Post by aquaticus on Mar 13, 2006 8:40:32 GMT -5
The Prince hadn't been sleeping well at all.
The Nymph Woods was so calm, so tranquil. The trees were almost crystalline to the human eye, yet very alive to the eyes of the Nymphs. The glass River that flowed through the core of the forest roared upon rocks, the only noise heard throughout the whole wood. In that river lived many Naiads, sons and daughters of the River King who dwelt at its mouth far far away at a place called 'The Sea'. Chief among these Naiads was the exalted son of the River King, Aquaticus, Regent in his stead as the Prince. How, exactly, Aquaticus came to be chosen as Prince was unknown.
Some say he was born a different way. Like bees in a bee hive, how they are all children of the same Mother yet come out Workers and Soldiers and Breeders. Others say that when they were all youths and lived with their Father at the River's mouth, Aquaticus was chosen by the King himself because of how virtuous he was. One thing was for certain, however. Aquaticus knew nothing of power. The Nymph Woods was like an ever present Eden - one who came into that side of existence gained all the power in the world, but the moment they stepped out they lost it all. The irony in it was that power meant nothing in this world, and everything outside.
A wise and powerful man once said that there was no such thing as good or evil - only power, and those who wish to use it. If one never used the power they had, one could never be 'good' or 'evil'. Thus, Aquaticus, the Naiad Prince, who knew nothing of the power he held, could never be good or evil. He and his people - his true people, who had never been blinded by the outside - were stuck in a never ending neutrality.
But that didn't stop them from knowing that good brought peace and evil brought unrest. Aquaticus's dreams were haunted constantly by an ever-present fear. A prophecy of doom. His people, the kind River folk, all shackled with dark eyes and human looking appearances, all wearing that same 'black skin' that the Naiad woman from the outside had worn. Every morning Aquaticus would awaken with his head just slightly raised from the white water, and breathe the trees' air proudly and calmly, glad that it was just a dream.
But the feeling of doom did not end with his dreams. All day long, as he swam in the River and walked through the Forest - which never got boring for a Spirit, because a Spirit who knew nothing else never grew impatient or bored - he felt that tug in his heart, a tug that was warning him against ignorance. Aquaticus was the Chief of the Naiads, and his Father was far far away. There was no one to turn to for advice from his own people. But Aquaticus had an Uncle - the River King's brother - who had seen much more than Aquaticus and was able to give council. He had seen the Nymph Woods when Humans and Demons knew of its existence. He would be able to help him. His Uncle's name was Quercus Modus, and he was the Father of the Dryads, the Tree Folk.
Aquaticus, sitting upon a rock in the river, decided at last to go see his Uncle. He would not stand by and let this continue anymore. He jumped into the River with all of his speed, and flew upstream using his now flipper-like feet, towards Quercus's grove where the River passed swiftly by. Swimming upstream wasn't hard at all for the River Prince - it had been one of his first games, and now it came second hand. Shooting up the river, Aquaticus reached Quercus's grove in no time. Emerging from the River with a constant serene smile, Aquaticus approached a great Oak Tree that stood firm and tall above him.
"Oh my great Uncle," Aquaticus said, reciting his usual praise to the Dryad King, "Quercus Modus, Father of Dryads. I am Aquaticus, your Nephew, come to seek your advice on troubling circumstances."
The Nymph Woods was so calm, so tranquil. The trees were almost crystalline to the human eye, yet very alive to the eyes of the Nymphs. The glass River that flowed through the core of the forest roared upon rocks, the only noise heard throughout the whole wood. In that river lived many Naiads, sons and daughters of the River King who dwelt at its mouth far far away at a place called 'The Sea'. Chief among these Naiads was the exalted son of the River King, Aquaticus, Regent in his stead as the Prince. How, exactly, Aquaticus came to be chosen as Prince was unknown.
Some say he was born a different way. Like bees in a bee hive, how they are all children of the same Mother yet come out Workers and Soldiers and Breeders. Others say that when they were all youths and lived with their Father at the River's mouth, Aquaticus was chosen by the King himself because of how virtuous he was. One thing was for certain, however. Aquaticus knew nothing of power. The Nymph Woods was like an ever present Eden - one who came into that side of existence gained all the power in the world, but the moment they stepped out they lost it all. The irony in it was that power meant nothing in this world, and everything outside.
A wise and powerful man once said that there was no such thing as good or evil - only power, and those who wish to use it. If one never used the power they had, one could never be 'good' or 'evil'. Thus, Aquaticus, the Naiad Prince, who knew nothing of the power he held, could never be good or evil. He and his people - his true people, who had never been blinded by the outside - were stuck in a never ending neutrality.
But that didn't stop them from knowing that good brought peace and evil brought unrest. Aquaticus's dreams were haunted constantly by an ever-present fear. A prophecy of doom. His people, the kind River folk, all shackled with dark eyes and human looking appearances, all wearing that same 'black skin' that the Naiad woman from the outside had worn. Every morning Aquaticus would awaken with his head just slightly raised from the white water, and breathe the trees' air proudly and calmly, glad that it was just a dream.
But the feeling of doom did not end with his dreams. All day long, as he swam in the River and walked through the Forest - which never got boring for a Spirit, because a Spirit who knew nothing else never grew impatient or bored - he felt that tug in his heart, a tug that was warning him against ignorance. Aquaticus was the Chief of the Naiads, and his Father was far far away. There was no one to turn to for advice from his own people. But Aquaticus had an Uncle - the River King's brother - who had seen much more than Aquaticus and was able to give council. He had seen the Nymph Woods when Humans and Demons knew of its existence. He would be able to help him. His Uncle's name was Quercus Modus, and he was the Father of the Dryads, the Tree Folk.
Aquaticus, sitting upon a rock in the river, decided at last to go see his Uncle. He would not stand by and let this continue anymore. He jumped into the River with all of his speed, and flew upstream using his now flipper-like feet, towards Quercus's grove where the River passed swiftly by. Swimming upstream wasn't hard at all for the River Prince - it had been one of his first games, and now it came second hand. Shooting up the river, Aquaticus reached Quercus's grove in no time. Emerging from the River with a constant serene smile, Aquaticus approached a great Oak Tree that stood firm and tall above him.
"Oh my great Uncle," Aquaticus said, reciting his usual praise to the Dryad King, "Quercus Modus, Father of Dryads. I am Aquaticus, your Nephew, come to seek your advice on troubling circumstances."