Should communication be severed between the divers and the Roehmerl, you will have no more than three suns to return to the surface. Captain Mirke has ordered we meet the Sharlayan rendezvous, regardless of your fates. If the Roehmerl comes under attack and communication with the divers is not restored, we've been ordered to flee to safe waters and deliver the injured Sharlayans to their vessel awaiting us in the southern Bloodbrine.
Ryanti had been different since that morning, and there was no more obvious of a time where that was proven true than now. He stood firm, his shoulders stiff and his knees tight as he listened to the Elezen brief them. His look was almost a reflection of Sounsyy’s: a hard yet determined glance in their direction. The Captain and the Keeper were earning glances from the entire crew. No one said a word about it, but most of them knew that despite how unusual the outcome of events had been, both of them understood what was expected of them. Perhaps Ryanti more than Sounsyy. It had yet to be determined, but there was no question that it will be decided upon the coming days.
It was true that Sounsyy was hardly recognizable. Ryanti might have mused about how nicely the wetsuit accentuated the shape of a fully trained and capable soldier, but this was far too serious of a time. Immature musings and sourly jokes were out the window long before the sun rose. Though he couldn’t help but smile a little. Her hair looked really nice. Having it down would have distracted her anyhow.
He observed Sounsyy see off P’welro with another Limsan manner of farewells that Ryanti was unfamiliar with, but he knew that he didn’t have to understand some things. Likewise, when the woman he had shared an echo with stood alongside him after the Captain had made her way to talk to Jada, Ryanti slightly turned his gaze to her and spoke with a quiet, sincere voice. “I am not going to tell you what to do about me or Sounsyy in the case that we don’t make it back, because we are going to make it back. I’m not just saying that, either.†As for emphasis, he placed a soft palm upon her shoulder, and whispered to her. “I have something for you. It’s in the Captain’s drawer. If you ever need something to keep your hopes up while on deck waiting for us to come back, look in there. This is not a goodbye.â€
The Hyqo’te took a few steps back, eyeing everyone that stood around the deck of the Roehmerl. “I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for choosing to write a memento into my Book of Days.†He solemnly spoke, though his voice was rather loud, enough for Sounsyy to overhear. Ryanti placed a fingertip of two upon his single-strapped backpack that contained everything he would hopefully need to survive. “I have placed it in here, to go with us down to depths unknown. There is no doubt that it will keep me going, despite whatever happens. You’re truly great people, and I am honored to have known you all. Don’t mistake this for a eulogy, I am just letting you all know.â€
With that, the young man strapped his backpack upon him, and picked up his diving mask and placed it upon his head, checking his gauges one more time before stepping up to the Forecastle with the Captain as Jada wished them well.
“We will.†He replied to her.
This was when the nerves got to him the most. This was it. This entire mission had culminated up to this point. Ever since he was a child, he had been fascinated by the history of this world and its people, and was determined to unlock the secrets of knowledge that had the potential to better the future. He was lucky, and extraordinarily blessed for having the opportunity to do this… terrifying and mentally agonizing task of being the kind of man to see this through. To save the world. Sounsyy was, in a way, the first person outside of his agency to do this kind of work. To see the world for what it was truly was at one time. To witness the truth.
So before they dived, Ryanti took Sounsyy’s injured hand and eyed the loose piece of fabric that would have been for Sounsyy’s ring finger. He placed his fingertip upon the end of the fabric and pressed inward, folding the finger shape inside out, and then rolling the outsides of the fabric with his hands the same way someone would roll up their trousers to turn them into shorts. “I need to say one more thing before we go down.†He murmured to her as he folded the fabric until it fit around the edge of her severed finger.
“I cannot promise you what awaits us. But there are some things I can say. It’s very important to understand that you may see some things that may be hard for you to come to terms with. There are truths about this world that have remained hidden for a very, very long time. Our missions are classified for a reason, so…†He trailed off there. It was a hard thing for him to explain. He couldn’t really describe how he felt when he observed his first Allagan relic. Sounsyy and he would be seeing their first Allagan structure.
“But there is something that I understand you know, though I will mention it anyway. We will need each other for every moment inside of where we are going. I need to depend on you as much as you depend on me. With my life.â€
With that, Ryanti put the linkpearl inside of his ear and turned the device on. After his ear twitched once or twice due to the static, he pressed his finger up against his ear and tested it. “Can you hear me, Jonathan?†Jonathan gave him a hand signal from across the room with a swift nod, hearing Ryanti’s voice through his own ears. He was already pacing the deck, and Forty-three had his spectacles on and tested his own linkpearl. Sounsyy could hear all three men. “You’re good to go, friends.â€
Ryanti smiled a little before placing the mouthpiece into his lips. Sounsyy actually dived first. She had stepped over the ship’s Forecastle feet first, and hit the water with a splash. Ryanti took one last look at the shining Eorzean sun, and closed his eyes, trying to remember how it felt, for he never knew whether or not he had to call upon it later.
â€See you on the other side, everyone.â€
---
Ryanti jumped off the Roehmerl and tilted his body backwards, landing into the water headfirst. Sounsyy could see the bubbles surround the young man’s form as he entered the water begin to clear away in the immediate moment after. Dark figures could be seen approaching the Roehmerl’s side that faced him, the crew glancing at their two forms in the water. Ryanti’s head was at equal height to Sounsyy’s, his form upside down to her. He took a breath through his filter. The air tasted a little bit like Garlean rubber, but it was just fine to breathe. If one could look close, one could see tiny little fibers in their suit glowing a very feint blue as they filtered the water around them into air, dispelling the de-oxygenized water out of the back of their neck.
