At the mouth of the cave, Caelum and Fish Twelve stood side by side, overlooking the settlement below.
Five clusters of brown stone marked the beginnings of new homes along the shoreline. Murlocs moved between them in a constant blur of activity. Some worked in neat, organized groups. Others rushed about without much of a plan, their enthusiasm quickly turning into confusion.
Fish Twelve’s gaze settled on one particular site.
"Big Brother, Third Fish is really clever."
She sounded genuinely impressed.
"His site is the only one running smoothly. There’s no chaos at all."
Caelum followed her gaze.
Third Fish stood atop a small rise, overseeing the construction below without touching a single stone himself.
Several older children carried carefully sorted rocks toward the growing walls, straining beneath the weight. The foundation lines had already been marked out, and each pile of stone had been arranged according to size.
Everything had its place.
As a result, construction proceeded far faster than at the other sites.
"Everyone else probably envies him."
Caelum chuckled softly.
"He doesn’t lift a finger, yet somehow still gets praised when the work is done."
His gaze shifted toward another site.
"Look at Fish Second. He’s carrying stones, laying walls, helping everyone around him. He’s involved in everything."
Caelum shook his head.
"And despite working himself to exhaustion, he’s only just caught up to Third Fish."
Fish Twelve’s eyes moved toward the Reed family’s site.
"Second Brother is a little slow."
She watched him working alongside his children, his hands covered in dirt as he struggled to move another stone into place.
"But I think that’s why everyone likes him."
Her voice softened.
"He’s honest. He never pretends to be smarter than he is. He just works hard."
Caelum smiled faintly.
"That’s certainly one way to put it."
Silence settled between them.
Only the sound of the waves and the occasional shout from the construction sites disturbed the quiet.
The sun continued climbing.
Its warmth spread across the Sanctuary, bathing the mountains and shoreline in golden light.
Far in the distance, however, clouds were beginning to gather.
A storm was forming somewhere beyond the horizon.
Neither of them paid it much attention.
"Twelve."
Caelum suddenly turned toward her.
"Second and Third have both chosen surnames. Have you thought about yours?"
Fish Twelve’s expression shifted.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she looked toward the sea.
"Big Brother hasn’t chosen one for himself."
Her voice was quiet.
"Why should I bother?"
Caelum remained silent for several breaths.
The waves rolled onto the shore, breaking against the sand before retreating again.
"I don’t have children."
He finally spoke.
"A surname would be wasted on me."
Fish Leader had only ever existed for one purpose.
To guide the tribe through its most fragile years.
To prevent the kind of disaster that could wipe out a fledgling race before it had the chance to establish itself.
Once the tribe was strong enough to survive without him, Fish Leader would disappear.
That had always been the plan.
Fish Twelve had expected an answer like this.
If he had wanted children, he could have accepted her feelings years ago.
She had made them clear enough.
More than once.
Yet he had always rejected her.
What she couldn’t understand was why.
If he didn’t want a family, if he didn’t want a name, then what exactly did he want?
Caelum mistook her silence for lingering sadness over his earlier rejection.
He reached over and gently rested a hand on her head.
"Little one, you should think about your own future instead of mine."
He gave her a faint smile.
"I’m a crooked tree. No matter how much water you pour on me, I won’t grow straight."
Fish Twelve’s expression dimmed slightly.
"I won’t grow tall, and I’ll never bear fruit."
His words were blunt.
Perhaps too blunt.
But then his expression softened.
"You still haven’t chosen a name, so I’ll give you one."
Fish Twelve looked up sharply.
The sting of rejection remained, but curiosity quickly replaced it.
"What name?"
"Koi."
She blinked.
"Koi?"
"From today onward, your surname is Koi."
Caelum looked toward the water.
"Carp are clever creatures. Quick and adaptable. They’re also symbols of good fortune."
His gaze returned to her.
"I hope you’ll bring those things to the Wyrmspring Murlocs."
Fish Twelve stared at him.
"Koi..."
She repeated the name quietly, as though testing how it felt.
Thirteen years had passed.
She was twenty-six now.
Thanks to the lifespan extension Caelum had incorporated into the Wyrmspring Murloc bloodline, members of the tribe could live beyond forty-five, nearly ten years longer than their unmodified ancestors.
At twenty-six, Koi was firmly an adult.
The awkward young Murloc from thirteen years ago was gone.
In her place stood a graceful and capable woman whose intelligence far exceeded that of her peers.
Even within the barren Sanctuary, she could sense elemental currents that the other Murlocs couldn’t perceive.
Given enough time, there was a real possibility that she could become something her race had never produced before.
A Tidecaller.
