The Holy Fountain, Scene v1

Ever since that afternoon, questions clouded Kismet’s mind. What are Undine, or even Cathera for that matter? What is a blood sister? Did she have a blood sister? If so, where has she been all these years? Was she dead? How did she suddenly appear in Delphi’s bath?

Soon after Delphi fell asleep, Kismet found herself gazing into the blue shimmering waters of Rokan’s Holy Fountain. In her studies, she learned the fountain existed even before the Empire began 990 years ago. The fountain didn’t have its polished stone tiers, or its large stone base. Instead, it was only the large, mystical statue of an Undine, sitting on rocks that seemed to grow out of the earth.

The polished stone face of the Undine gazed at Kismet with large pupil-less eyes. Her face tilted to the left, as if sympathetic, with a sad, but loving smile. Her face and body were hauntingly realistic. Even the stone had a subtle tint of blue to it, with a texture reminiscent of Aria and Melody’s body. It even looked moist, maybe even a little bit slick and scaly, but it was stone to the touch. The statue sat casually on it’s rocky perch, its tail bent in front of her and tilted to the side, as if she were sitting on a chair. A long river of rocky hair cascaded down her back, reaching the floor. The hair on her right was brushed behind her ear, while the left fell gently over her chest. The Undine’s elbows were bent near the waist, her palms upward and cupped together to make an open bowl, as if offering something, and from it overflowed an abundance of water. It still puzzled the Catheran where the water even came from, and how it always seemed so clean. The fountain never stopped running, and the water seemed to form from the Undine’s hands itself. Enough water flows from the fountain that it is channeled into a special water tank. The water is reserved for watering the garden, along with drinking water and baths for royalty only.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Kismet spun around to find King Marcus and General Raze standing at the entrance of the gardens. Marcus walked along the stone path that led straight to the fountain and stood by her side, gazing up at the Undine, while Raze stood a respectful distance beside him. The king’s voice seemed softer than usual. “To think this fountain was here even before the Rokan Empire began. Even after all these years, there isn’t a single sign of age or vandalism.”

Marcus slid his hand along the rim of the fountain’s base. The exterior of the base was faded and stained, while the inside looked clean and preserved. “Legend has it that a boy from the Lokem tribe, or so it was called at that time, set out east to explore with a group of his people. They traveled through Jastor’s Pass, and across the Rokan River, settling here at Rokan. Every day, the boy would go to the river to gather water, or to wash the village’s clothes. At that river, he met a lone Undine. The two quickly became close friends, and they would visit each other every day. But a year later, the summer was long and harsh. The river almost completely dried up, and was in dire need of water. People were starting to die of thirst. They dug in search of water, but were unable to find any. All the nearby ponds had nearly dried up, and there hadn’t been any rain for several months. Not knowing what to do, they prayed to the heavens for rain and built this statue as a sign of fealty to the water goddess, Vesi, but no rain came.”

The king looked back up at the Undine’s sad smile, as though he were touched by her expression. “One day, when all hope seemed lost, the boy went to the river. The Undine hadn’t visited him ever since the river had gotten so low, but that day was different. The Undine was there. He ran down to meet her at the shallow water. She said to him ‘The summer has run long, and I care too much for you to watch you and your family die. Thank you for your great friendship. This is my gift to you.’ And with that she took his hands in hers. Water surrounded them, and when the water had dispersed, she was gone, leaving a glorious blue gem in his hands. He realized what had happened, and he cried, but he would not let her sacrifice go to waste. He took the blue gem to the statue they had built in the center of their village and placed it in the Undine’s cupped hands. The gem seemed to fade into her hands and give the stone a blue color, and water began to flow, up until this very day.”




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