Like Clockwork - Side Story - Spring of Aeons

    It was stormy to say the least. The winds rocked the boat back and forth heavily as the crew shouted all around to regain control of the ship. That’s when the mists parted. As the symbol of their black flag came into view, he shivered. It was the Tentacled Jolly Roger, the terror of-

     “Out of the way!” a voice rudely interrupted Larry’s incredibly vivid daydream. He almost tripped as the cabin boy pushed past him towards his post. Larry shook himself, wondering where this dream had come from. He had been having these kind of dreams quite a lot recently, ever since he had attended the new year’s party at the temple of Alinavious. In fact, the dreams had become more and more vivid lately. They usually only came at night but out on the calm seas, the ship’s rocking was almost like a lullaby. It was a perfect day for sailing, even if he looked a bit out of place on the ship. His lanky build, dirty blond hair, blue eyes and generic apprentice sorcerer clothing made him stick out among the burly sailors. Then again, maybe not as much as his team mates.

     “It’s my” “Turn!”

     “No” “Mine!”

     They shouted again almost like a daily routine. The lithe twin priestesses Zexa Xeza, were only really identifiable by their alternating skin colours. They wore matching dresses that each bore symbols that told time. Since it was day, the golden one had her horn out, and she held in her hands the staff with Sol at its end. This caused her horn to cast a shadow on the dress, indicating the current time. He still hadn’t quite figured out whether they were one entity in two different bodies or if they were just two twin sisters sharing a mental connection. He had asked them several times before but they just kept answering in riddles. They referred to themselves as one, but the way they were acting now made them seem like two as they were fighting with one another over their paladin girlfriend Julia again. She possibly stood out even more than the twins. She was a normal human, but it was like somebody slapped two halves of two very different people together. She had alternating hair lengths, clothing that different on the right and left sides from one another, alternating shoes. Perhaps the most intriguing part about her was the grand clock shield that floated behind her. Yep, he was certainly part of a most peculiar team alright. Not that he would ever argue with them out loud. After all, they were helping him with the DLC quest that he had gotten at the New Years party. Plus, there was the more important factor of them all being really hot girls despite their oddities.

     They had had these playful little fights with each-other several times already. Some would call it odd that they would fight one another while still finishing each-other’s sentences, but it brought some amusement at least. Besides, it wasn’t as if there was anything else to do on the boat as they had been sailing for over 3 weeks straight now. One could feel the envy from the ship's crew, and maybe a little bit from Larry, as the twin elemental priestesses publicly played around with Julia’s assets. The paladin at least had the decency to blush a bit at their administrations.

     “Land ahoy!” The captain suddenly shouted. The crew, who had been loafing around, ogling the girls, instantly jumped into action to prep the sails. The long monotony suddenly turned into a finely tuned machine.

     “All is running” “like clockwork” Zexa Xeza said as they too were admiring the work being done around them. Larry mostly stayed out of the way of the men. Even after weeks, he still barely knew any of the sailors. They had all made it clear to him that they considered him a pirate, even though he switched out of that class years ago… Not that he cared about it much. He wasn’t here to make friends after all.

     “So that’s Listanta, the crown jewel of the Mermatronian Empire,” Larry said to no-one in particular as he watched over the railing. “It’s actually a lot smaller then I thought it would be.” The slowly approaching land looked like a large mountain that stuck out of the sea. At its foot is a large port with enough room for dozens of freighter ships. The pier stretched far across the island’s shimmering coastline. Still, it looked quite small in comparison to the ones he had seen at New Stepolis or Pronce. Especially since Listanta was supposedly the biggest city in the world.

     “Oh right, this is your first time here isn’t it?” Julia spoke from behind him. Larry turned around, his eyebrows raised in surprise as the paladin was not being cuddled for once.

     “Where did your lovers go?” Larry teased her, not really knowing what else to say.

     “Oh they're just finishing up their packing,” Julia answered with a chuckle. “I told them not to bring so much and to pack last night… but you know.” Larry couldn’t help but chuckle at that himself.