“Confirming that you can hear us.†Jonathan’s voice was heard over the linkpearl, with a little beeping noise to indicate an over signal. Ryanti gave Jonathan a waving of his arm from where he was at. “Excellent. Alright we’ll observe you for as long as we can but right now what you can do for me is make sure the Captain gets used to the process. Now Sounsyy, don’t be afraid to spend some time on that line, I’d rather have you alive and well then quick.â€
Ryanti bent his torso forward and tucked his knees, turning his orientation back to normal. It was pretty obvious that he had received some training prior to this mission about underwater diving. With movements of his legs and ankles, Ryanti maneuvered his body around Sounsyy’s form as she placed a hand upon the anchor line. More of Jonathan’s voice graced her ear. “Now Ryanti’s going to show you how to breathe right. Look at his diaphragm and match his. He’ll be following you down the line and just go at your own pace. Ryanti’ll tell you when to inhale and exhale, just watch him. Now turn your head towards the sea floor and start going down, ilm by ilm. A slow to medium pace.â€
With that, Ryanti re-oriented his head towards the bottom of the ocean and waited for the Captain to do the same. When she had done so, Ryanti made gestures with his hands to emphasize when he was taking a breath, and when he was exhaling that breath. It was a slow and calm process, almost similar to the kinds of breathing people would use when meditating. He kept doing it until the Captain caught onto it. Ryanti began nodding to clue her in that she was getting it right. “Is she ready, Seventy-seven?†Jonathan said from up top. Ryanti gave the okay signal.
“Alright, get your bearing and start heading down.â€
Ryanti didn’t need the line, so he stayed perfectly across from the Captain as their bodies slowly began to descend. At first, they didn’t feel too much pressure. It was like swimming in a pool. But Ryanti was very keen on making sure the Captain was breathing properly. This was a crash course, and she had to learn fast. Ryanti’s legs methodically paddled back and forth as he followed her down. After a while, there was a feeling of tightness that seemed to creep up on them. Almost as if on cue, a voice again ringed out in their linkpearls. “Should be feeling it by now. That’s what you’re gonna feel. It’s going to get more powerful before your suit functions kick in. So make sure you’re taking slow, thin breaths but just keep breathing, don’t stop.†It sounded like he was relaying from Forty-three, as it took a little bit of hesitation on his end. He didn’t have the verbal skills Forty-three had.
“Breathe… breathe… breathe… breathe…†Jonathan kept saying over the linkpearl. The feeling of tightness was getting rather rough. For a moment, it became uncomfortable and very distracting. But that was when they both heard a little sound of pressure release from their suits. The veins with the very feint blue color began to glow stronger, as if reacting to something. What they were doing was creating a kind of aura around them of concentrated shell aether that kept the water from pressing too much upon their bodies, which relieved the pressure all the way up to them barely feeling it. However, it didn’t mean that their diaphragms would be spared. “You will need to keep this pace of breathing up, so it will be a little workout once the sea goes dark.â€
---
But it wasn’t dark yet. The sun’s rays decorated the underwater landscape with the healthiest of blues. It was amazing how after a single day, the ocean could wipe away so much blood, and so many more bodies. Distant limp shapes in the underwater horizon still betrayed the ugly reality of what they had done days prior. But there was also a side of the ocean that was beautiful – side that had always been there. Schools of fish sometimes approached the two foreign figures in the ocean.
Ryanti waited patiently for Sounsyy to take the first step to let go of the line. His head slowly turned in the water, his snow-white locks floating about. There were Sahagin that had swam up to them, and in fact all around them. But unlike perhaps previous encounters they have had with Lominsians, these Sahagin were not carrying spears, but rather riding elbsts with coral-made straps and latches to the back of them. Ryanti had not seen those on the elbsts from before. Perhaps they were intended to give them a ride to the Allagan anomaly?
He reached out with his hand to grab onto the straps that rested upon the elbsts, and the creature in question swam a little forward, but stopped due to the Sahagin rider, who glanced at the Captain and waited as another elbst pulled alongside her. It seemed that their fate to arrive where the Allagan wreckage was going to be via elbst.
“You’re getting deeper. We can’t see you anymore. According to the rate you’re going, you’ll be crossing the end of the sea bed within two minutes and be at the objective within ten minutes. Prepare yourselves.â€
It seemed like a long time. Ryanti’s face was fixed on what was in front of him. Gradually, it seemed the further they traveled under, the more aspects of the sea that they had known about began to fade away. First it was the school of fish, replaced with the bits of fungal and oceanic bottom feeders that clung to the slope of the seabed. It was during this time, when the water began to get colder and darker that Ryanti’s mind was running exceptionally fast. They had no idea what they were going to find. “Go ahead and check and see if your navigation light is working, Seventy-seven. Captain I assure you do the same.â€
With a single gesture, Ryanti clicked a button on the upper right part of his chest. A small, but very effective and bright forward-mounting light activated, which gave him a good few fulms of light in front of him that glanced off of the elbst and into the depths below, though he still couldn’t see anything. He glanced briefly when the Captain did the same, and nodded to himself in approval. So far, so good.
The water got colder. They were getting deep, really deep. Only their suits were keeping them alive now, and it was doing a very good job at that. It was becoming harder to keep air in their lungs, but following the protocol enabled them to last. Their equipment was checking out, and the elbst escort was going off without a hitch. They were the most prepared as they could possibly be.
But nothing… nothing could prepare them for what they saw when the blurry, dark, and ominous sign of the Allagan starship, buried for at least five millennia, came into view.
