Fortis, he thought, was the depthstrider’s name. If he remembered the ghost of his wife talking to him correctly, Fortis was almost like a human priest to his people.
He saw the future. He spoke to the gods. And now, this massive creature of the depths was about to meet one of his own gods for the very first time.
But depthstriders were smart. They knew the waves better than others, and they knew to follow whatever they were tracking at a distance. Proteus would need to draw him out. A task that might have been more difficult if Proteus himself wasn't such a strange creature to see in the ocean.
He allowed his bones to illuminate. Glowing in the darkness of the sea, he knew that no undine would be able to avoid trying to figure out what had changed in some animal that lived in their home.
Nothing else looked like him, and that curiosity could very well be the end of any depthstrider who thought they could control him. Still, Proteus swam slower through the waves and waited for Fortis to get close enough.
This specific bloodline of their species should have recognized him immediately. Proteus’s parents were, after all, the ones who had given them their power.
Come to think of it, there had been one of their own who was nearly a direct descendant of the ancients like him. Perhaps that's how he would start the conversation, because Fortis would almost certainly recognize the name.
Proteus stopped, floating where he was as his bones illuminated even more. They were so bright that even he couldn't see past their light.
"Here I was seeking someone to ask if Mitera was still alive," he said, his voice booming through the ocean. "And instead I find a familiar face."
The darkness hid Fortis from his sight. The religious fanatic would likely want to remain hidden in that darkness until he was certain it was safe for him to speak with Proteus. But then his voice came from the darkness, and Proteus knew exactly where the male was hiding.
"Mitera still lives," Fortis called out from behind one of the many spires that were still standing. "But she does not speak with just anyone. Who are you?"
"You have met me before."
"I have never seen anyone like you in this sea. I have never seen you in any vision of the future either. Which means you are an anomaly, who does not deserve to be in these sacred grounds."
So at least they remembered that mating grounds were off limits to the People of Water. Somehow, Proteus doubted they remembered why this area of the sea was off limits. It wasdangerous to be in the waters when the squid would attack them for being anywhere near during the mating season.
Sighing, he took a deep breath and allowed bubbles to erupt from his gills. "Do I not look like someone you have met before?"
"I would remember such a creature."
So at least Fortis could see him well enough. He would know not to attack. Proteus was too large and far too dangerous.
"You found me not so long ago," Proteus said. "I was stuck in a coffin, trapped there by your people, who no longer wished to worship their gods. And now you have found me again."
He could almost hear Fortis thinking. The male rolled the words around in his head until he finally came to the conclusion that Proteus wanted him to. They had in fact met before. Fortis had taken his words as prophecy, then, as he should have.
"The god at the bottom of the sea," Fortis murmured. "You have been released?"
"It was my time to return. I have come home and now I will guide you and your people into the next stage of your future." Proteus allowed his bones to dim just slightly, enough so that Fortis wouldn't see him as a glowing beacon in the darkness, but also be able to see the monstrous features of his face. "You are the one who will help me in all of this."
"I cannot help you much. My people have already created their own plan." A flick of his tail appeared from behind the spire. He was forgetting to hide himself, at least. That was a good sign. "They rebuild the cities. They are building a new city even as we speak. They will continue to build until they feel as though all people can live together, humans and the People of Water."
"What if I told you they could live on land again?"
The sudden silence made the sea feel heavy. But he could feel the goddess swirling around his own tail, and knew she had moved to Fortis as well. The sea herself was excited by the idea of removing the humans once and for all. She begged at Fortis'sfluke, tugging on his gills and his fins until he would know that she approved of this plan.
"They could see the sun?" Fortis asked quietly. "So few of them ever have."
"But only glimpses. What if they could see it every single day?"
"The storms are too strong."
He scoffed. "The storms are strong, yes. But they are survivable with the right technology and the right homes. More than that, they can be fixed in time."
"The storms cannot be fixed. They have raged for centuries because the very earth is mad at the humans. That cannot be fixed in a generation, let alone in many." But again that tail flicked, and Proteus could see that the depthstrider was thinking about his words. "How are you going to convince the humans to go above? There is nowhere for them to go."
"What if I had a place for them to go?"