     “I don’t know how you keep up with them,” he said.

     “It’s not easy but for them, I’ll do anything,” Julia said with a smile on her face. “Anyway, look over the side.” She then pointed down at the waves below.

     “Ok?” He responded, confused by the request. Glancing over the railing, he gasped as the sight stole his breath away. The ship suddenly felt like an airship as an absolutely gigantic metropolis of a city stretched out beneath the pristine waters. Hundreds of oceanic buildings that almost reached up to the surface stretched on for miles on end. Thousands of little lights lit up the seafloor, showing off the many shell-inspired houses and the countless merfolk seemingly flying through the streets. It was a breathtaking sight to say the least and everywhere he looked, he saw new things. Some of the houses were in colours he didn’t even know existed, and the tails of the merfolk were just as colourful.

     “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Julia said with a wistful voice. “I did the same thing as you are doing now the first time I was here. That large port on the island is just the peak of Listanta's mountain. It’s really only there for the land dwellers. Mermatronian is after all the Greatest Empire of the Merfolk, so the real thing is down there.”

     “Incredible,” Larry said. It truly was a marvel to behold. If only he could explore it all freely without drowning.

     “Anyways, despite being teammates, I realized we haven’t had time to talk these past few weeks.” Julia said after giving Larry a few more moments to take in the sights. She intentionally interrupted his staring though when she noticed that he was looking at a red haired mermaid who looked like she was tanning on a nearby coral reef. “I’m curious. What exactly was your resolution that required all of this?”

     “Oh, my resolution was uh… well.. you know… the typical. ‘Find a girlfriend’.” Larry mumbled with mix of annoyance and embarrassment as he was reminded of New Years. “I figured all of the other guys had the same kinda wish, but instead of some skill or class DLC it just gave me a scroll with a DLC quest instead.” DLC’s, or Divine Level Creations, were highly desired and since the temple of Alinavious was handing them out for free for the first 100 guests at the New Years party, he was one of the first to jump into action. He had hoped for a particularly cool upgrade so that he could show it off to some of the girls around town, but he certainly did not expect to be doing all of this!

     “Ah… some DLC’s do that,” Julia nodded sympathetically. “Mine wasn’t clear at first either. It only unlocked for me after Aki-... I mean, High Priestess lady Akita, guided me through some special training.”

     “Is that how you gained that large shield?” Larry asked.

     “Yep,” Julia chuckled. “So I’d say don’t worry, though... Did you really expect the Goddess of Time to give you a harem touch or something? I mean, shouldn't you ask this of the gods of marriage or love and the like?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.

     “Well, no, but it was the first resolution that came into my mind. Have you seen the charges they ask for DLC's related to romance nowadays?” Larry vented in annoyance. Julia simply nodded along. “It's more than 5 years worth of paychecks at the least for a simple DLC, and I’m not even talking about the greater DLC’s! Then again, this quest is actually turning out to be surprisingly costly as well. If it wasn’t for the twins financing it, I probably wouldn’t have been able to even afford the travel costs anytime soon. I don’t even really know what I’m supposed to do other than ‘go to the old Alinavious temple at Listanta’.” His frustrations about it all were audible in his voice. Julia was about to speak up again when they were interrupted by by two voices speaking up.

     “OHHH….” It’s a lot” “smaller than we” “thought it would be.” The twins spoke dually as they entered the deck again. They looked unimpressed at the surface island’s appearance, Julia simply put her hand on Larry’s shoulder with an understanding touch.

     “Believe in the Goddess,” she said simply before she moved to talk to the again. The innocence in the twins’ surprised reaction as she pointed out the true city to them pacified his worries somewhat. They were clearly just trying to help out after all.

     “So where is this quest temple?” Larry asked as they disembarked the boat and stepped on the pier. He couldn’t help but gawk a bit. Julia's lithe frame was deceiving as it turned out she was surprisingly strong, carrying two suitcases larger than she was on her shoulders with contemptuous ease.

