Tsunami Saga Prologue

From Grigbertz

Intended for mature readers, the easily offended better leave now. If you are underage where you live, or if you don’t enjoy erotic tales, also leave. I am not forcing you to read this, and if you continue to do so you do it by your own free will.

Many Ages before the beginning…

So, you seek to understand my hate. To look into the past and see the lengths to which mortals will go in their fear of death, driven by their petty hearts? I’ll show you just how far they will go, and then we shall see if im justified or not.

During the first age of The World, on a time of myth and mist so far ago that no deity had yet been born, and from which memories today survive only in the stars. Before the Great Betrayal, when the world was alive all around? It was a time when the spirits of The World walked at the side of mortals, with Lady Fire still dancing on temples and hallways, her fiery hair scorching the air after her every wild step, and age when the stars still wandered the land, a time when the spirits of The World watched over mortals, helping and loving them. Long gone days that will not return. Now, everyone has gods, elders and ancestors, as if those who lived before them where bigger or better than they are just because they’re dead, as if that automatically made them better than themselves, the fools.

In that time and by will of the All Father, I was born one of The Four along with my sisters Fire, Earth and Wind, and together created The World and everything under the sky. We where the same and we where different, not only of will and intent, but also in our choices, and as we added the mortal races by the order of the All Father, each sister choose a few to champion. From the strong, fiery Fire to the playful Earth, they overcame my voice and choose as they desired, and before I could speak, already had they choose every living thing from dragon to tree and from fish to lion. Only the human was alone in the world, weak but graceless, slow and soft, small and fearful. None of my sisters had eyes for them, but they were precious in my eyes. I carried them trough hard times, rejoiced over their laughs, saddened with their tears and like proud mother, celebrated their every accomplishment. I loved what I saw in them; delicate beings without the strength of giants or the long life of dragons, flashing trough life in an instant, and yet embracing it so fully, without knowing death is but an illusion to those left behind. I was blind, did not want to understand and did not want to see them as they are. Men don’t fight to forge an everlasting legend; nor seek to better life for those who will walk in their steps. They cling to life because they are terrified of death and will bite, cut and cheat others to avoid its touch, if even for a day, if even for an hour or an instant… but I am getting ahead of myself.

It was on this age, that those blessed by the spirits of The World, priests able to call on us and work miracles trough our intervention the likes of which no mere mage has dreamed of, learned to stave off death, the secret by which a mortal could preserve the body, living on forever until either blade or circumstances determined otherwise.

And yet, to preserve the body was not enough. The mortal mind is a fragile thing, poorly equipped to endure the flowing of the ages, intended to exist for a brief moment in the world, and needs the touch of death to purify it, and only then is it ready for eternity. It saddened me to see my children turn their backs on their fate, and eagerly give up on their right to the afterlife, but I had faith in them and expected them to learn and understand the precious gift of death. I had never been so wrong.

The priests realized what they needed something to keep their minds aware and ageless as their bodies, a spiritual object, free from the taint of time. Yet they could neither find nor make it, for all of creation had been born after Time, and everything since carried its touch. This led them to despair as their minds aged within ageless bodies, eventually reducing them to horrible mimicry of themselves. Their despair led me to sadness, the vision of what they did to themselves hurt and almost drowned me.

They needed something only the spirits had, the only things the All Father had made with his own hands before the birth of Time. They needed a Heart of Hearts. As they learned this, I fooled myself. Certainly, they would not go as far?

But of course they could, and they certainly did. At the time, man was ruled by a single imperial family, and as far as they knew I was a simple spirit in charge of the nourishing rain, the life carrying rivers and the generous lakes, for I did not want them to feel intimidated in my presence. The one to answer their prayers, the one they could reach for, sister and mother and teacher, bringing days of everlasting abundance, seeing to it that rain fell only at night when the people was indoors, and gently carrying the vessels of men throughout my domains, anywhere they wished to go.

