A NOTE FOR READERS: The journals of Zong-Tossu, though fascinating, should not be taken as accurate. Even though he was considered a great ghav-urath, eventually many of his writings were dismissed as the products of severe psychosis by the ruling council of Thamasku and simply regarded as fiction or parody. It was rumored Zong-Tossu had a mental breakdown caused by his usage of the narcotic cam-rahn.

Soon we descended even deeper into the inky depths, leaving behind the glowing orbs and tendrils of Sho’Ku’Shu. As we did so, the waters around our orb-shaped conveyance grew increasingly lit by the ruddy glow of the volcanic rift below.

Eventually our swimming orb alighted on the sandy seafloor near the rift, opening its cavernous maw for us to disembark. The heat was incredible - even just standing there was immediately exhausting; I had no idea how much of this we could take, but I suspected our escorts would not allow us to leave until our task was completed…

All around us were towering pillars of rock rising up from the sea bed. Scattered throughout were clusters of red and white worms all slipping out of their chitinous, grey tubes to unfurl multitudes of tiny, feathered appendages, only to quickly snap back into their strange lairs. Nearby, some kind of giant snail ploughed through a number of worm beds, consuming the creatures wholesale, its shell glinting strangely in the shimmering red light. Above us, a strange armored fish swam by, its multitude of paddle-like fins rippling through the water as its facial tentacles coiled and uncoiled.

As we had marveled at our surroundings, the inhabitants of the depths had been gathering unbeknownst to us, apparently intrigued by our arrival. We only became aware of them when they ‘stepped’ forward out of the gloom, a dozen or so tako hesitantly picking their way towards us. It was hard to tell in the wavering red light, but each of them seemed to sport hideous burn scars, missing eyes, limbs, or other chunks of flesh that had been replaced by melted looking patches of scar tissue, though they seemed in no way hindered by these deformities.

Our tako escorts from the surface had previously remained near our conveyance, but they fanned out at the sight of their former kin, surging forward to interpose themselves between us and the newcomers. The arrival of our escorts seemed to cause a great deal of consternation amongst the deep-dwellers, all of whom flashed colors and shape-messages amongst themselves and then began to brandish weapons. At this, our escorts likewise readied their weapons and their leader moved forward, flashing a short and seemingly forceful message at those they perceived as enemies.

The newcomer tako seemed to respond poorly to this message, flashing communiques amongst themselves and beginning to move forward with their weapons… but before blood could be drawn an unexpected mediator arrived. A great gray ray suddenly swam into our midst, swooped down, and transformed into a blue-skinned Rhulisti. Wearing shell armor, a gray cloak, and what looked suspiciously like an armblade, the creature spun about to lay a withering glare on both groups of tako, causing each to retreat somewhat and lower their weapons. The situation seemingly diffused for the moment, the blue-skinned stranger then focused their attention on myself and my entourage.

Distinctly feminine and irritated words manifested in my mind: “Who are you, and why have you come here?” I thought back “I am Zong-Tossu. My friends and I are strangers here; we were sent by the Tako Council of Sho’Ku’Shu to speak with the ‘Guardian of Abominations.’ Is that you?”

At this, the blue-skinned Rhulisti gave a mental snort and gestured for tako to disperse, slowly walking away and giving a small jerk of her head for me to follow. As she walked, the coarse black sand of the seafloor gently billowed out around us. “Yes,” she thought at me without hiding her disdain. “I suppose I am this ‘Guardian of Abominations’ they speak of. And, I assume they also told you I lead a dangerous cult of zealots bent on destroying their way of life?”

“They did.” I responded, seeing that she was leading me to the nearest stony pillar. From where we now stood, I could see now that the pillar had been carved into a shape resembling a great upright individual with large curving horns and great, menacing-looking wings. “They also said you are seducing their most foolish brethren and inducting them into your foul Abomination cult…”

At that, she gave a great laugh out loud, barking a large swarm of bubbles that rushed upwards out of her mouth. “Of course they did!” she thought at me, shaking her head. “Tell me, you are Rhulisti, are you not? How did you come to be here?”

I sat and introduced myself, telling her my tale from beginning to present. When I had finishished, she wore an incredulous look but only said: “Ah, a moongate - I am aware of them, but cannot command their power, unfortunately…”

“I am Wern-avas, once of Athas - guardian of the balance and servant of Nature. And that,” she sent, gesturing at the nearby lake of roiling lava, “is a rift to the paraelemental plane of magma - that’s why the waters can’t extinguish its heat. It is the source of the Tako Council’s so-called ‘abominations,’ and also of all life in this cavern. The tako of Sho’Ku’Shu seek to close the rift and prevent the various creatures of magma from coming though anymore, but doing so would disrupt the ecosystem of this place - an ecosystem based on the sulphurous fumes released by the lava - eventually killing everything in the cavern, including themselves…”

She sat down upon a nearby stone in a huff before continuing: “I cannot allow that. I’ve been sent here to preserve the balance of elements in this place, ensuring that life here may continue. It was my duty on Athas, and it is here. My ‘foolish cultists’ are those tako who have heard the calling of Magma, and have come to see to it that the balance of the rift is maintained, keeping the heat and vapors flowing, but also keeping the magma beasts and other paraelementals in check.

