Citizen 132 Elyas

Elyas had always been known as someone, who feared nothing. His own shadow could get up and start walking and he’d probably follow it with the curiosity of a moth that followed the light of a flame to its death. Except he was smarter than the moth and he would have little problem actually defeating the thing that tried to lure him in.

Yet even he had been arguably less excited about his first trip down into the depths of the posian trench. It had been a mix of fear and excitement that had made his heart flutter in the depths of his chest, staring down the water for what felt like hours, before he’d finally jumped in.

The darkness of the trench soon took over, yet he knew that at the end of it, the ground would be worth it, gleaming and offering bright relics once he’d reach it. Elyas narrowed his eyes a little bit more, not that it helped much in the all surrounding darkness. Apart from black there was nothing. No sound that reached his ears, no light reached down this deep. The only thing that helped in aiding the darkness at least a little bit, was Elyas’ own blue gleam out of his halo, though it only helped enough for him to not immediately crash into a wall or jagged rocks.

Carefully he moved further and further down, sometimes having to push past tighter passages, yet nothing would stop him from further getting down into the trench, looking out for what he’d been told would be an almost blinding light after the endless darkness.

To his surprise, when he first noticed the light, it was soft and easy on the eye, with a purple hue. Frowning Elyas pushed further down, the light growing more and more widespread around the ground.

Only when he finally reached the deepest place of the trench, his hands touching the soft, sandy ground, did he understand what was the cause of the light. All around him algae and seagrass were growing out of the ground and from them came the soft, purple light. Pure curiosity brought Elyas closer to the grass, carefully craning his neck down as he tried to look as closely at it as he could.

Along the grass he could see countless little dots, from where he figured the light shone. Luminescent seagrass and algae. Elyas couldn’t help but feel his heart already flutter higher at that realization. The depths of the trench really were of a beautiful nature, that much he had already been told, yet seeing it for himself was definitely far more awe-inducing than just hearing about it.

Elyas glanced back up to the hole where he’d come down from, quickly noticing that there seemed to be a lot more ways to get out. Good. Then he wouldn’t have to remember where he’d come from.

He pushed himself further, using his thick tail to slowly but surely maneuver along the ground. His hands brushed along the seagrass, the soft feeling of the foliage making him almost chuckle, though he quickly continued on, looking around. Small fish swam past him, unbothered by the large creature that floated past them. Curiosity gripped on Elyas, making him turn around and follow after the fish, eyeing them more intently as he noticed that some of them didn’t seem to have any eyes.

It probably made sense. There was plenty of the trench right above the ground that was completely covered in darkness, making eyes pretty much useless for any creatures living there. Yet it was quite interesting to him that there were still some of the fish that had eyes left, looking as normal as he’d seen them higher up, close to the surface.

Suddenly a shadow approached out of the darkness ahead of him, making Elyas stop. The school of fish now quickly scattered into different directions, as a larger fish approached, slow and relaxed. It had a long body, almost akin to a shark, yet it was adorned with iridescent scales that gleamed in different colors once the shine of the seagrass hit it. It seemed unbothered by the fish, as well as Elyas being down at the depths, simply continuing to swim along and past the large rex, that watched it with wide-eyed curiosity.

As he continued to watch the creature, Elyas noticed something else gleaming at the ground. Quickly he turned around once more and dove deeper, stopping in front of a golden shining object. Carefully to not disturb any of the wildlife, he began to dig it out of the sand, smiling lightly as he realized that he was looking at a plate. A golden plate? Perhaps from a long lost ship? It wouldn’t be unusual, considering how many ship had already met their ends on the waves.

He picked it up and held it close to his chest, looking around. More fish moved past him, his heart beating all the faster for it. He’d come back here again. He’d come back here as often as he’d have to, check out every place he could, until he’d seen all the posian trench could offer to him.

And after that… he’d explore the world. He wanted to see more than this, more things akin to the trench! Determination filled Elyas from head to toe, before he nodded slightly to himself, the movement making a closeby, small fish quickly dart away. Perhaps he should hunt after it. Perhaps he should even get the larger, iridescent fish that had passed him. Yet for now, he should not meddle too much. While he wanted to explore more, he’d still have to be careful to not accidentally upset the fauna and flora.

For now however, he needed more air. Time to get up. But he’d be back, secrets of the depth.

~ obscureshizena