Ada banyak Citadel yang tersebar di seluruh Stormsea, tersembunyi di perairannya yang misterius dan tak terduga. Beberapa telah diperintah oleh House of Night selama puluhan tahun, beberapa baru saja ditaklukkan, sebagai hasil dari infiltrasi Mordret ke dalam Great Clan sebagai persiapan untuk Domain War. Setahun lalu, salah satunya diserahkan kepada River People setelah mereka melarikan diri dari Tomb of Ariel, sehingga mereka memiliki rumah di dunia baru yang asing yang dibawa Ananke kepada mereka. Citadel itu sebelumnya dikenal sebagai Black Obelisk. Itu adalah menara batu besar yang menjulang dari air dan menunjuk ke langit seperti jari yang menuduh... sebenarnya, itu adalah jari — ujung dari salah satunya. Jika seseorang menyelam jauh ke dalam perairan yang bergolak dan mengikuti Obelisk ke kedalaman Stormsea, mereka akhirnya akan menemukan bahwa itu terhubung ke tangan raksasa yang diukir dari batu hitam, dengan empat jari lagi menjulur darinya secara miring. Struktur itu ditumbuhi oleh teritip raksasa, rumput laut, dan ganggang — dengan banyak Nightmare Creature bersarang di hutan bawah air itu — tetapi bentuknya masih bisa dikenali. Tangan itu tampak seperti milik manusia, tetapi ada sesuatu yang menyeramkan dan sangat salah tentangnya. Dan jika seseorang menyelam lebih dalam lagi, ke dalam kegelapan yang menghancurkan dari kedalaman ekstrem, mereka bisa menelusuri tangan ke lengan, akhirnya mencapai kepala kolosal dari patung yang tak terbayangkan itu. Tidak ada yang tahu seperti apa wajahnya, karena setiap orang yang berani menatapnya baik mati atau menjadi gila, akhirnya kehilangan nyawa karena penderitaan delirium yang hebat. Jadi, orang-orang tidak menyelam sedalam itu di dekat Black Obelisk, dan tidak ada dari mereka yang pernah menyelam lebih dalam dari wajah tersembunyi dari patung yang tenggelam itu. Citadel itu sendiri tidak terlalu padat penduduknya, mengingat tidak ada banyak permukaan di sini untuk ditinggali orang. Namun, letaknya dekat dengan pantai Stormsea, di perairan yang relatif aman — aman berarti stabil di Stormsea, tidak ada hubungannya dengan berapa banyak abominasi yang menghuni wilayah tersebut. Yang lebih penting, itu adalah Citadel terdekat dengan muara River of Tears, yang menjadikannya stasiun penting bagi kapal-kapal yang bepergian dari ujung terjauh Stormsea atau dari Timur. Jadi, populasi Black Obelisk kecil dan sebagian besar bersifat sementara. Itulah keadaannya sebelumnya, setidaknya... Hari ini, Black Obelisk tidak bisa dikenali. Berdiri di titik tertingginya, Sunny menunduk dengan rasa kagum. Di bawahnya, sebuah kota terbentang di atas ombak. Sinar matahari yang terang menyinari dari langit biru, menerangi hamparannya yang semarak. Black Obelisk tidak lagi hitam, telah berubah seluruhnya menjadi perak dari banyaknya tali sutra esensi yang melilitnya. Kabel-kabel sutra yang kuat membentang keluar dari menara perak, menopang platform-platform luas yang bergoyang ringan di atas air. Pulau-kapal ini juga dibangun dari esensi yang diwujudkan, menopang kediaman berornamen, taman yang menghijau, dan ladang yang subur. Jembatan melengkung menghubungkan mereka satu sama lain, dan banyak gondola bergerak di kanal-kanal di antara mereka. Jalanan dipenuhi orang, dan di tepi luar kota terapung itu, pulau-pulau baru sedang dibangun oleh kru pekerja yang sibuk. Lusinan kapal anggun dengan layar keperakan ditambatkan ke dermaga panjang, dan prajurit Awakened berpatroli di perairan sekitar kota dengan perahu cepat atau Echo akuatik. Dan semua itu — taman-taman, ladang-ladang, orang-orang — memancarkan rasa kesehatan