ORIGIN - at the riverside, where it begins

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There were many gems in Polaris. Some of these gems were actually chrysalises, and within, new Gembounds grew.

There were many of these chrysalises, many of a medium size. This meant that somewhat smaller ones could be easily overlooked. Especially if they looked like nothing more than a pretty river rock. With orange bands of varying shades making their way across the chrysalis, it could be considered beautiful. But it's size meant that it could, possibly, be overlooked.

But the serpentine thing inside of the smooth, round agate was ready to free itself. It strained against the chrysalis it was in. It had no teeth or claws to use to its advantage, yet it still cracked it open. The shards of the chrysalis fell into the river below and were whisked away, settling somewhere the snake could not see, if it looked.

She poked her head out. Two tiny feelers sat at the tip of her nose, though they were currently useless, as she was not in any water. She did not turn herself around, but she had broken out facing the river, not the shoreline.

And the small snake was drawn to the water, though she stayed in place, watching the river below her.

The small snake stared at the water for several long minutes before turning around, looking for a way to land. And after she turned around, she found her way out; the smooth chrysalis was resting on solid ground.

She took it all in. Grass, but also rocks, and many gems, but it did not occur to her that maybe these were like her and would possibly hatch. The view was beautiful. The water tempted her, but some part of her knew that the rushing water was dangerous. So she continued, slowly making her way into the grass to explore.

The water was calming, despite the swiftness in which it tumbled. Aegir stared into its depths, its beautiful, deep depths, the rushing and the shining of the light against the water. He wondered as he walked, wonder why the water spoke to him and no one else. He wondered why nobody except for him could understand what the water said. Perhaps it said nothing and he was simply imagining things. But that thought brought him sadness and a sense of wrong. No, the water spoke and he could divine its meaning.

It wasn't clear to him, not yet. Not quite. He could read, but only the simplest of the words. He needed to read more. But the water was silent, for now.

As he walked along the side of the river, the glowing rock Oliver had given him bumping at his chest, he caught sight of something moving. There was something at the edge of the water, looking in from a crystal. A small creature, newly hatched most likely. And enamored by the river, just as he had been. Although his hatching had been different, born inside the river and all.

He made his way forward, wanting to speak with them about the only thing he really knew to speak about - the river. "Hel-lo," he called to the snake as he got close. "New one? I am Aegir. What you see in water?"

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

@Khes

The snake was startled by the bear; she hadn't even realized that they were there. Tilting her head up, she looked at them. They were much bigger than she was. Maybe dangerous too.

But they began to speak, and their voice showed no signs of hostility. The Gembound tilted her head towards the bear.

"Hello Aegir," she said, testing the name; though her spoken words were quiet. And she directed her focus back to the water.

"I see..."What did she see? She saw water. Rushing water, fast and dangerous, but that wasn't exactly it. No, as she stared longer, she had the faintest sense that there was life there. But not fish that lived in the fast-moving water, and nothing like Aegir. Something much smaller, just about invisible. But it was there. "...Small..." her voice trailed away again as she tried to find her thoughts. How to explain? "...animals. Small life. But not really seeing."

She edged closer to the water, though she made sure not to get so close that she would fall in.

@Aegir

Aegir walked to the water's edge and looked into the river as well. Yes, there were fish flashing by and he wondered if this is what the little thing meant. "Seeing fish? Fish can be small. But fish seeing. What does this one mean?" He did not understand what the snake was speaking of, nor what life was so tiny it couldn't be seen. He looked over at the small new friend. "What does Aegir call you?"

He looked back towards the river and opened his jaws, casting a small stream of water into the river, watching the droplets fall. He was curious about this young thing, curious about its future, about where it would go. "Aegir sees in the water. You will be on path, to dreams and to future. Many things, perhaps in way of dreams. But these not bad, these good. Take time at these things, stop and think. That is what water says."

@Khes

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

The little snake focused on the water for a few more moments before turning her attention back to Aegir. She tried to show him, in her own way, by communicating with the bacteria, but telling them not to hurt the stranger. This vague attempt, combined with the fact that she simply didn't know what she was doing, caused her to inevitably fail.

She let out a frustrated hissing noise. "Not fish," she said, looking yet again back to the water. Peering closer into it. "Too big," she added, though these fish were already tiny. But she knew, somehow, that there was life in that river. That there was life in her, part of her, in a sense. But not exactly her. Smaller life within life? How was that possible?

She let out another hiss, though this one was more coherent: "Khes." And this hiss was her name. Not sure if she had been clear, seeing as it was rather close to a regular hiss, she added: "Name Khes."

@Aegir

Aegir looked curiously into the water, wondering what could be smaller then the fish. Pebbles, perhaps? But Khes said that they were alive and not seeing. Pebbles were not alive, as far as Aegir knew. "Perhaps Khes sees things in water that Aegir cannot see as Aegir sees things others cannot see. Water is many things." But he wanted to see them, he wanted to know everything about water, about everything.

He wanted to know and that was something, but perhaps the water could tell him. There was a pebble that he kicked into the water, seeing the droplet fly as it plopped into the river. His ears dropped with disappointement. "Water says Aegir will not see now, time is not right. But Aegir believe Khes. Khes is good." He wanted to know what he could not see, but he trusted the water, more then himself, more then Khes, more then Oliver, even. Water was right, as far as he knew. But there was something else he wanted to know, something the water could tell him, but he would rather ask. Aegir turned to Khes and tiled his head. "Is Khes friend?'

@Khes

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

Khes was trying to figure out what was in the water. It was an itch she couldn't scratch, but just barely out of reach. She knew what it was, but she also didn't.

She finally put most of her focus to Aegir. Is she a friend? Yes. The Gembound, who was so much larger than her, did not seem like a threat. Scary in size, but not mean. Kind. "Khes is friend," she confirmed, curling up somewhat.

The words that the bear spoke before were finally sinking into her brain. "What you see in water?" she asked. She saw, or rather, felt, that there was something else alive in the water, very small. Aegir didn't see that, but something else? She tilted her head at him quizzically.

@Aegir

Aegir smiled happily. Was making friends always this easy? He hoped so, then everyone could be a friend! He liked Khes, Khes was young and kind. Perhaps nervous of him, but he understood. He was bigger then Khes. And Khes knew something too that he wanted to know. Perhaps one day she would be able to understand and show him one day, the day that the water told him.

But then when Khes asked Aegir what he saw, Aegir realized that it wasn't a simple question. He blinked and thought for a moment before leaning over to the water, trying to find a way to describe it. "Aegir sees...water. Water has voice and Aegir sees voice. Ripples, droplets, these the water's voice. Aegir send small question with pebble or big question with water. Aegir saw you in water, water has much to say."

There was so much to read and Aegir did not quite understand it all. He always hoped that someone would help him, help him see better, but nobody could see it too. Khes saw something else, something alive. But water was not alive, not in the same way that Aegir was alive, or fish.

@Khes

My voice is speaking...
My thoughts are swirling...

The snake took a brief pause to think about it. She wondered exactly how it worked. Perhaps it was the same for Aegir, trying to understand what Khes saw in the water. They both saw, but they saw different things.

She peered back into the water, trying to see if it said anything to her. But it didn't. It was just water to her. Nothing more, nothing less.

She took a slow breath, turning her gaze to Aegir again. "Don't know why we see not the same," she said, doing her best to convey her thoughts. "Other things," she added, trying to be helpful in some way. Though perhaps it was only more confusing.

@Aegir

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