Discordant Hum felt auspicious vibrations in the cold abyssal water. \u201cA giant fell,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s ours.\u201d Her body glowed green-pleased. Quick Squeak and Melodious Chord, Discord\u2019s sisters, swam in tight circles above her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about neighbor broods?\u201d Melodious asked. \u201cThey may want it, too.\u201d She waved a tentacle, one of six hanging down her belly, its tip shorn during the last territorial fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have five spares,\u201d Quick said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a sculptor, I need them all!\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the sisters gnawed out from their pearlescent egg sacs, during eras only trench elders had witnessed, there were enough whales for every brood. The giants seeded abyssal oases, their bodies erupting with tube worms, white mussels, and limpets. Though a corpse famine blighted the ocean, Discord had faith that it would pass, and she would fight tooth and fin to see more prosperous times. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we take this whale,\u201d Discord said, \u201cits meat can be exchanged for rare stones. Please, Melodious Chord. We need your skill.\u201d With a blade in each tentacle, Melodious fought like a knot of striking eels.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor olivine, I will fight,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor food, too,\u201d Quick added.<\/p>\n
For the brood, Discord did all things. \u201cStay behind me,\u201d she said, \u201cin case I use my killing scream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discord lit her body blue, flashing, a warning: stay away. At the land sight, fine mud particles were suspended around the mountainous corpse. Quick cooed, \u201cOurs, ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet,\u201d Discord said. She heard a clk, clk, clk. Other merrow had noticed the whale and now approached, their echolocation clks becoming quicker and louder. Five egg-makers, probably brood sisters, descended from the west; by the oblong shape of their scales, Discord suspected that they came from the northwestern plain. \u201cWhat are you doing in our territory?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cPassing through,\u201d their leader said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo pass.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur plans have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they now include death, by all means, pester us. My brood has never lost a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The northwestern leader said, \u201cNow,\u201d and the invaders dropped their travel baskets and drew curved bone daggers. They were inexperienced fighters, Discord thought, because none flanked her. She unhinged her jaw, baring a funnel-mouth lined three rows deep with serrated teeth, and released a killing scream. The leader escaped, narrowly. Two intruders lost consciousness, blood leaking from their outer ears. Two others recoiled from the sonic blast and thrashed with pain. Their bodies glowed brightly white as they tried to discern the world by eye instead of vibrations.<\/p>\n
Quick wrapped her nets around the injured merrow, and Melodious hacked off the confused leader\u2019s head with six rapid strikes. It had been a perfect offense. Disable the attackers; behead the leader; victory usually followed. But the headless body continued fighting as blood billowed from its neck. \u201cA berserker!\u201d Melodious said. \u201cWhat now?\u201d They had not prepared for a berserker because Discord never expected to meet one. Without their core mind, most merrow burrowed in the mud; very rarely, they became unprejudiced killers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDive, Melodious! Dive, dive, dive!\u201d Discord\u2019s voice, though raw from the killing scream, attracted the berserker. She retreated, planning to swim until the wretch bled out, but her plans changed when she noticed a spear protruding from the whale\u2019s back. Discord grabbed the handle and pulled with all her strength; the weapon popped free, and its hooked point impaled the berserker through the heart.<\/p>\n
The berserker\u2019s tentacles curled violently, its tail kicked twice, and then it went limp. <\/p>\n
\u201cAre you well, sisters?\u201d Discord called.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnscathed,\u201d Melodious responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave we already won?\u201d Quick asked. \u201cThat was fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four surviving invaders escaped Quick\u2019s nets, gathered their baskets, and continued migrating east with their barely twitching, twice-dead leader\u2019s body cradled between them. They glowed violet-sorrowful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wonder if they will eat her body,\u201d Quick said, once the violet lights dimmed with distance. <\/p>\n
Melodious swatted her fin. \u201cWhat a cruel thing to say!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow dare you touch …\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough fighting!\u201d Discord said, whirling on her sisters. They had been bickering excessively lately. The whale boon might relieve some stress, but it was only temporary. In two or three gravitational cycles, they would be sucking organics from the mud again, or chasing deep-dwelling fish until their lure lights flickered with exhaustion.<\/p>\n