dan vitalitas yang meluap-luap. Itu karena segala sesuatu di kota terapung itu membawa berkah dari penguasanya — Ananke of Weave, the Silk Weaver. Itulah gelar yang diberikan River People kepada Ananke setelah muncul dari Ark Amulets dan mempelajari kisah bagaimana dia membawa mereka melintasi keabadian, ke langit luas dunia baru. Adapun nama kota itu sendiri... Setelah mendengarnya pertama kali, Sunny merasa lega mengetahui bahwa selera menamainya bukanlah yang paling tidak canggih di dunia. Jadi begitulah, River People juga cukup lugas dalam memberi nama pada sesuatu: Weave, Verge, Twilight, Ark... Kota baru yang mereka bangun di Stormsea disebut Web. Di sinilah sebagian besar River People tinggal. Ada juga kantong mereka di kota luas di muara River of Tears yang diperintah Moonveil, serta selusin kru yang tersebar di seluruh Stormsea, membantu orang-orang dari Human Domain memperluas pemukiman di sekitar Citadel laut lainnya. Sekarang, setahun setelah tiba di Dream Realm, River People agak menetap dalam kehidupan baru mereka. Masih, ada banyak hal yang perlu dilakukan, dan akan butuh bertahun-tahun sebelum mereka benar-benar terbiasa dengan kehidupan di luar Tomb of Ariel. "Pemandangan yang luar biasa." Sunny tulus... tentu saja dia tulus. Lagipula, dia tidak bisa berbohong. Web cukup mungil, dibandingkan dengan raksasa pemukiman manusia seperti NQSC, Bastion, atau Ravenheart. Namun, melihatnya berkembang membuat hatinya tersentuh. Ada sesuatu tentang melihat River People membangun kota yang membuat Sunny merasa ada harapan bagi mereka semua... itu adalah perasaan yang menenangkan. Berdiri di sampingnya, Ananke tersenyum. "Benar, bukan?" Dia berhenti sejenak, lalu terkekeh. "Kau tahu, Lord Sunless? Ketika kami pertama kali mulai membangun kota ini, kami hampir membangun Houses of Youth karena kebiasaan. Baru kemudian kami menyadari bahwa kami tidak akan pernah membutuhkannya lagi — orang-orang menua dengan cara yang berbeda di duniamu, setelah semua." Sunny menatapnya, tetap diam beberapa saat, lalu tersenyum gelap. "Ini bukan duniaku, Ananke." Dia berbalik kembali ke pemandangan indah kota terapung itu dan menambahkan dengan nada netral: "Ini belum duniaku." Dia mengangguk sopan. Setelah beberapa saat hening, Ananke menambahkan: "Kami tetap membangun House of Youth, juga, serta House of Parting. Mereka melayani tujuan yang berbeda daripada di Tomb of Ariel, tapi... meskipun tujuannya baru, esensinya sama. Seperti semua hal lain di dunia baru yang aneh ini."
Chapter 3021: Web
There were many Citadels scattered across the Stormsea, hidden in its eerie and unpredictable waters. Some had been ruled by the House of Night for decades, some were conquered recently, as a result of Mordret infiltrating the Great Clan in preparation for the Domain War.
A year ago, one of them was ceded to the River People after they escaped the Tomb of Ariel, so that they had a home in the new and unfamiliar world Ananke had brought them to.
That Citadel had been known as the Black Obelisk before. It was a massive stone spire rising from the water and pointing at the sky as an accusing finger... in fact, it was a finger — a tip of one.
If one dove deep into the turbulent waters and followed the Obelisk into the depths of the Stormsea, they would eventually discover that it connected to a gargantuan hand carved from black stone, with four more fingers protruding from it at an angle.
The structure was overgrown by enormous barnacles, seaweed, and algae — with countless Nightmare Creatures nesting in the underwater jungle — but its shape was still recognizable.
