#{ figured i would place this with the Enterprise/Black Galleon battle in Through the Maelstrom }

[yinjiyang]

Candle on the Water

Closed starter for @carrotsaversion 

       The destruction of each mothercrystal had disturbed his slumber well enough, causing the Eikon of the Sea to rise from the depths, to stretch and roll with the tides as wakefulness returned, the haze created by centuries of sleep fading as clarity gradually returned.  For a while, Leviathan wandered--days, perhaps weeks--listening, trying to gather information on what was happening, discovering that even Bahamut's presence was but a flicker.  

       He had slept too long...it would seem...

       Eventually, he felt it.  Their presence...multiple...multiple Eikons gathered in one place...and perhaps at that moment, Leviathan feared the worst, that it was too late.  Yet...they were on the water, he sensed.  A battle on the sea.  Two ships, both fast...and Odin, oh, he recognized Odin <immediately>, the rage swirling inside him and echoed with a gathering tempest...and yet, no...Shiva.  Shiva, too.  Leviathan couldn't in good faith harm her...but what...was she doing with Odin?  The confusion only deepened with the rapid approach of others.  Titan?  Garuda?  Ramuh?  Bahamut?  Phoenix?  Even Ifrit?  But how?  Fighting, so much fighting--and a trench created by Odin's blade...Leviathan watched from beyond a wall of waves, watched as Dominants fought each other on the sea floor.  Was that...Mythos?  

        Yet...Phoenix's presence was...divided; there were traces of the Fire Eikon with the man fighting Odin on the ocean floor and yet...a stronger Phoenix presence on a ship that had narrowly avoided falling into the trench.

        They were still separate.  It wasn't too late...

        Perhaps the Eikon remaining on the Enterprise would feel it, an ancient presence of frightening power approaching rapidly--a presence never before felt by the Dominant, but perhaps recognized by his Eikon...an opposite, but not a threat.  The waters surrounding the ship became calm, the wind more helpful in guiding their sails.  And Yin, aware of the toll Dominants must bear with releasing their Eikons, hoped the Phoenix would remain still, just this once.  The crew of the Enterprise might have caught a glimpse, the silhouette in the water, the massive serpentine body just below the surface--and just as it sank beneath the ship...it did not appear on the other side.  Perhaps the crew was afraid, afraid the colossal beast would rise and capsize their vessel as monsters were want for destruction and yet...it did not appear again.  No.  Perhaps the crew was distracted by looking in the water for the creature or rushing to safety to brace for impact--perhaps none noticed a wave rising at the stern...

       ...nor the figure it deposited at the rail.  There, silent, stood a tall and svelte young man dressed in ancient robes of gradient ocean blues and white, once flowing fabrics and long hair of night drenched and dripping onto the deck at his feet and around him, his only movement that of slow and controlled deep breaths as lungs drank the air they had not tasted for centuries.  And his eyes, once empty pools of darkness now reflected the emotions he kept locked within himself, melancholy blending with a hope once thought lost...and relief as his gaze settled upon the presence that had drawn him to this vessel.  Pale lips parted as though to speak, though only departed another slow and controlled exhale as he knew not what to say.  Yin could only stare.