Quick snapped her teeth at Melodious. \u201cMay we eat now?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d said Discord. \u201cFeast. The scavengers are coming.\u201d Soon, hagfish and other beasts would devour the skin, the blubber, the innards, and the half-ton heart. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d Melodious asked. She pointed to the spear, its hooked blade dripping with scraps of whale and merrow flesh. \u201cDid the northwesterners drop a weapon? Why would they leave worked metal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found it in the whale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody attacked the corpse before it landed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr before it died.\u201d <\/p>\n
They turned their faces up, toward the heights where the whale had lived in-between dives and its final, permanent fall. \u201cImpossible,\u201d Melodious said. \u201cNo merrow can thrive in that searing bright place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Discord said. \u201cThese are strange times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discord invited one neighbor brood to share the feast. Its leader, Whistle Squeak, was probably their mother. She shared Discord\u2019s unusually sharp dorsal fin and Quick\u2019s yellow-silver irises.<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations, Possible Daughters,\u201d said Probably Mother. \u201cYou claimed a big one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulate providence,\u201d Discord said. \u201cGood fortune slew the whale above our heads.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it good fortune?\u201d Probably Mother asked. She looked at the spear, protruding blade-up from the mud. \u201cThe material and craftsmanship suggest otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot think …\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard that air beasts kill whales now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShrill Hum from the brine pits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told her that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMournful Groan of the ten-merrow brood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Probably Mother glowed yellow-baffled.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever mind,\u201d Discord said. \u201cMother, race me around the whale.\u201d<\/p>\n
They played and ate until their bellies ached. When Probably Mother and her brood left, Quick settled on the whale\u2019s head and sang a dirge, her lights dancing through many shades of violet, reflecting sorrow\u2019s complexity. \u201cJoin me?\u201d she asked Discord.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother time. My voice strings sting from the killing scream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quick gestured to the spear. \u201cThe air beasts made that, and you know it. They caused the whale famine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know nothing of the sort.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably Mother told me that merrow have gathered near the western slope to fight them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loves unlikely tales.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should investigate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no, no. Let unfortunate broods war.\u201d <\/p>\n
When Discord later slept beneath the mud, she dreamed that the whale corpse thrashed until she stabbed its heart with the alien spear. Its blood made the ocean red.
\n<\/p>\n
A nomad came two cycles later. By that time, only sour gristle clung to the great white bones. The nomad circled the skeleton, each loop tighter, until Discord could not ignore him anymore. \u201cHello,\u201d she said. \u201cAre you here to see our garden?\u201d <\/p>\n
The bones and ground had blossomed with shelled snacks, crabs, and hairy red splotches. Several hagfish nibbled on its flaking vertebrae. The nomad floated above the whale\u2019s skull. Like most life-givers, he had just two tentacles and a powerful tail well-suited for speed. <\/p>\n
\u201cNot this time, friends. I have news from The Boiling Trench.\u201d He showed them a black glass sphere, the protective fetish carried by merrow who spoke for trench elders. \u201cShe Who Rumbles, our wise elder, beseeches all fit merrow to support her battle against the air beasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melodious and Quick loomed over the nomad, clking and glowing pink-curious. \u201cWhy would any trench elder bother with war?\u201d Melodious asked. \u201cThey have more important work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nomad\u2019s colors changed, until he was white and red-speckled, like the whale skeleton. Quick made pleased sounds. \u201cSo talented,\u201d she said, her body lit white to illuminate his color tricks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d he said. \u201cTo answer your question: the air beasts ride a many-chambered shell, a behemoth, a whale taker. The elder must destroy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why build an army?