I was such a stupid at the time, easily fooled; those times will never come back. Of course they wouldn’t appreciate what I did for them! They had never had times of famine or draught, how could they appreciate sunshine without ever having witnessed a storm?

At the time, shrines to the world spirits where commonplace, scattered everywhere over the landscape. Fire and Wind each had thousands of them and priests spent their lives to appease them. Earth was revered as a provider and her temples were in every kitchen... I would even keep people from drowning, for the love of the All Father! They could freely walk and breathe underwater to emerge wet but unharmed, and still complain at me of how cold and wet they were! And yet there were only two shrines for Water in the whole of the empire. One such shrine was my own home, as I would spend most of my time on it, and even the filthy mortals who lived around it where intelligent enough to realize it was a holy and private place. The other was the Cavern of Souls, from where those who wished to visit their ancestors could dive in a sacred pool after calling my name. Only I would open up the route for them, so they light up incense and pray out to me, more by necessity than in worship, I suppose.

I guess I was too tempting a target for the priests to miss me. They gathered with the emperor and discussed the consequences in taking my Heart of Hearts, and would you believe they didn’t thought of any? Not one! They just couldn’t imagine any harm coming from the one I was at that time, the gentlest spirit, the element of healing, bah! They should have though “What right do we have” and “Shouldn’t we be grateful?” but no, they thought about the consequences! “Will this spirit punish us?” “Will this spirit smite us?”

It took them less than a day, and in the end they choice was between the spirit of candles, and me. But most of them where sages that had at least once had experienced a stain of wax on their clothes, a sudden darkness as a candle ran out, or hot wax on their hands. In the end it came down to Candle and Water and who they feared less! I…

Tsunami trembles in sheer rage, needing a minute to recover. She takes a deep breath and continues

So having decided, they took upon themselves the task of looking for “the right man for the job” someone so seductive, so strong and handsome that women immediately felt drawn to him. They found him in Tsudao Kitsu, a young priest of golden eyes, dark brown hair and honey covered tongue, a young man who would blindly do anything his emperor demanded of him, believing it to be right and proper because it was the will of his ruler. The emperor told him his mission, pointed him at me, and sent him away…

I guess that, in retrospective, it was partially my fault, Tsudao, he… his name still tastes so bitter in my tongue, he won me so easy…

It was at the Cavern of Souls; he travelled east from the capital to Bluepeak Mountain, and in its base, the entrance to the cavern…

The young man walked into the underground temple, its bronze doors open, its passages illuminated by the reflections of water, even tough the temple itself was dry. Light dancing in waves trough the halls, and exotic fish flying trough the air as if it was water, their delicate fins and tails like the veils of a dancer.

At the altar he knelt to light incense, calling out and begging for the spirit to appear, the pool that was the gate to the afterlife still and pristine past the small altar, began to swirl and fill with color and sights from other places and times. The spirit took form from the water of the pool, first a few bubbles and then a spray of water, rising high and taking a delicate form, shaping itself and becoming solid and warm and soft before finally adopting the guise of a maiden of fair skin and snowy hair. Her heart shaped face delicate and feminine, the lines of her body perfect in every way. Dressed in clothes of silk and seashell, mist and ice like glowing gems, an unearthly beauty that was at the same time simple and complete, the beauty of maiden and mother and all things female made flesh.

She smiled warmly and without needing to ask him what he wanted, began the incantations to open up the gate when he stopped her.

By now I was so used to, well, being used, that I didn’t even tried to talk to the supplicants anymore, they came to use my pool, and assumed I was there to open it for them. He told me of how he loved the sea, how he knew himself blessed to be in my presence, and how he felt I was the most forgotten of all spirits, how he sometimes shivered in rage at the thought. Oh yes, Tsudao played at my ego, the girl I was didn’t even had one, but he made sure I got to have one once he was done with me! He told me how he had wanted to go to me for the better half of his life, but had simply never felt worthy to try. I assured him he was most worthy in my eyes, and told him how no one had never before thought about me in the way he did, how it would have pleased me to meet him before, and how it pleased me to meet him now, and asked him what had changed in his heart, how was it that suddenly he came to my shrine and called out to me. He told me he was one of the guardians of the emperor, how he had seen his health decrease day after day, how his mind was broken and how no magic or medicine seemed able to assist him, so he wanted to ask his ancestors if they knew of a way to heal him. At the moment, I almost jumped to his aid, but maybe some part of me was smart enough to mistrust, and so I simply blessed him and opened the passage for him. It should have ended there, why couldn’t it end there and then?!

