"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
This was probably a horrible idea, but it was certainly too late now to stop it. The invitations had gone out, along with a plant that Mesarez hadn’t even known existed. A relic from another time, surely a few millenia ago when Helice was just middle-aged and they had neighbours on land they were actually interested in inviting down to Baltia.
He had tried to eat one of those round plants and only suffered some indigestion as a result. Hopefully their assumptions about it helping land-dwellers breathe underwater were right or they might have a corpse problem on their hands.
The plan was for him to be further into Baltia, presiding over the collection of underwater delicacies and fascinating things that they had collected in order to entertain whoever was curious enough to dive down deep. But instead Mesarez is waiting in the shallows - his black and silver eyes focused on the glimmer of sunlight on the surface of the water - waiting for the sound of splashing or the silhouette of a swimmer approaching. He wants to be the first to greet them. Wants to drown out his thoughts and worries with the sound of conversation as quickly as possible. There are a few other Baltians nearby, discretely flanking him.
Guards, just like the ones that are patrolling the kingdom below. Guests are welcome, within reason. This is the Baltians' home, after all.
Any of those who are brave enough to try their hand at swimming underwater, any who decide to try those strange little plants that the strange little frogs had given them, are greeted warmly by the crown prince as he glows in the dim light and flashes them a brilliant smile.
“Welcome to Baltia.”
It’s time for a feast!
Everyone is welcome to explore Baltia through the month of April. There are Baltians patrolling the grounds and you may be politely redirected if you’re caught snooping.
There are gardens of glowing underwater plants to explore, an edible collection gathered in an open area along with what appears to be fish caught in skeleton cages (Baltians wanting to welcome both their herbivorous and carnivorous neighbours). Bizarre statue-like formations have also been collected and placed around to be viewed by the curious.
There are caves on the outskirts of the kingdom but it is not recommended to explore them - you never know what might be lurking. Baltia is waived of all responsibility should any guests become dismembered or killed while poking their heads into dark places.
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appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
Rezza is sadly not in jellyfish form, as much as she wants to pretend not to be there and just drift along without anyone noticing her. To be fair, she will spend some of the feast in that form, catching conversations because no one thinks not to talk in front of the sea life, even though that sea life may very well be a horse. For now though, she needs to be present, particularly with Tsilutsuli glaring absence. It’s really not ideal to show such a weakness or this particular level of disrespect to their newfound friends, but their Queen is in no shape to preside over a feast. And, in the end, they must pretend to be strong even when they are not.
Besides, the people of Baltia need to bring their tithes, so this was the best time to entertain their new neighbors. Everyone in Baltia would be there, and the merriment would be real enough.
Rezza has no “set” location, unlike Mesarez, who has already managed to vacate his spot to do his own thing. He is certainly “old” enough to be King, but Rezza is not entirely sure he’s mature enough. Time and experience would teach him well enough. It doesn’t take her long to find him in the shallows, where he stands ready to greet those who venture down below the waves. She can appreciate his choice to be the welcoming party - it’s not a bad choice, at least. She just wishes he would have told them this rather than agreeing to something else and then not doing it.
She says nothing on the subject though, just giving him a slight raise of her eyebrow to point out that she’s aware of his antics. The look doesn’t last long though, and she gives him a crooked, amused smile and a nod of her head. There’s an unspoken reminder in there. It pains her not to say anything, but he knows the line by now, and she’s not here to provoke him or upset him. He has enough on his mind. Their Queen is absent in order to better prepare her son for the throne he would one day take over. It’s as good a reason as any for their missing Queen. Well, it’s as good of a reason as they are going to get.
Having ascertained that Mesarez was doing some form of his job at least, Rezza disappears to take up his post near the feast itself. It’s not a bad location to meet a few new faces and do some snooping on conversations, so she can’t be entirely mad at their Prince for giving it up. She’ll take the opportunity.
Her brief meeting with Helice had finally stoked the ember of curiosity she had been harboring for the underwater kingdom into a flame, and so when the invitation is extended for the feast they will be hosting, Casimira does not hesitate to accept. She knows Savior will not mind looking after Tephra, and she does not expect to be gone long. Social gatherings are still not her area of expertise, as she often found small talk and conversation to be clumsy, though she was getting better at navigating them.
When she reaches the water’s edge and feels hesitation tighten in her chest, it is easy to remind herself that she is not just attending for curiosity's sake, but as a duty as Tephra’s queen, too. She would never think herself to be the best queen, but she is far from the worst. She has been careful to secure alliances or at least a sense of neutrality with the other two existing kingdoms, and while it might be a far-fetched hope, she would like to be on cordial terms with the underwater kingdom, too.
And so she cautiously takes the plant that is meant to aid her in breathing underwater, and it is not long before she can feel something changing. She is still skeptical even as she takes those first few steps into the water, and with every move forward it envelopes more of her, her white dragon scales glistening. She is chest deep when a trickle of fear races down her spine, as she imagines taking in a lungful of water and wonders what it is like to drown—she knows her serial immortality would bring her back, as it has before, but she still does not want to feel what it means to die in this way.
She tries anyway.
She sinks beneath the surface and she inhales, and instead of choking on the ocean water it feels like breathing in air, and her ice-blue eyes widen in shock and wonder.
For a moment, she almost forgets that she is down here for a reason. For a moment, she wants to see what the world is like beneath the waves while she has the chance, to explore as much as she can in the sparse time she has been allotted.
But she remembers herself, remembers the intangible weight of the crown she wears, and she makes her way to Baltia.
She swims—surely not nearly as graceful as those that were actually born for it—until signs of some kind of civilization become visible. The strange scattering of statues, the illuminating glow of underwater gardens, and then the glowing white prince that stands at the entrance. She returns his brilliant smile with a slightly more subdued one of her own—always quiet, but never unfriendly. “Thank you,” she had been unsure what her voice might be like underwater, is surprised to find that it is clear despite the taste of saltwater on her tongue. “I’m Casimira, queen of Tephra, the western kingdom.” She takes the time to slowly survey their surroundings: the various guards that stand watch, the others that mill around closer to where the actual feast will take place. Her ice-blue eyes find their way back to him, the small smile still present on her mouth. “It was kind of you all to open up your home to us that live on land. I’m sure there are others that have been just as curious as I am.”