A figure bordering on legend.
For such a talent to emerge within a resource-starved domain was almost absurd.
If Caelum hadn’t watched her grow personally, he might have assumed she belonged to a high-grade bloodline.
Koi looked at him for a long moment.
Then she spoke.
"Big Brother."
"Hm?"
"I think you’re strange."
Caelum raised an eyebrow.
"Strange?"
"You’re a contradiction."
Her words came slowly at first.
Then, as though she’d finally decided to say everything she’d been holding back, they began flowing freely.
"You work harder than anyone for this tribe, but you never ask for anything in return."
She counted the points off quietly.
"You don’t want a bloodline of your own. You don’t even have a surname."
"You have the final say over everything, yet you keep giving that authority away to the five families. Reed. Shell. Bass. Whale. Bream."
Her eyes remained fixed on him.
"You clearly love this race. I can see it."
"Yet you keep leaving us to find our own way."
She hesitated.
"And you’ve even said that one day you’ll give the Wyrmspring Faith to me."
Her expression became more serious.
"Doesn’t that seem strange?"
She stepped closer.
"I want to understand, Big Brother."
"What are you actually thinking?"
Caelum couldn’t answer.
Not honestly.
Fish Leader was an avatar.
A mask.
The real being standing before her was something completely different.
He looked toward the sea instead.
"Everyone has their own path."
That was all he said.
A deity was supposed to remain separate from their followers.
Distant.
Detached.
Untouched by the small joys and sorrows of mortal life.
But every deity who raised a race from nothing eventually discovered the same uncomfortable truth.
Followers weren’t numbers.
They weren’t resources.
They weren’t merely tools for generating Faith Power.
They thought.
They felt.
They loved.
They hated.
They grieved.
They dreamed.
They were alive.
And because of that, every deity faced the same difficult balance during the early stages of a civilization.
Guide them.
Protect them.
But don’t become so involved that they can no longer stand without you.
Caelum had failed that test with the Hobgoblins.
Their numbers had been too small.
Their existence had been too fragile.
He had interfered too much.
He had solved too many problems himself.
And eventually, he had paid the price.
One day, he knew, he would reach true detachment.
Every deity eventually did.
They learned to view all living things with the same distant calm, treating life and death as little more than the natural movement of heaven and earth.
But Caelum wasn’t there yet.
Not even close.
Koi knew she wouldn’t get anything more from him.
So she changed the subject.
"Big Brother."
"Hm?"
"Do you really think a deity can grant every wish we have?"
Caelum smiled.
Something he would never admit beyond the Sanctuary, but something he genuinely believed within it.
"Of course."
"And what you told us about the god who lives on the mountain behind us?"
She looked toward the towering peak.
"That’s true too?"
"Yes."
Koi stared at the mountain.
Something shifted inside her.
A quiet determination settled into her eyes.
Ten days passed.
Within the Sanctuary, those ten days stretched into considerably more time.
By then, five completed stone houses surrounded the central mountain like scattered pieces on a board.
The tribe gathered at the Bass family’s new home.
Today was a special day.
Dan Bass, eldest son of the Bass family, was marrying Naia Reed, eldest daughter of the Reed family.
Every member of the tribe had come.
They carried the excitement of their new homes with them, but there was another reason for the celebration.
This was the first marriage between members of the second generation.
Even the elders who had initially opposed leaving the caves had changed their minds.
The new houses gave every family their own space.
More importantly, they gave them independence.
The cave had become too crowded.
Everyone living under Fish Leader’s watch had also meant everyone had been forced to live according to the same rules.
Now, each family could make its own choices.
For the Murlocs, it was a welcome change.
There were no elaborate wedding traditions.
The older generation had entered this Sanctuary with nothing.
No customs.
No ceremonies.
No history.
Only the instinct to survive.
So they celebrated the only way they knew how.
They gathered together.
They caught fish.
And they roasted them over an open fire.
Food remained at the heart of Murloc life.
Before any major event, tradition demanded prayer.
The Murlocs knelt together and prayed to their Creator.
Usually, the Creator offered no visible response.
Today was different.
A golden glow briefly spread across the sky.
Then something fell from above.
Fish.
Dozens of them.
They rained into the water with loud splashes, sending ripples racing across the lake.
The Murlocs stared in stunned silence.
The fish were large and healthy.
They had been taken directly from Caelum’s reserve.
His wedding gift to the tribe.
Thirteen years of growth had left the reserve pool overflowing.
Removing some of the excess would barely affect its future development.
The Murlocs immediately erupted into excited prayers.
Their faith deepened visibly.
Tomorrow’s harvest was going to be good.
