Hiya! Some of you may have seen the takes by @anon50803445 about Ambanes meeting various Atlantean groups over on the main Abyss Sea topic. Well, I enjoyed them so much I decided to write a journal-style oneshot about it! Hope you all like it!
================================
Entry 1 - The Wind-Row Wolves
I’m not one to write much about my travels. I mean, for the past few months, all I’ve really been doing is traveling from island to island to spread the Gift. However, I feel like this is a momentous occasion, one that I’ve taken the liberty of noting down for future reference. The occasion in question? It turns out that there is a group much like my own that has embraced the Gift! What’s even more amazing is how I encountered them in the first place.
What I had thought to be a simple stop to rest and repair the Bestower quickly turned into something much more when we moored at Wind-Row Island. I knew that a gang of ruffians calling themselves the “Wind-Row Wolves” resided there, but I assumed that they either fled or died out. However, as I stepped off the ship and into the ravine, I heard a distinct howling in the distance. I gathered a group of my kin, figuring that the Wolves still dwelt there and were going to try and drive us away like so many others had done. But as the howls drew closer, I sensed that these wolves were not the same as they were before.
Indeed, they had become much like me and my kin, but their Gift was quite different from my own. They had the features of sea beasts seemingly melded with those of a wolf, fitting for their ilk. Their leader was a different beast altogether, I couldn’t even make out any part that was once human. When they spotted me and my flock, they immediately closed in to attack, with some of them positioned high on the ravine walls dropping logs on us. It’s a good thing we spotted that particular ambush, I was nearly flattened!
My flock instantly formed a circle around me, but combat with these strange kin wasn’t what I was looking for. I ordered my crew to stand down, sending them back to the ship as I strode further into the ravine. The wolf-things’ leader snarled, approaching me with the likely intent of tearing me apart and feeding me to his pack. However, I have dealt with beasts much like this one, letting him come near so I could divine his thoughts.
When the leader drew close enough, I raised a hand and placed it on his head, melding our minds and allowing the two of us to properly communicate. His thoughts were… simple, to say the least, but he was able to understand that I was no foe of his. Indeed, he caught my scent the moment I stepped onto his shores, though he only attacked because he thought I would be prey. I might’ve been, had I not been able to dodge the falling logs, but that was all in the past now.
Peering deeper into the wolf-leader’s mind, who I learned was named “Alpha,” I was able to learn about how he and his pack embraced the Gift. Astoundingly, Alpha and the other Wind-Row Wolves did not become Atlanteans after being attacked, they chose the Gift of their own accord! The memories were a bit spotty (mutation does unfortunately cloud the minds of those it affects), but I was able to find out that he and the pack acquired the Gift in a ritual feast that saw them all embracing their wolf-like nature.
I was overjoyed to have finally found someone else who understands that the Gift is the only way to survive in this new world of ours. I told him of my own history, how I became Gifted and how I wished to spread it. While he didn’t seem to catch much on that last part, Alpha soon knew that my flock and I could be valuable allies. After that, a formal agreement was made, one that would benefit us both. In exchange for providing Alpha and the Wolves with bodies to feast on, I and the flock would be allowed to use Wind-Row Island as a safe haven if needed. I even managed to wrangle a few tips on commanding my crew from that pack-bonding mind of his. I also gave Alpha pointers on how to construct traps that weren’t just falling logs, ensuring that future hunts would be more successful.
With the agreement finalized, I severed the bond and went back to the ship, bidding Alpha farewell as the Bestower sailed away from Wind-Row Island. That encounter left me wondering: are there other groups like the Wolves who had embraced the Gift with similar results? With the fires of curiosity lit in my mind, I steered us towards wherever the winds would take us, eager to find more of my kin.
– Ambanes
Entry 2 - The Forest Caimans
A few weeks after my encounter with the Wolves, I managed to “extract” some information from a poor soul in need of the Gift. Before his transformation, he blurted out something about “reptilian beasts” that supposedly dwelt in the Forest of Cernunno. That island and the strange folk living on it have always intrigued me, though the stories of them attacking anyone who approached always turned me away from visiting. However, the opportunity to meet more of my kin was simply far too good to pass up, so I headed there as fast as the Bestower would carry me.
When we landed on the island, the fog was thick enough to the point where we could barely see twenty feet ahead of us. Moving into the forest, I began to sense a presence hiding within the murky waters, though I couldn’t see it at all. One of my more recent converts, who was eager even before receiving the Gift, moved in further to investigate. However, he made the unfortunate mistake of stepping too deep into the water when something jumped from the swamp and dragged the poor fool underneath. He struggled for a few seconds before I saw the water turning red, the beast that claimed him clearly feasting on his flesh.
After the unfortunate loss of one of the flock, I urged the rest to stand back as I moved in for further inspection. I used my staff to clear away some of the fog when I noticed a few sets of eyes peering out from just beneath the surface of the water. They were ambush hunters, patiently waiting for me to misstep so that I too would become their meal. Not wanting to become lunch for my hungry kin, I instead opted to use some of the bodies we had stored below decks as a means to placate them so that I could tread without being attacked.
After throwing the bodies in, the beasts rose from the swamp to dine on decaying flesh, becoming visible enough for me to get a clear look. They bore close resemblance to certain types of reptiles, “caimans” I believe the word was. After they ate, I sensed a much stronger presence swiftly approaching, clearly the leader of this particular group. As it rose from the lake, it swiftly devoured the mangled remains of the bodies the smaller caiman-beasts had gorged on. As the beast and I locked eyes, I sensed a familiar mind to that of Alpha, though this one lacked the strong pack-bonding mindset of the wolf leader. He was also notably less intelligent, though thankfully still capable of communication.
