Maybe it was because all of us were new to the school and them seeing me as a local of Pearlbay despite the fact I was not much newer than they were, but…the three of us clicked, unlike I had ever experienced with others before, we just meshed well and as we talked, the levels of studiousness that each of us held were of fairly similar levels. So…for the first time, probably sense I was in elementary school, I made not just one, but two friends and we had already had plans for that weekend to explore Pearlbay a bit.

              It was a couple of days, maybe a week, after I met Da and Nic, I was back in Pearlbay, this time walking through a different neighborhood: on the other side of Harmony Gate and further down along the coast, the pier steadily and smoothly lowered before it ramped into an almost water-level pathway, on the other side it ramped back up so two ramps led down to the pathway which was no more than six inches above the water’s surface. A sign was on the quay wall, facing out towards the surf that said Undertow across it. Through the choppy water, you could see lights and movement below as right under the surface was another district, entirely under the surface. Streetlights and the lights of buildings roughly ten or so yards down, you could see droves of people walking, moving or swimming in various directions through the water, some buildings broke past the surface for a Venice like air so the businesses could be accessed above/below the surface. No streetlights, just strings of basketball sized pearls along the road-wide pathway that glowed with that pearly, pale white light, lots of statues and things sticking out of the water. I walked further out along the path through the bustling neighborhoods before I stepped out onto the more mobile pathway area that was entirely open; on the other side of the pathway was nothing, but endless surf as the Harmony Gate shot across the surf to whatever was on the other end. All the pier’s posts were topped with matching pearly lights making the crisp air cool, softly lit and constantly breezy.

              I just lowered myself to sitting on the edge of the pathway, looking out over the sea as it swirled wine-dark less than a foot below me as I closed my eyes and breathed deeply before laughing.

              “I’m such an idiot for this” I scolded myself before…I let myself fall forward.

              As I sunk into the water, the water was cold enough that it was like a sledgehammer had hit myself in the sternum and whatever air was in them was forced out as water flowed in, but…there was no pain, no panic or discomfort that overtook my mind, just…a weird comfort; the weight of the water in my lungs, the cold of it and as I opened my eyes, the salt and water didn’t burn or sting, I felt…weirdly comfortable here. I kept sinking before my shoes met the sandy, rocky bottom, behind me was the full breadth of Undertow, ahead of me soon was the drop-off as the ground dropped out to a bottomless abyss of nothingness, yet the road out of Undertow kept going and was just a foot or so away from my feet, a sign of an arrow pointed down past the drop-off that said Trenchtown. The light pearls lined the pathway like a runway as it spread across the bottom before just stopping at the edge of the drop-off.

              I looked down at my arms as those tiger stripe/cloud patterns on my skin were now glowing in a soft aqua glow, like a bioluminescent fish of some kind. The subconscious need to breathe wasn’t stopped as I felt the ripples of my watery exhales pass past my face as I easily breathed the water.

              I had been focusing and connecting myself to the Weave further as I tried to figure out what kind of magic I could do and I was able to understand and comprehend that I had this strange innate connection to not just the sea, but the sky…the weather most likely, the weave showed me flashes of oceanic storms: typhoons, hurricanes and monsoons; ink dark water met with matching clouds, cracks and flashes of lightning, raging wind and the imagery of ships…being pulled under.

              I turned back towards Undertow as I took a step, but the resistance of the water made me quickly figure out that it was generally much easier for people to swim and not walk, the water swirled around me as the current pushed me forward as I moved, my fingers left trails of bubbles in my wake and in the mirrored windows and shiny surfaces, I could see the reflections of my own glowing eyes as I explored the area. I had to throw myself to the side as this elephantine sized crab passed by, legs massive and sprawling as it scuttled along the floor, various people holding onto the crab’s legs or other parts as a glowing sign on its back said Undertow-Shoredale.

              The afternoon light sent rippling streamers of light in fiery tones rippling through the water, refracted and reflected off all the shiny surfaces of the underwater neighborhood, things like wind-spinners or windsocks were modified to be underwater and littered surfaces, benches and things sculpted of sand, stones and sea-glass speckled the roadsides and just…everything and anything that could be found at sea was used, there were even a few buildings that were scuttled sailing vessels; splintered walls where cannon fire had probably hit had been carved and retrofitted into doorways or windows, coral was sculpted into towers and buildings or various other forms of architecture. It was incredible being down there, but in a strange almost alien way because everything was so…familiar, but not at the same time. I felt comfortable down here, but part of my mind would not forget the fact that I was underwater and should be drowning, but I didn’t, more like…I couldn’t drown. I swam around for a bit longer before I just grabbed a building’s edge as I used it to launch myself up through the water before I grabbed the edge of the pathway and hefted myself up and out of the water as I climbed out. I coughed a few times and was expecting to vomit all the water, but instead just a storm cloud left my mouth, softly speckled with lightning and wind as it faded off into nothingness. As I stood up, my clothing wasn’t wet, my clothing was dry as a bone as if I had never touched the water, but the air around me was almost choking with the scent of ozone as lightning, cloud and wind rippled off my hair and person as I looked around at myself as I could see my hair crackled with the same effects of clouds, lightning and wind.

              “…curiouser and curiouser” I whispered to myself as I ran my hands through my hair to see if I could get rid of those effects, but I couldn’t tell where my hair ended, and the cloud started.