Very good.
"Chief Dan!"
Third Fish grinned around a mouthful of roasted fish.
"A happy day. You’re marrying Second Brother Reed’s eldest daughter."
He leaned closer.
"So what are you going to do for us? Surely you have some entertainment planned."
The males gathered around one fire while the women and children sat nearby.
Almost every face turned toward Dan.
Everyone was happy.
But eating fish together wasn’t exactly unusual.
It was practically every other evening.
Dan looked around.
Then his eyes lit up.
"I’ll show you something special."
He raised three roasted fish.
"Three fish."
He opened his mouth.
"One bite!"
The clearing exploded with laughter.
"You shameless glutton!"
"That’s not entertainment! You’re just looking for an excuse to eat more!"
"Naia, you’ve got your work cut out for you!"
"Three? I could swallow ten!"
"Enough, enough!"
The laughter continued long into the evening.
The full moon reflected across the lake.
Silver light shimmered over the water as the celebration gradually came to an end.
One by one, the families began returning home.
The four remaining households said their goodbyes and started toward the cave.
Only the newly married couple remained behind.
"Dan."
Fourth Bass gave his son a knowing look.
"You and Naia stay here tonight."
He glanced toward his daughter-in-law.
"The rest of us will spend a few nights in the cave."
The meaning behind his words was obvious.
Dan’s face remained composed.
Naia’s did not.
She immediately lowered her head.
Her cheeks were difficult to see in the darkness, but Dan could tell she was embarrassed.
Murloc skin didn’t reveal changes in color as clearly as human skin.
He smiled anyway.
He gently pulled her into his arms.
Nearby, several younger children watched in confusion.
Why did marriage suddenly mean their family had to leave?
None of them understood.
Some even quietly decided that if marriage required this much trouble, they would rather remain single.
Fourth Bass’s wife had clearly understood her husband’s intentions.
She shifted the newborn in her arms, reached out with her free hand, grabbed his ear, and pulled.
"You’re a grown man."
She dragged him toward the mountain.
"Act like one."
"Ouch! Ouch!"
"Today’s Dan’s day. Don’t ruin it."
"I’m just happy!"
"You can be happy somewhere else."
She released him.
Bass rubbed his ear and laughed sheepishly.
Then he turned toward the children.
"Come on. Up the mountain."
He pointed toward the cave.
"Let’s go see Uncle Fish Leader."
The settlement eventually fell silent.
Dan and Naia sat together on a large rock beside the shoreline.
The night breeze carried a cool touch from the water.
Their vine-leaf garments, specially prepared by Fish Leader for their wedding, kept the worst of the chill away.
Dan looked up at the moon.
After a while, he lowered his head toward Naia.
"Naia."
"Hm?"
"Someday, I’ll build a bigger house."
She looked at him.
"One just for the two of us."
A smile spread across his face.
"And you’ll give me ten little Murlocs to fill it."
Naia’s eyes widened.
Her face heated instantly.
"In your dreams!"
She pushed herself out of his arms.
Dan laughed and pulled her back.
The two remained together for a while.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
Until Dan looked toward the sea.
His smile disappeared.
Something was wrong.
The surface of the water had changed.
The waves were growing.
Higher.
Higher.
And higher.
Dan’s expression drained of color.
Beyond the shoreline, massive waves several meters tall were advancing toward them.
One after another.
A wall of water.
Their newly built houses stood directly in its path.
The homes wouldn’t survive.
Neither would anything else.
"Run!"
Dan jumped to his feet.
"Now!"
He grabbed Naia’s hand and sprinted toward higher ground.
Then he remembered something.
Their belongings.
The family’s supplies.
Everything they had saved.
It was all inside the house.
He stopped.
"Naia, keep running!"
Before she could answer, he released her hand and turned back.
He sprinted toward the house.
"Dan!"
Naia froze.
She watched him disappear inside.
The first wave struck.
The stone house shook violently.
"Dan!"
No answer.
The second wave was already coming.
Naia’s heart hammered.
She couldn’t leave him.
She turned and ran back.
Then something wrapped around her waist.
She stopped dead.
The wave crashed toward them.
At the same instant, countless droplets of water gathered in the air.
They spun together.
Condensed.
A translucent barrier formed directly in front of them.
[Water Ward]
The wall of water struck.
BOOM!
The barrier trembled violently.
Naia stared at it in disbelief.
Her first spell.
She had actually cast a spell.
But the joy lasted only an instant.
Cracks spread across the barrier.
It shattered.
The wave crashed through.
Water swallowed the shoreline.
The houses vanished beneath the torrent.
And when the flood finally passed...
Dan was gone.