During our mind melding session, I learned that the caiman leader’s name was Cernyx and that he was the former leader of the cult that once controlled the island. When my kin first landed here, they had tried to fight back but were slowly infected one by one. It saddened me to learn that they hadn’t willingly accepted the Gift like the Wolves, but I suppose not everyone in the Bronze Sea is as enlightened. I knew it’d only be a matter of time before Cernyx and his kin grew hungry again so I made a quick deal he would understand.
I and my kin would be allowed to traverse the island without interference as long as I provide the caimans with bodies to eat. While there honestly isn’t much to this island, it could provide a refuge to research any future discoveries without being hunted by vengeful sailors. As a further token of friendship, I gave Cernyx some tips on how to better control his followers. While he doesn’t have the same level of influence over the caimans as Alpha does with his pack, I figured he would at least keep them from mistaking me and my flock for food.
Our agreement made, Cernyx urged the caimans to stand down as my flock and I departed the island, watching as they slunk back into their swampy home. While I knew I would never be able to converse with them on the same level as I would with Alpha, at least they would be able to speak better among themselves. I could tell Cernyx was only really the “leader” of those creatures due to his enhanced size. With my advice, he’ll be able to at least keep them from feasting on any of my kin (if they’re lucky).
Between the Wolves and the Caimans, it almost feels like I’m meeting long-lost family members. Some are more agreeable than others, but they are still family nonetheless. I only hope that the next clan of my kin we come across is less… hungry.
– Ambanes
Entry 3 - The Redwake Sharks
What I presumed to be another lovely meeting with more of my kind quickly turned to tragedy when we sailed to Redwake. Before moving in, we decided to stop just outside of the Jaws so I could plot the best course forwards. The Bestower, mighty as she is, isn’t used to the tight confines of those towering spires. We were almost done charting a path when I heard something crash against the hull.
When I leaned over to inspect the source, I spotted one of my kin trying to bite their way through it, attempting to pry off the armor with their teeth. When they looked up at me, I noticed that they were quite sharklike before they darted back underwater. I simply assumed that they mistook us for Ungifted sailors and only left once they sensed who we were. My theory would unfortunately be disproven once we set the course further into the Jaws.
Docking at Redwake, or what remained of it, we found that traversing the old town had become quite difficult. Half the platforms there seem to have… melted away. Looking at them further, I could sense faint traces of acid magic, though that wasn’t the only thing I had detected. Indeed, I could sense multiple presences in the water below us, circling us several times a minute. Some more kin, no doubt, but their minds seemed to be… clouded by something, their (admittedly limited) capacity for reason buried under something. I didn’t have time to ponder it as three of them jumped from the water and rushed us, snarling like rabid dogs.
I tried to project that my flock and I meant no ill will, but they did not listen. We were forced to put them down, my crew surrounding them and tearing them to pieces. But as soon as we dealt with them, more of them appeared, likely smelling the blood shed from the fight. Once again, I tried to convince them to stand down, and once again, no response. There was nothing behind their eyes but sheer, undying hunger. What once might have been a mind capable of understanding the Gift was long gone.
The battle lasted for days, my flock and I locked in a stalemate with the shark-beasts. Numerous times I attempted to project a message to stand down, but all attempts were ignored. To see these… ungrateful wretches misusing the Gift like this was… sickening. The Gift is something that should be spread to all, not used to kill and massacre! Yes, there are instances in which violence is necessary, but kin should not be killing other kin! These fools are utterly mindless, existing only to slake their own hunger. But nothing was as vile as their leader, who rose from the waves on the final day of the conflict.
I had heard of Chief Alfarin prior to becoming Gifted, but there was nothing left of him now. I could sense a mind within, unlike the other shark-things, but it was hidden deep under the urge to feast. What was once an honorable man was now nothing more than a… a demon. Yes, that’s what he and all his wretched kin are! Mind melding was not necessary, I knew immediately that he and all his vile spawn must die.
But alas, fortune was not smiling upon me that day. None of my flock could get close enough to kill him, and in turn his kin couldn’t get close enough to end me. As the hours dragged on, I began to realize that this was a fruitless endeavor. Alfarin and his heathens were nothing but a lost cause, so I gave the order to withdraw. He seemed to do the same, his forces about as battered as mine were. At least he had enough mental capacity to not give chase.
We lost about a third of the flock that day, and I assume the sharks suffered similar losses. I sailed us as far away from Redwake as fast as physically possible, stopping at Wind-Row Island to lick our wounds. Thankfully, Alpha was willing to let us stay while we recovered, and the fighting meant we were able to recover some of the bodies for him and his pack. Alpha could tell how miserable I was, so he gave me as much of a berth as I needed while we stayed there. I’m currently still at Wind-Row now, writing in an abandoned home waiting for the Bestower to be repaired. Alpha comes by sometimes, though I can’t tell whether he’s genuinely concerned for me or simply checking to see if I’ve died yet.
I… I think I’m going to stay here for a while. I’m too exhausted to do much of anything right now. I can only hope those abominable sharks stay confined to their wretched spires. I’ll write again if I happen to encounter another notable group of my kin. I can only hope that any new encounters don’t end in violence. Until then, I believe it is time I close this entry. May the future hold good tidings for the Gifted Ones.
– Ambanes