Sand and Seagrass

Cano crouched completely motionless, listening the gentle slap of the waves against his wooden canoe. A tall rod hung over the side with a line trailing down into the depths of the limpid water. He squinted against the sun’s reflection, tracking the telltale shifting of his prey as they moved around his hook.

Fishing in these reefs had become a waiting game, and so Cano waited. The floor below created a backdrop of polychromatic coral spotted with patches of sand and seagrass. Cano scanned the water for fish large enough to provide food, but found none. This reef had become less reliable in recent years, yielding fewer and fewer catches. Cano’s eyes instead wandered over thousands of species, each no larger than his hand. These tiny morsels comprised groups of hundreds of fish which seemed to be one being, constantly shifting and reforming themselves from all angles, assembled by the individual’s instinctual need to congregate. Several rays suspended in the water column glided through the undersea masses, their wings flapping rhythmically. A small, beige shark with a long tipped tail caught his attention. Pulling his line in, Cano readied his rod without ever looking away from the shark. It roamed inside a particularly large spot of seagrass, rummaging around for burrowed prey rapaciously. The shark blended well with the sand below it but was easily tracked by the small clouds it stirred up as it dug. Cano paddled his canoe nearer to the shark’s territory, though not directly above it. When he had settled on a position with a clear line of sight, Cano arced the rod back and let the hook fly out with precision. It impacted the water with a small plop, sinking down and coming to rest in the sandy patch. 

“Come on, just take the damned bait,” Cano cursed as the shark skirted the hook warily.

Suddenly, the shark darted around a rock and became lost in the reef as large ripples broke the water far to the right of where Cano had placed his lure. He rose slightly, eyes searching below the surface as he grasped for a flint-tipped spear in the belly of his boat. In a tensed crouch leaning over the prow, his view extended down towards the disturbance. The shoals had begun to move more frantically there, individuals chaotically dashing back and forth.

A shadow slipped across the coral below, gliding and turning with agility. Cano’s sightline traced up the water column to a small shoal of yellow and blue snapper. They were sizable enough to viably provide a meal, and Cano chided himself for missing them. He knew his opportunity to secure the catch had passed however, as Cano found a monstrous serpentine form circling the clustered fish. The grayish blue hue of its scales blended nearly imperceptibly with the water; Cano found it much easier to follow the ripples he had first spotted than the creature itself. He sat in anticipation as the saray hunted.

As it’s circling became smaller and smaller it corralled the unlucky shoal into a condensed mass before darting to pluck one of the fish with it’s jaws. The shoal scattered slightly as it sheared one of their legion in two, snapping up the other half greedily. The saray was quick to move back out, restarting it’s inward spiral. It’s prey adequately concentrated once again, it unhinged it’s maw and bolted forwards taking one fish whole and another by the tail. A splinter of the prey took this chance to dash downwards towards the reef but the saray, trailing gore from it’s mouth, was on them in an instant. One managed to escape into a crevice as the three behind it were torn apart. The rest of the fish took this time, when their predator had turned it’s gaze away from the main group, to attempt to flee upwards. The remaining five fish made it nearly all the way up the water column before the saray overtook them, circling once again to block their escape from all directions. It continued it’s assault systematically, trapping the group and picking them off one at a time until there was only one left. The last fish turned and turned, unable to group in the way that every instinct it had was screaming to. It dashed forwards, bumping the saray’s scaly midsection before it was snapped up and the shoal was no more.

After it had claimed it’s eleventh victim the saray began a slow decent, coming to rest in a patch of sand and seagrass that once belonged to a small shark. Cano watched carefully for the bubbles that occasionally trickled out of its snout and ascend to the surface.

The beast lay contended for quite a while, allowing Cano time to study its form in more detail. It was easily as long as Cano’s canoe from tip to tail, though it’s curling, writhing movement had made it appear condensed whilst in motion. Its tail was flattened vertically, a powerful scull to propel it. Its body rounded and extended from there into a sinewy, streamlined form ending in a true serpents head only slightly smaller than the size of Cano’s torso. Cano noted the bubbles flowing from it’s nostrils beginning to come fewer and further between.

Cano had speared creatures of all sorts before, but never anything so large. He eyed his boat warily, knowing full well that the vessel could easily be flipped. He also surveyed his day’s catch. He had not been nearly as successful as the saray with his rod and hook, and even his traps nearer to the shore had come up inadequate. Food had become scarce in Teruna since the reef had thinned, and every day’s haul had become paramount. Cano knew this saray could provide enough meat to sustain them for quite a while. They could ration it, refill their long term stores, maybe even afford to send scouts to seek new reefs.

Cano tensed as the head lifted away from the floor. The creature seemed to heft itself effortlessly, stirring up the sandy bottom as it’s powerful tail drove it forwards and upwards. By the time it was halfway to the surface, Cano had bared his teeth in a show of fierce determination. 

“Kehai,” he whispered deftly, feeling his energy channel into the spear he had prepared in his right hand. The flint tip quickly shifted from the stone’s natural black to a bright orange, finally settling on a deep, fiery crimson. He had practiced the spell incessantly; it was the only one he could readily perform. With his left hand, he adjusted his grip on a thick hempen rope that attached to the spear’s blunt end. As the serpent approached the surface off the prow of his canoe Cano shifted himself forwards to get the best angle he could.

It’s snout breached the surface first, each nostril a small geyser. One unblinking eye met Cano’s for the brief moment it’s head was above the waves before it started it’s dive. As it’s thick midsection trailed across the surface Cano stood, shifted his weight, and let his spear fly. 

