Skyfall

Knights had to be courageous. No one could put their trust in someone to defend them if they weren't brave. And Chili had put himself out there to be a knight, so away with whichever excuses he might have. 

This is for the good of all Bellacostians, as well. He concluded. 

To battle, then.

It had been, surprisingly, easier than he thought to enter into the deep waters of Aequor. The Obrille Academy had been handing out water breathing potions and spells to whichever tenacious knight-to-be would accompany Knight Marleau in an expedition to Aequor, they'd said. There were even some temporary capricorn transformation potions to some of the knights. It had been amply widespread, so that it could gather a great amount of interested and valiant lons, but the actual trip was going to be a lot more selective on who could actually go - they had to make sure everyone involved knew of the risks they were putting themselves at by venturing into the ocean, and any candidate had to have a basic knowledge at fighting, as a minimum. 

This measure was taken, of course, to avoid lons just entering in order to get their hands on the potions. Chili had even seen a shy but well-intended pouflon dejectedly walk out of the Academy, clearly upset about not getting this water breathing liquid. He'd gotten curious about why a lon like that would want it - since it didn't seem like he was a fighter at all - so he walked up to him and just flat-out asked. 

"Excuse me." Chili called the attention of the brown pouflon. "Why would someone like you want to volunteer for the expedition to Aequor?" He said, frowning a little. 

"O-Oh!" The pouflon stumbled, a little flustered. "I just adore taking pictures, and this, well, this would be the perfect opportunity to get some photos of the underwater landscapes, even with all the turmoil." He confessed. "I'm Milo, by the way. Pleased to meet you." 

"Chili." He briefly introduced himself with a small nod of his head, as was customary to pouflons. Even though he was a vespire, he'd grown up with a pouflon mother, after all. "It's good, what you do. Must be fun." Chili grumbled. "It's too dangerous to do it these times, though. I can try to go and describe it to you when I come back, though." The vespire offered, watching as Milo's eyes lit up. 

"Really? That'd be great! Even imagining all the scenery will be a great opportunity!" The pouflon grinned, nodding. 

"Then it's set. I should get going, though. Goodbye, Milo, I'll talk to you later." The vespire said, a little hurriedly. 

"Alright, youngsters." Knight Marleau stood in front of excited knights, stomping the ground lightly with her hooves from time to time. They were already at the shore, the white sand soft under their feet and the calm ocean waves masquerading the battlefield and turmoil that were happening under the surface. Knight Marleau took a good look at all the lons that had been reunited before continuing.

"If you came this far, I expect you to deliver. It is of utmost importance that we fend off and destroy all the beasts coming out of The Rift in Aequor, lest they put the population in danger. This type of assignment is what you're being trained to do, so we all hope you can prove your abilities. Don't expect nothing too formal, of course, specially in the midst of battle, but your teachers will accompany you and may even see how you fare." At that, Chili heard quite a few murmurs of hesitancy and aprehension - what if they weren't good enough in regards to the Academy's expectation? Even Chili felt a little cold in his belly, but nothing near enough to make him flinch at the knight's words. 

"The mages should help you as well. They will assist you with the potions and spells, of course, so you can properly breathe underwater. Please let them do their jobs, we don't want anybody drowning before they even reach Aequor." Chili couldn't tell if that had been a joke, and it made him nervous, so he promptly decided to think that it was. 

A few mages helped the anxious knights in training and made sure the potions were working properly - Chili could even recognize a few faces, famous enough so that even a newcomer like him could pinpoint them between all the experts. He was able to observe Remiel instructing some knights into gulping the concoctions encased in glass bottles, a breeze of a job for a professional like him. He wanted to ask him some questions out of curiosity, but decided not to interfere with his work. I wonder if he'll be joining us, he thought. 

When all had been prepared, Knight Marleau wordlessly walked until her wrists reached under the surface, barely flinching at the cold temperature. "All right! Everylon, follow me!" She said, and without further ado, trotted until her head had been submerged. Some veteran knights went behind her without any hesitation, and Chili observed as even Remiel and some other mages dived into the waters. Albeit a tad bit hesitantly, the recruits soon followed the rest of the squadron. 

No turning back, now. 

The atmosphere of Aequor can't be described by mere words, Chili thought as soon as he was meters deep into the ocean. It was cold - he could see other recruits shivering in their pelts, even under the water - and it felt very weird breathing through (temporary) gills instead of lungs. They followed Knight Marleau into the deep sea, watching as schools of fishes swam between them, observing the colorful corals and sand banks that slowly descended as the ocean's depth went further. 

When they finally arrived, Chili could see how heads turned to try and appreciate the surroundings. A few capricorns observed the group with certain curiosity and, some of them, with even a hint of hope. There were beautiful constructions underwater, and he wondered how Aequor had spent so much time without almost anyone out in the surface being reminded of its existence. Marleau gracefully swam in the direction of an imponent palace. Some lons, who'd managed to get capricorn potions, swam swiftly and efortlessly behind her. 

