Citizen 436 Livanis

The surface. A place spoken as if forbidden. A place Livanis is warned of and told is full of nothing but suffering and pain. This is what she has been told but it is not what Livanis hears. Livanis instead thinks of a place of unknown, or adventure and possibilities. She's always been a smart pup and was so excited to tell her parents that she had decided what she wanted to do when she grew up. She wanted to go and explore the surface.

Her parents tell her it's dangerous, that life in the dome is what's best and she should give up her dreams of the surface. It's crushing to learn those you held in high esteem do not support your wishes and dreams. Livanis pushes that she isn't afraid and that she wants to explore, but her ambitions and ideas are immediately shut down. She then turns to her classmates and friends, only to find out that they also do not share Livanis’ ideas of the surface.

So Livanis quite quickly learns to lie. She learns to lie, to sneak, to pretend, and even how to steal. She learns to pretend to be interested in things those around her consider more ‘normal’. She lies to her family and ‘friends’ as she sneaks around to find more information on how to leave the dome entirely. Through lies and deceit she keeps her dream alive and to herself.

//–

It's when Livanis is in her late teens that she finally decides she cant take it anymore. She finds out more about the surface, such as the trade routes and that the dome isn't as perfect as everyone is meant to believe. She tries speaking with a few of her closer ‘friends’ about this but it seems they stay unconvinced about going anywhere near the dome walls, much less the surface.

It aggravated Livanis how stubbornly ignorant these rexals wish to be about it all but she doesn't hold it against them. She's long since figured out she's not like most rexals she knows. So her plans to leave and head to the dome walls never leaves her mouth. She tells no one as she leaves in the middle of the night, heading straight to the closest dome wall exit. She carries only the essentials in a small water-proof pouch upon her hip and a thin cloak covering her body to hide her exit from all she's ever known.

//–

Upon arriving at the dome wall and the greatest barrier to her dream, she hesitates. She's learned that traveling between doesnt hurt but she's also never been in the deep ocean. She has read plenty of books on the deep trench and has practiced her swimming and magic in various lakes and rivers here in the dome, the first step into the unknown is intimidating. She takes a deep breath and takes her first step into achieving her dream.

The water was much colder and darker than she ever thought it would be. It was exciting though and a grin graced her face as she took off. She had long since memorized a general map of the trench she had gotten from a traveling merchant. Honestly she generally just needed to go, well, up in order to get to the surface. Supposedly she should be able to reach some roaming trade ships once she gets there.

It takes her a long while and while she slowly ascends up, knowing that going too fast to the surface could be damaging to her body, the water never seems to turn the bright blue of water being affected by sunlight. It's strange as the water is warmer and the pressure isn't as terrible as it is far below within the dark trench. While slowing her ascent she begins to feel the push and pull of the ocean and currents nearby. The waters become more and more difficult to swim through when suddenly a flash of light catches Livanis’ attention in the water followed soon after by a large booming sound.

Livanis suddenly realizes she's come to the surface during a storm. A sudden push and pull bring Livanis closer to the surface. She breaches the surface to attempt and figure out where she is or if there may be a ship nearby but massive waves, pelting rain, and the dark clouds blocking out the sky make doing so difficult. She's overwhelmed and suddenly dunked back under the water by a massive wave. She begins to panic and in doing so is thrashed around by the sea and the storm. She attempts to fight and to right herself but with having been swimming for hours and not accustomed to swimming for so long she is quickly overwhelmed and tossed about. She shouts for help, and desperately looks for a ship, or anything to help save her from the storm, but she finds nothing but more dark treacherous water.

It's not long before she tires and everything goes black.

//–

It's the water thrown on her face that wakes her. She coughs and sputters as she blinks rapidly to clear her vision. She's blinded by light before a gruff face appears before her. As she turns to cough up some water seemingly caught in her lungs she hears the other chuckling. It's a gruff, rough sound but sounds amused.

“Oh good, yer not dead.” He says.

Livanis wipes her face to clear some of the water and looks around herself. She seems to be on a sandy beach littered with broken crates and driftwood. As she turns to focus on the other rexal she takes a moment to process what exactly he just said to her. “...what?”

He smirks at her confusion. “With the way yer was snoozin out here in da sand with all dis debris I thought yer might be another victim of da storms.” Looking around a bit at the beach for a moment his eyes slid back to focus on Livanis. “Ya got a crew I should be keeping an eye out fer las?”

Livanis got back to her feet, patting herself down and realizing that somehow her pouch was still attached to her hip.

“I did nay touch yer stuff kid.”

Livanis’ eyes snap to the stranger. “I…didn't say you did.” He raises a brow at her response. “And I was coming from the dome when I surfaced to a huge storm. I never saw a ship…”

The stranger’s gaze softens a bit. “Well yer pretty lucky then. You're currently on the shores of the Postien Islands las. Well the beaches of it anyway.”

Livanis perks up. She did it! Even with the bad luck of the storm she had, relatively, safely made it to the surface and even to the trade island. While it wasn't the way she planned she finally has reached her dreams of exploring the surface!

…Now what?

Author: drackana

Artist: drackana