Through theWater

[Ceriden]

The sleek body of a seal cut throgh the water with ease, gliding aroung in loops and dives. Her black eyes shone with pleasure, and a grin seemd to split her face. Ceriden laughed, but not as a human would laugh; as a seal would laugh. She joined in with the rythem of the ocean, leting her movement pour into the dance of the sea, and her laughter join its orchestra. She swam to the edge of a smooth rock, covered in kelp and limpets. She plunged out of the water, sending droplets of water into the air, where they caught the sun and sparkled like a thousand pieces of shattered glass. She lumbered up to the top of the rock, all her grace from the water gone. There were three other seals basking in the mid-morning sun, and they greeted her with a soft bark. She was not one of them, but they had become to love each other like kin. The rocky shore was close, and the sound of the surf battering against the sand was welcome to Ceriden's ears. Full of joy, she lifted her head high and let loose a sieries of the loudest barks she could muster. The other seals joined in, and the roucus was so loud, that a few startled seagulls took flight into the air, squaking as they went.

[Vardian Custodio]

Vardian skimmed across the water low enough for the tips of his wings to kick up small splashes every time they beat. The water left little ripples behind him as they went. The water was beautiful today. It was crystal clear and he glided with ease above its surface, peering into the untouched depths where schools of fish and other water creatures swam with pleasure to wherever they were headed.

He saw land nearing him and his wings angled, pulling him into the air higher and higher, until he had a great view of the area. The world was so new in his eyes. After millenia of just watching, listening... now he was here. A soft wind rustled his hair and feathers and he basked in the sun's warmth. He had never felt bliss like this before, but he knew he had a role to be here.

Sudden barking assailed his ears and he looked down below him at some seals far below. He peered thoughtfully at them. One was not just an ordinary seal, he could tell that from a mile off. He dived down and circled towards the ground, floating onto the sand and rocks beside the seal barking the loudest. Vardian ruffled his feathers and his wings folded behind his back to rest after the flight. Being mortal had some drawbacks he thought.

He knelt down beside the seal, gazing into her eyes, and he knew who she was. "Hail, Ceriden of the Sea..."

[Ceriden]

Ceriden looked up in surprise at the winged man before her. Not many humans could tell the differance between seal and selkie, but it was clear this man was not entirly human. She did not know if he understood seal-speak, but she did not want to change forn for him to understand.

Without speaking, other that a few small barks here and there, she let the movements of her seal body portrey her thoughts.

Greetings to you as well on such a fine day. Though you know my name, I regret to inform you that I do not know yours.

The seals around her had gotten nervous at the sould of the wings, and had slipped into the water, a few of the brave ones sticking their noses above the water to watch what the Cheiftainess of the Selkies had to do with a winged man.

[Vardian Custodio]

Vardian stood up, trying to decipher her words from her body language. Most of it was hard to catch, but he understood the constant points at him pretty clear enough.

"My name is Vardian Custodio. Avatar of the Lord, at your service my queen." He bowed low, knowing he had to respect those in power of this land. Even Vardian who had no concept of emotion knew that he was an intruder in this realm, and he had to service that fact.

He stood, "Are you not a shifter of the sea?" Vardian asked bluntly and hollow, like all of his words. "Why do you not shift? For I do not understand your body well..." Selkie's were easy to find in his vision, for he saw people's souls, not their physical appearance, and a selkie has a mixture of a human and a seal... not easily mistaken for much else...

[Ceriden]

Ceriden stared at Varidian, now understanding- at least a little. Not many could decipher her language but her seals, and it seemed hard for this angel. She did not like to shift in front of others, so she nodded her head, and dove into the water. When she was deep enough, she began to slip out of her skin. The seal skin was smooth, and slid easily off of her, but a selkies transformation was different from any other kind of changling. She had to put effort into her's, and she had to keep her seal skin with her wherever she went, or she could never change form again. Part of the magic of her changing kept her belongings on her, but she wore as light of clothes as she could, so she could be in the water with them. Also, the more items she had with her, the harder it was to pull her sealskin back on. For this reason, she kept her swords hidden in a place that only she and the seals knew of, and none but ocean dwellers could reach it. She senced no danger from this man, so she did not bother to retrieve them.

When she had successfully slipped out of her shin, she swam up with powerful dolphin kicks, sending her speeding to the surface. Her face broke the surface, and her dark hair was slick with water. She climbed back up to the rock, and tucked her seal pelt into a special pocket on the inside of her shirt. Whoever wanted her skin would have to go through her first.

After regaining the movement in her human body, she turned toward the angel, and this time, she spoke in plain english.

"You should consider yourself lucky. Not many beings can say that they have seen a selkie shift." She smiled at Varidian, and her black eyes shone with the morning light.

"Well, Avatar of the Lord, what exactly is your buisness here? I do not mean to be rude, but I have never seen a man such as yourself, and my curiosity always gets the best of me."

She was still standing, and the cool ocean sprey against her skin was welcome. The seals had begun to come back to the rock, and were laying out in the sun, lazily and trusting.

[Vardian Custodio]

Vardian watched with mild curiosity as the selkie dived into the water to shift. He peered through the small ripples and saw what appearead to be a light woman mold out of the seal's skin. Her long hair was waving about in the water, and the seal skin went slack in her hands. Vardian had only witnessed that once before. Selkies had strangely found a place where they could shift out of the sight of the Lord, or maybe they had always had that gift.