\u201d Discord asked. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe merrow must protect her from \u2013\u201c he pointed to the spearhead Discord wore against her belly; only the metal had survived two cycles. \u201c\u2013 harpoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAhr-uuh?\u201d Quick imperfectly repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery close,\u201d he said. \u201cAir beast words are challenging. You need flexible voice strings.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo we will be her shield during battle,\u201d Discord said. Her brood had survived twenty-nine cycles because she knew when to fight and when to hide beneath the muck, and this war against behemoths was no time for heroism. Anyway, if hundreds really gathered at the western slope, what good were just three more soldiers?<\/p>\n
The messenger said, \u201cWord is out. You anointed this whale with merrow blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFive invaders challenged us.\u201d She considered the fuzzy red splotches, wondering if they grew where the berserker had bled. \u201cThese are desperate times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do not need to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Quick tugged on Discord\u2019s fin. \u201cMay we fight?\u201d she asked. \u201cPlease? Probably Mother can protect our whale until we return.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we return,\u201d Melodious corrected. She popped a mussel in her mouth and cracked its shell between her teeth. \u201cWe should follow him west, Discordant Hum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou, too?\u201d Discord asked. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe trench elders are law,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Their whale had wasted away. Hungry times were returning. Discord considered the harpoon blade; its triangle-shaped point, hooked to snag the flesh, was sharper than anything crafted in the blue-bright trench forges. The air beasts were dangerous. \u201cMelodious,\u201d she said, \u201cinform Probably Mother that we have been conscripted.\u201d<\/p>\n
The messenger\u2019s skin flushed green-pleased. \u201cYou made the right choice,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will be a ten-sleep journey across the plain. After that, we go north and stop at the wall-fortress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWall-fortress?\u201d Discord asked. \u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA true wonder. Come!\u201d<\/p>\n
Across the abyssal plain, with nets-turned-supply-bags hanging from their bellies, they followed the messenger. Their tails undulated sideways, a movement that complemented long-distance swimming more than the rapid kicks of battle, hunts, or play. Along the way, they ate translucent holothurians, sustained but never satisfied by the water-filled tubes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss whale garden food,\u201d Quick said. She plucked a holothurian from white-gray mud. It contracted and thrashed in her grip.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinish your snack, Quick Squeak!\u201d Melodious said. \u201cPoor, suffering creature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly you could sympathize with a blob.\u201d Quick dropped the holothurian. \u201cI have no appetite for garbage anymore. Messenger, can we go fishing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Simultaneously, Discord and the messenger said, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot here,\u201d Discord continued. \u201cOur lures may attract squid. Big squid.\u201d Merciful trenches protected them from gnashing beaks, hooked arms, and lashing tentacles!<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could slay it,\u201d Quick said. However, she did not broach the subject again. <\/p>\n
As they journeyed, the messenger recruited others: two broods and six nomads. Their numbers emboldened him; after the tenth sleep, he sang, \u201cWhen heroes die, their spirits fall and dance beneath our yawning Earth, where brightly burns Her brimstone heart, its light an endless orange-proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInspiring lyrics,\u201d Discord said. \u201cDo you anticipate casualties?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome. The searing heights are treacherous.\u201d Indeed, up there, water alternated between fatally bright and fairly dark. Merrow could survive during the latter phase, but there would always be risks in shallow places: low pressure and high temperatures, height-induced hallucinations, unconsciousness, beasts with teeth and pointed bills that tear apart defenseless bodies. <\/p>\n