Within the dark waters, where visible light was hard to come by, one could still make out the even darker outline of the vessel. It was MASSIVE, easily dwarfing any kind of naval vessel Eorzea possessed. Garlean naval flagships could not hold a candle to the behemoth of a shape that they were witnessing now. Even Garlean airships did not hold a candle to the size of this vessel. It took up the entire horizontal view of where they were facing, as if it was a second horizon.
The Sagahin looked back with faces mixed with admiration and fear when the artifact in Ryanti’s bag suddenly lit up, causing the black bag to slightly give off the light from inside. That was when something happened that was reminiscent in their dream. A shining, piercing, illuminous blue light emitted from the Allagan starhip. At its size, it could easily have been mistaken for an entire underwater reef. Then – a sound – a light buzzing sound that permeated the water and sent vibrations through their bodies. They could feel the pull. This was where they were supposed to be. The artifact, the souls were calling out to its resting place, and the graveyard, for the first time since the third era was… alive. Calling.
Ryanti’s eyes were as wide as they could be. It became a challenge to keep his calm breathing. This vessel was enormous in the biggest sense of the word, and he could feel that call. It was admirable, amazing, and unbelievable in scale, covered in fossil life and coral formation for the duration it had been down there.
Twelve’s graces… what in the god’s seven hells am I looking at…?
“Call us when you get i-..n†Jonathan’s voice echoed across the linkpearl. It was slightly garbled, but still understandable. Sahagin were surrounding them now, observing them just as well as guarding them from any aquatic life that had made their homes among the civilization that rose to godhood that still dreamed in the deep blue sea. As they got closer, despite the darkness, they were able to see its true shape. It was very rugged and square in a kind of shape foreign to even Garlemald’s highest standard, built with specifications beyond what anyone that knew nothing but sailing could remotely comprehend. This was not a ship that sailed the water. This was a ship that sailed the sky… and beyond.
The elbsts began to change their course, deviating to the bottom right of the huge vessel. Briefly, their lights were able to shine upon the side of the ship. Beyond the sea life that had attached itself to the ship, they could see their first of Allagan metal. Only the Twelve knew what kind of metal. It was extremely well designed to such an extent that five thousand, six thousand something years under the pressure of all of this water… even that could not reduce this contraption to dust.
They could almost feel it. The emotion. The weight. The era of their Empire…
Ryanti pointed his finger to the lower half of the bottom right side of the ship. There was shaped out to what might be a kind of… door. The Sagahin’s elbsts stopped almost as soon as he did. The ship was so massive in size that where they were floating in the water near the bottom of the ship, they could have looked as up as they could by craning their necks and not even see the top of it.
This was not a fairy tale. This was real.
Ryanti removed the artifact from its resting place inside of his bag, and immediately the aetherial aura that surrounded him and kept his body from succumbing to the pressure of the depths became visible under the potent artifact. It was now apparent what its job was. It was a literal key. A key card for the maintenance entrance of the rear of the ship. If it had been in Allag’s era, it would have been the access way to the supply hanger. That was their first stop.
Ryanti had forgotten to blink for a while now. His eyes felt dry when he did so. Slowly, methodically, the young man with the key in hand approached the entrance to the Allagan starship. His frame huddled in front of the door and was no larger than someone of his stature. It was meant for individual personnel that flew in maintenance shuttles, workers who would have repaired the little ships inside. They would have carried this key. A key that was found eons later.
He brushed a bit of seaweed off of the key, and glanced at Sounsyy for a brief moment. He was expressionless, but his gut felt like he was melting. He knew what he was about to do but… taken aback by the fact that it was him doing it. With a slow breathe, the young man brushed the sea life away from the key slot on the side of the door, and messed with the end of the key in the hole before finding the right spot, and sliding the key inside.
Rectangular LED lights lit up in red around the lock. Lights that had not been activated in eons, but STILL operational after all this time. They immediately felt an impulse of energy, a kind of pinnacle in transverance. The light in the key left it as the metal contraption slid itself into the key slot and turned on its own. Brief red lights could be seen skitter and scamper along the vessel, reaching all corners of the ship. A louder buzz emitted from the vessel. A domineering, screeching noise, as if it was responding. While they didn’t know it at the time, it was the spirits of the residual energy returning to the ship. The key lost all light after that, and became dormant. Were the spirits gone? The key slid back out, and Ryanti took it.
The outlines of the door glew in a much brighter blue light all of a sudden. Intricate lights activated on the doorway and the latch slowly began to open from the sides. Water coasted inside the two doors and almost instantaneously filled up the inside of the hallway. Flood lights lit up the inner parts of the rectangular room that Ryanti was now heading towards, beckoning the Captain to follow him. The inside of the room had elaborate LED lights all over it, and thickly braced computer monitors etched into each side of the wall, doing calculations automatically. Everything was running completely fine in this room. It looked like as it was meant to be a pressurization room. An airlock.
It was the first time Ryanti had seen something like this. He couldn’t imagine that it was like for the Captain. As they floated inside of the room, the Sagahin began to pull away. The inside of the room had an architecture that made even the Garleans themselves look like children with toys. It was strangely beautiful how the different colors lights blinked in unison or separately at such precise times, or the computer monitors processing code. Perhaps the blinking red and green lights upon the floor too…
The artifact must have used its energy reserves to give this place power.
