I was just starting to get bored with the town when Lirta contacted me. Apparently, the dolphin spirit beast had returned, along with a few companions. I was a little surprised, since we’d barely waited more than an hour.

We made our way back to the point on the shore we’d come from. Al was trudging along beside me, fiddling with some small device. He was clearly bored and didn’t pay much attention to where we were going. Tenira strolled along with a slight smile on her face, obviously enjoying the trip. Maybe I should make sure she got more breaks.

I was getting a little nervous. Sighing, I glanced at Aston, a steady presence guarding my back like always. That helped me calm down.

The same dolphin female (I assumed) I’d met before was waiting for me, along with a few others who stayed just under the water. She rose up a bit further once I came to a stop. ‘Princess. I have news.’

‘You were quick,’ I said. ‘I hope you set a meeting?’

She bobbed up and down like she was mimicking a nod. ‘Yes. Flame-In-Dark-Waters will receive you. At once, in the waters beyond this coast.’

I took a deep breath. ‘All right. Then we should go right away.’ I turned to my guards. “I hope you’re all prepared, Aston?”

The spirit beast made a splashing sound and shook her head when I looked at her. ‘He was clear, Imperial Princess. You are to come alone. He will only speak with you, and anyone else shall be treated as an intruder.’

Aston frowned and took a half-step closer. “You Highness, that’s unacceptable.”

I sighed and shook my head. “No. If Flame-In-Dark-Waters wants it like that, I’ll have to oblige him.”

“You can’t be serious.” I could see a hint of what might be fear in Al’s eyes. “How often have people nearly killed you?”

“He’s right,” Tenira added. “Please don’t be stupid, Inaris.”

“Under different circumstances, I would agree with you,” I said. “But not this time. They’ve guaranteed my safety, right?”

‘You can be assured of that.’

I nodded. “Nothing is going to harm me there. These people value honor highly. They won’t break faith.”

Tenira frowned, still looking concerned. “Are you sure?”

“I’d say I’m willing to bet my life on it,” I answered, grinning a little. I stepped away, noting that the group of spirit beasts was departing. “This is important.”

I took off my robe, leaving my top and pants, and handed it to Aston. Then I took off my shoes and socks as well. That would have to do. I hesitated for a moment, before I removed my necklace and one ring, since their enchantments wouldn’t work well underwater. I still wore my storage ring plus a bracelet and an ankle bracelet each with protective formations.

“Don’t worry.” I smiled, making sure I appeared calm and relaxed in front of the others. “I should be back soon. You don’t need to wait for me here.”

Then I took a few steps forward and jumped off the rocks into the water.

The cold of the sea in winter sent a jolt through me, but it was a minor annoyance. I knew I could handle more. I dove under a wave then propelled myself forward, away from the cliff into deeper water. I could still see underwater reasonably well, a lot better than in my old body.

Maybe a hundred meters out, I saw the group of dolphins. They were watching me. From my other side, I sensed and saw another few spirit beasts approaching. They all swam parallel to me, like they were escorting me on my way out. I nodded at them, then continued swimming, alternating between looking around in the air and beneath the waterline.

After a while, I saw the coastline falling back behind me, the curve of the bay fully visible. This was where the open sea really began. The waves rose higher here. I could see a ship in the distance, but apart from that and a few spirit beasts, the only life around here were schools of fish. I paused, treading water while I took a last look around.

I started gathering some qi. I drew on the darkness affinity qi in my core, keeping it ready. Then I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and reached for the air around me, the open sky stretching over the waves. I pulled in some of the air qi, dragging it through my channels, before I gathered it up along with darkness and formed it into a technique inside me, guiding the qi through my lungs and respiratory tract.

At once, breathing became harder, like I had to draw air through a veil of darkness. Like a dark mass had settled into my mouth and nose, and I had to resist the temptation to cough it out. But I’d expected that and knew I would adjust. I knew a water affinity technique for breathing underwater, but this one was more general, and who knew what environment I might encounter. So I dove under the water again and took a breath. I could feel the qi working, but my breathing functioned the same as before.

I dove deeper, then paused and concentrated on the qi in my body. I still had a lot to learn when it came to my shapeshifting ability, but I’d made some progress. I focused on it, coaxing the qi to make the changes I wanted. Then I looked at my hands, checking to see the webbing that had appeared between my fingers. I focused again, making my feet a little wider and flatter. Not a large change, but it should help.

When I swam down again, I could feel the difference. I looked around, seeing that the dolphins were still following me but keeping their distance. Smiling, I leaned on my cultivator strength more and accelerated. I swam diagonally out into the sea and down at the same time. A few schools of fish passed my way, and a few beasts with stronger qi a little farther out, but they all kept their distance from me.