Her brood rarely ascended beyond the mid-ocean; Discord could not predict how the near-surface conditions would affect their bodies. Near the slope, where the ground became lumpy with sediment flow debris, she gathered three rocks and fashioned weighted belts with Quick\u2019s spare nets. If she or her sisters fainted in the searing heights, their belts would pull them to safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d Quick said, \u201cbut did you need to destroy my best net?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Our lives depend on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can string them with lucky beads,\u201d Melodious said. As a youth, she learned practical crafting from trench scholar-merrow, just the basics, though Melodious pined for more. Unfortunately, advanced knowledge had a steep price; scholar-merrow were cloistered in deep trenches. The life-givers could not wander, and the egg-makers forsook their broods.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you enter the searing heights, the beads will absorb strain until they crack,\u201d Melodious said. \u201cIf that happens, dive.\u201d As they travelled, she carved crystalline chips with hole-punched centers. Her able tentacles moved in a skilled flurry; the battle-crippled sixth rested against her travel bundle. <\/p>\n
\u201cFinished at last,\u201d she said. \u201cSisters, do you hear voices?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than voices!\u201d Quick said, glowing pink-curious. \u201cIn the distance \u2013 can you sense it? Merciful trenches! Amazing!\u201d<\/p>\n
They approached a wall of air beast shells, some tinier than minke whales, others larger than blue whales. Hundreds of merrow soldiers swam inside and around the wall, clking and chattering.<\/p>\n
Discord had seen an air beast shell once before, during her youthful pilgrimage to The Boiling Trench, It That Cracked The Basin In Twain. At the time, she and her sisters were small, translucent, and voiceless. Like all hatchlings, they chased the trench\u2019s call, an enticing vibration that did not tickle mature ears. Somewhere between their nest and the trench, they encountered several rectangular slabs, fuzzy with marine snow and worms. After wise scholar-merrow had instructed her in battle, language, crafts, and lore, Discord realized that the slabs had belonged to a crumbling air beast shell. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou were right about the fortress-wall, messenger,\u201d she said. \u201cWondrous thing! Where did they all come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe slope \u2013 especially this location \u2013 is a hotspot for air beast shells,\u201d he said. \u201cThese sank without our intervention, and the army assembled them into a fortress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas there anything inside?\u201d Quick asked. \u201cProbably Mother says the shells are filled with treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMetals, tools, trinkets, food,\u201d the messenger explained. \u201cBut treasure goes fast. Right now, the shells are hollow. You may explore …\u201d He spun in the water. \u201cExcuse me while I resolve a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat fight?\u201d Quick asked, but he was already darting toward the fortress. \u201cCurious. I suppose he heard merrow arguing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow? I can barely hear my thoughts!\u201d Melodious said. The water trembled with hundreds of clks and voices. Disturbed sediment and marine snow, fluffy chunks of detritus raining from the heights, obscured both sight and sound. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe must be accustomed to chaos,\u201d Discord said. She noticed that the other soldiers possessed traits from all corners of the ocean; it was a cosmopolitan group. The other elders surely rallied behind She Who Rumbles. \u201cSisters, make camp south of the wall, away from the cacophony.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, when most others slept, Discord explored the fortress-wall. Merrow filled its labyrinthine rooms, huddled beside siblings and friends. Some chambers were vast, and others made her claustrophobic. In one medium-sized chamber, she discerned pleasing flourishes on the walls, curled indentations and ridges. The air beasts were artistic.<\/p>\n
Discord returned to her sisters, who slept well beyond the wall to escape the distracting murmurs of six hundred dreamers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it like?\u201d Quick asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrowded, confusing. No artifacts remain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should rest,\u201d Melodious said, shaking mud from her head. \u201cThis may be our final sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean final sleep before battle?\u201d Quick asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, of course I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discord felt heavy, much too heavy; she touched the belt around her waist. She had carried it to the fortress-wall in case the battle started prematurely. \u201cI will protect you both,\u201d she promised. \u201cWhen the time comes, stay near me, and do as I say.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sisters burrowed underground and became dreamers, too.<\/p>\n
A low rumble shook them awake. The elder\u2019s call: fight, children. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlready?\u201d Quick asked, reaching for her nets.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave them,\u201d Discord said. \u201cWe cannot afford more weight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if the air beasts attack?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNets and daggers are no match for harpoon.\u201d She shone multicolor-aggressive. \u201cIf they come into the water, our teeth will suffice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discord turned her face up. She could sense the elder poised halfway between the ocean floor and surface, her body slightly larger than a blue whale, but the distance protected She Who Rumbles from greater scrutiny. Discord wondered if that was intentional. They were mysterious, trench elders. <\/p>\n