I waited for him. I sat next to the gateway and waited for him to return, it took 4 days, and he finally came back, he said he had talked to his ancestors, but they could not tell him of anyway they knew to aid the emperor, and regretted his fate, for he had sworn he would not return until he had the cure, yet his ancestors had told him there was no cure. I smiled at him and took his hand, and promised him he would not be alone, that even tough he could not return to the palace, he would always have me at his side. Oh! Never had the weather be as gentle, the sea as bountiful, the rivers as gentle, fresh water as sweet as during the week that Tsudao was with me! We would sit and talk and hold hands looking at the stars, he would recite me poetry and songs, using petty magic tricks to make me laugh, and yet there always seemed to be something, his unfulfilled vow burdened him as if it was the world, and so on the sixth day since his return from the pool, I told him.

“Tsudao my love, there IS one thing that could save the emperor, that which lies in the bottom of my heart, for we spirits are immortal, our bodies do not age, and our minds do not decay. That thing is the most sacred object, gifted to us by the all father, it is our Heart of Hearts and it can cure any illness of the body, soul or mind, hold off death and bless its possessor. I trust you, Tsudao, and I know you will return it to me. Please Tsudao, please take it and use it to save the emperor, for I can see how your sadness consumes you, and can bear it no longer”

Immediately, he refused, saying that he feared for me, demanding I would never again suggest such thing to him, but I insisted.

“Please beloved, accept my help, I beg of you. Take my Heart of Hearts and fulfil your oath. Then come back to me, and spend your days with me, for I will become your consort and live with you every day of your life. Please Tsudao-sama, take my Heart of Hearts and save you emperor!”

This time he accepted, and so I took my true form…

Tsunami smiles, although tears fall from her eyes, maybe she doesn’t notice them herself.

I took my true form, ever dancing, ever flowing shape, the form which only the great Lord, Father of All had seen before, the form he wished me to have, and reached into my own soul and pulled out my Heart for him, the only thing sacred from Heaven to Hell and gave it to Tsudao, completely trusting he would return it to me.

Of course, that itself came with a price, for I was greatly weakened, and had to return to the closest, largest concentration of water nearby, which just happened to be the Pool of Souls. Meanwhile Tsudao rode as fast as he could, abandoning me in the cavern, content and satisfied with himself, thinking of nothing but the generous reward the emperor would no doubt give him.

The All Father must have wanted the spirit of Roads to be watching that particular, forgotten, dusty road on that day. Immediately, he recognized the artifact Tsudao was carrying, even inside the saddlebags of his horse, and choose to follow him. He watched Tsudao ride back to the palace and kneel before the emperor with my Heart of Hearts in his hand, and watched the emperor pick it up and summon his shugenja, and seen and heard as he instructed them. Immediately Road went to the All Father and reported what he saw.

I don’t think I could ever pay Road for his help, yet he has never asked for anything. He certainly could ask for any reward from me, and I would give him anything he wanted. But back to the story… yes, I had given my Heart of Hearts to Tsudao and he had betrayed me, for he never loved me and I was nothing but a target for him. He took it back to his master and forgot about me while as I lied waiting for him. But the All Father was not to let such mortals become gods, and even from the quiet silence of my cavern, was I able to hear the screams of mortals as the spirit world warred upon them.

