The Emperor of the Tides

The tides moved as he did….

He remembered those exact waves; how they crashed down violently onto the ship's decks; how they, without mercy, killed his family. Now he controlled them. He was the one who washed the remains of great ships against the sandy shores of beaches. As all spirits do he became one with the thing that had killed him. 

Many moons before he had unearthed a beautiful stone from the depths of the ocean. Many called it the heart of the sea: now he understood why. It wasn’t because it glowed a deep blue, or because it was lost in the middle of the seas. It was because it was the weapon of the moon herself. Long ago, when a destructive species known as “mankind” destroyed the moon, her jewel was lost, legend says it fell into the ocean. He’d been told that he was a descendant of mankind, it was partly why he was deeply hated. 

He had forgotten his name. He was simply known as the Emperor of the tides. As he strode through the waters, his body was made of the same substance in which he walked. Today he had somewhere to go. 

Last night he spoke to the stars. As he lay alone he heard her voice, a melodic voice belonging to the Queen of the Spirits “Tell me, young one do you know how the stars are made?” “No.”

He could sense her smiling, a caring smile, one a mother would give her son. Her voice echoed across the lands. “They are of your kind” 

He sat there, confused. Stars were beautiful, graceful and elegant. Unlike him who crushed sailors and caused the fall of cities. Stars were kind and generous, living light to the seemingly ever dark world. He killed people. stars gave light. 

Then the Queen invited him to a feast. There she promised to answer all his questions, and tell him all about the history of the stars. When he was alive, he used to gaze at the stars. How they glinted and shone, pure white against a pitch black sky. He wished he could be a star. 

The queen told him to go to a precise point in the ocean, where a magnificent chariot said to be pulled by Pegasus himself would fly him up to her castle where the feast was held.

He had reached the point by dusk, the shimmering sun was setting, but it had a loneliness about it. A loneliness he recognised. The sun missed the moon. Legend says the sun used to be brighter once, a ball of fire high in space. Now it only glowed faintly. 

From the depths of the sky emerged the  chariot. Engraved with golden suns and stars, cupids and angels it was carved out of smooth crystal. As she promised, a beautiful flying horse pulled the chariot. Pegasus circled him, waiting for him. He swirled his arms round and round, the water moving with him, slowly but surely he lifted himself to the chariot's height, jumping in before it rode off into the sunset. 

The galaxies shone brighter up here. Radiant with deep purples and pinks, blues and greens. The stars still shone.

The palace itself was made of pure ice, pillars containing frozen fish, rooms teeming with swimming jellyfish. As he entered, he was greeted with the most divine smell. Banquet tables lined with foods of all kinds lay directly in front of him; meats and an assortment of roast vegetables sat on one table; the second held peculiar drinks in vessels of all shapes and sizes, colors and textures.; and the third was rich with desserts.

On a golden podium, contrasting against the blue of the ice sat the Queen of the Spirits herself, her skin fading from blues into sunset oranges into golds, with speckled stars sitting like freckles across her nose. Her golden locks flowed down to her waist, dressed in a brilliant pearly white gown.

Around the tables sat all manner of creature and spirit, deer with the head of a dragon, wolves with tails made of peacock feathers and most importantly, bright shining stars. He bowed down before the stars “Oh great ones, how I wished to be of your kind” he spoke. The stars laughed “You? You are not regal nor kind enough to be a star.” one said “Neither are you elegant nor proper” another said “You’re only a child”, another one chimed in. He had never seen stars in person before. These ones were far too immersed in their “star-ness”. He walked away. His stomach was in no need of food, the ride here had been rough due to high sea winds. The stars were right. He could never be one of them.

The queen seemed oblivious to his presence, she was too caught up in conversations with other spirit rulers, or discussing her child. The queen’s child, a young girl named Eternity, had disappeared two moons ago.

Many thought she was dead, or captured by pirates or enemies of the queen. The queen herself was in a frazzled state. Speaking far too quickly and shaking off spirits if their demand wasn’t urgent enough. Her gaze then rested upon him.

She had only just realized he was standing there, before the feast tables. His unreadable eyes looking into hers. She stood. “Hello, Emperor of the Tides” He bowed “Emperor. Seems a name too serious for a child. Prince would do better” ,she laughed. “Greetings My Queen”, he said. She pursed her lips. 

“Follow me, child” she walked across the Icey ballroom floor. He followed. Her gown draped down to the ground, it dragged behind as a train would drag behind a king. “Where are we going?” She stayed silent. She led him through a maze of corridors, through courtyards and ballrooms, down spiraling staircases and across grand gardens until they stopped at the edge of a forest. Crooked trees grew entangled in each other stretching up to the sunlight, leaves and vines reached down to the mossy ground. Mist covered the entrance and hung in the air. It didn’t look like it was clearing anytime soon. “Where are we?” He turned on his heel, toward where the queen stood, instead he saw nothing but air. She had clearly vanished on purpose, intending him to enter the forest. 

