I'm not about to die...my mind, I... fate wouldn't allow it...but death comes for me, just as swiftly as did the others. There could be no survivors from such a beast...a beast that transcends death...
But I thought only time could transcend death...
Time is but one of many elements that transcends death. Everything lives forever, but nothing sees forever. Even immortals know that.
Ecco's eyes seemed to pry open with effortless ease, as if he'd just been awakened from sleep. Dazed, the young dolphin glanced at his surroundings...
Clouds of many bands of color mottled the sky...but it was a sky that transformed...slowly and gently the atmosphere rolled, then rippled as if all around him was a reflection on the surface of the ocean at twilight or dusk. The patterns were everywhere at once.
He had a feeling this was the true paradise...not the hell that he had just left behind...
From out of his thoughts, and everywhere around him, the colors reverberated to a new presence. That paradise that you left...it was created to bring comfort to those who left a life for another...left mortality and pain to become the true life. Tainted with the Seers' anger, harnessed by alien ghosts, it was becoming as of nothing.
The song that Ecco's mind tried to focus on was like nothing he had ever heard before...it sounded like a chorus of all of the Earth's singers, the finest and the dull, the resonant and the echos...it sang like every whale, every dolphin, and every porpoise. And even with the dolphin tongue mixed with whale tongue, it was all one language, the language that the Seers spoke...
Comforted by the voice, Ecco glanced about the wild array of twilight-colored clouds. "Where am I? Who is there?" he asked slowly, mystified.
The clouds parted, simply ripped like a great seam in space. It revealed to him a void of darkness, dotted by billions upon billions of stars. And in the midst of those stars, a dolphin formed.
He was a grand sight, a god with fins. Eyes that took in the stars and gave his gaze the virtue of wisdom and power.
His eternal, comforting gaze locked upon Ecco, staring without emotion. I have many names from many tongues...but you have already begun to guess who I might be to you.
The stars on Ecco's head brightened, one after the other, until they mirrored the shape of the great dolphin.
He was staring straight into the eyes of Delphineus.
Ecco could have frozen with amazement, but there was no such emotion...the only emotion was familiarity, a singular bond with the gods.
"Tell me..." Ecco began, whistling a delphine tune softly. "The entire battle...was it worth it? What happened? Did we save Paradise?"
Paradise is but another world, a sanctuary, and to many, a concept. Thrice now, you've saved much more than the realm that the spirits call their own. But you share a destiny with another.
"I do?" Ecco asked in a tone that mirrored quiet amazement. "Who?"
Delphineus started to fade before his eyes, and a jolt of energy raced through Ecco's body. He could feel himself becoming whole again...he could feel his physical pain as he was being discharged from the god's realm, and back to his own.
The one I gave Paradise to, to keep until his dying day, when it will finally open, and Earth will see everlasting peace. When the true immortal dies.
Your job is finished, Ecco. His job begins now.
At the word "now", Ecco came back to himself, his only thought was pondering the riddle.
When the true immortal dies...
Whalesong. Far in the distance, whalesong could be heard. It was a song of joy and laughter, mingling with their unchanged notes of love for their mates.
Typical of the whales to only sing of their own business...but for every word that came from their haunting cries, nobody has ever heard word of the strange place simply named Paradise again.
Ecco the dolphin awakened in a familiar grotto. It was dark far below, and the caves made by the giant canyon walls still held mysteries within their corridors.
He smiled as his eyes registered familiar faces along with him.
Biransa swam with Niemas, her calf, as he seemed to gratefully rest in her slipstream. Scaroth kept near them, as protective as ever, a hungry eye kept, as always, upon Bro-aht.
The narwhal nodded a quiet hello at Ecco, and the dolphin noticed that half of his spear was gone.
Ecco hadn't imagined it. Somehow, they actually did survive a very trying battle. Next to Bro-aht swam Glacier, his ally.
But he didn't see the final companion, Sawtooth. Then the dolphin remembered...Sawtooth was part of the barrier now. Paradise...did it even still exist?
Welcome back to reality, my little Singer, a great voice called to Ecco from behind. Turning around, he saw the great, mysterious entity, spiraling endlessly in a gentle double-helix with its multi-colored globes, each pulsating with its own energy.
"Asterite...I'm glad to see you."
As I am you, friend. The battle in Paradise indeed came close. I was only relieved to reach Okura in time to help all of you.
Ecco's eyes shot open as he remembered the horrible scene, of the imprisoned members of the different pods, and every whale...but, he was hearing whalesong outside of the grotto now...
"So, everyone survived?" the dolphin asked, almost afraid of what the answer might be.
The Asterite's globes seemed to brighten. Yes. The life energy that was drained from paradise was given back to everyone and everything that was inside. Everyone is freed. The whales...Ronon, Seidrac...all of the pods. The Seer-Beasts are destroyed, along with its master.
"Amazing..." Ecco whispered breathlessly. "But, how was the creature destroyed?"
"It destroyed itself," Scaroth interrupted with a smirk. "That's all this floating mass would tell us, anyway. I don't care, so long as it's gone."
Ecco turned back to the Asterite. "And...Okura?"
Okura still lives. He does as the Seers did...he guards Paradise now.
"In all of my years of hearing the legends..." Biransa began thoughtfully, "I never would have thought that we would have seen it for ourselves. But...it's not there anymore, is it? The gate isn't in the north waters anymore..."