     “Hmm, the records stated” “that the Temple of the Eternal Current” “should still be” “at the corner of” “63rd Wave and 34th Stream.” “Where it has always been” “since her Ladyship’s passing.” Zexa Xeza spoke in their typical alternating pattern.

     “Uh… wasn’t that over a thousand years ago?” Larry asked worried. “Do you really expect it to still be in one piece?”

     “The Mermatronians revere Lady Alinavious since she was one of the founding goddesses of their empire. Even though she has fallen, they’re bound to have caretakers to watch over the temple and upkeep her legacy,” Julia reassured him.

     “That is correct.” a voice interrupted the parties thoughts. Turning around, they saw a large party of Mermaids seemingly rise from the waters by the pier. It was a full escort of well armed and, according to Larry, damn sexy mermaids. They were clad in what looked like formal military gear and they were floating above sea level in small, personal pools of water.

     “I am Captain Ael of the 2nd Legion.” the mermaid at the front said. “It has been untold moons since the Eternal Goddess has had new priestesses. Naturally, the notice of your coming was received with great delight. Lady Zexa and Lady Xeza, we welcome you to our fair city. The Empress of the 7 Currents awaits you.” The blue haired beauty and easily most decorated of the escort spoke in a professional voice as the unit saluted in unison.

     “We accept your” “invitation graciously Captain.” Zexa Xeza replied as they curtsied in return.

     “Forgive me though,” captain Ael spoke again, “for we had not received notice of your companions. Is there an issue?” She then looked to Julia and Larry who at some point had developed quite a noticeable tent in his pants, much to his own embarrassment.

     “Julia is” “my dear lover” “and Larry here” “has a special DLC quest” “at the temple,” Zexa Xeza said. “Can you” “have him escorted” “there? We will” “join up with him” “there later.”

     “Very well,” the blue haired mermaid said. “I’ll have someone pick him up. In the meantime, we shall depart for the Grand Plaza. Your sister Ysera arrived here a few hours earlier and she is waiting for you there, from there we shall head to the palace. The Empress is very excited to meet you all.” She then signaled to one of her attendants who placed her trident in the water.

     “Ysera is here” “already? That is” “good news!” Zexa Xeza spoke. Larry was about to ask who that was when suddenly a grand ship rose from the water interrupting his thoughts.

“‘We’ll join you when we are done’ they said,” Larry complained, “but what am I supposed to even DO at the temple?! Bah, and they didn’t even bother giving me a cute mermaid escort.” With him swam a green haired, moderately built merman soldier who was pushing him through the currents of Listanta. They were just passing over what looked like a vibrant open market.

     “Aww, am I not handsome enough for you?” the merman said in exaggerated mockery who had introduced himself as Pakin. “You land folk all say the same thing. You have to keep in mind that we are a matriculate society. Because of this, the mermaids usually only escort the most important of guests, such as your companions.” He stated matter of factually as he guided Larry’s bubble boat past a large school of jellyfish.

     “But I just saw plenty of mermaids hanging out with guys on our way here,” Larry pointed out.

     “Oh those? They were what we call merhalf’s. Unlike you surface dwellers, we naturally adjust our bodies to accommodate for the gender imbalance when we come of age. Merhalfs are the mermen that have decided to change over during that phase, they are still considered men ranking wise though. True mermaids like Captain Ael's squad are the rare elites.” Pakin explained as they began to slow down. Larry looked quite surprised at that. To think that there were men down here who would willingly give up their manhood. To each their own, he figured. That’s when the two men approached a cliff side with an enormous, circular, hollow, clock faced gate. This must be where the ancient temple is. It seems to have been built here with a clear overview of the sea valley below in mind.

     “And we’re here.” Pakin said as they passed through the gates. Oddly enough, the water seemingly stopped right at gates’ frame. Larry’s bubble ceased to exist as he entered the air while Pakin on the other hand received a pool of water, much like the ones used by captain Ael’s squad.

