Legends of the Draak-Kin: Fathom

Today we continue our series on the Elders of the Draak-Kin Tribe at the time of Golden Treasure: The Great Green. Across the eons, there have, of course, been thousands of Elders spread out over millions of years, though rarely more than seven at any one time, six in practice, since the Ruiner must always be counted so long as She lives, and She cannot die by the design of any living thing, elemental force, or weight of Time. Today, we will recount, in very little detail, the life of one of the true Masters of the Great Blue: the great elder Fathom, largest of all free Kin at the time of Golden Treasure.

The birth of Fathom was almost a miracle in itself. Kin eggs... even those of the Sapphire Clan... are never laid underwater. Though the lungs of the Sapphire Clan are mighty indeed and they can swim for a long time when adults without surfacing, any Kin which hatched underwater would instinctively take its first breath immediately and drown. For this reason, Sapphire parents hide their eggs in seaside caves, riverside burrows, and even air-pocketed shelves in underwater grottoes rather than in the water itself.

Fathom's mother chose this last option, hiding Fathom's egg deep in a complex ocean cave system filled with interesting lifeforms; a challenging beginning, hoping for a new Kin forged in strength. Though the gallery in which it was hid was dry, an earthquake altered the cavern while Fathom was nearly ready to emerge, flooding the chamber.

Normally, this would spell doom for the young Kin, but Fathom heard another Voice, not that of its parent, but the Voice of the Great Blue itself. Though it did not speak in the mind-language of the Kin, it spoke all the same, and Fathom's soul understood. It felt the sacred mass of the ocean pressing against its egg, and knew what surrounded it, somehow, beyond knowledge to a deep gnosis.

When at last the egg broke and the water rushed in, it was prepared. Water, it had already decided, would be its eternal teacher and companion, to be respected and heeded, never taken lightly, and forever Danced with, both with body and mind. It shocked its parents, who thought it lost, by surviving its birth and eventually finding its way to land near modern-day Mauritania. Its early life was fraught with violence, battling sharks, lions, and orcas on a regular basis. This caused its body to become tough, scarred, and large as it fed on the bodies of its defeated foes. Unlike most, it preferred the flesh of predators to the flesh of herbivores, not because of the taste or nutrition but because it made every meal a true trial of its strength worth celebrating. Both the Water and Fire within surged.

Then, on the cusp of adulthood, Fathom encountered another Sapphire which was its foil: Darktooth. The two clashed many times, both physically and ideologically, and though Fathom was far stronger, Darktooth's wisdom would often tilt the balance and leave Fathom defeated, which at first confused Fathom, and then intrigued it. Eventually, the two would share a powerful Dance, one which reverberated throughout their part of the world and changed the course of many lives.

After attaining full adulthood, Fathom discovered the true home of its soul: the sacred lands known today as the Azores. Darktooth's lessons, combined with the many adventures which Fathom had with the denizens of the islands, led to it undertaking a powerful spirit quest to the uttermost heart of the ocean: the Mariana Trench. Bolstering its body and mind for many years, it succeeded in reaching that deepest of depths, a feat accomplished by none but the Ruiner, and there the soul of the sea anointed Fathom as its own forever. All of its greatest secrets were laid bare in that ultimate depth and darkness, and Fathom's true and unshakeable status as the Chosen One of the Blue was established.

Fathom's role in the Second Tragedy was great indeed, and it is no exaggeration to say that all of Earth may have been subject to a horrible fate had Fathom not risked all to tilt the balance of destiny. That tale cannot be told in brief, or perhaps even at length, because it spans more than one world and more than one timeline, but when it emerged alive after all of its suffering and the danger had been averted, the whole of Earth knew it as a legendary hero, and an Elder ever after.

In its later years, it traveled the Great Blue extensively, leaving no sea from the Caspian to the Caribbean untouched, and no aquatic creature unmet and unknown. Wherever it went, its strength and wisdom were put to the test, and again and again, it triumphed over legendary foes without and within. Its most famous feat was when it challenged the very soul of the entire orca species and consumed it, carrying all of their spirits within. From that time on, Fathom was continually guarded by a sacred sisterhood of enkindled orca knights who were soulbound to it.

Fathom was a deeply prolific Kin, sharing several more epic Dances with Darktooth and quite a few other Kin besides, beginning many great stories. By its later years, even the fiercest of tiger sharks and giant squid would lower themselves in its presence. Fathom had become the Blue, in a very true sense, and every waterbound creature could feel that keenly. It also took a deep interest in the Black Sea... not the body of water known as such by humans today, but the Great Void which cradles the stars. It knew all things as seas within seas within seas. It was the largest Kin alive at the time of its end (again, excepting the Ruiner) and had plumbed the seas both above and below with its mighty spirit. Out of deep love for him, Fathom played a key role in helping Darktooth learn how to travel the stars and find the hidden un-road to Newhome away from Earth.

As Many-Times-Burned's Crusade began and Darktooth's Exodus left the world, Fathom undertook its Last Dive down to the Trench, the lowest place in all the world, closest to the heart of Mother Earth. It lived for days on its last breath until it reached that sacred place, being accompanied and left, one by one, by all the many Tribes of the ocean on its way. After one last sacred song, it breathed in, finally allowing the Water which it held at bay at its birth to conquer its lungs, as it was always destined to, at the end of a thousand-year journey.

The remains of Fathom's vast body still lie buried in the silt at the bottom of the Mariana trench, its mighty spirit diffused throughout the Great Blue it loved. Even as late as the Grey Future, the many ocean Tribes would sing of Fathom as the Eternal Chosen of the Blue, who Danced with the infinite sea itself and left it changed.

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This beautiful depiction of that peerless Elder was done by the amazing LuciaDracon.

Look forward to more Dreaming Door news soon, broadcast from the heart of the Arabian desert...

-L