The army gathered over the fortress-wall and began to ascend northwest, guided by blue-lit scouts. Discord maneuvered her brood into the group\u2019s center. \u201cAvoid the edges,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are safer here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Higher, the army swam. Higher, higher. Discord felt the ocean\u2019s embrace weaken. At first, it was exhilarating, like escaping from gravity, but then pain swelled behind her eyes and throbbed with every heartbeat, every swish of fin and tentacle. Weaker merrow fainted; their bodies sank like corpses. Much to Discord\u2019s pride, her brood survived the ascent. However, when the near-surface water rolled, her spirits fell. Maybe they should have feigned sickness; in their weak state, anything but still water could be deadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow,\u201d the messenger shouted. \u201cShine brightly!\u201d<\/p>\n
The rocking water pushed Discord to the army\u2019s western edge. There, she discerned the behemoth approaching. It cut between air and ocean, its belly pressing below the water\u2019s surface. <\/p>\n
\u201cBrightly!\u201d The messenger shouted. \u201cOur bodies will be her beacon!\u201d<\/p>\n
The army glowed indigo, no-emotion-indigo, because indigo light travelled far in water. Many merrow entwined tentacles to resist separation, but Discord wove between bodies, searching for Melodious and Quick. She clked rapidly, discerning impossible things: bodies fusing and warping, the army becoming one beast. Altitude sickness had affected her senses. <\/p>\n
Quick\u2019s voice rang out. She was singing a dirge. \u201cFor whom does Quick sing?\u201d Discord said, nearly squeaking with relief. But before she reached her sister, the army sang along. Their unified voices were so powerful, she wondered if Probably Mother could hear them across the ocean. <\/p>\n
The behemoth stopped its forward motion just above-north of Discord, within harpoon striking distance if the rumors could be trusted. She readied herself for an attack but none came. Instead, the ship bobbed languidly. In the silence following the dirge, she could hear water slapping against the behemoth\u2019s sides. Faint music \u2013 its alien notes shrill and mournful \u2013 slipped under the ocean. The air beasts were singing, too. <\/p>\n
It surprised Discord, though she knew they spoke a rudimentary language. Near-surface scouts had recorded over two hundred air beast words, including harpoon. Yet words and music were different; the latter spoke to an emotional core.<\/p>\n
Baffled, Discord missed her chance to call Melodious and Quick. <\/p>\n
The trench elder rose, her cavernous mouth yawning. She rammed the behemoth; it rocked side to side but did not crack. The elder lashed it with her barbed tentacles and gnawed on its belly with ten thousand teeth, but it still resisted her. The army had anticipated a one-hit success; at this rate, air beasts would riddle She Who Rumbles with spears. \u201cSurround the behemoth!\u201d Discord shouted. \u201cConfuse them!\u201d<\/p>\n
Other merrow took up her call and moved to the highest waters, swarming around the behemoth, their bodies a glowing shield. A splash. She tasted diffuse blood; a merrow had been injured. Quick? Melodious? No. A nearby stranger, pierced through his tail by a lance. Mercifully, the blade was not hooked. Discord helped him wrench free. <\/p>\n
\u201cRetreat,\u201d she told him. \u201cReturn to…\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a sharp crack, and the trench elder dove. Half the army followed her, whistling victoriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cSisters!\u201d Discord said. \u201cWhere are you?\u201d Had they descended? Were they injured? She scoured the water; nearby, the behemoth reared back, as if trying to leap from the ocean. Air beasts dropped, their limbs flapping clumsily. Merrow dragged them below surface to loot and then devour their bodies. The ocean was thick with shouts, bubbles, and debris. Pungent with blood. <\/p>\n
There were merrow floating overhead, many dead, others dying. She recognized spear wounds in a few, but the rest must have succumbed to altitude sickness.<\/p>\n
\u201cSisters!\u201d Discord wound through the battle zone. Her sisters might be unconscious and floating. They wore belts, yes, but equipment could fail. She had to check, just once. As Discord moved, every tail swish burned; she felt lightheaded and dizzy; the rock belt pulled her down; the lucky beads snapped. To resist sinking, Discord untied her belt and strapped it to a moaning, height-sick merrow. \u201cThank you,\u201d he murmured, sinking gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Discordant Hum,\u201d she called. \u201cPlease remember it, in case I …\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cDiscordant Hum,\u201d he repeated, again and again, until she could not hear him anymore. With renewed strength, Discord moved north. She would circle the battle zone perimeter once, only once, and then descend. <\/p>\n