Ryanti floated on one side of the room, watching Sounsyy. The door to the outside world closed with a slow but sure connection, vibrating the room a bit. But it was not dark inside of the room with their Sharlayan navigation lights and of course, the Allagan LEDs decorating the room with a lovely mix of color and operational tone. At their current load, the water was very pressurized, and so the room began to de-pressurize it. Gradually, the aetherial aura around them began to fade as it was no longer needed. Eventually, it shut off, and the water that they were in became less cold and more habitable, all the way until it felt like they were swimming in a pool again.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Ryanti let himself sink down to the surface for a moment, sliding a fingertip or two along the walls. There was a certain part of him… his childhood self or maybe… the part of him that still held idealisms and romanticisms. That part of him couldn’t believe what was actually happening. He was touching something built by them. Actual Allagans had been in this hallway.
It was the most surreal moment of his life that would easily be overtaken by more surreal moments later in their coming days.
Two compartments opened at the bottom of the hallway and began sucking out the water. Ryanti leapt up to the top of the hallway and latched onto something he could grab onto, taking his first fresh breaths as the water was draining. The water was being pumped out into the ocean while the entranceway was water tight in its seal. It had to be. It was meant for space after all. But the Allagans had prepared for events like being trapped underwater.
Ryanti allowed himself back to keeping his head and shoulders above the surface as he felt his feet softly hit the ground. He softly turned about to examine the intricate details around him. “This is..â€
But before he could say anything else, one of the lights closest to the entranceway shattered, and a sound of a groaning machine was heard as the lights dimmed. A sound of snapping electricity was heard and the second door that they were meant to walk out of began to open, but only slightly before one of the panels on the side-by-side door broke, jamming the door open. A huge jolt was heard above the ceiling as a mechanism broke due to age. It was not soon after that the vessel went dark again.
And it was dark. Darker than dark.
Having his shoulder slam into the side wall during the jolt caused Ryanti to cough up a lung. The Captain could feel the water to her knees spilling out onto the other side of the airlock and Ryanti’s coughs to remind her that he was still there. “Ah… eh... okay. Are you alright?†His heavy breathe were heard as he turned on his Sharlayan light again, providing a much needed torch to his surroundings. He muddled his way to the entrance that they had come from, knocking a bit on the sealed door. “We couldn’t open this again. The pressure would send water our way so violently that we’ll split in half. We’ll have to find another way out once we get our data.â€
He said it non-chalantly. But he knew what it meant. They were trapped. Already.
His waddling slowly turned to walking as the water fizzled out to the ground beyond the second door. Ryanti shined his light into that door, but he couldn’t make out anything beyond it. “At least it’s open enough for us to get through.†He commented, shifting himself to the side and sliding his body through. “No use to stay here... let’s see where we are.†With some movement, and a little bit more momentium, Ryanti made it through. He immediately hugged the wall of the new room he was in with his back. “Everything’s pitch black! I’d keep your light on!†He called out from the other room. A few more breaths later, he spoke again. “Go ahead and get in here with me – we absolutely need to stay together. Period.â€
Ryanti turned his body towards the wall facing away from the door, and the Sharlayan light illuminated the walls. Again, this kind of perfect metal. Not a hint of rust or… anything. He laid his bag against the wall in front of his feet but decided not to remove the mouthpiece. They may need it later if anything in here was flooded. The air felt unnaturally cold – probably because they were still soaking wet. Ryanti eyed something curious with his light as Sounsyy made her way through second broken door. His eyes squinted at what appeared to be some sort of plague in the wall. He blew upon it and dust clouded his vision, which he wiped away with a hand.
His aquamarine eyes darted over the words with a hard gaze, his voice audible but… quiet. “It is with honor and pride that the Consul commission this Research and Development Sub-Ragnarok Class Frigate the Anakalypsi to sail the stars in search of answers to our most incompressible understandings.†He read outloud, his face freezing in pure shock at the next statement.
“In the three thousandth, four hundredth and fifty second year of our great Empire…â€.
Twice the amount of years on the Astral Era calendar… and it was just how long their Empire was around when this was made.
This mission is classified for a reason…
The bewildered Halfling slowly turned around to the room they were in… adjusting his light to focus less on width and more on depth. The scale of the room they were in, the supply hanger, was baffling. Many Roehmerls could easily fit into this single room. The space was long and wide, with a near endless corridors of metal and a ceiling impossibly high. Despite missing rust, many of the small features such as the LED lighting and the remnants of what used to be cargo lying about were twisted and mangled in their design to the immense decay of thousands of years. It felt eerily lonely, and long forgotten. A civilization that came from dust, and became dust. Or perhaps… not quite.
“God’s forfend… “
Ryanti remembered his order then. He placed a finger upon the linkpearl and took a very swift breath in order to re-compose himself. “We have made it inside. Jonathan this place is huge. It’s insane.â€
He waited for a moment as static enveloped both of their ears. Sounds of the crew were in the background cheering. “Go- -ob Seventy-seven. It look like like y-.. made it in the hanger. We’re tracking yo-…†Then it became all but static for a moment or two. Ryanti’s breathing became tense. “Jonathan?...â€
A voice came back, but it was the voice of Forty-three. “It seems you have l-… -t getting a good signal. Need to make your way further i-… better signal. Just move to-…. Front. Fro-..nt if you can hear m-.â€
“Copy. Copy. Copy.†Ryanti kept saying, hoping it would come in. “We can h- .. –st… -ther in. Ove-.†With that, the communications were cut. “Hello!†Ryanti shouted out in response, his voice echoing off of the massive walls of the room they were in. The same room that the Allagans in their dream had boarded from. Though they did not know it at the time. Ryanti gave Sounsyy a look, and pursed his lips as he adjusted his light again to focus on what was in front of him more than ahead of him.