That hand seemed like it belonged to a human, but there was something eerie and unnervingly wrong about it.
And if one dove even further, into the crushing darkness of extreme depths, they could trace the hand to the arm, eventually reaching the colossal head of the inconceivable statue.
No one knew what its face looked like, though, because everyone who had dared to gaze upon it either died or went mad, eventually losing their lives to the agony of violent delirium.
So, people did not dive that deep near the Black Obelisk, and none of them had ever dived deeper than the hidden face of the drowned statue.
The Citadel itself was not very populous, considering that there was not a lot of surface here for people to live on. It was located close to the shores of the Stormsea, though, in relatively safe waters — safe meant stable in the Stormsea, having nothing to do with how many abominations inhabited the region.
More importantly, it was the closest Citadel to the estuary of the River of Tears, which made it an important way station for the ships traveling from the far reaches of the Stormsea or from the East. So, the population of the Black Obelisk had been small and largely transient.
That was how it had been before, at least...
Today, the Black Obelisk was unrecognizable.
Standing at its highest point, Sunny looked down with a sense of wonder.
Below him, a city sprawled above the waves.
Bright sunlight poured from the azure sky, illuminating its vibrant expanse. The Black Obelisk was not black anymore, having turned entirely silver from the countless strings of essence silk wrapped around it. Powerful cables of silk stretched outward from the silver spire, supporting vast platforms that swayed lightly on the water.
These island-ships were built from manifested essence, as well, supporting ornate residences, verdant gardens, and lush fields. Arched bridges connected them to each other, and countless gondolas were moving in the channels between them. The streets were full of people, and on the outer edges of the floating city, new islands were being built by crews of busy workers.
Dozens of graceful ships with silvery sails were moored to the long piers, and Awakened warriors patrolled the waters around the city on swift boats or aquatic Echoes.
And all of it — the gardens, the fields, the people — emanated the sense of overflowing health and vitality. That was because everything in the floating city bore the blessing of its ruler — Ananke of Weave, the Silk Weaver.
That was the title the River People had given Ananke after emerging from the Ark Amulets and learning the story of how she carried them across eternity, to the vast skies of a new world. As for the name of the city itself...
After hearing it for the first time, Sunny was relieved to learn that his wasn’t the most unsophisticated naming sense in the world.
Come to think of it, the River People were quite straightforward with giving things names, as well: Weave, Verge, Twilight, Ark...
The new city they had built in the Stormsea was called Web.
This was where most of the River People lived. There was also an enclave of them in the vast city at the estuary of the River of Tears that Moonveil ruled, as well as a dozen crews scattered across the Stormsea, helping people of the Human Domain expand the settlements surrounding other marine Citadels.
Now, a year after arriving in the Dream Realm, the River People were somewhat settled into their new lives. Still, there were countless things that needed to be done, and it was going to take many years before they were truly accustomed to life outside the Tomb of Ariel.
"It’s a marvelous sight."
Sunny was being sincere... well, of course he was. He couldn’t lie, after all.
Web was quite tiny, compared to the behemoths of human settlements like NQSC, Bastion, or Ravenheart. However, seeing it thrive tugged on his heartstrings. There was something about seeing the River People build a city that made Sunny feel like there was hope for all of them... it was a soothing feeling.
Standing next to him, Ananke smiled.
"It is, isn’t it?"
She paused for a moment, then chuckled.
"Do you know, Lord Sunless? When we first began building this city, we almost built the Houses of Youth out of habit. It was only later that we realized that we would never need them again — people age differently in your world, after all."
Sunny looked at her, remained silent for a while, and then smiled darkly.
"This is not my world, Ananke."
He turned back to the beautiful vista of the floating city and added in a neutral tone:
"This is not my world yet."
She nodded politely.
After a few moments of silence, Ananke added:
"We still built a House of Youth, though, as well as a House of Parting. They serve a different purpose than in the Tomb of Ariel, but... although the purpose is new, its essence is the same. Like all other things in this new, strange world."
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