#vhisola: I will vanish for 50 years and no one will notice!

[byz-was-here]

A Sea Dirge

Hello Hello, back with another entry in the Sea Nomads of Aqua Magna series. This is the conclusion to the arc started in A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky. You can read it and the other stories in the masterpost (here). As always, the fic is under the cut, enjoy!

Perdix fought. The beast towered over him, glowing red eyes staring down over a fanged maw. The rumble from its throat echoed into the ground, traveling up his legs. He could feel blood trickling down the side of his face, under his helmet, cracked from the creature’s massive claws. He had run as long as he could, but now... he could run no more. For there was nothing but Perdix between the Tarakava and the maskless matoran behind him.

That Morning...

The matoran was silent as Perdix stepped off of her boat and onto the beach. She was one of Ga-Koro’s sailors if he remembered correctly. He couldn’t read the expression on her blue kakama, but... he sighed. “...Thank you.”

The matoran shrugged. “I had to pick up supplies anyway.” she said, tiredly.

Perdix looked away, the agori unsure of what to say. He had his helmet, a spear, a knife, and a bag with a few meagre supplies. He looked into the wet, lush forest beyond the sand, took a deep breath, and walked forwards.

From her spot on the skiff, Kai scratched at the side of her mask. “Why’s he goin through the jungle? I thought Nokama just told him to stay outta the Koro. Eh, not my brakas. Better get that load a’ rope from Amaya so Marka n’ I can start repairing the skiffs.”  she said to herself, watching the agori disappear between the trees.

There were no trees on the islet of Ag-Koro. Storms and frequent floods prevented them from taking root. Here, though... they grew tall enough and thick enough to blot out the sun, causing the understory to seem dim even in the bright morning sunlight. He walked, listening to the caws of strange birds overhead. These weren’t like the seabirds he knew from the coast, these were smaller, with colorful bright plumage blending into their metallic bodies. Not even a kio from the shore, it felt to Perdix like he had stepped onto another world. Strange creatures whooped overhead, and he spun, seeing them crash their way through the canopy overhead, moving too fast to see. By the time he had his spear out, they were gone. He turned around again, acutely aware of how there was nothing, no one to watch his back now. He was on his own.

Hours passed as he walked, setting up a shelter somewhere on his mind, but he simply didn’t know what kind of place to put one here. Every noise caused him to spin and flinch, brandishing his spear. Eventually, he heard the sound of flowing water in the far distance, and made his way towards it. He passed through several open clearings as he walked, filled with brush and shrubs, and he could see strange, biomechanical things on the other side of some of them. Gripping his spear tightly, Perdix stayed to the trees, out of sight of the creatures.

Eventually, the trees gave way entirely, and Perdix saw a wide, flowing river, as wide across as the whole islets in Naho Bay. Deep, blue water churned and flowed in a heavy current. Perdix pulled out a waterskin, stepping out from the bushes.

“HALT.” A sharpened disc made of bamboo was pointed at him, and Perdix froze, slowly turning to look at a Ga-Matoran wearing a blue mask with faded silver at the top, crouching by the riverbank. The matoran’s orange eyes widened, and she took a step back. “What in mata nui’s name are you?” She asked in horror. Perdix looked at himself. He was a bit dirty from travelling through the wilds all day, but he didn’t think he looked that awful. He raised his hands, stepping back ”Perdix, I’m an agori... I came from ag-koro...” He replied in passable matoric.

The matoran’s expression on her komau only seemed to intensify. “You’re... You..There is no Ag-Koro, you’re some trick of makuta. You’re too ...fleshy to be anything else.”

Perdix frowned. “It’s on an islet in naho bay, my tribe rests there before traveling onto other waters, It’s... it’s hard to miss, when the fleet arrives. It’s been coming and going for years.” The Matoran considered, before lowering the disk a little. “Where does your fleet sail from?” she asked, suspicious.

“The endless ocean,” Perdix replied, wondering if this matoran was all right in the head. Surely, everyone knew about his tribe, at least around Ga-Koro, right? “My chieftain and our elders found this island on our wanderings, and Nokama-”

“Turaga Nokama,“ the ga-matoran interjected, raising the disk again.

“Turaga Nokama let us use one of the islands in the bay to rest and stop at each season,” Perdix hesitated for a bit. “What’s your name?” he asked. “And who’s Makuta?”

The ga-matoran snorted and put the disk away. “...You don’t know who The Makuta is? With a story that strange... Maybe you really are from beyond the sight of Mata Nui...” she muttered. “Vhisola. I’m on an a very important quest. I’m going to find a Kanohi.” she said proudly.