And to imagine what it was like you have to understand that, at the time, ALL the spirits banded against them, leaving them where naked and alone, for steel and magic forsake them and then turned on them. They didn’t have anywhere to turn to nor anyway to fight, their buildings crumbled upon them, and their objects either turned to dust or attacked them. They where slaughtered in droves, and yet the emperor did not want to return my heart until starvation, famine, hunger and a sea of blood up to his chest made the perspective of eternal life sufficiently displeasing for the old man.

You want to know the most amazing part? Tsudao stood forward and took complete responsibility for everything that happened, saying that it was he who had whispered to the ear of the emperor, and he who convinced him to act as he did. He said it was his desire to rise in his favour, and no one would be most favoured by the emperor than the young warrior that gave him eternal life. Of course, the emperor confirmed this story and immediately Tsudao was delivered to be punished by the spirits.

From beginning to end, it took almost three weeks for the screams of mortals to die down while the emperor clung to my heart, and all the while I was lying shapelessly in the bottom of the cavern, furious at myself for being unable to go and help mortals, for I was sure that something terrible must have been happening to my children, to my beloved, to Tsudao. I was convinced some terrible plague was ravaging the land, monsters were invading, that heaven had begun falling over their heads, and all I could think about was that they needed me, they needed Water. They needed the power of healing, maybe for the first time. Finishing strong enough to leave the pool, I immediately followed my heart to Tsudao, feeling my chest explode when I realized he was in pain, terrible pain. In my weakened state, it almost killed me to appear at his side, just to find myself under the presence of the All Father, where my beloved was about to be punished. My sisters quickly explained everything to me, yet I refused to believe it, and cried while trying to speak for him.

“Tsudao-sama loves me! He would never wish me harm!” “Tsudao-sama must was deceived! he must have been under some charm!” “Please don’t hurt Tsudao-sama for I will dry and cease to be!”

I don’t know if it was the crying or the begging, but Father finally granted my request and, rather than destroying him, he put him under my care in the Cavern of Souls to be imprisoned under my care. I was so grateful! Tsudao´s life was saved, his soul would not be dammed to oblivion, and he was allowed to live with me! Once we where alone, he embraced me and comforted me, assuring me that it was not as my sisters had explained to me, that they had also been deceived. He said it was a corrupted priest who had charmed the emperor, and that he still needed to reach his master and use my Heart of Hearts to save him. He begged me to help him, and I did.

Again, it was the vigilant eye of Road who and reported on his actions, in how the prisoner had escaped. Now my sisters where absolute, they wouldn’t kill him, but they would trap him inside the cave and made him into something completely apart from me so I couldn’t reach him. They erected a great barrier at the entrance of the cavern, to keep me from going in, or he from going out. The Pool of Souls was no more so I had no way to manifest myself inside the cavern, and made sure no water would enter, placing a great spell on the land around it to forever repel my touch.

I was as trapped as he was, for to a woman in love, the world is but a prison if she can’t be with the one she loves. Finally, I told him while standing at the entrance of the cave:

“Tsudao-sama, it is the will of the Kami that I cannot help you escape. Please, Tsudao-sama, give me back my Heart of Hearts, and I will take it to the emperor myself, so your vow will be complete”

I could tell you what he said, but it is easy enough to guess, I suppose.

“Tsudao-sama? It is I, Tsunami who speaks, you can trust in me, for I will fulfil your vow”

Again, he refused. I could not believe my ears, and kept begging, crying and asking for him to trust me. Years passed until the emperor died, from poison or blade in some lonesome road, I believe. His escort banished and his body was torn to pieces, but my mind is not what it was, and I only barely registered it at the time.

“Tsudao-sama, the emperor has died; certainly you will now return my Heart of Hearts?”

Still, he said no, and finally confessed to me in spite, told me everything, everything he had done, and why he had done it, and it was only then that I saw him as he truly was, a tiny, coward and filthy mortal with a heart incapable of love, honor or pity; he was a small, filthy and fear driven creature. And all the time I remained with him he regretted only to fail.