There! A large body floated nearby. At first, Discord thought several merrow had embraced as they died, but no: it was a tiny air beast shell. Curious, she put her head above the water and clked. Unfortunately, her inner ears were failing. She opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
The first things she saw were lights. A second ocean glittered overhead, its bioluminescent spots white and blue. The scholar-merrow taught her that all existence resided in two oceans and the savage space between them. In certain holy places, where no merrow could survive, the land jutted above water and bridged the worlds.<\/p>\n
Voices drew her attention; seven air beasts huddled in the small shell. She wondered if they were family. \u201cMonsters,\u201d the biggest air beast said. \u201cThey are like no fish or squid I\u2019ve ever seen. Row! By God\u2019s grace, we will reach shore.\u201d Half a dozen flat-ended poles arced through the water and propelled the shell away from Discord.<\/p>\n
She let them retreat in peace.<\/p>\n
Discord finished her search well after the behemoth fell. Debris and bodies \u2013 all merrow, for the air beasts had been devoured – bobbed overhead. She called her sisters one last time: Melodious Chord. Quick Squeak. Nobody responded. She did not even hear pleas from strangers anymore. Discord dove, but she could not escape the heights. Her body descended a few meters, tired, and then rose as it succumbed to buoyancy. Again and again, she tried to escape, and each dive was shorter until it took all her strength to remain submerged.<\/p>\n
Soon, she had no strength left.<\/p>\n
She rolled face-up to behold the second ocean. New lights had emerged from its depths, some smaller than a grain of mud. One winked at her, the cheeky creature. Hello. She lit her body bright white and wondered if they were watching her shine, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see you.\u201d Quick\u2019s voice. \u201cDiscordant Hum. I see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discord turned, now floating with her back against the air, and saw Quick ascending with frantic tail kicks. They reached for each other, and as their tentacles entwined, Quick stopped fighting her weighted belt and let gravity pull them both into the cold, heavy depths, where Melodious waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sisters,\u201d Discord said. \u201cMy sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened then?\u201d Probably Mother asked. She and her brood drifted under the whale\u2019s ribs and played with the air beast artifacts Discord, Melodious, and Quick had brought home: gold pendants that opened like clam shells, several sharp hooks, and one large metal canister.<\/p>\n
Discord said, \u201cWe rested inside the behemoth. It was filled with treasure and food, just like you promised. The messenger arranged a celebration feast to bless the sixty casualties. After that, we swam back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat an adventure, Possible Daughters!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be more,\u201d Quick said. \u201cThe air beasts ride many behemoths. Merrow soldiers are gathering on the southeastern slope, where He Who Gnashes, wise elder of The Whirlpool Trench, has planned another attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to fight?\u201d Probably Mother asked.<\/p>\n
Discord made an amused squeak. \u201cNot this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot for a long while,\u201d Melodious said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut someday?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d Discord said. \u201cThe famine will end, one way or another. If air beasts continue poaching our whales, their shells will be acceptable replacements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Probably Mother opened and closed the gold pendant, making pleasant clack, clack, clack sounds. \u201cViolence,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat a pity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, in the memory of elders, no gardens were anointed with blood. Sometimes, Discord pined for the lives of her ancestors.<\/p>\n
But at that moment, as Melodious danced between columnar whale ribs and Quick played with their spoils of war, she felt perfectly content. <\/p>\n
Darcie Little Badger is a scientist, Lipan Apache dancer, and speculative fiction writer. She lives in Texas with one dog and many books. Her work has appeared in places like Strange Horizons, Mirror Dance, and Quantum Fairy Tales.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the whale corpse landed, Discordant Hum felt auspicious vibrations in the cold abyssal water. \u201cA giant fell,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s ours.\u201d Her body glowed green-pleased. Quick Squeak and Melodious Chord, Discord\u2019s sisters, swam in tight circles above her head. \u201cWhat about neighbor broods?\u201d Melodious asked. \u201cThey may want it, too.\u201d She waved a tentacle, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17068,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17068"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139554,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37349\/revisions\/139554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}