Lost At Sea

Along the shores of the Caspian Sea, a young boy on his family’s fishing boat sails unknowingly towards a journey unlike any experienced before him. Alone and frail, the young teen struggles to keep the boat sailing along his desired course. The vicious winds appear to be fighting him, trying to take him to another location, a location to which he has no business and no desire to go. The boy wants to find the long sought after Sapphire Lagoon, fabled to be full of fish that would help the boy’s family market stay open, as it has been struggling for so long. Instead, the waters pull the boy and his boat further into open waters. The winds, now in control, advance the boat into an unknown part of the sea, causing the boy's anxiety to boil over into a full panic.

“Where are you taking me?” He screams up to the Heavens but receives no reply. Instead, the cold, unforgiving wind takes full control of his fishing boat, sailing to wherever it desires most. With one final large gust of wind, the fishing boat is soaring through the waters, finally settling in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly the winds dissipate altogether, causing the boat to come to a stand-still.

“Why? Why have you forsaken me? All I want is to help my family!” The boy calls out in fury to the winds and his god. The boy receives no reply, just silence, and stillness. He cries out in anguish, not knowing what to do.

The boy sits alone, floating in his fisherman boat for hours and hours, with no sign of the wind taking pity on him and providing even the slightest breeze. The boy is distraught as he believes that during all the time that has passed, his boat hasn’t moved from its place in the sea at all. An eerie realization hits him, as a sense of dread washes over him, particularly as the sun begins to set for the day. Delirious thoughts, caused by intense heat and lack of water, poison his mind.

“I’m going to die here. I’m going to die of dehydration, surrounded by water,” the boy wallows in self pity as the last of the sun sets on the horizon of the Sea. Sweat drips down his trembling face as he weeps fearfully, regretting ever leaving home without his father, mother, brothers, or sisters. The boy just wanted to prove himself to his family, save them from their damnation of debt and starvation. He just wanted to bring good fortune to his family, so he could see his betrothed sister happy in a beautiful wedding dress on her wedding day. He wanted to prove that regardless of being the runt of the family, he could still be worth something, like all the rest of them. Now look where his jealousy and desire for recognition has gotten him, floating in pitch black open waters, in the middle of nowhere.

“Damn my pride!” The boy curses himself for not asking for help, as sweat streamed off his brow. He has been a cursed fool, not bringing anything for light or enough water for a long journey, thinking he would be back long before dark.

“What a fool I am!” He curses hoarsely once more.

After countless minutes pass floating in the dark, the boy feels his energy fading slowly away.

This is it. I’m going to die. I can feel myself barely hanging on. I’m such a fool. The boy thinks in a hazy frustration. Strangely, the boy finds his ears perking up slightly to what he thinks is the sound of boiling water. He struggles to turn his head towards the unexpected sound, having very minimal energy left. Is he going mad in his final moments? His eyes widen as he starts to see steam rising just ahead of his boat. A faint green light grows in size.

With all his might, the boy pulls himself to his feet, stumbling across the boat towards the steam. He groans from the sting of sweat dripping into his eyes caused by the heat coming off of the boiling waters in the dead night. When he reaches the railing, the boy’s eyes are drawn to the pocket of heat. He is bathed in the steam the water irregularly is providing, but for whatever reason, the boy no longer feels the intense heat or thirst previously plaguing him. This strange phenomenon is saving him. But how? He starts wondering if he is not going to die after all, not tonight. But why? The boy gasps, staring in astonishment at the small area of water now rapidly boiling as the intense growing light finally reaches the water’s surface.

The boy is no longer in the pitch black but is slowly becoming encompassed by an eerie green light.

Breaching the surface of the boiling waters, an eccentric egg-shaped ball of green light emerges, slightly larger than the boy's head, floating a meter above the water. It circles the boy. He freezes, a scream dying on his chapped lips. He becomes even more aware of just how utterly alone and defenseless he truly is.

“What are you?” The boy screams in terror, keeping his eyes on the floating green light, as it continues to float around him almost playfully.

“Hasan,” a female voice hisses from the green light.

“What? How do you know my name? Who are you demon?” The boy, who goes by the name Hasan, half screams, half whimpers.

“I am no demon. I am a god,” it hisses. Hasan is unsure how a floating green light can speak to him. He sees no mouth on it, yet it is clear the voice is coming from the light.

“Wha... What do you want from me?” Hasan stutters.

“To make a deal,” it hisses with anticipation.

“What sort of deal?” He asks, feeling somewhat intrigued by the self-proclaimed god.