“Let’s assemble our weapons. We do not move an ilm until we are fully armed.â€
Ryanti had been different since that morning, and there was no more obvious of a time where that was proven true than now. He stood firm, his shoulders stiff and his knees tight as he listened to the Elezen brief them. His look was almost a reflection of Sounsyy’s: a hard yet determined glance in their direction. The Captain and the Keeper were earning glances from the entire crew. No one said a word about it, but most of them knew that despite how unusual the outcome of events had been, both of them understood what was expected of them. Perhaps Ryanti more than Sounsyy. It had yet to be determined, but there was no question that it will be decided upon the coming days.
It was true that Sounsyy was hardly recognizable. Ryanti might have mused about how nicely the wetsuit accentuated the shape of a fully trained and capable soldier, but this was far too serious of a time. Immature musings and sourly jokes were out the window long before the sun rose. Though he couldn’t help but smile a little. Her hair looked really nice. Having it down would have distracted her anyhow.
He observed Sounsyy see off P’welro with another Limsan manner of farewells that Ryanti was unfamiliar with, but he knew that he didn’t have to understand some things. Likewise, when the woman he had shared an echo with stood alongside him after the Captain had made her way to talk to Jada, Ryanti slightly turned his gaze to her and spoke with a quiet, sincere voice. “I am not going to tell you what to do about me or Sounsyy in the case that we don’t make it back, because we are going to make it back. I’m not just saying that, either.†As for emphasis, he placed a soft palm upon her shoulder, and whispered to her. “I have something for you. It’s in the Captain’s drawer. If you ever need something to keep your hopes up while on deck waiting for us to come back, look in there. This is not a goodbye.â€
The Hyqo’te took a few steps back, eyeing everyone that stood around the deck of the Roehmerl. “I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for choosing to write a memento into my Book of Days.†He solemnly spoke, though his voice was rather loud, enough for Sounsyy to overhear. Ryanti placed a fingertip of two upon his single-strapped backpack that contained everything he would hopefully need to survive. “I have placed it in here, to go with us down to depths unknown. There is no doubt that it will keep me going, despite whatever happens. You’re truly great people, and I am honored to have known you all. Don’t mistake this for a eulogy, I am just letting you all know.â€
With that, the young man strapped his backpack upon him, and picked up his diving mask and placed it upon his head, checking his gauges one more time before stepping up to the Forecastle with the Captain as Jada wished them well.
“We will.†He replied to her.
This was when the nerves got to him the most. This was it. This entire mission had culminated up to this point. Ever since he was a child, he had been fascinated by the history of this world and its people, and was determined to unlock the secrets of knowledge that had the potential to better the future. He was lucky, and extraordinarily blessed for having the opportunity to do this… terrifying and mentally agonizing task of being the kind of man to see this through. To save the world. Sounsyy was, in a way, the first person outside of his agency to do this kind of work. To see the world for what it was truly was at one time. To witness the truth.
So before they dived, Ryanti took Sounsyy’s injured hand and eyed the loose piece of fabric that would have been for Sounsyy’s ring finger. He placed his fingertip upon the end of the fabric and pressed inward, folding the finger shape inside out, and then rolling the outsides of the fabric with his hands the same way someone would roll up their trousers to turn them into shorts. “I need to say one more thing before we go down.†He murmured to her as he folded the fabric until it fit around the edge of her severed finger.
“I cannot promise you what awaits us. But there are some things I can say. It’s very important to understand that you may see some things that may be hard for you to come to terms with. There are truths about this world that have remained hidden for a very, very long time. Our missions are classified for a reason, so…†He trailed off there. It was a hard thing for him to explain. He couldn’t really describe how he felt when he observed his first Allagan relic. Sounsyy and he would be seeing their first Allagan structure.
“But there is something that I understand you know, though I will mention it anyway. We will need each other for every moment inside of where we are going. I need to depend on you as much as you depend on me. With my life.â€
With that, Ryanti put the linkpearl inside of his ear and turned the device on. After his ear twitched once or twice due to the static, he pressed his finger up against his ear and tested it. “Can you hear me, Jonathan?†Jonathan gave him a hand signal from across the room with a swift nod, hearing Ryanti’s voice through his own ears. He was already pacing the deck, and Forty-three had his spectacles on and tested his own linkpearl. Sounsyy could hear all three men. “You’re good to go, friends.â€
Ryanti smiled a little before placing the mouthpiece into his lips. Sounsyy actually dived first. She had stepped over the ship’s Forecastle feet first, and hit the water with a splash. Ryanti took one last look at the shining Eorzean sun, and closed his eyes, trying to remember how it felt, for he never knew whether or not he had to call upon it later.
â€See you on the other side, everyone.â€
---
Ryanti jumped off the Roehmerl and tilted his body backwards, landing into the water headfirst. Sounsyy could see the bubbles surround the young man’s form as he entered the water begin to clear away in the immediate moment after. Dark figures could be seen approaching the Roehmerl’s side that faced him, the crew glancing at their two forms in the water. Ryanti’s head was at equal height to Sounsyy’s, his form upside down to her. He took a breath through his filter. The air tasted a little bit like Garlean rubber, but it was just fine to breathe. If one could look close, one could see tiny little fibers in their suit glowing a very feint blue as they filtered the water around them into air, dispelling the de-oxygenized water out of the back of their neck.
