» In The Deep

otem Trouble is as a trouble does, when it's on a troubled mind Reasons come and reasons will go when the blind are followin' the blind Watching the creature eat the small offering of moss she had provided did Otem's heart more good than she would have liked to admit. Not naturally altruistic by nature, there was something rather infectious about seeing a creature so large and so powerful be humbled by such a small offering of good will. And so it was with a light step and a permanent smile on her youthful features that Otem followed the mishmash group towards the Summit. Luckily for the rust and dirt coloured child, she had never developed a fear of the water, or drowning. Perhaps she might have, but in the place of those rather mundane fears was instead a fear of portals and a deep mistrust of the sort of gods those back in Helovia had confessed to be. So as the Matriarch offered the rather slimy looking malspira, Otem accepted it with unabashed confidence. The water was not particularly cold - or at least not the top layer of it due to the sweltering sun overhead - and so Otem began this challenge with all the youthful vigour of the child she had never gotten to be. With the malspira clenched firmly in her teeth and dissolving in her belly, Otem took one last breath before diving under. True to the Matriarch's word, all light seemed to faded away as Otem propelled herself forward with her wings. Her eyes weren't adjusting well, and although the orb was in front of her, she could hardly see more than a few feet. Stupidly she opened her mouth to talk and immediately it filled with frigid water. Clamping her teeth together she silently scolded herself for being so silly, and cast a glance around to see if anyone  had noticed. Then an idea struck her. Hello? Otem pulsed her mental voice out into the deep water. She didn't know the range of this power, but unless it was farther than her current range of vision, there would be none to hear it. Beating her wings and diving deeper, Otem tried to follow what looked like a deliberate path cut into the rocky bottom. I bring you hope from the surface, and light! Unlike the sirens of which the girl was seeking, Otem did glow. The dapples on her body pulsed faintly, like some absurd yellow sea beacon.

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