     “Heh, I gotta say, these bracelets you guys use are pretty neat,” Larry said as he touched the trinket the guard had given him earlier. It was what caused the creation and disappearance of air bubbles. It was quite impressive how seamless the transition was, though it wasn’t perfect as he shook some stray water droplets out of his longer hair.

     “Ah yes, you have your own kind to thank for that. A famous land dweller inventor named Laset came up with it a hundred years ago. It revolutionized our land dweller tourist systems so he’s pretty famous in these waters. For this particular temple though, I heard they had to install special bubble gates when word came of the priestesses’ coming.” Pakin said gesturing to the new looking magi-tech towers built into the corners of the gate. “For older places like this one, it’s quite common for one to have to perform your own transition spell.”

     “Laset you say? He is actually quite well known above as well. The original electro mago towers were his designs,” Larry said, nodding before finally looking around. As he had been told, the temple was still in pristine condition. The stone and metal that made up its walls, floors and ceilings remained untarnished. In fact, it all shimmered as if it was new, despite the waves of time. At the same time, it still felt old. As old as millenniums past. This ancient yet timeless architecture was not used in the modern age, distinguishing it in its own way.

     “So, now what?” Larry mumbled, halting his admiration of the view.

     “Don’t you have a quest log?” Pakin pointed out. “Don’t they they usually expand or something once the first objective has been reached?”

     “Oh right, give me a second.” He said as he searched through his pouches for the quest scroll. When he found it, he peeked through it and sure enough, a new section had opened up. “I don’t suppose you know where this ‘Spring of Aeons’ is? It says I have to head there next.”

     “I’ve heard it’s supposed to be in the center of the temple but I’ve never actually been inside here. Closest I usually bother in this area is the marketplace we passed,” Pakin said looking somewhat bored. “If that’s where it says to go then let us make haste cause honestly I don’t get paid overtime for odd jobs like this.” He then smiled at his companion broadly.

     “Thanks, Pakin. Good to know you’re thinking of me,” Larry said sarcastically, returning the same smile as he put away the scroll. “Let's get going then.” Pakin simply nodded in acknowledgment as the pair headed deeper inside.

For a temple that’s over a thousand years old, the mechanisms maintaining the gates and walls were amazing, Larry pondered. The gear like doors rolled open at a paced interval that matched their approach, the automated sliding glasses or lenses giving a lovely view of the surrounding sea, the moving floors. They were all things he would expect from an artificer's abode, not a temple. Still he had definitely lost track of where they were going. All of the machinations were a bit too much to keep track of for a first time traveler. However, it seemed like the temple itself was guiding them for they eventually reached what Larry knew must be it. The Spring of Aeons, supposedly the most sacred place in the temple, though it looked nothing like he had imagined.

     “Impressive. Honestly, this would probably make a lovely dating spot,” Pakin said with a grin on his face before winking at Larry who even though he knew it was a joke still cringed. He was expecting something like an underground pond or a lake like aquifer. Instead, the water of the spring was floating in the air, coiling in a cylindrical spring shape. The water flowed back, forth, up and down endlessly. Its colours were constantly changing, though that may have just been an effect of the lights reflecting from the cacophony of a hundred colored glass pipes on the ceiling. Below the spring sat a giant internal gear shaped pool. Though Larry could see dozens of other gears in the room, none seemed to connect to it. As if anticipating his next thought, Larry’s quest log suddenly pinged causing him to stumble in surprise.

     “How the hell am I supposed to do that?” Larry pondered out loud to Pakin as he read the next step in his DLC quest. “Apparently it wants me to restart the Spring of Aeons. Any ideas?” he said turning to the merman in the hopes that he might know how.

     “I have honestly no clue here, I’m afraid,” Pakin shrugged, wandering closer to the base of the spring in examination. “Usually though, DLC quests tend to pick those that are attuned to something, meaning they hold sort of trigger. Otherwise, any visitor or worker would probably have triggered it in the past years.”