Perdix stared at the matoran. Maybe she wasn’t all there after all. “You’re... already wearing one...” He pointed out. It was Vhisola’s turn to stare. “a great kanohi you rahi-head! If I find one of the great masks, Turaga Nokama will-”

Vhisola never got to finish her sentence, as a great beast surged out of the water, lunging at the matoran. A claw lanced out as Perdix leapt to push her out of harm’s way- only for the beast’s arm to lash out like a whip- Stricking Vhisola in the face with a sickening crack.

Perdix had seen creatures like that swimming in the bay- the ships were usually enough to chase them off, but all alone? He grabbed Vhisola by the shoulder and pulled her after him, running. he could hear her stumbling along behind him, slowing down with each step, the ga-matoran muttering “No , no, no ...” with each step.

Perdix turned his head behind him to see Vhisola’s eyes stricken with fear, a massive crack splitting her komau nearly in two, held together by her hand frantically pressed to her face. “I’ll get you a new one!” he said, not understanding her panic.

“It’s not working, I... I’m not going to....” Vhisola stumbled as the fractured half of her mask slipped out of her hand and fell to the forest floor. She swayed unsteadily, before sinking weakly to the ground. “....sorry.. run...” she mumbled, her maskless face mouthing out the words before she fell unconscious.

Perdix stared in horror at Vhisola’s unconscious body, reminded vividly of takua laying on the shore. He could hear the Tarakava getting closer, crashing through the undergrowth. He grabbed the unconsious matoran’s arm, throwing her over his back before running as fast as he could back up the mouth of the river, towards Ga-Koro.

Now...

Perdix had let his mentor down, his mother down, and his whole tribe down over the past three days, But he refused to fail now. Swaying and seeing double, he attempted to duck another one of its slashing claws, the creature catching him on the helm, wrenching his head painfully, knocking him to the ground. as he fell to the forest floor, he could see the lights of Ga-Koro faintly at the very in the far, far distance.  He could also see his helmet lying beside his head, cracked and slightly bloody from the Tarakava’s blows.

The rahi’s treads creaked as it came closer, leaning over Perdix with a snaggletoothed  drooling maw, it’s snout covered with a- a mask, pitted and almost diseased looking, but a mask nonetheless. Summoning the last of his strength, Perdix reached out to grab the edge of his helm, the Tarakava opening its mouth.

CRACK

The force of the blow broke both Perdix’s helmet and the mask covering the Rahi’s face, and the beast lurched backwards with a roar of pain. The agori scrambled, grabbing Vhisola by the leg and dragging her, trying to hurry for the gate as fast as he could. He’d accept Nokama’s punishment if he could just do this one thing right...

After what seemed like an eternity, leaf litter underfoot gave way to grass, then grass gave way to fine sand as Perdix stumbled for the gate, seeing blue-armored guards rush through, armed with discs and fishing spears before he smiled, and let himself join Vhisola in unconsciousness on the sandy beach.

...

Perdix came to under a seaweed dome, A matoran with dingy armor and a comparatively shiny noble blue ruru on her face sitting beside him. “Oh. You’re awake.” She said, standing up. Awkwardly, she hesitated before saying a quick, “Thank you.” and exiting the hut.

Perdix blinked, and gingerly started to sit up, before a hand came from behind and pushed him back to the cot. “...I believe I owe you an apology.” Perdix turned his head, and his eyes widened as he saw Turaga Nokama standing by the cot. “I-” “Quiet. You’re still injured. Vhisola... I thought Makuta had taken her many years ago. She’s much like you, in a way. Foolhardy. Eager to impress. But also Brave, tenacious. She said you were attached by a Tarakava?” Perdix nodded. “Then it was under the control of The Makuta, as I feared,” Nokama replied. “His control over the rahi grows stronger and bolder with each passing day...”

“Who... who is the makuta?”

Nokama looked pensive. “That is part of a tale long in the telling,” she said, reaching for a set of stones on the shelf of her hut, laying them out on the floor as Perdix watched, and listened. “In the time before time...”

#Sea Nomads of Aqua Magna #sea agori au #byzwrites #bionicle #agori ocs #vhisola #kai #vhisola: I will vanish for 50 years and no one will notice! #They noticed. #I wanted to do her more nuanced but my brain would not cooperate. #Also I had to think of a matoran who would wander off on their own to do something dumb who wasn't takua #Nokama #no beta i die like g2