A pink capricorn approached them, cutting through the water as if gliding in the air. Marleau slowly stopped, and everylon paused behind her. "You must be Knight Marleau!" She grinned. Bioluminescent points in her scales formed a line, shining under the blue curtain of the ocean. "Queen Nouveau told me and my father of your upcoming arrival. I'm Naia, Princess of the Kingdom of Aequor." She royally bent down in a greeting, and Chili saw Knight Marleau do the same. They exchanged a few quick words, and then made their way into the palace. 

The inside of the construction was even more impressive than the outside - adorned with carefully placed shells, populated by small schools of fishes swimming around, and a few royal capricorns as well. Chili felt a little out of place in the midst of it all, but he had a mission to fulfill. They made their way to the throne room, carefully guarded by two capricorn knights and embellished with pillars leading up to the throne. Inside the vast room, Queen Nouveau and another pouflon, unlike any other Chili had seen before, conversed. When the party arrived, they both paused and turned to look at the newcomers. It made Chili feel self-conscious from the attention, even in between a lot of other lons. 

"Welcome. It's good you're here." The deep-black pouflon said briskly, full of fins that drew attention to him, even with the vibrant bluish colors of the room. "To those of you that don't know me, I'm King Ericius. You're here to help protect Aequor. My daughter can tell you more." The King said, coldly, gesturing to Princess Naia. The two of them are so different, I could barely say they're related, Chili thought. 

"Thank you for coming, all of you." Queen Nouveau complemented. "I'm sure your efforts will be rewarded in the future, so that Bellacoste can be peaceful once again." She smiled, characteristically gentle. There was a look of preoccupation in her face. When would things turn back to normal, indeed? She seemed to think. 

Princess Naia nodded, then started giving out the actual assignment. They were to reunite with other fighters to provide backup - and quick. 

When the party leader, Princess Naia, led them to the actual battlefield, the way the atmosphere suddenly felt suffocating with dread was almost palpable. They could already spot the vicious, maleficent creatures made out of pure Corruption that escaped from a rift in the background, and the knights that fought them bravely. There wasn't much time to talk and give out instructions after that - and none was needed, since everylon already knew what to do. They charged into battle with a collective cry. 

Remiel shot out a beam of purple magic in order to deflect an attack from one of the corrupted creatures. He was very adept in what he did despite his young age, but seeing him in action only made Chili think him even more incredible. The young pouflon bravely fought, evading the beasts attacks and counter-attacking on his own with the help of his magical weapon. He was even able to avoid and deter multiple creatures at a time, easily maneuvering around them. 

Chili was doing fine on his own, kicking at a burly creature while letting out a scream, a little bit muffled under the water. The contact with the beast's surface made his back paw tingly, but he ignored the sensation. He delivered a powerful blow with his front paw to another creature, longer and swifter, that tried to attack a young knight from behind, just in time. 

"Be careful!" He shouted to him, who was occupied fighting an especially ugly being, full of rows of sharp shark-like teeth. Fortunately, a mage was able to control the situation with his offensive magic. The knight nodded in thanks and whacked at the first, burly creature that had been trying to attack the vespire. "Thanks!" He yelped, exasperated. 

Naia was surprisingly good at fighting - her natural capricorn tail made it so that she swiftly avoided enemies' blows and delivered them back with might. "For Aequor!" He heard her scream, and the other young knight from before helped her end a Corrupted being. Taking a quick look at him, Chili thought he could actually recognize him - he'd seem him walking around the Academy. He'd never made sure to know his name, though, and he could surely ask at a better situation.

Overall, the fight was tought - there were time when the vespire could barely see because of all the sand being lifted up and obscuring his vision, and he tried his best to make sure none of the creatures bit him - he was sure the result would be very far from pleasant. When the flow of Corrupted creatures seemed to cease for a few minutes, the air went condensed with anticipation - but nothing came out of The Rift anymore, at least for now. 

"That's normal." The Princess explained. "They come in waves, but we never know when the next group of them will arrive. Be on your guard, everylon!" She shouted in alarm. Knight Marleau, huffing a little bit, reinforced the order. 

Chili made use of the brief pause to swim to the young pouflon that he'd helped. 

"Thanks for the assistance, back then." He commented. The knight-to-be turned in his direction, nodding with confidence. 

"Thanks to you, too! I could have been bitten if it wasn't for you." He smiled. "My name's Auster." A quick bow, followed by one of his own. 

"Chili." The vespire greeted him as well. From behind them, a warning could be heard. "Here they come again!" A capricorn screamed, and the hideous screeches of the Creatures echoed all over the battlefield. 

I'll sure have a great deal to describe to Milo, Chili thought, before charging into battle yet again with a scream.