     “Oh, really? Well, then why is nothing happening now that I’m here?” Larry remarked as he thought about what he could do to act as a trigger. He walked over to the base of the spring for a cursory examination. The internal gears that made up the pool were engraved with a spiral of platinum, seemingly random numbers lining it from the inside out while each tooth was shimmering like crystal. Walking over to the base of the water spring, Larry tentatively touched the coil of water. The water deformed slightly as it flowed around his hand before continuing its course, not even getting him wet.

     “Hey, look at this,” Larry said, showing off his new discovery to the merman. He experimented with it a little more and no matter how he tried to block the streams, they simply continued to flow. One could not stop time after all.

     “Are you sure that's safe?” Pakin asked hesitantly from a distance.

     “Looks as safe as anything to me,” Larry said. “I mean, if you have any other ideas on what to check, feel free to let me know.” He then methodically pushed his way through to the center of the spiraling currents. Since each strand was so thin, it was fairly easy to do so at first, though they seemed to get denser the deeper he got. Still, it took only a few seconds for Larry to make his way to the nexus of the Spring. Water swirled fast around the empty space in the middle. It reminded him of tales he heard of hurricanes and tornadoes. Sadly, there was nothing in the center that hinted at what he should be doing to start it all up. Maybe the gears had to be connected to the rest of the temple? Or, given the arrangement of the pipes around the room, maybe the flow of water through them was blocked? The water likely used to flow down through the short pipes and back up through the long ones. He followed the pipes with his eye for any sign of leaks or blockage when he noticed a glimmer of light reflecting off a short tube right above him. Larry pulled out his looking glass to examine the distant object when a sparkling droplet of water dripped out, falling right into his mouth.

It was a bright sunny day. His mane blew proudly in the wind as he prowled the steppes for prey. He was mighty for he was-

It was a rainy day as she fed the baby with her milk while rocking against in her wooden chair. The crops would be good this year, meaning that she could-

It was a snowy day as he stared down upon the kingdom that he would one day rule. The cool mountain winds were-

It was a bright sunny day as she tanned in her villa. Motioning her arms, she could feel the soothing refreshment that her maid had placed in her-

It was dusty as always. Nature had not been too kind on this underground dungeon. He yawned as he smashed another goblin on the-

It was-

     “LARRY!!” Pakin's voice cut through the haze. Larry shook his head as the dreams faded again. Were they dreams? Or were they visions? Or maybe even memories? Despite the stupor his mind was in and the cotton taste in his mouth, a part of him deep down knew that all of what he saw was real. He knew it deep in his soul. The visions he had seen and felt were glimpses into… other lives? That seemed more correct. Among the infinite currents of time, there were many different lives out there, and he felt like he had just witnessed a great many of them at once.

     “Are you okay in there?!” Pakin shouted, though his voice seemed very far away. The roaring of the water spinning around him faster and faster was deafening. He tried to push against the spiralling flow but unlike before, it actively seemed to knock him back in.

     “I may need some help in here!” Larry shouted, now starting to panic.

     “Just hold on! I’m coming!” the merman shouted before diving into the spring himself. While the water spun fast, the merman was stronger as he tore through towards the middle. Just as he was about to enter the eye, however, he seemingly bounced off the interior wall. The water seemingly tightened as it now formed a cylinder around Larry.

     “Pakin, I got-” Larry started shouting but the words died his mouth as the spring seemingly linked in with all of the notches of the pool below him and took on the shape of a poled gear. It then started spinning around like a hurricane. Pakin, despite his strength, was thrown upwards at a very high speed. Larry could only gasp as Pakin was flung into one of the larger glass tubes like a rag doll.

     “Well... shit...” Larry said as he silently prayed for the safety of the merman and himself of course as he stood in the eye of the storm that was seemingly just endlessly increasing in speed. The water looked like they were coming ever closer as he could feel it starting to soak him.

