Tales of Old: the Sacking of Timbucktu

by Prince_Staghorn

Interlude: the Gathering Storm

Off the coast of Neighpon, other activity stirred, partially oblivious to the turmoil brewing above.

Several silvery forms darted after small flashes in the water, singing out in the dialect of Primal Cetacean peculiar to their kind.

# good fish

# goodfish, goodfish

#good-good FISH!

As the bottlenoses continued their antics, they failed to notice as a white shape suddenly appeared in a flash of green some distance away from them.

Gathering his bearings, Thromnambular, retired emperor of Neighpon, grandfather of the current empress, hero of one of the Changeling-Griffon Wars, and now an enchanted skull, cast a sound of pure feeling out into the depths, a call to attract the attention of a certain individual.

From the depths, a massive form slowly took shape as it rose. Upon leveling his eye with the skull, the blue whale seemed to have a wry grin.

"Your accent is still terrible, my friend, though I'm impressed you managed to say as much as you did."

Thromnambular seemed to return the grin, and replied in that tongue which the bottlenoses used to mimic the songs of the great whales.

*Legends told by whales

*Call one trait admirable-

*Adaptability!

The whale rumbled a pleased note. "Now, surely you didn't come here simply to show off. So, what's going on up there?"

"It's not good at all, Aroooon," the skull replied. "My granddaughter is preparing for war."

The blue whale closed his eyes and rumbled a low groan, reverberating the water around him.

"War. Now there's a word I haven't heard you use in a while. Not since you sought the help of my people when the Griffons attempted to cross the ocean."

Thromnambular nodded. "I am not asking for you to help in the fight, but..."

"You wish to prevent the loss of more life than is necessary. I will assist any who fall into the water."

If it was possible for a skull to seem uncomfortable, then Thromnambular did so. "It's not just that, Aroooon... I need a spell."

The whale's eyes opened. The skull was asking for information on a certain, powerful spell. The changeling didn't need to tell him what spell he was asking for. The currents around the skull told Aroooon all he needed.

The Blue Whales were the mightiest of the baleen tribes, and were founts of wisdom, but required two conditions to be met before the answer was given.

"Why do you seek this spell, my friend?"

Thromnambular spoke honestly. "Even if my granddaughter wins this battle, the pegasi may seek revenge, and they might target my great-grandchildren. I need to protect them, and this offers a peaceful solution."

The whale nodded. "You know the second question I ask. Information of the kind you seek requires you to exchange information of equal value. What do you offer?"

Thromnambular had a gleam in the rubies set in his sockets.

"There is a beaked whale in a trench south of here. He has an unusually high intellect for his kind, and has told me that the Typhon which sleeps near the Spire of T'sht in No Whale's Land will awaken during your people's gathering in the spring."

The bull whale's eyes briefly widened in alarm before he calmed himself. Typhons were massive sea-dwelling snakes which spent most of their time sleeping, but woke up occasionally for a brief feeding frenzy which could last up to 10 weeks. They were large enough to provide a serious threat to the Blues, who gathered in the No Whale's Land during during the initial two months of spring to mate and see old friends. If the Typhon that slept near the Spire of T'sht was waking up, those gathering there would need to exercise extreme caution.

"Thank you. I shall tell you the spell and then warn the others. Now listen closely..."

Author's Note:

Just a little filler to help add to the upcoming conclusion!

Comments

[Inkquill]

Praise the whales! XD

Dude it's like every word is dripping with lore. :3

[Prince_Staghorn]

7390267 yis