The Jellyfish Messenger

Chapter Eight: Heart of Ice

Chapter Eight: Heart of Ice

Current Location: Antarctic Ocean

Current Depth: 2000 ft.

At long last, after a perilous journey and nearly non-stop swimming, we finally arrived in the frigid waters of the Antarctic Ocean. The chill was inescapable. It was a bitter cold that seeped into our flesh. Even at this depth, we could see hints of the frozen environment all around us. We happened upon enormous undersea ice structures, like mountains. The further in we went, the more we became surrounded by, until eventually we were funneled between thick walls of underwater ice. I felt weak and sluggish, and I couldn't stop shivering. My tentacles could barely push me along. "It's getting harder to move...I can't swim like this, I feel like I'm being frozen..."

"I-It's so...freakin' cold," Chrystal complained, her teeth chattering. "I knew the Antarctic Ocean was going to be cold, but I didn't think it'd be this bad. We must be getting close to Prince Stellaris' palace, but still...how can anything even live all the way down here?"

Even Kale's normally speedy swimming slowed to a crawl. He didn't seem as affected as Chrystal and I, but I could still tell that the cold was getting to him. "Most things can't," he said. "The Seafolk who come here have to adapt to survive. I'm used to the cold since the dark zone is quite chilly, but this is getting to be a bit too much for me..."

He extended his slender arms and scooped up Chrystal and I, pulling us in close to his chest. "I'm uh, not very warm, but I hope it helps a little, at least."

"Thank you, Kale," I said. "This place...do you know what it is?"

"Looks like a glacier," Kale replied. "They're like gigantic chunks of ice. They can grow out into the sea, and they're so thick they can stay frozen for thousands of years. Guess it makes sense that this prince would set up his palace here. It's so secluded and hidden, you'd never find it if you weren't looking for it. There's no way a pesky human would be able to crawl all the way down here. The Seafolk must have carved paths in the glacier ages ago, long before that prince was even an egg on the seafloor. Whatever the case, this place looks like it's been here for a long time."

As Kale carried us through the maze of winding, icy tunnels, we happened upon something odd. A statue- not one made of stone or ice, but rather it looked as though it had been meticulously carved from a huge chunk of ancient rock coral. The coral structure was carved into a humanoid figure, but it wasn't a Seafolk. In fact, it wasn't a human either, or any other creature that I knew of. The body was like that of a human male perched on a rock, dressed in loose robes, but it bore large bird-like wings and a long feathery tail. Curved horns grew out of its head, sprouting up from the creature's long hair. A thin halo-like ring rested atop those horns. The craftsmanship was impeccable, with its details carved all the way down to the face, featuring eyes with slit pupils. The statue's height was nearly the length of Kale's entire body, tentacles and all. It looked so out of place in these tunnels hewn from solid ice. I could only guess as to who had created such an incredible work of art.

"That's beautiful," I said, taking in the sheer mass of the creation. "What exactly is this? I've never seen anything like it before."

"You've never heard of the Seafolk creation myth?" Kale asked. "Personally I don't believe in such fairytales, but I've met a lot of Seafolk who take it pretty seriously. They spoke of Gaghiel, one of the Sky People. He gave a new form of life in the oceans created after his species' own image. They say the Sky People created all intelligent life on the Earth. The life that Gaghiel created became our kind, and that's where Seafolk come from, kids. Or so they say."

"My old colony believed in the Sky People," Chrystal commented. "They said that the creations of Gaghiel were always perfect, so I must have been some kind of mistake, being born so small. Needless to say, it's part of why they kicked me out. Whoever this Gaghiel person is, I'd like to have a word with him for ruining my life."