Robert Wintermute - Zendikar - In the Teeth of Akoum

And they are imprisoned now?

Yes, in the Eye of Ugin.

On Akoum? Nissa said.

Sorin nodded.

Nissa looked out at the water. How will we put the brood back in the prison the vampire saw them escape from?

Sorin did not say anything for a moment. We cannot, he said finally.

Did you say we cannot?

Yes.

Why is that?

They are too dispersed at this point. But they are not the true danger. If the titans escape he raised his eyebrows in the starlight there will be utter catastrophe. And the brood lineage are trying to accomplish this, they just do not know how yet.

So this brood will have to be hunted down, and their parents imprisoned?

Sorin nodded.

And what would happen if we allowed these titans their freedom?

They would wreck Zendikar, Sorin said, without hesitation.

But Nissa sensed something a certain tightness around his mouth and eyes that she had not seen before. She looked again, and it was gone. Could he be lying? she thought. And for what reason?

Why do you tell me all of this now? Nissa said.

I am already helping you on this quest. You saved my life in the Turntimber, and I am repaying you.

We are near Akoum. Somebody has to understand what we will shortly face.

Why?

Sorin exhaled. I will need your skills later.

Nissa did not like how that sounded. And if I refuse? she said. Later?

You cannot refuse. Zendikar depends on it.

Nissa sat looking out at the water. Why would the brood or the titans be on Zendikar in the first place? Were they native to that place? Clearly the Eldrazi had been on Zendikar a long time. Eldrazi ruins could be found in almost every corner of the plane.

And who was Sorin, really? Who had sent him to make sure the Eldrazi stayed contained, and why? Why would beings from other planes be so concerned with keeping the Eldrazi on Zendikar? How did he know the truth of the Eldrazi when she, a native of the plane, had never heard even a whisper of what he d said? She only remembered the Eldrazi as a childhood nighttime story. And in those stories, the Eldrazi were the sort of beings that built castles that reached to the sun and ate golden fruit from trees that floated in the air. And Sorin was telling her they lived on energy, on mana from the land?

She turned to ask Sorin how he knew so much about this situation, but he was gone. She was left with the sound of the waves chopping against the hull of the ship and the behemoth s massive legs chugging in the water.

Nissa sat with her back against the mast and let her mind wander. Above her head the stars moved along their paths. Soon her mind was reworking what Sorin had said, and before she knew it, the eastern horizon went as red as blood.

Nissa could see a line of land ahead. Above the land towered high, strangely pointed spires of sharp tipped mountains. As she watched, the morning sun reflected red off the crystal-studded peaks.

Nissa felt a presence and turned. Anowon was standing on the other side of the mast, staring at her.

Truly you are lucky to be a Joraga, the vampire said. And to have taken the Joraga tincture of cut fungus and asta weed.

Good morning to you, Nissa said, turning back to the blood-red shore of Akoum. I wonder why Sorin has not fallen to your fangs?

Perhaps he is not to my liking.

And I am?

Anowon looked away from her and at the land on the horizon.

Akoum, Anowon said. The kor called it the place where things were lost. Low level Roils are nearly constant. The very land is as sharp as a knife s edge. The sun refracts through those pointed crystals creating areas of extreme heat that could cook an unsuspecting elf traveler in a manner of moments. And the denizens, Anowon said as he grimaced malevolently, taste horrible.

As if in response to Anowon s monologue, the ocean suddenly pitched to the right. There was a sudden, deafening rush, and the water immediately next to the ship began to impossibly lift up. Soon a huge globule of swirling water was floating above the tip of the mast. Nissa could see the dark shapes of ocean creatures six times larger than the behemoth caught in the huge bubble. And when she looked over the side of the ship, she could see the plant life of the ocean floor flopped to the side in the early morning sun. A loose fish flopped on a bare patch of sand.

It s the Roil, Anowon said.

Nissa watched as the ball of ocean floated gracefully up into the sky, with its fish swimming within.

Sorin walked to the front of the ship, brushing his long hair with a silver comb. He glanced up at the piece of disembodied ocean.

Look! Even parts of Zendikar are trying to get away from Zendikar, he said.

They were still a league from the shore. Nissa unrolled Khalled s map to look for a possible port in which to land the ship. Akoum appeared like a large circular landmass. She wiped the map off with the palm of her calloused hand and peered closer.

What troubles you? Anowon said.

Our map is wrong. The ports are not marked on here.

The map is not at fault. There are no ports on Akoum.

Oh, this is excellent, Sorin said.

The shore is too perilous for ports, Anowon said.

However, the probability is high that a group of humans is forming a rescue party on shore even as we speak.

To rescue us? Nissa asked. Boats! Why did I ever get on a boat?

It is possible to land a ship, Anowon said.

But the water is filled with crystalline points invisible to even the most trained lookout.

And we do not even have that. Nissa said.

Precisely.

Why did you not say something about this sooner?

Anowon shrugged. One point more: There is a good chance that those human rescuers could also be bandits.

But how did the brood that took you prisoner get you to Ondu?

By wing.

Oh, lets do that, Sorin said.

Nissa ignored him. When she looked up, it seemed like the shore of Akoum had raised three hands higher, like a great maw opening to receive them.

This must be the welcoming party, Sorin said, pointing off the starboard side. A great field of bubbles erupted on the surface of the water. Soon the water churned with movement, and huge tentacles began to break the surface. A fleshy dome the color of a bled corpse broke the surface. Even Sorin drew his breath in sharply when two great, malevolent eyes opened in the dome and focused their long irises on the ship. Soon the full head appeared, with the tentacles where the mouth should be.

Nissa held her staff up. A kraken, she thought. What could happen next? She glanced at Sorin. Had he recouped his power enough to strike down such a large creature? Even though Sorin was smiling, she could see the lines of exhaustion on his face.

The kraken rose immensely next to the ship. Its right tentacle held a huge, spiked shell, and on its back was another even larger shell. The creature s other limb was huge, an armored claw easily as long as the ship they were standing on. The six gills running up its chest opened and closed in the early morning sun.

Why do you disturb the slumber of the sleeper in the deep?

Who is he? Sorin said innocently.

The eyebrow shells above the kraken s eyes dropped.

He is Brinelin, the Moon Kraken. He is I, the creature said.

For some moments, Nissa could only stare at the tremendous creature, dripping and glistening in the light.

Brinelin, Nissa said, raising her voice above the churning made by the kraken s tentacles. We did not mean to break your slumber.

The Moon Kraken harrumphed. An apology will not save you.

What will save us, great Brinelin? Nissa said.

Nothing will save you.

Nissa remembered the rumor she d heard about Speaker Sutina and the Moon Kraken. The rumor of a secret friendship.

Anowon stepped up beside Nissa. Do you have a riddle for us, great Brinelin?