The rain had yet to let up and freely mixed with the lingering puddles of seawater that filled what remained of Altissia’s streets. In some places there was even flecks of seafoam that had not yet been washed away. She encountered few people as she walked, stepping over debris and cracks in the pavement, looking only towards her goal. The site of the Oracle’s ritual was just as much of a ruin as the once proud capital of Accordo - the once grand arch now lost somewhere in the depths of the sea.
Fragments of buildings jutted from the dark water like broken bones, weak sunlight doing little to make the scene of destruction any less absolute. The Hydraean’s wrath was awe inspiring - reducing a city that had taken humans years and years to build and perfect to rubble in a matter minutes.
Perhaps, she thought as she cleared the cracked and slippery steps, that was simply the way it was supposed to be. Mortal kind could not afford to think of beings greater than themselves as merely background fixtures in the world. Certainly not now, as the reach of the Empire and the Starscourge spread and worsened.
Standing there, looking out over the waves as they choppily lapped at the stone, she tried to take the quiet in. The silence of a storm just passed - endured but not weathered as well as one might have hoped.
Lowering her gaze she knelt slowly to toss the bundle of flowers she’d gathered to the water. Altissia’s flora was unfamiliar to her by and large, though she had attempted to select blossoms that might have been looked upon as favorable. Perhaps, if she had been able to bring some with her and keep them alive on the journey, sylleblossoms would have been more appropriate.
“Rest well, Your Highness.” She said softly, watching the flora bob gently as the tide rolled. Lifting her head she gazed out at the ocean itself - steely and inscrutable even as the sun tried to reflect off of it.
“My thanks to you, O goddess. In time, may your waves swallow what is left of the Empire. Send them to the depths and leave them forgotten.”