“Aaah, I grant you what you need, only what you need. You ask for what you need, only what you need. Do this and you may return home to your family the hero you so desire to be,” it hisses and cackles slightly. Hasan, his curiosity outweighing his need for caution, raises one eyebrow skeptically at the mystical green light.

“This deal does not seem to benefit you in any way. What do you get from it?”

“Aaah, aaah, fail to ask for only what you need, and you will lose all of you to feed MY needs,” it cackles once more, sending a shiver down Hasan’s spine. The green light continues to float just above his head, encircling him. Its speech is strange and unnerving.

“Hasan, Hasan, do we have a deal Hasan?” It squeals in an agonizing voice. Hasan nods his head reluctantly. Terror still encapsulates his mind, but so does determination and devotion to his family.

“Good, good. What is it that you need?” It hisses, the green light lowering right in front of his face.

“I need fish. Yes, to sell at my family’s shop. To save us from our debt. To keep our legacy in place.”

“Then fish you shall have,” it hisses once more. Magically, piles upon piles of fish appear on Hasan’s boat, glowing in green light. This is more than even Hasan could have imagined catching in the Sapphire Lagoon. It would surely be enough to save the shop. Not only is it enough fish, but very good quality fish as well. Far better even than their competitors.

“Anything else?” It hisses again, with anticipation lingering in the voice.

“Else? Why yes… A wedding dress, one of the finest for my betrothed sister to make her feel joyous and beautiful on her wedding day. It is my responsibility to obtain this for her.”

“Then a fine wedding dress you shall have,” it hisses once again, cackling as the most beautiful wedding dress Hasan has ever seen appears out of thin air, slightly glowing from green magic light. He gasps in astonishment.

“Anything else?”

“A brand new compass! Mine was damaged during my travels, and I need to ensure I can navigate myself home,” Hasan quickly adds on to his list. Instantaneously, out of thin air, a compass appears right in his hand. The compass is truly a mark of craftsmanship, made from real gold, glowing with green magic light like all his other acquisitions.

“Incredible!” Hasan whispers, looking lustfully at his new trinket.

“Anything else you want?” The voice hisses more seductively, drawing Hasan’s attention back from the gloriously perfect compass. In a deep trance, Hasan turns from all his newly acquired materials to the floating green light, with a devious grin painted on his lips.

“Yes. I want a palace to house my family, like that of the Sultan, but grander. No more do I wish to live in our commoner housing. I want us to live like royalty too, with servants and lots of money so we never have to be fishermen again. We can make others fish for us. Soon our family will be ruling! Not even the Sultan will be as powerful as me!” Hasan states, his eyes growing deeper with desire as he continues to gaze at the compass in his hand. Suddenly, the compass vanishes into the green light, then there is nothing in his hand. The wedding dress follows suit. Next the piles upon piles of fish, all vanishing with green puffs of light until nothing is left but Hasan and the boat.

“What? What happened?” Hasan demands, panic fluttering in his chest and seizing his mind as he once again becomes the boy with nothing. A terrifying, shrieking cackle seems to encircle him, engulfing even the deepest corners of Hasan’s mind.

“What did you do?!?” He screams, feeling tricked.

“You failed!” The voice hisses with satisfaction.

“How? I asked only for what I needed!”

“Lies! You only started with what you needed. You need fish for your family’s shop, I agree. You need a dress for your sister, I agree. You need a compass to sail home, I agree. Your last requests, however, are motivated only by greed. You do not need all those things, Hasan, you only WANT those things. That is why you fail!” It shrieks out in delight. An overwhelming feeling of dread washes over Hasan. He turns pale. His limbs weaken.

“What’s going to happen to me?” Hasan shudders in fear as the green light begins to rise above the now rapidly boiling water. He grows numb as he stares, his eyes upon a monstrous sight emerging from the depths of the Sea.

A sixty meter monstrosity stands before Hasan, towering in the night sky as water pours off the creature's scaly form. It has a huge angler fish spine with a massive green light attached to it, lighting up the creature's features in a most gruesome way. There is no real structure to its form, making it look almost like a giant scaly blob with intense razor sharp fins pointing at the sky. The green light highlights the creature's giant white eye, right above its incredibly large mouth, with thousands of large, sharp, jagged teeth. There are parts of this beast that are unfathomable to Hasan’s limited human mind. He is not able to comprehend many of this beast’s horrifying features, as he has never seen such an abomination, even among the various sea creatures inhabiting the Caspian Sea.

“Hasan, you shall now feed my needs!” It hisses sinisterly. That voice and the horrifying glint of teeth mark the last things that pierce Hasan’s consciousness before his world goes black.