Chapter Text
The Tide Festival
Laughter rippled through the water as children darted between shimmering streamers and playful Bubble Blooms, their delighted squeals echoing through the currents. Every now and then they would send the enchanted toys darting toward an unsuspecting adult, hoping to tempt them into joining their games. Some succeeded. Others only earned amused smiles before the children raced away again as the Bubble Blooms released colorful bubbles that drifted through the water before bursting into dazzling displays of light.
Everywhere, Vikaarams gathered in celebration. Friends embraced, families reunited, and Crafters proudly displayed the finest creations they had spent years perfecting in preparation for the Tide Festival.
The festival came only once every ten years, a celebration held to welcome home their Creator to the Infinite Ocean.
The Infinite Ocean was a realm unlike any other. It was a place of wonder, beauty, and endless mystery. Its deepest waters had never been fully explored, not because they were dangerous, but because they simply never ended.
There was no surface waiting above.
There was no distant shoreline beyond the horizon.
There was no beginning, and there was no end.
Only the Infinite Ocean… stretching forever into the unknown.
⸻
Every ten years, Tide returned home to walk among their children, to see what they had accomplished, what they had created, and how they had grown during the years apart. Tide loved watching the young ones play just as much as listening to the stories of the elders. Every reunion revealed new songs, new inventions, new friendships, and new dreams.
But the Tide Festival was more than a celebration.
It was the most anticipated day in every Vikaaram’s life.
Once every ten years, each Vikaaram was given the chance to ask Tide a single question.
Only one.
It did not matter whether the question was wonderfully silly or impossibly difficult. It could be about tomorrow or a thousand years from now. It could be about love, purpose, friendship, or simply why Bubble Blooms always chased excited children.
Tide always answered.
⸻
Tide had just finished answering another child’s curious question when their gaze drifted toward a familiar figure lingering at the edge of the crowd.
Their most peculiar child.
The young Vikaaram always kept his distance, patiently allowing everyone else to go before him. He never hurried. He never tried to be first. Instead, he waited until the celebration had nearly ended, when only he and Tide remained.
Not because he was shy.
Not because he was afraid.
Simply because he had never needed an answer.
Every festival ended the same way.
Tide would smile warmly and ask,
“And what question do you have for me this time, my child?”
The young Vikaaram would bow his head respectfully before replying,
“I have no question this time, Master Tide.”
It had become a tradition between them.
⸻
This year was different.
A gentle smile crossed the Creator’s face.
“Young Threefold,” Tide called, their voice carrying effortlessly through the currents. “Come before me.”
The conversations around the festival gradually faded as heads turned toward the young Vikaaram Tide had addressed.
His name was Beck.
Beck inclined his head respectfully before swimming forward. He neither rushed nor hesitated. His movements were smooth and unhurried, the confidence of someone who had stood before the Creator many times before.
Thick, dark chestnut curls drifted around his face as the currents followed in his wake. Sea-green eyes, bright and quietly observant, met Tide’s with calm respect. Shimmering scales of deep teal and copper traced across his shoulders and arms before flowing into the powerful tail that carried him gracefully through the water. Around his neck rested a simple blue crystal pendant, the only ornament he wore despite the festival’s splendor.
Though strong from years of gathering, crafting, and Warden training, there was a gentleness about him that others noticed first. Beck never sought attention, yet people often found themselves drawn to him, eager to share stories they hadn’t planned to tell.
He stopped a respectful distance before the Creator and bowed.
Tide watched the young Threefold approach, their ancient eyes filled with quiet affection.
For every festival they could remember, the exchange had always been the same.
Tide smiled.
“Do you have a question for me this time, Beck?”
Beck lowered his head, his fingers brushing the blue crystal that rested against his chest.
For the first time in his life…
His answer changed.
“Is my true one ready?”
Silence.
The celebration around them seemed to fade into the distance as Tide grew perfectly still.
Their eyes drifted beyond Beck…
Beyond the festival…
Beyond even the endless currents of the Infinite Ocean.
It was as though they were listening to a song no one else could hear.
When Tide finally spoke, their voice was softer than the ocean itself.
“The heart destined to sing beside yours has begun to heal.”
Tide paused.
“He stands upon dry land…”
”…believing he has already lost everything worth finding.”
Another silence settled between them.
“He does not yet know your name…”
”…but when your hands finally meet…”
”…you will hear the song your heart has waited a lifetime to sing.”
Beck’s heart raced.
He had imagined this moment for years…
Yet the Creator was not finished.
Tide looked directly into Beck’s eyes.
A faint smile touched their face.
“When the child reaches for the light…”
”…take his hand.”
Before Beck could ask what those words meant…
The currents stirred.
The festival resumed.
And Tide moved on to greet the rest of their children.
Beck remained where he was, staring into the endless ocean.
He understood every word…
Except the ones that mattered most.
When the child reaches for the light… take his hand.
He did not know who the child was.
He did not know what light Tide had seen.
He only knew that, somewhere beyond the Infinite Ocean…
A heart had begun to heal.