“Confirming that you can hear us.†Jonathan’s voice was heard over the linkpearl, with a little beeping noise to indicate an over signal. Ryanti gave Jonathan a waving of his arm from where he was at. “Excellent. Alright we’ll observe you for as long as we can but right now what you can do for me is make sure the Captain gets used to the process. Now Sounsyy, don’t be afraid to spend some time on that line, I’d rather have you alive and well then quick.â€
Ryanti bent his torso forward and tucked his knees, turning his orientation back to normal. It was pretty obvious that he had received some training prior to this mission about underwater diving. With movements of his legs and ankles, Ryanti maneuvered his body around Sounsyy’s form as she placed a hand upon the anchor line. More of Jonathan’s voice graced her ear. “Now Ryanti’s going to show you how to breathe right. Look at his diaphragm and match his. He’ll be following you down the line and just go at your own pace. Ryanti’ll tell you when to inhale and exhale, just watch him. Now turn your head towards the sea floor and start going down, ilm by ilm. A slow to medium pace.â€
With that, Ryanti re-oriented his head towards the bottom of the ocean and waited for the Captain to do the same. When she had done so, Ryanti made gestures with his hands to emphasize when he was taking a breath, and when he was exhaling that breath. It was a slow and calm process, almost similar to the kinds of breathing people would use when meditating. He kept doing it until the Captain caught onto it. Ryanti began nodding to clue her in that she was getting it right. “Is she ready, Seventy-seven?†Jonathan said from up top. Ryanti gave the okay signal.
“Alright, get your bearing and start heading down.â€
Ryanti didn’t need the line, so he stayed perfectly across from the Captain as their bodies slowly began to descend. At first, they didn’t feel too much pressure. It was like swimming in a pool. But Ryanti was very keen on making sure the Captain was breathing properly. This was a crash course, and she had to learn fast. Ryanti’s legs methodically paddled back and forth as he followed her down. After a while, there was a feeling of tightness that seemed to creep up on them. Almost as if on cue, a voice again ringed out in their linkpearls. “Should be feeling it by now. That’s what you’re gonna feel. It’s going to get more powerful before your suit functions kick in. So make sure you’re taking slow, thin breaths but just keep breathing, don’t stop.†It sounded like he was relaying from Forty-three, as it took a little bit of hesitation on his end. He didn’t have the verbal skills Forty-three had.
“Breathe… breathe… breathe… breathe…†Jonathan kept saying over the linkpearl. The feeling of tightness was getting rather rough. For a moment, it became uncomfortable and very distracting. But that was when they both heard a little sound of pressure release from their suits. The veins with the very feint blue color began to glow stronger, as if reacting to something. What they were doing was creating a kind of aura around them of concentrated shell aether that kept the water from pressing too much upon their bodies, which relieved the pressure all the way up to them barely feeling it. However, it didn’t mean that their diaphragms would be spared. “You will need to keep this pace of breathing up, so it will be a little workout once the sea goes dark.â€
---
But it wasn’t dark yet. The sun’s rays decorated the underwater landscape with the healthiest of blues. It was amazing how after a single day, the ocean could wipe away so much blood, and so many more bodies. Distant limp shapes in the underwater horizon still betrayed the ugly reality of what they had done days prior. But there was also a side of the ocean that was beautiful – side that had always been there. Schools of fish sometimes approached the two foreign figures in the ocean.
Ryanti waited patiently for Sounsyy to take the first step to let go of the line. His head slowly turned in the water, his snow-white locks floating about. There were Sahagin that had swam up to them, and in fact all around them. But unlike perhaps previous encounters they have had with Lominsians, these Sahagin were not carrying spears, but rather riding elbsts with coral-made straps and latches to the back of them. Ryanti had not seen those on the elbsts from before. Perhaps they were intended to give them a ride to the Allagan anomaly?
He reached out with his hand to grab onto the straps that rested upon the elbsts, and the creature in question swam a little forward, but stopped due to the Sahagin rider, who glanced at the Captain and waited as another elbst pulled alongside her. It seemed that their fate to arrive where the Allagan wreckage was going to be via elbst.
“You’re getting deeper. We can’t see you anymore. According to the rate you’re going, you’ll be crossing the end of the sea bed within two minutes and be at the objective within ten minutes. Prepare yourselves.â€
It seemed like a long time. Ryanti’s face was fixed on what was in front of him. Gradually, it seemed the further they traveled under, the more aspects of the sea that they had known about began to fade away. First it was the school of fish, replaced with the bits of fungal and oceanic bottom feeders that clung to the slope of the seabed. It was during this time, when the water began to get colder and darker that Ryanti’s mind was running exceptionally fast. They had no idea what they were going to find. “Go ahead and check and see if your navigation light is working, Seventy-seven. Captain I assure you do the same.â€
With a single gesture, Ryanti clicked a button on the upper right part of his chest. A small, but very effective and bright forward-mounting light activated, which gave him a good few fulms of light in front of him that glanced off of the elbst and into the depths below, though he still couldn’t see anything. He glanced briefly when the Captain did the same, and nodded to himself in approval. So far, so good.
The water got colder. They were getting deep, really deep. Only their suits were keeping them alive now, and it was doing a very good job at that. It was becoming harder to keep air in their lungs, but following the protocol enabled them to last. Their equipment was checking out, and the elbst escort was going off without a hitch. They were the most prepared as they could possibly be.
But nothing… nothing could prepare them for what they saw when the blurry, dark, and ominous sign of the Allagan starship, buried for at least five millennia, came into view.