Surprisingly he was not at all surprised nor scared by this, he may have even expected it to happen. It was as if the forest was welcoming him, dragging him in but not in an evil way. As he walked he could hear the chatter of birds fading, no wind blew in the depths of the woodland. The air was thick with the scent of wood and earth, an after-rain smell hung in the air. He thought it smelled of tropical island rainforests. No sound filled the air but the quiet dripping of water and the sound of his footsteps. He looked down at the ground, little spots began to appear, it was raining. 

He was used to water and felt not at all bothered by the rain. It stormed all the time at sea. The sky clouded over and was fading into a deep grey. It was not long before the real storm hit. He thought of lightning- electricity did not bond well with the water. Lightning spirits were enraged by something- someone. He was a mere water spirit, and there was not nearly enough rain to control. Even if there was, that belonged to the storm gods. It would be deeply disrespectful to use their weapon against them. And disrespecting them would only make them angrier. His only chance was to hide, the queen surely had not anticipated this? He hid under the shelter of the canopy, walking no longer on the path. But through the trees. Through the cover of rain he saw it, the first strike. The lightning struck down in hard forks, it landed on the path, rearing like a horse before gaining stability. Its eyes glowed a bright yellow. And it turned to him

He hoped it hadn’t seen him. If it had he would be forced into a checkmate, running through the forest while more lightning came as reinforcements. Rain was one thing. A lightning storm was another. 

Then he heard it. A scream. A scream that could only belong to a child- but a child much younger than him. A mere child of that age could not survive in a lightning storm by herself- especially this type of lightning storm. 

He ran, he knew he could not hide from the lightning for long, but he had to save that child. He could not let it die such a painful and horrific death. The screams were getting closer, he was getting closer. He neared a clearing. A break in the trees and bushes. On a small rock sat a child. Her hair was of the darkest black, standing out against her pale skin and deep purple eyes, she wore a robe of blue silks and velvets, embroidered with little moons and roses on the sleeves. She was dripping wet. The pathway leads to this clearing. But the pathway was where the lightning dwelled. If he were to step out into the open they would see him for sure. 

He would have to risk it. Creeping closer, twigs and leaves snapping and under his feet. He leaped across the pavement and onto the rock. The girl screamed for a moment staring down at him with terrified eyes. He said nothing. Then the lightning came. “Give us the child. Emperor of the Tides” He looked at the child. The fear in her eyes. What would they do to her? Torture her? Enslave her? Or worse, sell her or marry her off to terrible men? No. he would not allow it. “No. You have no right to capture this child.” The lightning laughed. “I will tell you what. You give us the child. And we will give you this.” 

The lightning held up a glowing blue jewel. The heart of the sea. How had they got it? Had they visited his dwelling after he left, stole it from his chambers? “How did you get that?” He asked. “That doesn’t matter. Give us the child and we will return it.” The lightning did not have a mouth but he could sense them smirking. 

He thought to himself. The heart of the sea was the thing that made him the Emperor of the Tides. If he lost it, he would become a mere water spirit. It belonged to the moon, one of the first spirit guardians. 

Would he really risk everything- his title, his home, perhaps even his friendship with the queen. For a child? No answer came into his head. But he needed an answer. It wouldn’t be long before the lightning took her by force. He had decided.

“Your offer is… good. But alas. I must refuse.” The lightning glared at him. He looked at the child. “Run”, he instructed. “I may seem greedy and power hungry but I will not allow you to take an innocent child” he boomed. The lightning charged, chasing him through the forest.

The wind battered his face as he tripped over dead logs and twigs, clumps of moss and piles of leaves. He lost sight of the lightning. He reached the edge of the forest. Breathing heavily stood the child. Beaming at him behind her stood the queen “My queen I-” she stopped him. “You have done well Prince”. She looked at him. It then clicked. Was this the Queen's daughter? Was she the one that was missing? Was that Eternity? “Is that- your… daughter?” he asked. She gave a curt nod of her head.      

“But the lightning!” “The lightning was not real. My daughter and I came up with a plan. To see who was worthy of becoming a star she agreed to act as if she was in great peril. With my magic I created illusions. Lightning illusions. Anyone who entered the forest would have to face a decision. The lightning would offer them their greatest possession in return for the child. Everyone else has failed.except you.” A wave of shock rushed over him. Was he going to become a star? “Child, would you like to become a star?”

He looked at her. His eyes wide in excitement. “It would be an honor.” “Then a star you shall be”. The queen pushed her hand forward and his vision was blinded by a bright light. It didn’t hurt him though. It was welcoming, friendly. When his vision returned he was standing on a pathway next to other stars. He looked down. There was his world. The oceans and lands and forests. He could see them all. He was a star now. 

Shining bright in the sky. And some nights if you look close enough. You can still see him shining.