I cried, I cried like no mortal, monster, spirit nor god has ever cried before or later. I cried until my tears became a river, and they became a lake, and the lake began to flood the area around it. I cried in the bottom of the lake, until it couldn’t be called a lake anymore, and mortals forgot the age when the lake or the river or the mountain next to it had existed, and they called my tears Ocean. I don’t know just how long I cried, but when I was done crying, the ocean had spilled into other planes to give birth to new oceans, and by then I was a different being. Tsudao had also changed, an effect I did not foresee when I saved his life. With no water in the cavern, he had died shortly after I left, but my Heart of Hearts kept him alive, somewhat. His body was withered and dry, not a drop of Water throughout his whole carcass, and yet still he lived thanks to the artifact he stole, as a horrible, distorted mockery to life, the very elements that made him out of balance. Yet still he clung to life in his new disgraced, horrible form and would not let go, for like his emperor had done before him, he was now terrified of death. Tsudao became the first undead, a being witouth any water Ki on him, without an ounce of purity. The first if not the strongest amongst them who would be called undead.

With time, I managed to move away from the cavern and wandered the land, finding some comfort in the company of Road until I reached my Shrine and found it spoiled and desecrated. The locals had pillaged it, eager for its treasures. My body had been raped, my soul had been pierced, and my home desecrated. From that moment, Water became a thing they feared; they would build dozens, hundreds, thousands of shrines to try to appease me, for I learned to hate mortals, all of them and Tsudao´s kind especially, for he was human. And at last, the gentlest of spirits, for who they wouldn’t light a single candle, nor pay nod homage passing before my shrine or after listening my name, finally had worshipers, finally had temples to honor her name. Men would discover a new word: “Drown” and many, many others; Flood, Tempest, Storm, Deluge, Ice, Snow, Frozen and others… of course, they learned my name well, crying out to me when I delivered my favourite calamity upon them, my fist, my sword, which left no doubt I was displeased. With all, I was no crueler than any other spirit and as time passed, understood what my sisters had known all along, and bowed to their wisdom in their distancement of mortals.

After some time, I noticed my mind begin to wear and demanded a solution from my priests. They gathered and discussed for a hundred days; they would give my soul a new vessel, a new birth every thousand years. Curious enough, this meant I succeeded where the emperor failed, where Tsudao had turned into a monster. I had truly succeeded!!

Or so I believed, the ritual worked flawlessly, but instead of a new body, fresh and youthful vessel for my mind, they put me to sleep, trapped me within myself and made me watch as they trained the girl accordingly to their beliefs, their wishes for the new spirit of water. Again fooled by mortals, my rage shook the walls of my prison. It took a constant battering trough the ages, and all along I watched from behind my very eyes, captive inside my very own body.

I must confess that, for a time, it was a blessing. To rest and see the world trough the eyes of innocence again. But then, the girl they made as my vessel also had her heart broken, and the one after her, and the one after her, and all the while I absorbed their resentment and added it to mine, the sum of all our hatred, of all our disappointment, of our loathing for mortals. Then I was free again!

Skies torn open and rain began, never to stop while worlds drowned and ended under the waves. Mortals, angels and demons sunk beneath the oceans of my tears while the new, young gods struggled for breath, unable to contain me until the All Father fought me and sent me to my prison, to again experience existence trough the eyes of others. Yet I did not spent my time in freedom with naught but hate, nor did I wasted my efforts into mindless slaughter. My sons and daughters are now out there, my heart was wrestled from Tsudao´s cave and even now mortals carry it about the planes, ever closer, ever nearer to my prison. Soon it will find me, soon I will be whole. Ages have passed, the old gods are gone and nobody remembers.

Next time I will sink mount celestia into the ocean, the Styx will overflow and drown the lower planes, for all life came from me, and I will be the one to end it. The end will come neither by explosion nor quake nor bang. It will die gasping for breath and trembling in cold as I cover it under my mantle and claim it for myself under unfathomable depths. It will be peaceful, and quiet as it was in the beginning. I can feel it, my heart approaches my weakening prison, my vessel is almost ready and my hate is strong.

I will not be a prisoner anymore. …end of Tsunami’s tale