Within the dark waters, where visible light was hard to come by, one could still make out the even darker outline of the vessel. It was MASSIVE, easily dwarfing any kind of naval vessel Eorzea possessed. Garlean naval flagships could not hold a candle to the behemoth of a shape that they were witnessing now. Even Garlean airships did not hold a candle to the size of this vessel. It took up the entire horizontal view of where they were facing, as if it was a second horizon.
The Sagahin looked back with faces mixed with admiration and fear when the artifact in Ryanti’s bag suddenly lit up, causing the black bag to slightly give off the light from inside. That was when something happened that was reminiscent in their dream. A shining, piercing, illuminous blue light emitted from the Allagan starhip. At its size, it could easily have been mistaken for an entire underwater reef. Then – a sound – a light buzzing sound that permeated the water and sent vibrations through their bodies. They could feel the pull. This was where they were supposed to be. The artifact, the souls were calling out to its resting place, and the graveyard, for the first time since the third era was… alive. Calling.
Ryanti’s eyes were as wide as they could be. It became a challenge to keep his calm breathing. This vessel was enormous in the biggest sense of the word, and he could feel that call. It was admirable, amazing, and unbelievable in scale, covered in fossil life and coral formation for the duration it had been down there.
Twelve’s graces… what in the god’s seven hells am I looking at…?
“Call us when you get i-..n†Jonathan’s voice echoed across the linkpearl. It was slightly garbled, but still understandable. Sahagin were surrounding them now, observing them just as well as guarding them from any aquatic life that had made their homes among the civilization that rose to godhood that still dreamed in the deep blue sea. As they got closer, despite the darkness, they were able to see its true shape. It was very rugged and square in a kind of shape foreign to even Garlemald’s highest standard, built with specifications beyond what anyone that knew nothing but sailing could remotely comprehend. This was not a ship that sailed the water. This was a ship that sailed the sky… and beyond.
The elbsts began to change their course, deviating to the bottom right of the huge vessel. Briefly, their lights were able to shine upon the side of the ship. Beyond the sea life that had attached itself to the ship, they could see their first of Allagan metal. Only the Twelve knew what kind of metal. It was extremely well designed to such an extent that five thousand, six thousand something years under the pressure of all of this water… even that could not reduce this contraption to dust.
They could almost feel it. The emotion. The weight. The era of their Empire…
Ryanti pointed his finger to the lower half of the bottom right side of the ship. There was shaped out to what might be a kind of… door. The Sagahin’s elbsts stopped almost as soon as he did. The ship was so massive in size that where they were floating in the water near the bottom of the ship, they could have looked as up as they could by craning their necks and not even see the top of it.
This was not a fairy tale. This was real.
Ryanti removed the artifact from its resting place inside of his bag, and immediately the aetherial aura that surrounded him and kept his body from succumbing to the pressure of the depths became visible under the potent artifact. It was now apparent what its job was. It was a literal key. A key card for the maintenance entrance of the rear of the ship. If it had been in Allag’s era, it would have been the access way to the supply hanger. That was their first stop.
Ryanti had forgotten to blink for a while now. His eyes felt dry when he did so. Slowly, methodically, the young man with the key in hand approached the entrance to the Allagan starship. His frame huddled in front of the door and was no larger than someone of his stature. It was meant for individual personnel that flew in maintenance shuttles, workers who would have repaired the little ships inside. They would have carried this key. A key that was found eons later.
He brushed a bit of seaweed off of the key, and glanced at Sounsyy for a brief moment. He was expressionless, but his gut felt like he was melting. He knew what he was about to do but… taken aback by the fact that it was him doing it. With a slow breathe, the young man brushed the sea life away from the key slot on the side of the door, and messed with the end of the key in the hole before finding the right spot, and sliding the key inside.
Rectangular LED lights lit up in red around the lock. Lights that had not been activated in eons, but STILL operational after all this time. They immediately felt an impulse of energy, a kind of pinnacle in transverance. The light in the key left it as the metal contraption slid itself into the key slot and turned on its own. Brief red lights could be seen skitter and scamper along the vessel, reaching all corners of the ship. A louder buzz emitted from the vessel. A domineering, screeching noise, as if it was responding. While they didn’t know it at the time, it was the spirits of the residual energy returning to the ship. The key lost all light after that, and became dormant. Were the spirits gone? The key slid back out, and Ryanti took it.
The outlines of the door glew in a much brighter blue light all of a sudden. Intricate lights activated on the doorway and the latch slowly began to open from the sides. Water coasted inside the two doors and almost instantaneously filled up the inside of the hallway. Flood lights lit up the inner parts of the rectangular room that Ryanti was now heading towards, beckoning the Captain to follow him. The inside of the room had elaborate LED lights all over it, and thickly braced computer monitors etched into each side of the wall, doing calculations automatically. Everything was running completely fine in this room. It looked like as it was meant to be a pressurization room. An airlock.
It was the first time Ryanti had seen something like this. He couldn’t imagine that it was like for the Captain. As they floated inside of the room, the Sagahin began to pull away. The inside of the room had an architecture that made even the Garleans themselves look like children with toys. It was strangely beautiful how the different colors lights blinked in unison or separately at such precise times, or the computer monitors processing code. Perhaps the blinking red and green lights upon the floor too…
The artifact must have used its energy reserves to give this place power.