     “WHAT DO YOU WANT-” Larry tried to shout as more water sprayed into his mouth again.

The currents were just so slow to her! She could only giggle as she raced through the water. Her tail fin cleaved the strong currents as as she could feel it flowing through her. After all, she was-

Larry awoke with a start, looking around he found himself floating in the spring. The water was still swirling around him but it was… it was like... so like totally slow. He could feel his legs no like other him had tail fins… they were so much better right… like he should have tail fins to… Larry giggled as he vividly remind the time of his other self... like their tail was perfect. His pants tore… like who wears that, he giggled as watched the tatters were carried off into the current. He shivered moaning as the sensation rippled down his waist, he could feel it her legs fusing the skin melting together and bones hollowing out as they formed one. One after another he felt metallic scales ripping out of his hair follicles, like so much smoother. She quivered in joy… in lust… in passion... as her lips swallowed the lollipop. But like she was just like missing her tail fin… why was her fin missing!!

Like no reason to panic, Like just breath… she thought taking a deep breath of the spring water.

It was so hawt! She could just brush them forever, after all body length hair needed the best care.

It was so big! She couldn’t help but giggled as she held her jugs, like she knew she was special but like all the cousins would be soo jelly!

Rylla shook herself, being a seer had it’s perks after. Like why couldn’t she be like the best of all of hers. She just had to remember the time line where her hair was like totally perfect. She could feel it’s smooth rubbery texture expand and ripple downwards like a current as it touch her missing fin. “Oh that’s right” Rylla giggled her hair after all was thick like cables, it needed to be in order to process the waters. Her hair then raised upwards, towards the cacophony of pipes above the room where they connected to her own tubes. The waters began to flow free once more down down washing through her-

It was -none-

A singular time that ended...

It is -endless-

A seemingly infinite amount of different lives, each with their own story to tell.

IT WAS -Finite-

A singular path that must be walked...

It IS -Infinite-

An endless amount of sense each perceiving something different.

Rylla felt all...

Her mind could see... none…

All that once was, forgotten easily, swept away by the currents of time. All that mattered was what happened right now. All that she could see was what happened right now and all of her knowledge was just so easily forgotten again.

Rylla blinked as she remembered to breath, like she was so silly like to many visions like was totally worse than the worst brain freeze. Like that’s why she didn’t remember what she didn’t need to! Like duh… she was so smarty!

Rylla moaned as she processed the waters down into her chest, she could feel her core shifting, as the containers rebalanced there weight. Rylla paused at the uncomfortable feeling in her chest, as her breast jugs strained against something… like they were huge like why would she… oh they totally exploded that silly shirt… like who wears that around here Rylla pondered.

As the water processed downwards, Rylla gasped as it followed from the transfer station into the pool counter. Her hollow expanse filled as the water pressed ever downwards into her counter she could feel it, the anticipation, the pressure.

The impulse to push the impulse to spring, the water gurgling through her as she flicked her hair over her shoulder as water sprayed forth in a rainbow arc her eyes expanding as she viewed into the other presents. For she was the Seeress of the Current, one would foresee all Events though like totally only remember important ones. As she swam the giant water Clock that was the Temple of Currents awaken for the first time in a millennium. The Aeon gear spun passing the currents through it as the temple outer water clock moved it’s ancient hands.

From top to bottom it was here, she gasped as the water rippled forth from her tail forming the true fin of currents. Her hair rippling free of the tubes Rylla pulled free, her face a beaming smile as she swam in within the infinite loop of the spring of Aeon, she was after all showing off to… an empty room?

“Like where is everyone!” Rylla paused before pouting, like her other cousins should have been here by now, after all cousin Ysera was always a timely one. That was this time line right? Like why would an all-knowing, all-seeing seeress be worried about something as silly as that.

“I totally feel like I’m like forgetting someone though.” Rylla giggled before resuming her swim. While she was a little vexed as it felt like she had just missed them, she new they would show up sooner or later.

She could wait.

After all it was the Current Times.