It was getting dark here, the sunlight not reaching very far into the ocean. I was lucky I cultivated darkness affinity qi and could see in the dark, I wouldn’t want to risk a light here. As I swam into deeper and deeper waters, feeling the pressure around me increase, I knew this wasn’t a trip for normal humans. My body should stand up to anything short of the really deep ocean. Especially if I used qi to reinforce it, but I held off on that for now.

After a while, I paused to get my bearings. The water stretched out around me in every direction. The group of dolphins were still accompanying me, now swimming ahead with a slight deviation to the direction I’d been heading in. I concentrated on my qi senses, trying to stretch them into the distance. There, almost at the edge of my range, I caught a hint of a powerful aura, one that blazed proudly into the sea but felt alien.

I started swimming in its direction, breathing deeply to calm my nerves. The technique was still annoying, but I was getting used to it. Hopefully, we could get this over with soon. After a few minutes, the spirit beasts slowed down and then stopped, but I continued on my way.

It took a moment for me to realize what the dark shadow I was moving towards actually was. An underwater mountain rose into the sea, small but home to diverse life. The colorful coral fields and fish swimming among them made me pause for a moment to appreciate their beauty. But then I continued on, towards an area where I could feel more qi presences. There were a few buildings of coral built into the mountain, though as I approached, I could tell they were half in ruins, chunks of them missing. A few spirit beasts of different types, most of them looking like sharks, lurked among the spread out houses. But none came close to the open place in the middle, where a titan lay waiting on a rocky shelf.

I slowed down as I approached, taking in my conversation partner to be. He was huge, at least as tall as a tower, but that paled in comparison to the strength of his aura. Green scales shimmered under the fading lights of a few luminous coral strands or fish. He turned towards me, raising his form a little, and I held in a gasp as I saw it more clearly. He looked like a cross between a kraken and a sea serpent. His body was long and sinuous, with several sets of fins along short appendages. The head looked undeniably reptilian, his eyes dark and slitted vertically. But on his back lay a shifting mass of what I realized were tentacles, with suction cups dotting the dark limbs. They were currently gathered and laid flat along his back.

I hadn’t seen pictures or read descriptions of a spirit beast quite like that before, but I knew it had to be a sea dragon. Their forms tended to be variable, so that was no surprise.

The sight sent a shiver down my spine. If I was being honest, even only with myself, it was hard to think of this beast as a person. But I forced myself to look past that. I need to be careful not to fall into the trap of considering them monsters, as much as trying to apply too human reasoning.

‘Princess Inaris.’ His mental voice was deep and rumbling, with a bit of a hiss. It carried a faint undercurrent of emotions and intent, in this case cautious welcome tinged with a bit of curiosity.

I inclined my head. ‘It is a pleasure to meet you. I assume you are Flame-In-Dark-Waters?’

‘Indeed I am. And you are the Empire’s princess and daughter of the Moon.’ He sent a bit of laughter. There was a breeze of respect and wariness accompanying Rijoko’s epithet, though.

I nodded. ‘I hope we will have a lasting and fruitful relationship.’

The sea dragon shook his head a little, sending a wave against me. I weathered it calmly, swimming forward a bit so I was at the same position as before. ’Quite bold words to start this conversation I granted you,’ he said, sounding guarded and sending less of his emotions this time, just the words.

‘Just setting out my hopes,’ I answered, smiling. ‘I’m sure you are aware of Mother’s attempts to make contact, and why I am here. We would like to improve our relationship with the powers of the sea.’

‘I am aware of your nation’s problems with the ones calling themselves Zarian Dominion. Or the ships they’ve sent north.’ A hint of wariness accompanied his words now. ‘What if I was to prefer talking to them?’

I considered for a moment. I knew that these people of the depths were the only type of spirit beasts to communicate exclusively via telepathy. It was a good thing I had a talent for that. The messages he sent me felt different from other telepathic communication I’d experienced, since he wasn’t really talking in any one language. But the ease with which he got his intent across, feeling like separate words and sentences, told me not to underestimate him.

‘That’s of course your prerogative, but I doubt it.’ I shrugged. ‘How quickly you agreed to meet me is an indication, at least. Thank you, by the way.’

Flame-In-Dark-Waters sent another bit of laughter. ‘Bold and honest, as appropriate. I think I like you, little princess.’

I smiled, not letting his way of address faze him. Compared to him, I really was tiny. And probably a baby. I knew his kind had a hierarchy, and he had to be at or near the top of the part here in the eastern ocean. He was probably centuries old at least. I hadn’t encountered his name before, but that didn’t mean much. Especially since some sources said they changed their names every hundred years or so.

