Heroes of the Fall

[Gengy]

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Part 1 - After the Fall

"Within the ocean, there is a stretch of water that is more calm than any other. But don't let it fool you; the Sea of Jongo is full of surprises."
~ A Dissertation on Clouds

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Jongo's Sea

Jongo had begun to think of this little bit of ocean as his. She'd swam back and forth along it multiple times, and found the islands to the east, the large entrancing mountains to the west, the plains of another continent to the south, and two more land masses to the north.

And yet, for weeks - or was it months? - Jongo remained mostly in the water. When he became hungry, she would leave for shore and eat seaweed, or find fish or fruit. It all tasted like the apple. Or rather, the apple still overpowered their taste.

This was starting to annoy Jongo. Only the whispering was more annoying.

Oh, the apple was tasty, true.

But who wants to taste the same thing, over and over again? Especially when it causes you to almost cry?

That wasn't fair.

That wasn't fair AT ALL.

Mostly, though, Jongo was sad and lonely. The whispering never said anything worth talking about, and it never said anything cheerful.

But Eldest godlings don't cry. So Jongo held back the tears.

From watching Father upon His great dais, Jongo knew quite a bit about the peoples spread throughout the Great Disk. Jongo even knew about some of the creatures created - originally - from Father's nightmares. Father had taken a few, and to Jongo's great delight, changed them to be slightly different, and more pleasing to Baz'Auran.

So it was with great delight that Jongo finally found the Mermaid. With a complete green finned tail, twice as large as the rest of the upper human body, the Mermaid was an amalgamation of both fish and human, much like Jongo currently was; but Jongo was like this in desperation, and the Mermaid was like this from Baz'Auran's blessing.

The godling heard her sing first. In the water, sound carried easily, if you could hear it right. Jongo seemed to remember one of his siblings saying something like that. Probably Fayruz, or Soreal.

And to hear the mermaid sing, one could easily believe why Baz'Auran made it so.

Jongo approached the Mermaid with caution; though she was more fish then the godling, she was also more predator. But she was the first thing besides a full on fishy fishy fish that Jongo might be able to speak with.

So that is why Jongo approached so slowly, from the front, so the Mermaid could see each of Jongo's pitiful strokes.

Moving twice as fast as Jongo could even think, the godling soon found herself surrounded by the Mermaid's tail.

"Child, what are you?" The Mermaid spoke, and a part of Jongo realized it wasn't really speech, not underwater; but the godling didn't care.

Jongo had a question. And someone to ask! The whispering never answered Jongo's question.

"I am Jongo. You sing pretty. What's your name? Where are we? Are there more mermaids like you near here? Why is your hair green?"

Ok. Jongo had A LOT of questions. Assaulted by the godling's curiosity, the Mermaid looked amused.

"My name is Merilain. We're here. No, sadly, not near here, and my hair has always been green. But you are right. I am a mermaid. And you are a jongo? Are there more jongos like you? What is your name?"

"No, no, no. I AM Jongo. That's my name. There shouldn't be more then one Jongo. Oh, but it would be fun to walk up to Khalen as more than one Jongo. He'd go completely moose-eyed! But no, no, only the one Jongo. Or... at least, Father never made more than one that I know of."

"Father?"

"Baz'Auran."

Jongo looked up, and saw that Merilain had swum away, quite quickly. The Mermaid seemed to react in fear of the name, and was ducking into a cave on the ocean floor nearby.

"Wait! I have more questions!"

"Please, oh Blessed One, leave me be. I do not wish to die." The Mermaid's voice came from within the cave, as Jongo swam closer.

"Die? I'm not Avyra. Avyra is scary."

"But it was the sky that burned and slew my family. Fires fell from it, and even the moon bled red. And now you are here to finish me."

Jongo was stunned. To think that... It wasn't the... How could...

"That. Wasn't. Father."

Merilain's face came out from the cave, and she almost ran into Jongo, who had just reached the cave entrance.

"How do I know?"

"Because I said so. And I'm not my sister Rose. But even she, with all her fun words, wouldn't lie about this. And if she would, that would make me sad." Jongo looked at Merilain with his grey and green eyes, and continued. "Father wouldn't do this to your family. I watched Him make things. He loved everything He made. Even mermaids. Father wouldn't do this."

Jongo, though underwater, finally let go, and Baz'Auran's Eldest began to cry. "He wouldn't!"

The godling found arms wrap around him, as the Mermaid hugged him. She tried to console him, "Shhhh, shhhh, shhh... As you say, Blessed One. Please, do not cry."

After a while, Merilain spoke again. "Great Jongo, why are you here then, if not to kill me?"

"I don't know, Merilain. I keep... I keep hoping someone will come find me. Come get me. When the moon bled red, Father's children - me and my siblings - fell down to the Great Disk. Every time I got lost in the White City, right after I was born, if I stayed in one place long enough, someone would find me. So, though I've wanted to go exploring, I've stayed here. I was hoping someone would find me. Faden, or Rose, or even stuck up Shirvan. But it's been weeks. They aren't coming, are they?"

"You are just a child, then?"

"I am as old as the First Question, but my birth happened later. Only once Father knew everything, was he no longer curious. Only then, could I come out." Even Jongo couldn't stand being called a child.

"Forgive me, Blessed One. I did not mean to offend."

"No, Merilain. You didn't. I just... I'm acting like a child. And the form I'm in doesn't help. I've... I've been stuck. And I can't change. And the whispering is SO ANNOYING." Jongo heard a full blast of the strange sounds, like voices, but saying nothing. "How do you stand it, Merilain?"

"Whispering, oh Jongo? I hear none."

"What? But it's coming from everywhere. It gets louder the closer I get to the... No. No. Wait. Of course! Ha! Ha! Hahahahaha!" Jongo began to laugh in delight, and swam out of Merilain's arms. "Merilain! I know what to do! I know what to do!"

"I do not understand, Blessed One. What are you hearing? It gets louder when...? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to fix everything! I'll just change it! It's not whispering I'm hearing! It's the voice of change! Quick! What's the fastest way to the edge of the Disk?" Jongo could no longer stand still. She was full of ideas once again. It was perfect. It could work! And Jongo would be the one to do it, and everyone would be surprised. Khalen would spit kittens!

"The edge, oh Jongo? You mean... where... where the water falls away? No one goes there, it's dangerous. The currents could suck you away."

"Yes! There! How do I get there?"

Merilain looked concerned, but only said, "You are the Blessed One..."

Swimming from her cave, Merilain sat atop a nearby rock, and began to sing again. It was beautiful, more beautiful than before. Jongo could feel that she was calling for someone.

It almost distracted Jongo from his idea. Almost. But this was too good of an idea. It could work. It should work. It would work!

Merilain's call soon brought three grey skinned creatures, with long stubby noses, and chattering speech. They playfully swam through the water, and circled around the Mermaid.

"Dolphins!" Jongo exclaimed, unable to contain himself.

"They are my friends. They will help guide you to the edge. Be careful, oh Blessed One."

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Part 3 - Playtime