~Chapter 5- The Water Deity~

Sea air breezed across one of the many islands of the Ralosian Seas. One of which was the new home of a Phantine tribe. The Phantine people had trunks, tusks, large open ears, circular feet, and generally bulky bodies. Their homes were strewn together with palm trees, and various ships docked around their island. It was beautiful with all manner of animals and fruit. Around them were a series of islands close enough to swim between.

Temp directed the Phantine people which made up his crew to prepare the brigantine for their coming voyage. Many of them used their trunks as an extra appendage to aid them, all while taking care not to have their tusks bump into or damage anything.

Temp was a Mecarne, a race characterized by their metal-like flesh and immunity to heat and cold. He was slender, with sharp eyes and a purple tint to his skin. After this Phantine tribe had their home destroyed, Temp sailed the Ralosian Isles to find them a new home. It didn't take long before they found this picturesque island. After this, they welcomed him as one of their own. He'd been living with the Phantine people amidst the Ralosian Isles ever since.

Temp looked at his self made drawing of the Ralosian Isles. No one had mapped out these seas extensively, and what maps did exist were vague. He had begun to explore these seas with help of the Phantine people.

"Yo Chief," Temp called out to Cmar in his usual flippant way, "Have you seen Nout anywhere?"

Cmar had a pink tint to his skin and was bulky, standing over 2 meters tall. Cmar respectfully replied, "I saw him heading towards your ship last. He's probably there now."

Temp saw the distinctive pink tint of the thirteen-year-old Phantine Nout on the deck of his ship, staring over the side. Nout had a growth spurt, and was nearly as tall as Temp. The young Phantine had a fist-shaped burn on his chest from a fight he had gotten into last year. Temp gripped one of the ropes hanging over the side of the ship and climbed up to meet him.

"You ready to go soon, bud?" Temp asked.

Nout didn't reply, he seemed to be lost in thought. Temp followed his eye line and found Nout staring at a Phantine girl on the island. Stout and chubby, with big floppy ears. Temp didn't understand it, but apparently, such traits were very desirable among the Phantine.

"See something you like?" Temp bonked Nout on the head to snap him out of his trance.

Nout's face turned beat red when he realized he'd been caught, "Maybe..."

"Do you like the girl down there?"

"Yeah. She's pretty," Nout remarked, "I'm going to go talk to her."

Temp smirked and turned Nout around to him, "Okay, let me give you some advice. You're a nice guy, which means if you go down there, you'll probably blow it. I'm going to teach you how to get her."

"Okay, sure sure," Nout replied, leaning against the rail of the ship.

"You've got to be mean. Girls love it when you treat them badly. Don't act like you care too much, and they'll come to you. You've got to keep her wanting more."

Nout frowned, "But, I don't want to be mean."

"See, that's why you'll mess this up. Nice guys like you tend to look weak, and girls don't like that."

"Can't I be nice without looking weak?"

Temp scoffed, "That'll never work."

Nout stared at Temp with a blank look, "Well. I don't think I'm going to do any of that. We're setting sail soon, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm going to go talk to her right now," Nout said.

Nout left the ship and headed towards the girl, and Temp couldn't help but follow at a measured distance. He had to see how this went. He stopped behind a palm tree a short distance away.

"Hey there," Nout cautiously approached the girl, "I hope I'm not bothering you?"

Temp put his face in his palms in secondhand embarrassment. 'He's going to blow it' he thought.

"No, you're not bothering me. Do you need something?" The girl asked.

"Well, um..." Nout paused, "I think you're really pretty, and maybe we could do something together sometime?"

Temp almost groaned aloud. But when he peered over at the two of them, he saw the girl blushing.

"I-I don't know about me being pretty," The girl said, fidgeting her trunk around and folding her hands behind her.

"Are you kidding? You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen!"

The girl giggled, "Thank you! What would you want to do?"

"We could go swimming around the island. If you like that sort of thing..."

"That'd be fun!" She said excitedly.

"Great, great. I have to go on a trip sailing with Temp soon, but when I get back, we should do it," Nout explained, "What's your name?"

"Ilma. What's yours?" She asked, unconsciously twirling her trunk from side to side.

"Nout."

"Nout? Like THE Nout? You're the chief's son!" Ilma replied, "You saved everyone from Cook and Chill last year."

"Well, I had help from my friends. That's why we pulled it off," Nout tried to explain. But the girl was completely enamored with him by this point. Temp walked away, remarking to himself that maybe he should ask Nout for tips.

Nout was all smiles when he returned to the ship. Temp commanded the Phantine aboard to release the sails and soon, they were out at sea, heading west. Temp gripped the ship's wheel, and pleasant winds carried them forward. He had already mapped out many of the islands to the west, but he wanted to go further out. He heard that no one was able to get past a certain point, but Temp was determined to.

It took a few days of travel to get past the previously explored seas. They came out to nothing but an open ocean. Temp and Nout had no clue what lay ahead of them.

Sharks could be seen in the water; tiny, sharp-toothed fish that were known to be a nuisance. Their hardened skin didn't even make them very good food. Fish like bass or salmon were sizable, larger than most people, and were considered a delicacy if caught. Of course, the Phantine people were herbivores; they had no interest in fish.

Temp heard the sound of falling water, as if they were near a waterfall, but all he could see was open ocean, "Nout, can you climb the sails and look ahead?"

"Sure," Nout said. With a single jump he grasped onto the wooden sails. He climbed expediently to the top of the sails for a better view. After a brief delay, Nout shouted, "Stop the ship! Now!"

Temp didn't need clarification and commanded the rest of the crew to pull the sails down. Soon, they managed to idle the ship in place. Temp left the wheel in the hands of another while he joined Nout at the top of the sails.

"Okay, what's wrong-" Temp stopped when he looked ahead of him. He saw what he could only call the edge of the ocean. Water endlessly spilled off the edge into an open space. The water evaporated as it went over the edge, quickly forming into clouds. That edge stretched in both directions.

"What is this?" Temp asked in disbelief at the sight.

The waters next to their ship began to bubble violently, and a mass rivaling the size of their brig emerged from the waters. When the waters calmed, it was revealed to be a massive sea turtle.

"I suggest you turn back," The turtle spoke aloud but gently. Their voice seemed to reverberate across the ocean. Temp and Nout descended from the mast carefully to the main deck of the ship and approached the speaking animal.

"Who are you?" Nout asked.

"I am a servant of her Grace Ralosia. I am the Water Deity, Tortus," The turtle replied.

Temp heard of the Deity of Water, even heard of people who had apparently met it, but only now did he believe them, "What is this?" Temp asked, motioning to the edge of the waters.

Tortus appeared to smile, "This is the edge of Ralosia's land. Where she decided to end her creation of this land you reside in."

"This is the end of the world?" Temp asked. This would explain why no one had ever traveled further west.

"An end, yes."

"What's out there?"

"I wish I could tell you, but I'm not sure," Tortus responded, "I would suggest you and your ship turn back. I would hate for you to be swept up in the current and fall off of the edge of this world, like so many before you have."

Temp and Nout nodded, and Tortus watched as they steered their ship around and headed back east. Temp felt a pit in his stomach. Something about there being a definitive edge to their world was disheartening. It was limiting; it felt like he was trapped by it. Tortus sunk back into the ocean, out of sight.