The Archon stood upon the beach and stared at the horizon on the water. She knew they were out there, hiding beneath the waves. With the sun-furies at her side, snarling and stamping their feet, an overabundance of solar power leaking from their eyes and mouths, she was ready to finally put the traitors to the sword once and for all.

With solemn reverence she gripped the Amulet of Aurora around her neck and held it aloft. She closed her eyes and felt the ocean spray, hearing the rumbling of water as the tide was driven back by burgeoning winds. Her cloak rippled, the sand on the beach began to stir. So powerful was the storm she conjured that the sun was briefly blotted out by clouds, causing the furies to hiss in displeasure.

Forgive me, sister. This transgression is only a temporary one, but necessary.

Onward they marched, treading upon the ocean floor, stranded fish scattered about, flopping and slapping the ground with their tails. The stench was nauseating, and the sand was wet and flecked with rocks that made the march toward the retreating tide unpleasant at best and outright treacherous at worst. Barriers of coral redirected them now and then, but they would not stop. They were closing in.

On the other side of the wall of water Queen Novo, understanding that the furies would reach her sanctuary before long, gathered her people in the great hall, Eos and Astraea included.

"The hollow hound has found us, and not even the sea can withstand her any longer." she said to her people, Princess Skystar at her side.

The twins looked at one another, their expressions both mirrors of the other's horror.

"We still have one last hope. My daughter and I will show you the way, and you must follow without hesitation." said the queen.

The princess looked shocked. "Mother! You mean we're leaving? This is our home—"

Queen Novo silenced her daughter with a look more serious and dire than the princess had ever seen upon her mother's face.

"The yellow queen's bitch has given us no choice." the queen said, turning from her daughter back to the audience. "If we stay here we shall be stranded, and the furies will have us. Many of you here have seen firsthand what happens to those that stand in their way."

Most of the merfolk looked to those beside them, recalling the events that had led them to abandon the surface.

"The hollow bitch has found a way to use the weather against us. She turns the very tide to reach us, and her slavering servants march beside her. If we are to escape, we must go now."

Without much ado, she led her charges further from the shore. It was a solemn procession into the dark of the deep sea.

On the edge of a vast abyss, the merfolk gathered before a pair of ancient copper pillars, green with age and algae. Between them a somber glow was suspended, growing as the merfolk approached, as though sensing their proximity. Like a shimmering veil, the portal between worlds loomed before them.

The storm had begun to stir the surface above, and schools of fish and aquatic mammals fled to deeper waters, soaring overhead like birds.

Meanwhile, the power of the amulet was folding the sea in on itself, but the strain was building and the sun-furies were becoming anxious of the ever-rising wall of tide before them.

The archon quickened her pace, adding her frustration to the power of the amulet. Bolts of lightning dropped from the clouds and struck greedily at the newly vulnerable coral and forests of suffocated kelp, turning the sand to glass. The ferocity of the smiting invigorated the furies, spurring them to the furthest edge of their madness. Not even the archon wanted to discover what lay beyond.

At the gate, Queen Novo commanded her daughter to lead her charges through, waiting until the last of them were gone before leaving herself.

As she left that world, she could feel the warping of the water and see the blurred shapes of the pursuers marching inexorably, illuminated by the lightning that fell all around them.

On the other side the queen was received by her daughter and her charges. The waters were calm there, but they did not linger, making their way to shore immediately. There was little they could do about the gate except to get as far away from it as possible before the Archon breached it.

It has been a long time since I have walked on land.

The queen knew she would have to use the pearl to reverse the transformation she had undergone all those years ago. Only on land would they find what they needed. There would be no more running. It was time to make a stand, and for that she would need help.

By the time the sea had retreated from the portal the merfolk were already on their way to the other shore. The archon was frustrated, but determined to follow them through. She just needed time to come up with a way to bring her furies along without dousing them in the process.

She used a combination of amulets to create an air bubble around her and her cohort, allowing the massive wall of water she had built up to fall down all around them. The water, tumbling atop itself as it came crashing down was an apocalyptic sight, and created a tsunami that would later come to devastate the shore.

Yet the bubble held, and with great care and difficulty she was able to maintain it and guide her force through to the other side, where they were surrounded by darkness.

The Archon felt a familiar presence in the sky, far above, and was almost overwhelmed with nostalgia. The feeling faded quickly, however. The presence was not hers to command, not here. She looked around at her uncertain furies, then led them ashore.

Author's Note

Another chapter focused on that other place; that other time.

Sorry it’s been so long since last I updated this.