“The creatures of the rift have long existed in peace with the tako, but as those of Sho’Ku’Shu pushed deeper and deeper into the sea to fulfill their ever growing need for more resources, they encountered and were injured by the magma beasts, which they declared anathema to their narrow view of the Water faith. And now those short-sighted fools in Sho’Ku’Shu have sent you here to ‘stop me’? Ha!”

“The Tako Council sent us here to convince you to cease your ‘predations’ upon their realm because we look alike,” I told her as I grasped her shoulder, “But perhaps I can do the reverse instead - let me speak to the Council Wern-avas, and see if I cannot convince them of the error of their ways.”

“You would be doing both myself and Nature a great service if you could, Zong-Tossu.” she replied, rising and clasping my forearm as I had seen warriors often do. “It would not serve the balance if I had to go to war with the tako!”

“Indeed.” I said, shuddering at the thought.

When we returned to the others, our entourage and the Magma cultists were still warily eyeing each other, but neither side seemed willing to incur Wern-avas’ wrath and attack the other. I motioned to my fellows that it was time to leave. We collected the tako patrol and proceeded into the orb creature. As we did so, Tr’Shadai turned to me and asked: “Who was that, master Zong-Tossu, and what did they want?”

“A Nature priest named Wern-avas, Tr’Shadai. And she wanted us to help keep the tako from destroying their whole world.”

“Like the Brown Tide of old, master?” he gasped.

“Yes, just like that disaster of our ancestors Tr’Shadai. Let me tell you what else she said…”

As I told my apprentice of my conversation with Wern-avas, our huge swimming orb ascended back up through the inky blackness to Sho’Ku’Shu. Soon enough, the glowing orbs and tendrils of the tako city came into view once more, and we again descended into one of the anemone towers.

Once within the chamber, we were greeted by the Leadership Council once more. “Have you stopped the Guardian of Abominations, surface dwellers? Have you eliminated the cultists and their threat?”

“No, great councilors, we have not.” This caused a great deal of concerned flashing from the tako leaders. “You call the Magma spirits dangerous anathema, but they have always been below, and only began to clash with your people when you pushed too deep. You call the Magma priests deluded cultists, but they live below, tending to the rift and keeping the Magma spirits at bay. You call the Guardian a deceiver and enemy, but she only wishes to keep the ecosystem of this cavern healthy. You wish to seal the magma rift, but it is the source of all life for this subterranean sea. If you destroy them…you will doom yourselves!”

The tako council seemed aghast that I would speak to them in this way, but I had promised Wern-avas that I would try to convince them of the error of their ways and protect the Balance. Their fleshy appendages flashed rapidly with colors and patterns as they communicated amongst themselves. This went on for some time, and I was beginning to lose hope when they suddenly seemed to reach a consensus.

“Zong-Tossu,” one of the councilors thought at us, “you and your friends have given us much to consider. You may be relaying lies to us - knowingly or unknowingly - but you and our guards having safely returned from the embrace of the Guardian and her cultists lends credence to your words. Our agreement was for you to descend to the Rift and convince deluded fools to cease unknowingly destroying our world, and you may have just done that after all. Your agreement with us is at its end.”

“You will be taken to the far side of the sea - there is a passageway to the surface there.” And then we were sent on our way with a dismissive flick of a suckered arm.

We entered the clear, orb-shaped conveyance for the last time, and it once more rose up and out of the chamber and into the dark, briney world of the subterranean sea.

When we finally reached the shore, we and our tako entourage disembarked. The patrol leader flashed a colorful message and gestured toward the darkness, and a few hesitant steps revealed a small passage leading away from the rocky shore in Tr’Shadai’s bioluminescent light. Eager to make our way back up to the surface, we quickly thanked our former companions and made our way into the tunnel.

The going was easy at first, but then became increasingly difficult as we ascended, as the tunnel’s incline gradually increased until we were doing more climbing than walking. This passage seemed to be far more desolate than the one leading down from the Sky Ark - with no corrupting but life-giving runoff flowing down the tunnel, little life seemed to be able to exist here. There were a few creatures, though, with a few slimemolds, insects, and shelf fungi in evidence here and there…but they all seemed innocuous and did not pose a threat.

As we caught our first whiff of fresh surface air, a haunting and ethereal hooting sounded from somewhere further up the passage. Before we could respond, a horde of strange creatures suddenly came down the tunnel from above, swinging upon a number of ropey tentacles and chittering lightly amongst themselves. They paid us no mind, instead swinging past in a storm. As they passed by, we could see that the tiny one-eyed mollusks subtly changed color as they moved, effortlessly matching their coloration and apparent skin texture to match the surrounding rock.

“Relatives of the tako?” asked Tr’Shadai.

“Or their ancestors, Tr’Shadai.” responded Cho’ka.

“What do you suppose they were fleeing from?” Tr’Shadai again asked.

Catching a whiff of fresh air once more, I began to climb up towards the light once more and simply said “I do not know. But let us go find out.”