Thorns of Stone

Expedition Record: Day 2

10:00 AM

It appears luck is on our side: the storm abated early this morning, allowing us to reach the coordinates at about 8:00. For a place that might be home to one of the most significant archaeological finds of our time, there’s nothing to distinguish it from any other stretch of ocean: endless water as far as the eye can see.

As planned, the other cutter is already here. For an expedition of such magnitude, the head of the archaeology department at Manehattan University wanted to be here to witness whatever we might find. Truth be told, I’m envious of her and her cohorts: where our boat is an old military vessel, they’ve come out on the University’s yacht. There have been some controversy regarding its use before, but it’s an older craft that the university bought for fast transport to expeditions in the field, and to that end it has been stripped of its luxury interiors. It’s still more comfortable than our accommodations, though.

Once I had contacted the University president and we both confirmed that our readings of the provided coordinates were correct, my work finally began in earnest: I instructed Flawless Star to ready his submersible and depart as soon as possible. I must say, he is rather good at his job; he told me he’s done at least a hundred of these dives, and while I was unimpressed at first, I was taken back by how quickly he and his team had had the submarine ready in less than fifteen minutes. It was bobbing in the water ten minutes later, and five minutes after that it had vanished into the depths of the sea.

The submarine has been down for about three hours now. We’ve been getting constant radio communication from Flawless Star; all systems are functioning normally, though his most recent messages have become rather garbled. The radio operator assured me it was nothing to worry about. Thunder Twirl also pointed out that because of the extreme depth, it’s difficult to get radio communications up through so many of the ocean’s layers. Smart cookie, that one; if archaeology doesn't work out for her, she’ll have a future in oceanography.

2:30 PM

Exciting news! Flawless has returned from his dive, and he reported that he has found the site where the fisherponies had their nets snagged. According to Flawless, they weren’t snagged on rocks or cut by creatures, but were torn to ribbons by a giant field of rocky spikes! How big it is, he couldn’t say, only that it was thick, dense, and unlike anything he’s ever seen! While he did take some photographs, I will be heading down there myself in the next thirty minutes: I have to see these for myself! Thank Celestia Flawless is up for a return journey on such short notice!

4:00 PM

I’m writing this update inside the submarine as it descends. I have been inside submersibles before, but never one like this: it’s well-equipped for such a deep dive, packed with all manner of tanks, canisters, and tubes that keep us alive. I only wish the passenger and seating area were a little larger, but it is a discomfort that can be endured. What is more unnerving is the complete darkness outside the viewing windows. They’re ten inches thick, and though our lights are on, there’s nothing to see outside but gunk and specks of detritus drifting through the never-ending night. If anything, this darkness will only get stronger the deeper we go. We’re halfway down to the ocean floor, and whatever awaits us on the bottom.

9:00 PM

Sweet Celestia... I had hoped that this expedition would bear fruit, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine what we would find on the seafloor. As Flawless Star said, there is a field of spikes at the bottom of the sea floor, but I can confirm that these spikes – or more accurately, thorns – are not made by nature: they are the size of houses, sharp, and grouped tightly together like weeds that have overgrown a long-neglected garden. Rocks and other geologic structures are not formed this way, not by nature.

I was not able to tell what material the thorns were constructed from; the submarine’s drone was launched and attempted to get a sample, but was unable to chip anything off a thorn, even though the surface texture is rough, chipped, and full of nicks that can snag anything that passes through them. No wonder the fisherpony’s nets were torn apart; we even found a few pieces which we retrieved for proper disposal. (I am not going to contaminate the site with any modern objects!)

I can’t convey in words how astonishing this find is: to float above these thorns of stone in our tiny submarine was unlike anything I’ve ever done before. Even now, hours later, my mind still swarms with questions: Who made these thorns? Why are they down there on the seafloor? Are they the collapsed ruins of a temple that once stood above the sea? Was this whole area once a continent or an island that sank long ago? So many questions, but no answers, and in a way I prefer it: Whenever a new discovery is made, there is always the excitement of knowing that there are countless possible answers to our questions, and the lure of the unknown is intoxicating. Often, though, the answer we get is often so much more dreary and mundane than our wildest fantasies.

Perhaps, just this once, the answers we find will be more exciting than anything we could imagine!