First EP (Or: Hello and Thanks In Advance for All the Fish)

[soycdolphin]

He has always known about the glyphs, even since he was a calf. He knows not where they came from - no one in all the ocean does - but he knows that he can sing to them and they will sing back. They had helped to guide him - and Tara and Kitnee - when they had sought after Big Blue, the oldest and wisest of all the Great Singers. He would never forget the wisdom he had gained from him.

Yes, Ecco knows the glyphs well. He keeps an eye out for them. So he knows even from looking that this one is different. The color is different. Darker. It hums, even before it sings.

Ecco swims up next to it. Around it, on all sides. Gently, he nudges it with his nose. It trembles violently. He clicks and buzzes, listening for its vibrations. The hum rises a few semitones. It seems to be waiting for something.

He sounds a questioning note - not a song so much as a curious ping. But it is enough.

There is a blinding flash. Ecco can feel himself spinning, tumbling, caught in the whirling currents of water-that-is-not-water. But it is all over in an instant. He finds himself in the ocean once more. But these are not the seas of home. These are warmer. And yet...colder. Where is he?

Ecco calls out to his pod. Nothing. He calls out again, desperately, in all directions, for Kitnee, Darana, Tara - any singers, great or small, that he can name. He hears nothing familiar to him.

Instead there are strange songs, coming from the surface, by the shore. And...above it? Ecco has never heard a song from land-dwellers that he could understand. He climbs to the surface, seeking the source of these foreign songs.

Surely the glyph had brought him here for a reason.

Comments

[vyvyan]

It has no doubt brought Ecco here for something deep and profound.

However, on the sand right now, is Vyvyan Bastard, cutting his toenails, which probably isn't it.

[soycdolphin]

No, probably not. Nonetheless, it is a noteworthy sight for a young dolphin such as Ecco. Humans are not as commonly seen in the Home Bay as they once were.

A gray dorsal fin emerges from the water, followed by a spray of air and water. After a bit of exploratory circling, Ecco peeks above the waterline to try to determine what this red-headed net-caster is up to.

Interesting. He has stars on his head, just like Ecco. Perhaps this is a sign.

[vyvyan]

"Bloody hell, a shark!" Vyvyan jumps up.

Biology is not his strong point.

[soycdolphin]

A shark! One of the Hungry Ones! Where!?

Ecco turns with a great splash away from shore, ready to swim for safety or fight to the death.

But he can neither see nor hear any of the Hungry Ones. So why had the human told him to...wait a minute...

"...You can talk?"

To Vyvyan, he'll still sound like a dolphin. But he'll be able to understand him.

[vyvyan]

Vyvyan points.

"So can you!"

[soycdolphin]

Ecco rears upright on the water.

"And you understand my singing! How can this be?"

[vyvyan]

"This is bloody brilliant!" Vyvyan says.

[soycdolphin]

The Bar does its best to translate Vyvyan's words into Dolphin. It settles on a sound somewhere between "Hooray!" and "Ooh, a shiny thing!"

Ecco tilts his head.

"It is...new. But I am confused. What is this place?"

[vyvyan]

"Oh, well, er... do you have bars under the sea? Like drinking bars, not cage bars."

[last_kallig]

Ibani's outside when she feels the Force ripple and a mind appear somewhere in the lake.

Then she sees the...creature? Patron? She's never seen a dolphin before.

"Hello!," she calls.

[soycdolphin]

Ecco is taken aback. He rears back in the water.

"I understood that!"

To Ibani, it will sound like chattering and whistles. But it will nonetheless be comprehensible.

[last_kallig]

"This place enables everyone to understand one another," Ibani replies, smiling. "It's called Milliways."

[soycdolphin]

"Milliways..."

Ecco sounds out the word - or rather, the signature whistle he's assigned to match it.

"But how can this be? Why am I here? I see nothing of my home waters."

[last_kallig]

"I'm not sure anyone knows how it works," Ibani explains. "People just find themselves here. You should be able to get back to your home waters, though I must admit I've never seen anyone arrive in the water before."

[soycdolphin]

Ecco's body language sags. "Then you do not know of any other Singers here?"

He turns his head. "Then again, I suppose you wouldn't. You are a Net Caster and walk on land."

[last_kallig]

Ibani shakes her head. "Sorry, none that I know of."

"Though there is a giant squid in there somewhere that's supposed to be friendly."

[soycdolphin]

"I will be careful not to upset him," Ecco says.

He has heard songs of great squids, too large to be eaten by even the Shark-Eating Singers. Friendly or no, he would not wish to test such a creature.

"Are there any who know of why humans and Singers are brought here? I have sung to many glyphs, but none have taken me to another place like this."

[thewidewideworld]

There's a slender human in the water, swimming close to the edge of the warm water area near the beach. Long blonde hair bound in a braid and dressed in a swimsuit pattered like a glittery fish.

The splashing surface of the dolphin makes him squeak in surprise and stop swimming.

[soycdolphin]

Ecco backs off at the sound of the human's voice. It is a minute or two before he is ready to carefully approach once more, pacing back and forth at a safe distance until he is certain he poses no threat.

He clicks and hums as he inches closer, trying to size up this shinily-dressed Net Caster.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric has never seen a dolphin up close. As mosaics on the palace walls, as distant glints of light in the waves of the Aegean Sea, but never so close.

Sinric treads water, watching the flash of colour in the clear blue water. "Hello, my friend. You have nothing to fear. I am no threat to you.

He sings softly. His song is warm and welcoming, even if the new-commer doesn't understand his words, the feeling of calm and friendly curiosity carries on the melody. As he sings, a ring of glowing gold light forms around his irises.

[soycdolphin]

Ecco rears upright in the water, his flukes coiled and ready to spring. But he does not swim away. Not yet.

He knows not what this Net Caster is doing. This is not the natural glow of eyes in dark places. But he hears his song, and understands it. And something about him makes him believe it.

"...Who are you? What is this place?"

[thewidewideworld]

"Welcome to Milliways." Sinric answers, smiling brightly to realise they understand each other. "It is a sanctuary outside place and time. A cross-roads of worlds and peoples. You are welcome here." He bows as best he can while swimming. "I'm called Sinric. What name might I know you by?"

[soycdolphin]

"I am Ecco," he says.

He takes in the human's words, and description of this strange place. He still has many questions. He'll start with the most obvious one.

"How is it we can understand each other?"

[thewidewideworld]

"Welcome Ecco." Sinric treads water as he inches a little closer. "The bar has magic that allows all beings here to understand each other, no matter what language they speak. It can be tricky some times, it makes it harder to learn new languages but it helps. People come here from many times and places. Without it, we would be as confused as the fall of Babel."

[soycdolphin]

"I think I am still confused," Ecco says.

"What is...magic?"