‘Thank you, Flame-In-Dark-Waters. I don’t know you enough to say if I like you, but it’s a good start.’

He moved closer, this time obviously careful to control his movements. ‘It is going to take more than that for me to consider your request. I assume you want us to help you against your enemies at sea?’

I nodded. ‘Sort of? We don’t expect an official alliance or for you to wreck all their ships. But we would like you to make it clear to them that attacking us through the sea isn’t tolerated. Maybe hinder their shipping a bit if it ever comes to war.’

He cocked his head. ‘I see. And you expect me to agree to that because we’re friendly?’

I chuckled. ‘No, although I doubt it hurts. You wouldn’t have agreed to meet with me if it didn’t matter, would you?’

I got the feeling of a shrug. ‘You’re an important person in the Empire, and will be its next ruler. We know how things work on the surface.’ He blinked his right eye lazily. ‘So what is it you offer us?’

I took a deep breath. Maybe it was my special ability, but I felt like I had a good sense for this, the way they thought and what he expected. What I’d read and the way this conversation went told me I was doing the right thing, even if it might seem stupid to some diplomats.

‘I’m not giving you anything in return for friendship,’ I said. ‘You wouldn’t accept a trade deal, would you? I suspect I couldn’t bribe you even if I wanted to.’

Flame-In-Dark-Waters withdrew his head a little, regarding me more intensely. He scratched with a claw against the rock underneath. Then, he nodded. ‘Quite right, daughter of the Moon. I’m glad we understand each other. Tell me, why would we search out this improved relationship?’

I shrugged, kicking my legs a little to correct drift. I had to be careful here. ‘Perhaps you respect us, or at least me. But there’s also the future to consider. This ocean, and a large part of others, have shores under the influence of the Empire or Dominion. Ships crossing it, people fishing them. This isn’t going to diminish.’ I hesitated for a moment. ‘I respect your people and their wisdom. You can see that you will be involved in this one way or the other, eventually. It’s better to pick the winning side and make sure you don’t get smacked with the side effects.’

‘You presume a lot, little princess.’ His speech was neutral again.

I swam forward slowly. ‘Just telling it like I see it. You’ll make your decision, and I know that. Like I said … I respect your people and your sense. Even if the Zarian don’t.’

He scratched at the ground again, this time a little more aggressively. I didn’t think it was on purpose. ‘You think they don’t?’

‘Just a guess.’ I crossed my arms. ‘How easily you’re talking to me tells me you’re not happy with the Zarian Dominion and how they must have tried to approach you.’

He chuckled again. ‘A good guess, in this case.’

‘I know you value strength.’ Like everything in this world. ‘But I don’t think they understand what it means. You’re not mindless spirit beasts to be tamed. You’re not cowed by displays of power. You’re not bought by shiny trinkets or pretty words.’ I smiled wryly. ‘And I’m not flattering you, just making a point. Your way wouldn’t work for us. But that doesn’t mean we can’t respect each other.’

Flame-In-Dark-Waters breathed out, a stream of hot water that sent fishes and lesser beasts scurrying. I felt the heat wash over me, but didn’t move. After a moment, it cut off, and he sank down onto the new area he’d just cleared of growth. A few tentacles uncurled from his back to wave around, probing the ground. One of them came close to hover beside me, but didn’t touch. I just crossed my arms and did nothing.

‘You’re good, princess,’ he acknowledged finally, amusement and an undercurrent of pleasure accompanying the words. ‘I expect your people to stay out of our territory. But you’ve got yourself an accomplishment. I will make sure this agreement is kept in both these waters and those to the west.’

So he is pretty powerful. I grinned, feeling some of the tension leave me. ‘That’s great, Flame-In-Dark-Waters. I think this will be good for both our people.’

‘Let us hope.’ He blinked again. ‘Now leave me, little princess. I need to bring news to my fellows. It was nice talking with you.’

‘Likewise. I hope we will meet again.’ I inclined my head, then started swimming for the surface.

After a moment, I hesitated and looked back. The sea dragon was uncurling himself, sending his tentacles fluttering. Most of the other spirit beasts had cleared out of the area. I shook my head, kicking my legs and swimming hard back the way I had come.

This had been a fascinating trip, but I wanted to get back to air and solid ground now.

After a while, more light started filtering down, and I came upon the group of dolphins again. Still keeping their distance, they escorted me back. I was pretty sure they swam with more energy and enthusiasm, though, and their qi presences felt steadier. I only felt better once I breached the surface and dispelled my technique.