Ryanti floated on one side of the room, watching Sounsyy. The door to the outside world closed with a slow but sure connection, vibrating the room a bit. But it was not dark inside of the room with their Sharlayan navigation lights and of course, the Allagan LEDs decorating the room with a lovely mix of color and operational tone. At their current load, the water was very pressurized, and so the room began to de-pressurize it. Gradually, the aetherial aura around them began to fade as it was no longer needed. Eventually, it shut off, and the water that they were in became less cold and more habitable, all the way until it felt like they were swimming in a pool again.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Ryanti let himself sink down to the surface for a moment, sliding a fingertip or two along the walls. There was a certain part of him… his childhood self or maybe… the part of him that still held idealisms and romanticisms. That part of him couldn’t believe what was actually happening. He was touching something built by them. Actual Allagans had been in this hallway.
It was the most surreal moment of his life that would easily be overtaken by more surreal moments later in their coming days.
Two compartments opened at the bottom of the hallway and began sucking out the water. Ryanti leapt up to the top of the hallway and latched onto something he could grab onto, taking his first fresh breaths as the water was draining. The water was being pumped out into the ocean while the entranceway was water tight in its seal. It had to be. It was meant for space after all. But the Allagans had prepared for events like being trapped underwater.
Ryanti allowed himself back to keeping his head and shoulders above the surface as he felt his feet softly hit the ground. He softly turned about to examine the intricate details around him. “This is..â€
But before he could say anything else, one of the lights closest to the entranceway shattered, and a sound of a groaning machine was heard as the lights dimmed. A sound of snapping electricity was heard and the second door that they were meant to walk out of began to open, but only slightly before one of the panels on the side-by-side door broke, jamming the door open. A huge jolt was heard above the ceiling as a mechanism broke due to age. It was not soon after that the vessel went dark again.
And it was dark. Darker than dark.
Having his shoulder slam into the side wall during the jolt caused Ryanti to cough up a lung. The Captain could feel the water to her knees spilling out onto the other side of the airlock and Ryanti’s coughs to remind her that he was still there. “Ah… eh... okay. Are you alright?†His heavy breathe were heard as he turned on his Sharlayan light again, providing a much needed torch to his surroundings. He muddled his way to the entrance that they had come from, knocking a bit on the sealed door. “We couldn’t open this again. The pressure would send water our way so violently that we’ll split in half. We’ll have to find another way out once we get our data.â€
He said it non-chalantly. But he knew what it meant. They were trapped. Already.
His waddling slowly turned to walking as the water fizzled out to the ground beyond the second door. Ryanti shined his light into that door, but he couldn’t make out anything beyond it. “At least it’s open enough for us to get through.†He commented, shifting himself to the side and sliding his body through. “No use to stay here... let’s see where we are.†With some movement, and a little bit more momentium, Ryanti made it through. He immediately hugged the wall of the new room he was in with his back. “Everything’s pitch black! I’d keep your light on!†He called out from the other room. A few more breaths later, he spoke again. “Go ahead and get in here with me – we absolutely need to stay together. Period.â€
Ryanti turned his body towards the wall facing away from the door, and the Sharlayan light illuminated the walls. Again, this kind of perfect metal. Not a hint of rust or… anything. He laid his bag against the wall in front of his feet but decided not to remove the mouthpiece. They may need it later if anything in here was flooded. The air felt unnaturally cold – probably because they were still soaking wet. Ryanti eyed something curious with his light as Sounsyy made her way through second broken door. His eyes squinted at what appeared to be some sort of plague in the wall. He blew upon it and dust clouded his vision, which he wiped away with a hand.
His aquamarine eyes darted over the words with a hard gaze, his voice audible but… quiet. “It is with honor and pride that the Consul commission this Research and Development Sub-Ragnarok Class Frigate the Anakalypsi to sail the stars in search of answers to our most incompressible understandings.†He read outloud, his face freezing in pure shock at the next statement.
“In the three thousandth, four hundredth and fifty second year of our great Empire…â€.
Twice the amount of years on the Astral Era calendar… and it was just how long their Empire was around when this was made.
This mission is classified for a reason…
The bewildered Halfling slowly turned around to the room they were in… adjusting his light to focus less on width and more on depth. The scale of the room they were in, the supply hanger, was baffling. Many Roehmerls could easily fit into this single room. The space was long and wide, with a near endless corridors of metal and a ceiling impossibly high. Despite missing rust, many of the small features such as the LED lighting and the remnants of what used to be cargo lying about were twisted and mangled in their design to the immense decay of thousands of years. It felt eerily lonely, and long forgotten. A civilization that came from dust, and became dust. Or perhaps… not quite.
“God’s forfend… “
Ryanti remembered his order then. He placed a finger upon the linkpearl and took a very swift breath in order to re-compose himself. “We have made it inside. Jonathan this place is huge. It’s insane.â€
He waited for a moment as static enveloped both of their ears. Sounds of the crew were in the background cheering. “Go- -ob Seventy-seven. It look like like y-.. made it in the hanger. We’re tracking yo-…†Then it became all but static for a moment or two. Ryanti’s breathing became tense. “Jonathan?...â€
A voice came back, but it was the voice of Forty-three. “It seems you have l-… -t getting a good signal. Need to make your way further i-… better signal. Just move to-…. Front. Fro-..nt if you can hear m-.â€
“Copy. Copy. Copy.†Ryanti kept saying, hoping it would come in. “We can h- .. –st… -ther in. Ove-.†With that, the communications were cut. “Hello!†Ryanti shouted out in response, his voice echoing off of the massive walls of the room they were in. The same room that the Allagans in their dream had boarded from. Though they did not know it at the time. Ryanti gave Sounsyy a look, and pursed his lips as he adjusted his light again to focus on what was in front of him more than ahead of him.
“Let’s assemble our weapons. We do not move an ilm until we are fully armed.â€