The throw came up short, connecting with the surface of the water between Cano and the saray with a frantic sizzling that sent a plume of steam into the air. The serpent whipped around, startled by the sudden noise. Cano kicked himself for the missed shot, pulling hand over hand as fast as he could to return the weapon to his control. The spear, still lit with an arcane heat, caused the water it was dragged through to boil as he brought it in. From beneath the cloud of steam the saray appeared, stalking across the surface towards the source of the hissing noise. Cano stopped his tugging, the spear and creature a mere ten feet from his boat, unnerved and not wanting to pull the beast closer to himself. The spear floated, crackling. The saray reached out to nudge the stone with it’s snout, a large forked tongue venturing out curiously from between it’s teeth. When the tongue lapped across the spear’s tip the saray reared it’s head back in instant, burning agony. The top quarter of it’s serpentine body jolted up and out and for a moment it seemed to be held aloft by the surface of the water as it let out a dry, raspy hiss. Cano desperately pulled the spear out of the water, while the saray’s monstrous form came crashing back through the surface, sending the water around the creature into tumult. The boat rocked underneath Cano’s feet, but he braced to stay upright and inside. 

The saray, fully entrenched in the water once again, darted to the left along the surface. Cano pivoted to follow as it continued in a quick circle. It circled the canoe twice, each time moving in a bit closer. Cano gripped the shaft of the spear with both hands, feeling the heated tip warm the air near his thigh. The third pass brought the saray close enough for Cano to reach out and touch it’s scaly hide. Instead, he jammed the spear down, feeling a popping resistance as it pierced between the grey-blue scales of the creatures neck. 

The saray reared back once again and Cano got a momentary look down the creatures throat as it snapped it’s jaws wildly towards the source of it’s pain. Barely missing Cano’s arm, the saray’s thick head struck the side of the boat, rocking and nearly capsizing the vessel. Cano fell to his knees, letting go of the spear with both hands to steady the sides of the canoe. 

The saray swam down and away from the boat, trailing a thick cloud of steam bubbling up towards the surface around the angry-red spear that now jutted from it’s side. The rope laying in the bottom of the other side of the boat began to uncoil rapidly, and Cano dove onto his stomach to grab it, the rope chaffing his hands raw as it slid through his grip. Gritting his teeth, he felt the entire boat lurch into momentary motion as he found purchase, then suddenly all tension in the rope was gone. 

Scrambling to look over the prow, he found the rope hanging limply in the water no longer connected to the spear. Though he couldn’t see the saray, the steam breaking the water was ample enough to track it, weaving side to side off the right side of the canoe maybe twenty feet down. Cano reached for the worn dagger he used to gut his catches, not wanting to be without any form of weapon. Cano felt his connection to the magic imbued in the spear begin to wane, and as it faded the the steam quickly slowed and stopped. Cano’s heart raced as he clutched the oar, searching the seafloor for any indication of the saray’s movement, hearing nothing but the slap of the waves against the side of his canoe.

Cano’s glance caught a thin shadow directly below himself just in time to tense and dive to the side as the saray streaked upwards out of the water, impacting and toppling the boat. The warm water filled Cano’s lungs for a moment before he came to the surface sputtering. Cano began sprinting back towards the capsized vessel but only managed a short distance before he spotted the saray slithering across the surface of the waves, circling his prone form. Cano tried to pivot with it as he had in the canoe, but this was the beast’s territory, and just as he turned to keep it’s head in his vision, it darted in. The teeth cut into Cano’s leg, tearing away bits of flesh and staining the water around him a deep red as it pulled back. Cano cried out, straining to tread water as the saray resumed circling. Cano desperately mustered what energy he had left to make a full out sprint through the water back towards the boat. 

The saray, lightning fast, was on him in an instant. Cano dreaded the feeling of the creatures weight sliding up his back as it out-swam him, smooth scales scraping his bare skin as it pushed him under. It began to wrap itself around his body, trying to hold him, but Cano wrenched himself free and breached the surface, once again gasping. 

He clambered through the water towards his overturned vessel which had taken a slow drift away from him, unsure of where the beast was. As he drew closer, Cano felt a searing pain in his already bloodied leg as the saray sank it’s teeth in again and pulled him under. It released it’s toothy hold only once it had begun to wrap it’s body around his. 

Cano felt an intense pressure as the saray constricted. He swung his arms wildly, grasping and clawing against the scales to no effect. Cano felt the pressure mount as the saray knotted itself around him further. As it curled past his arm, Cano’s hand suddenly found purchase against something rigid, something wooden. The spear was still stuck firmly into the base of the serpent’s neck. Yanking, the weapon came loose with a jet of crimson. 

Cano stabbed downwards blindly, and he felt the tip glance off the creature’s hard scaly exterior. The saray tightened it’s vice, but Cano pushed back, clinging to the spear. Cano made wild swipes to no effect, and as the saray squeezed he felt his vision begin to cloud. 

Cano garnered all the strength he had in a final effort, thrusting the spear up and digging the flint-tip between the scaled plate of the saray’s underbelly. The creature writhed away from the pain, and Cano managed to wriggle free of it’s grasp. 

Frantic for air, Cano yanked the spear out and bolted for the surface. As he turned his back, the saray struck once again with it’s serrated teeth, cleaving through Cano’s already mangled leg. He roared out in pain, feeling the water fill his mouth and mute his scream. 

He managed one more kick up, the surface still impossibly far away, before darkness overtook his mind. He drifted limply for a moment, the center of a crimson cloud as his lifeblood drained out into the ocean. 

The saray struck Cano’s corpse from below, it’s teeth sinking into his abdomen. The beast arced, dragging the body down and leaving a trail of their combined gore as it circled to it’s new domain of sand and seagrass.