Chapter Text
The following is a passage taken from the end of sea witch Ethelein e’Riddidiya’s “Index of Land-Dweller Customs” , after his attempt to read the combined souls of himself, the bard John Lennon, and the siren Tabanni Macca e’Na’atsji, some of his closest companions aboard the H.M.S. King William’s Skull in the summer of 1707.
Late Peak of The Sun, In The 26th Cycle Of The Moon
I must write swiftly. While by my lonesome this night, I have discovered something rather disturbing. As immoral as it is, I have peered back into my soul-reading of the human Jiaahn and his mate Macca e’Na’atsji. Not only that— the desire to do so was acted upon for the idea of personal gain.
In the dark hours of the night, I drenched a large piece of glass in their blood, and added a small vial of my own. I then invoked my power, harvested fully under the light of the moon, to find out what was to become of our collective dynamic.
It was at that point that I was overcome by a vision, a prophecy of sorts... In the highest seabed, I saw the moon grow before my eyes. It grew brighter and brighter still... I can still feel its heat against my body. The stars spun wildly around it, and I was then dragged into a dreamlike trance. I heard singing from all directions... A beautiful choir of every voice in the sea. They sang their song over and over again, continuing for hours, until I finally was returned to my senses. When I returned, I found the glass had vanished, the altar cracked in two.
I believe their song to some kind of message, a prophecy, if you will. They sang the following words:
The stars shine brightly
Yet can not live forever
They must burn out
Their light becoming faded
In a brilliant and sudden flash
In the same way shall we fall
The nowhere man is but prey to fools
He will be hunted and rivaled
Though several times he may escape the claws of predators
When the world is consumed in cold
When the course of life runs smoothly like pearls
He will be caught and laid among strawberries and roses
The woman of black, second of her position, will be there
She will be forever stained by that moment,
Her heart like a lake of glass,
haunted by rye and raven
The sunflower shall live on
bearing one heir with the Lady Madras
He has fought valiantly for that he believed
Rivaling the unjust and misguided
And then shall disappear in a gray haze
Tragedy shall fall upon those of blue,
One left to the pages of history,
The other to the pitfalls of loneliness
Left only with a memory
Etched in silver
He who is adorned in gold and gems will for a long time sing,
He will bear many
And harbor a great deal more
History shall not forget him
His young apprentice
Born to the woman of white, first of her position, will grow
It is then that his eyes will be opened
And he will be consumed in the light of a star near its end
A decision he will forever regret
The doll will vanish on an accord not of her own
She will be broken and thrown about
But will someday be mended
Once she has returned to herself
Under the glow of one thousand stars and the fire of the moon shall the bird tamer cry out to the world of this carnage
But his cry will be pierced by the pits of drowsiness, to which he has succumbed
When he returns he will find himself among one thousand flowers, having lost what he had been searching for for so long in the sea of monsters
It is there, but hidden
Concealed under layers of black and white
Not once, but twice
Though halved
Warped and distorted
But two halves, of course, make one whole
You have thus found your answer.
I can only fear the worst.
The following morning, his body was discovered in the Southern Sea, his index at his side. It was delivered to the King William’s Skull, and is currently in the possession of his close friend, Macca e’Na’atsji.