Citizen 448 Solaris

The water brushed along his scales, his purple halo illuminating the depths of the ocean the rexal descended upon.

Solaris was a towering figure. His bright, sunny yellow scales splotched with streaks of white and yellow sunny spots giving rise to his name. His purple magic was akin to the beautiful colors that would carry the sun down in the evening, when deep reds and purples would tear into the sky. His eyes, meanwhile, were a sharp blue- like that of a beautiful sunny day.

This was his Coming of Age ceremony. His option had been chosen at the very start he was offered a list of tasks he could do- explore the bottom of the posian trench. This would be his first time going so deep and learning what the depths held for him, a fact that made his stomach twist with nervous excitement. He's heard stories of older rexals who already explored those very deep waters- the treasures the found, or even the occasional tale of other rexals they met doing their own ceremony.

Those tales often worried him the most. Sometimes it was good, of an older rexal musing how the youngster they saw braved the waters and emerged with trinkets to commemorate their time. Others, however, claimed how they had to help the young rexal return to the surface after they could no longer hold their breath or their breathing spell stopped working.

Solaris hoped he wouldn't be one of them.

His long tail shifted in the waters, propelling his body forward as his webbed hands and feet aided in the effort. His halo offered him a light to see the edges of the rock walls that guided him deeper down. He spotted some of the fish that lived within such pressures, and broken wood planks perched upon the flat edges of the rocks.

The rexal's limbs grew weary with the continuous movements to swim further down. It might've been the most he's ever pushed his body before in such a way. Running and swimming were entirely two separate beasts, it seemed, and he was paying for practicing his swimming technique as long as he evidently should've.

At some point, Solaris even began using the walls that closed in to his advantage. His feet pushed off the edges, aiding in moving him just that much closer to the bottom.

He couldn't hold his breath for much longer.

His lungs burned, desperate for oxygen to fill them and allow him to breathe.

When the pressure became too much, the purple halo glowed, and soon, Solaris gasped out a breath- his breathing spell worked.

Arcius, one of the few rexals who watched over him, had taught him the breathing spell. She claimed it was better to first try to hold his breath for as long as he could before using the breathing spell, as it'd grant him extra time if he needed it to complete the ceremony. He silently thanked her for that tip.

Finally, Solaris spotted something glowing at the bottom. Drawn to the light, the rexal followed it, until he could make out the flat ground of the bottom of the posian trench.

Sea plants of various sizes and colors greeted him as the light grew stronger, created by the many crystals and even some of the bioluminescent fish that lived in the depths. Excitement flooded his system as he realized he made it to the bottom- that meant he succeeded his task. The only thing he needed to do now was to grab something to prove his success, but what? It had to be something good that he could frame and look back on fondly. Something that showed his struggle to get here was worth it.

His paws landed on the ground, some of the sand picking up from the impact. He craned his head around the surroundings, searching for the perfect item to immortalize this moment.

Then, he found it.

It was a boat anchor, long since rusted over with half of the metal buried in the sand. A bit of rope still clung onto the ring of the anchor.

A bubble of laughter rumbled in Solaris' chest as he did a once-over on the ring of the anchor again.

The anchor might've been a decoration and not actually used, but he loved it. The ring was decorated in the form of a sun, with metal, swaying bits hanging out at the edges.

He needed to take this back with him to the surface.

Author: DartingDragon-ARPG