When she came back, Vardian noted that she could now speak the human language, which was a common tongue in these times. "Then I shall consider myself luckily noted my lady," he nodded his head again. "And very few beings before these times could ever claim to have actually conversed with an angel."

He hardly had to even think about her question. His purpose for being here was written right into his very fibres. His transition to a mortal being, albeit an incredibly powerful one, and left him with a mind to know his path.

"Times are changing my lady. There are forces in this realm which are slowly forming, hatreds which are slowly brewing, As a ruler of one of the six dominant species of the world, you must be warned. That war is coming." Vardian didn't say the word 'war' very much. It was a cursed taboo word for him to speak, and he shuddered slightly when he spoke it, before continuing, "Peace will soon be broken, and it pains me to bring such a world such terrible tidings. I know not what form this darkness will take, but it is my purpose to protect this world from it, and shed light towards it. And hope."

Vardina looked out towards the sea, "However I fear I will not have the power to do it alone. This realm lies entirely in the hands of its occupants. The future of this world, my lady, rests partly, with you..."

[Ceriden]

Ceriden nodded. "I see..." She paused at looked longingly at the cool water. "I would do whatever I can to protect my people and our home, so I thank you most sincerly for your warning, Varidian Custodio. Whatever this evil will be, the Selkies will overcome it. Do the other races know of this?" She was growing tierd of standing on the sharp rock, so she sat down on a small outcropping, and took her shoes off to dangle them in the water.

[Vardian Custodio]

"And defending them must be of your greatest priority, because you will have to make a great sacrfice before the end of this chapter of the world. I cannot tell what it is yet, but it is there. Looming and ominous on the edge of my perception."

Without even realising it, Vardian had extended a hand out when he had mentioned it just being out of grasp, and he put if back down to his side as he answered her question, "Alas, I have not been able to contact the other rulers of the six races. You are the first to know of this danger. Finding the ruler of the Herena is difficult in their forests. I fear the queen of the elves is not on her throne at this time, and is with a party somewhere. And the King of Men is difficult to find alone, for if I approached him with his advisors around him, then they would not heed me."

Vardian closed his eyes in thought, "As for the dwarves and beasts, their rulers are only recent, and I have yet to determine the nature of them, let alone their identity..."

[Ceriden]

Cerien sat thoughtful for a moment, and then began again, "The Herana and I have a deep alliance. I could contact them and warn them if I wished. As for the dwarves, I do not busy myself with them. The beasts however, I have heard rumors about. A dragon, of metalic color and giant wings. I know not where he dwells though." She gazed sadly at the angel, deep in thoughts about whatever sacrifice she would have to make. She would readily sacrifice herself for the sake of her people or their beloved ocean, but why? Why would she have to sacrifice? What exactly was this danger...?

[Vardian Custodio]

"Truly, if you were to tell the Herena that you were spoken to by angel and warned of a faceless evil, I doubt that deep down she would take you seriously." Vardian considered letting this Selkie Queen contact the Herena, but he figured he had best be the one to do it. "No, I must be the one to contact her. In times to come, she will need to know who I am. I need to meet each of the rulers myself."

"A metallic dragon you say?" Vardian looked to the sky. "I had best return to the the ayrie then, and I will try to meet this dragon lord. Do you per-chance know the name of this lord, my lady?"

[Ceriden]

"It's Lakeith, or Lord Lakeith I should say. And that's fine, Shanette probably would not believe me." She stared at the angel, who seemed quite comfterble in the air. She longed to be in the water again, and fly through the water like a bird does air.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

OOC: Sorry, I cant write today...

[Vardian Custodio]

"No my queen, I need no more services from you." Vardian bowed to the Selkie in her human form, rising back up and unhinging his wings getting them ready for flight and they expanded from his back slowly. "I will need to contact this, Lord Lakeith. And I see that you long fir the water, as I long for the sky, so I will not hold you any longer."

He spread his wings wide and pushed down on them, launching his body off the rocks and sand. He circled once before hovering near the Selkie, "Thank you for your help, heed my news, and pray that we meet again..." And then he turned in the air and took two powerful beats of his wings to gain some speed and soared away, over the trees inland...

[Ceriden]

Ceriden watched the angel take flight, and as he dissapeared over the trees, she took a springing dive and plunged back into the water. For a few minutes she let her human form enjoy the salt water, letting it play through her hair and slip between her fingers and toes. She swam to the surface for another breath, and then dove back down. She slipped back into her selkie skin as the seals came back to play with her. The headed toward the pounding breaks and surfed joyously across the waves.

[Amy]

???My maiden name is Vardian what is this all about, I realize that this is a story, but why Vardian??? I guess this bothers me, I love my maiden name...

[Vardian Custodio]

Wow, are you serious!?!? Well don’t worry Amy, this is a pure coincidence. Way back when this site was getting started, and I decided to join, Vardian was my first idea for a character, but I couldn’t decide on a decent sounding name that had any meaning to it.

Well, when I found a spare five minutes I looked some ancient names and their ‘meanings’. A name I found was Farvardian, which is a Persian name and means, ‘guardian spirt’, Vardian of course being a guardian angel, so I thought it fit perfectly. Custodio is a Spanish name which means ‘defender’, so that’s the reason for that one if you’re curious.

Anyway, I did not entirely like the way Farvardian sounded, so I simply took off the Far at the start, and, walla!! Vardian!!

That’s the reason anyway, I had no idea that it could possibly be a real name, that is really surprising I think.

Well, now that we’ve developed a history and everything, you should seriously consider joining