Chapitre 39: Sky Log #31: The Land of The Treasure Reef
Ever since I came into Sky, I have always wondered about diving. Sky children can fly with the help of their capes, but what about diving?
We can do simple swimming to the point we can spend hours in the waters without getting tired or feeling the fear of drowning. I have seen some who took it to the next level and fell asleep in the waters. However, none of us knew how to dive into the deep waters.
Think about all the possibilities we could experience if we ever learned to swim! It would be a whole new world for us. If we ever acquired such an ability, there would be no place that we couldn't go. The world would be our oyster. We could travel the lands, the waters and the skies. There wouldn't be any obstacles in our path (except for the wind walls, of course).
Our wishes were answered when the Season of the Abyss started.
To signal the start of the season, a boat suddenly appeared near the docks at Wasteland's Social Space. By now, nobody, except the moths, questioned the process of how these things happened. After all, it was most likely the work of spirits who caused such a phenomenon. It was the only logical explanation I could come up with.
The boat travelled far away from the rocky, rolling clouds which would have taken you to Wasteland. With its 6 mighty oars at the sides (that desperately needed some oil for its awful creaks and groans), it steadily rolled to a distant island.
At first, the island's appearance was just a dot in sight. Yet, when the rolling fog became clear water and the island grew more prominent, I was shocked silly by its appearance.
Even now, the memory of my first day in Sky was just like yesterday. And that image overlapped with the island, now called "The Treasure Reef". It was too uncanny that it was frightening.
However, it seemed like the structures in "The Treasure Reef" have yet to be subject to the corrosion of time. At the top of the stairs, where there would be two stones at the sides, was a stone arch with a string of bells hanging at the top. A little further ahead, where it should be a cave-like tunnel that would have led further into the vast desert lands of Isle, it was, instead, a cave with one entrance but no exits.
There was nothing in the cave except for a statue of a manta ray. It wasn't anything special, but it was made exactly like those in Sanctuary Islands. With nothing else but a meditation platform before the statue, I sat there with the rest of the random Sky kids.
Imagine my surprise when it was the spirit of the manta ray from its statue that appeared before us. Usually, spirits taught us their emotes and showed an aspect of how they have once lived before.
Yet, on second thought, I think it's natural. From the previous Season of Sanctuary, where the natural habitat of manta rays was opened up to us, we now know that manta rays grew up in the oceans. Hence, they are natural swimmers, but as they grew older, they gained the ability to fly in the air. Eventually, when they grew into an enormous size, they seemed to have gone past the need to live in the ocean. Their ginormous size enables them to carry us to set destinations.
Anyway, the spirit of the manta ray didn't show any memory. Instead, it used its aura to physically change my body. And that was the end of the lesson. It was quick and straightforward.
At first, I didn't feel much of a change in my body. But as the platform sank slowly until I was floating in the waters, I felt the soft lulling call of the ocean, like a mother calling her child back home. It was similar to how I instinctively felt the need to spread my cape to fly when I first had it.
So, I dive.
Deep.
It took a short while to adjust my eyes to the salty waters, but I saw a way out as soon as my eyes adapted. Similar to how a newborn deer learned its first steps, I was shakily diving around. I took a few clumsy bumps to my head and body. Fortunately, since I swapped my sunhat with a stiffer black hat with strings, I didn't have to worry about head injuries or losing my hat. Instead, I imagined the horror of the closet spirits having to fix it when I returned (how I knew their existence would be a story for another day.) A couple of bubbles escaped my mouth when I chuckled before realizing that I had wasted much of my precious air. I had to dive forward unless I wanted to be among the relics at the bottom of the ocean.
Out of the tunnels, an underwater civilization greeted me. The sight of its majesty literally took what's left of my breath away. As far as my eyes could see underwater, its scale was massive. It seemed to be an underground building but whether it was made for underwater was hard to tell from so far away.
Had it not been for the underwater glowing plants nearby, I would have been so caught up in admiring the structures that I could have drowned and lost my lights. The appearance of such plants tickled my curiosity to see more. However, my plans for the day were set to explore the lands instead of the waters.
