Orrison Prompts

"And, please, for your sake and mine - don't go anywhere near the ocean, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, alright. Whatever you say!"

-----

Axiom hadn't planned on breaking their promise to their parent. Even when they headed off to the port city of Ichorrai, they had dutifully avoided the docks proper, grateful for the opportunity their parent had given them. They could see the ocean from their hotel - an iridescent black horizon that peeked through between the tall buildings - but it barely seemed worth investigating when there were so many other exciting things to be doing.

And then they came to this job. It was phrased in the books as "explore the mountains near the northern edge of the Wings", which sounded straightforward enough. And for the past few days, it had been straightforward; just climbing, wading through snow, marking their map, and climbing some more. Then they crested one final slope and laid eyes on a fragmented shoreline, floes of ice breaking off and drifting into an endless expanse of black water.

Their drafting pencil slipped through their fingers and skidded over the icy ground. They made no move to retrieve it. Ah, how could they have forgotten? The lines on their map weren't just arbitrary boundaries. They represented real, physical things, like the fysa-poisoned ocean that had been forbidden to them since before they could remember.

Up close, the ocean stretched infinitely in every direction - so much that they could almost see the curve of the planet. It groaned and whispered like an enormous creature, beckoning them forth. The air smelled of salt, but also something sharp and electric that was impossible to place. It should have been awe-inspiring, but the only emotion they could manage to feel was frustration that all this was kept from them for so long.

They took one step forward, then another - soon they were sprinting full-speed down the hill toward the floes. They slid to a stop at the edge of the shore, then knelt down to get a better look at the water. They laughed, and their distorted reflection laughed along with them - here they were, at the edge of the ocean, and everything was fine. There was never anything to worry about.

A shape bobbing just beneath the surface of the water caught their eye, just a few yards out from their position. Their grin grew even bigger - and now they were going to find treasure! This day couldn't get any better. They dug an ice axe out of their pack and reached it forward, but the tip hovered just short of the mysterious object. With an impatient grunt, they leaned forward, and -

The ice behind them cracked like a gunshot. Before they could even cry out, the ground fell away beneath their feet, pitching them into the dark water below.

-----

Axiom awoke with a gasp. They flailed an arm out in blind panic, but instead of water their claws brushed soft fabric. "Whuh?"

Still woozy, it took them a few minutes to sit up and assess the situation. They were in a makeshift tent of some sort, sandwiched between two ratty blankets. Their backpack sat beside them, gently leaning against the tent wall. Gingerly, they patted their shirt; it was perfectly dry, as if nothing had happened. As if...? They pounced on their bag, fumbled the zipper open, reached inside, and - their ice axe was still gone. It wasn't a dream. They'd fallen into the ocean, but here they still were. 

"Hello?" They stuck their head out of the tent flap and looked around, but there was no response aside from the sounds of the waves. Someone must have hauled them out of the water and to safety. But who...?

They blinked, and then a second more important thought occurred to them. They were fine - alive and no injuries to speak of. So what was the point of locking them in the house for so long if they could've survived falling into the ocean this whole time?!

With an indignant huff, they grabbed their pack and wriggled out of the tent. When they made it home, their parents would have a lot of explaining to do.