“What Zowtow Yao Gunyue called the Battle of the Shallows is over. I expect that the Battle of the Gantu is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of the Shishay Quay. Upon it depends our own aqueous life and the long continuity of our shanjiao and our Yu Diguo The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.

The Hushi Quay knows that he will have to break us in this ocean or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Haiyang may be free and the life of the oceans may move forward into broad, sunlit beaches. But if we fail, then the whole world, including all the Shishay Quay. Claw and tail alike, Will descend into the darkness of a new abyss made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted by the lights of a perverted magic.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the Shishay Quay and its Yu Diguo last for a thousand years, all Shishay Quay will still say, ‘this was their finest hour.’”

Lingdao Shengshan stood before the assembled might of his army. All species of the Shishay Quay were spread out across the plain. They were in the twilight zone of the ocean. His mightiest scholars had found a way to call for help across the cosmos. And something answered. It whispered in the dark of powers unimaginable. At first, Shengshan did not want to listen. But as the years wore on and the hushi from above continued to reap a bloody harvest upon his people he was eventually convinced to listen.

His advisors brought before him a being of incredible power and mein. He cowered in shell as the being spoke.

“We can’t give you power. But we know how you can take it.” The being whispered.

“What would we do with this power?” Shengsan asked. “How do we access this power?”

“It will require time and sacrifice.” The voice whispered back. “I will show you.”

Sometime later Shangshan was observing in a darkened cavern beneath the waves. A circle of nautilus surrounded a whale. The whale was a pathetic creature of black and white markings. The nautilus pulsed and shimmered as magic runes slid across their skin. The eldritch markings of a dark magic were written and re-written upon their skin.

The skin of the whale bubbled and stretched. Flesh melted away under the merciless blowtorch of mana the nautili utilized. The tail ripped and stretched. The flippers elongated and stretched. Fingers and claws appeared on the end of the flipper. The nautil-mages were devolving the whale to walk on land.

The Shishay Quay had enacted their plan. They were desperate. The Hishui were an ever rapacious species. Every species in the alliance had known loss. In the council chambers there were empty podiums for each race that had been lost. It had been decided that bringing magic back into the world was simply not enough. Vengeance would need to be claimed. There was too much history and bad blood between the ocean and land.

The whale was completely engulfed in a swirling haze of mana. Sparks coruscated and crackled around the wretched being. The whale had begun to scream. Squeaks, clicks and whales oscillated up and down. First high pitched squeaks then deep basso rumbles. The naulti-mages did not stop their silent chanting. For that was what it was that appeared across their skin. Their grasp of the ancient runic languages was absolute. They used their own skin as the medium for the spells. For this was the power of the Shishay Quay.

When they were done, a massive orca floated in the circle. Purple, glowing runes of power shimmered up and down the flanks of the massive beast. It was 20 feet tall from the tip of his tail to his nose. Finally, a great gaping maw opened and a scream spilt the water. Concentric rings of power fluttered through the water with the power of the bellow.

Another larger naulti-mage swam up to the Orcakin. “Arise my brother. Join your brethren on the surface and bring death and destruction upon the vile land walkers. Smash, Smite, Rend.”

“SMASH, SMITE, REND.” echoed the Orcakin.

Another orca was brought into the circle. The process began again. An army was being born. The land walkers would pay.