So, with a reluctant heart, I swam upwards to find the spirits. I wanted to see if their memories were tied to the underwater civilization. If so, I would have an inkling of what would be ahead in the deep, unknown waters.
Unfortunately, all their memories were on land. The glimpses of memories showcased their brief life in the Treasure Reef. They were not natives to these lands and showed how they had lived via fishing with nets and even harpoons. It was a surprise to see a harpoon because weapons are rare in Sky except those on the Battlefield. Up to date, we are unable to wield weapons because none of the spirits have shown us. I think it would help defend against the krills, but since they don't invade the other realms, maybe it is better to leave them alone.
However, among the memories, I realized an extraordinary detail. They have built their lives around the crumbling structures in the Treasure Reef. This meant that the time frame between their lives and our current times could be shorter than expected. Maybe they have once sailed across these waters a hundred years ago or less until Eden…
My back felt a cold chill when I realized how fleeting life could be for these people. We are different from spirits who were descendants of fallen stars. We couldn't mature into "adults", like what the Little Prince had described, but spirits can grow up. We are… children of the Sky, forever duty-bound to save the land and the fallen.
It is a mighty job but sometimes, I wonder if there was more to this mission.
As I continued my exploration, I noticed open caves with mining equipment and ladders sticking out from pools of water. This suggested to me the possibility that this area was mined for ores and other precious resources. Perhaps by going underwater through the pools of water, I might be able to discover some mining tunnels.
Next, I head to the ship where the Abyss Guide Spirit was. Guide spirits' memories hold more weight because they are shown throughout the season and are still around for the latecomers to experience them. To my relief, her memories gave more clues.
The spirits were seafarers looking for more resources, little octahedron-shaped trinkets, hence why they sailed here. It would be likely that the whole season would be based on finding such things. Yet, the memories didn't tell me of the civilization under the waters.
Were the buildings built underwater? Or were they submerged by the waters?
If I compared the places between here and Isle, Isle, by theory, should be filled with waters because of the appearance of the boats around. So, is it possible that Isle is an island that came up or the waters subsided to reveal its appearance?
It was hard to tell.
To my surprise, the cross on the treasure map led me back to the caves, where I found those ladders and mining equipment. It seemed like I didn't have to put aside the exploration for the mining route. My guess was correct as I collected the trinkets. I could see railroad tracks for the mining carts, and some crabs were walking around the tools, claiming them as a part of their habitat.
After I completed the first mission, I explored the buildings around. The most eye-catching one was the tower, which made me wonder if it was meant to be a lighthouse of sorts or a watchtower made to look over a city. It was challenging to fly up so much so that I had to use up all my wing power to reach its top. At this point in time, I had 11 wedges, making me, perhaps, one of the oldest children around. I found a lonely shiny boi standing at what seemed to be a gate, but it was closed, and there was no way to open them because the switches were lacking something.
The trinkets.
The discovery of this little fact was like a lightbulb in my head that got switched on. The mechanisms around the world need these trinkets to power up. Like those that I have seen in the arena in Valley of Triumph. Lighting up these switches power the machines so that they can move, for example, to function as elevators or the gondola boats in Village of Dreams in the same Valley.
It was kind of… ingenious, in my opinion. I felt quite fortunate that such technology was still operational today. It outlasted any disaster that happened in Sky.
Yet, I wonder if such amazing inventions were part of the cause that destroyed life in Sky, rendering spirits unable to live, leaving memories and their relics behind.
It was a poignant reminder of the brilliance of the ones who walked the land of Sky.
And a sharp reminder that a fire that burned bright can burn out itself if it was not careful.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
DarkWinter3
DarkWinter3 Hi, I'm back! The next following logs 31, 32, and 33 will be about the exploration of the Treasure Reef and missions from the Season of Abyss. You can expect a couple more postings from me until early July or late June, depending on my uni's schedule. Here's to hoping you guys will enjoy my future chapters!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone