Breathing In at 80 Fathoms
[b][u]CW: Deep Water / Thalassophobia[/u][/b]
Newfound discoveries aren't supposed to be this perilous...
Azura had dove deeper than any other scout in New Atlantis, and in doing so found an ancient-beyond-ancient structure at the bottom of ocean, right above a drop-off to the deeper abyss and surrounded by nothing, not even fish or coral. Excited to learn more, she had squeezed through tight crevices to complete her scans, but during this time the structure suddenly shifted. It wasn't a building or vault - it was a vessel, and after eons of sitting dormant, it now threatened to collapse over the undersea cliff. Acting fast, Azura managed to escape, but in the process of which her gear had gotten shredded and whatever radioactive field the structure emitted that repelled fish and coral had also neutralized the protections of her body's runes. With no air tank, her dive partner mysteriously gone, and protective runes already fading, the crushing pressures and freezing temperatures threatened to end her before she could even lose consciousness from lack of air. That's when, in the dimmest of light still left at these depths, she noticed a spare tank with a regulator and harness that had been dropped from yesterday's mid-depth survey mission, the one that discovered the vessel's location in the first place. Losing breath and muscles already locking up from extreme cold, Azura frantically swam over the barren sands, willing herself conscious as her body begged for air.
Finally, she made it. She grabbed the regulator, purged the valves, and... breathed.
The fox hung there motionless, taking in fresh air as her pulse calmed. The runes protecting her body held, though she could already feel the harsh cold and crushing pressure as their force wore off prematurely from the vessel's mysterious radiation. Though she was still trapped with nearly 500 feet of ocean between her and the surface, she now had air, which meant she had time to plan. What else did yesterday's surveying team lose down here...?
This piece is from another story I'm writing for what I hope to be a full compilation of stories from New Atlantis, collected into a single book. For all civilization's advances, deep-sea exploration is fairly new, so their tech isn't quite as developed as other elements. Even so, charged runes remain the primary means of protection in the field, but what happens when a site neutralizes them?
Azura © Aelius
Newfound discoveries aren't supposed to be this perilous...
Azura had dove deeper than any other scout in New Atlantis, and in doing so found an ancient-beyond-ancient structure at the bottom of ocean, right above a drop-off to the deeper abyss and surrounded by nothing, not even fish or coral. Excited to learn more, she had squeezed through tight crevices to complete her scans, but during this time the structure suddenly shifted. It wasn't a building or vault - it was a vessel, and after eons of sitting dormant, it now threatened to collapse over the undersea cliff. Acting fast, Azura managed to escape, but in the process of which her gear had gotten shredded and whatever radioactive field the structure emitted that repelled fish and coral had also neutralized the protections of her body's runes. With no air tank, her dive partner mysteriously gone, and protective runes already fading, the crushing pressures and freezing temperatures threatened to end her before she could even lose consciousness from lack of air. That's when, in the dimmest of light still left at these depths, she noticed a spare tank with a regulator and harness that had been dropped from yesterday's mid-depth survey mission, the one that discovered the vessel's location in the first place. Losing breath and muscles already locking up from extreme cold, Azura frantically swam over the barren sands, willing herself conscious as her body begged for air.
Finally, she made it. She grabbed the regulator, purged the valves, and... breathed.
The fox hung there motionless, taking in fresh air as her pulse calmed. The runes protecting her body held, though she could already feel the harsh cold and crushing pressure as their force wore off prematurely from the vessel's mysterious radiation. Though she was still trapped with nearly 500 feet of ocean between her and the surface, she now had air, which meant she had time to plan. What else did yesterday's surveying team lose down here...?
This piece is from another story I'm writing for what I hope to be a full compilation of stories from New Atlantis, collected into a single book. For all civilization's advances, deep-sea exploration is fairly new, so their tech isn't quite as developed as other elements. Even so, charged runes remain the primary means of protection in the field, but what happens when a site neutralizes them?
Azura © Aelius
4 months ago
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