No. The gate was sealed when Sawtooth locked it with the Keystone Song and his own body. It is hidden from all eyes, forever. No whale knows where it is now...yet they will still travel north, for it is their way.
"Of course..." Bro-aht rolled his eyes. "Figures we'd still hear those noise-makers in our home ice."
Ecco chuckled as he glanced up at the Asterite. "So, what is next? What will become of everyone here?"
Not even I know. Fate has many twists in its tide that you will just have to swim with. However, you can be assured that everyone will be able to go back to their former lives. The Orcas will stay together again...bar for one.
Ecco tilted his head. "Who?"
The Asterite was silent. The dolphin turned to the other Orca, whose looks were solemn and sad.
"Cariu is dead," Biransa started, slowly, sadly. "But it was her time. I am only sorry that Diricha went with open wounds and a tattered heart."
Scaroth sighed, nodding. "We will sing the Song of Passing for her as soon as we reach a rest point out of these seas. And sing of Rebirth to claim a new Diricha of the pods."
"That title belongs to Ronon," Biransa nodded, drawing her calf closely. "He is her son, after all."
The Asterite glowed slightly. Actually, Biransa...I have the feeling that you should be Matriarch. You are the one who bore a heavy burden during the battle, and you saw what had happened. Niemas, your calf, is the first immortal to ever be born in millenia upon this earth. And your wisdom matches that of Cariu.
The mother turned her gaze away shyly with uncertainty. "Would Ronon see it that way?"
He will. He honors his mother's wishes, even through her spirit.
All was silent for a few moments. Then, Biransa nodded. "Then so be it...I would be honored to take the title of Diricha in Cariu's place. But before I do..." She turned to the others, glancing at Scaroth.
The male eyed her curiously as she spoke. "Scaroth...you too bore a heavy pain upon yourself...your pod was entirely decimated by those beasts, your son included...and I want..." she cleared her throat. "Well, your courageous heart is proof. It would be an honor should you reign alongside me as Patriarch, and guardian."
The male cast his gaze instantly to the ground, almost as if he were blushing. So, you knew I had begun to love you, Biransa.
Lifting his head proudly, he sang, "I swear upon my life, Biransa, that I will protect you and Niemas as loyally as I have done Cariu. And it would be an honor to rule alongside you."
The mother smiled and swam forth to give him a small nuzzle, which almost made the old warrior melt.
"Hah!" Bro-aht laughed. "Finally! I've seen a weakness in the demon!"
Scaroth snarled and turned to the narwhal. "Watch it!"
There was a laugh from the others as they turned to leave the Asterite. Ecco could hear songs from the beluga, the narwhal, and even songs from Ronon and Seidrac as they all greeted their comrades again and sang of happiness.
Only he and the Asterite were alone in the grotto now. The dolphin was frozen, he couldn't leave, for his mind was filled with too many questions.
Something still troubles you, friend.
"Just one small question. The others aren't...still immortal, are they?"
No. Before you came to, I relinquished the two Orcas, the narwhal, and the beluga of their powers. They are back to normal now.
Ecco thought about that, then turned back to the Asterite with an incredulous look. "You only mentioned two Orca. What about the calf, Niemas?"
The Asterite seemed to hesitate. I could not relinquish Niemas's immortality. He gained his powers from his mother, as I gave them to her. Therefore it's as if he was born a true immortal. He will live on for centuries, seeing many things that for now he could never comprehend.
"Oh..." Ecco nodded, understanding, though amazed. "So, exactly what happened in Paradise? I am not fully confident that the beast destroyed itself on its own."
It is hard to explain, and even for me, hard to believe. I will show you the answer.
Ecco closed his eyes as intense visions flowed through his mind.
Of the immortals swiftly being swallowed...
Of Niemas, the one left behind, who had suddenly taken the dark energies released into the land...and without knowing it, using the powers to make him grow as strong as an adult Orca...he saw as he charged, red-eyed, toward the beast, which had been weakened greatly by creating that vortex of energy...
Ecco snapped from his visions, amazed. "So, the beast didn't destroy itself...Niemas did it...but, why didn't you tell the others?"
They knew, for they sensed...but Niemas wouldn't know what happened, not for a long time. They will keep the secret from him, for the best. But I fear he may find out himself someday.
Ecco nodded. He knew that this was all the Asterite would tell him. Unlike the Vortex, there was no mention of the return of the alien creatures...these Vortedrode...upon the planet again.
Paradise was locked. All was well...but for how long?
Well, my young friend, should you not return to your home?
The dolphin nodded without a second thought. "Yes...and, Asterite, I must relinquish my powers as well. Somehow I sense I will no longer need them."
Very well...
And so, as Ecco's extra strength lifted from him...as his powers of destructive song were once again reduced to harmless sonar...as his perpetual youth was replaced with that of a dolphin just going into his elderly years...
All the hero could do was try to shake the premonitions out of his head.
"So...this is Paradise..." Cariu whispered as her eyes gazed over the waters, a beauty the likes of which she had never seen before.
She was a spirit now, and the place would be her home from now on.
As Okura watched her, and all of the other spirits that had passed eons before sing their eternal songs, he wondered just how it all came to pass that the gate to Paradise wasn't hidden in a deep crevace on Earth, or in a dark cavern, or in an unreachable pit...
The gates of Paradise, in truth, were stored nowhere else but right in the memory of its savior, waiting for its time to reveal itself to him.
The last true immortal.
THE END