The ocean mare is drawn to follow the mass of bodies, gathering together with the people of Helovia like she has so many times before. Having completed Kisamoa’s grotesque request along the shoreline, she expects to see the great sea stallion standing at the head of their throng, perhaps to praise them for their work and—finally—explain the reason for their task. Tiamat is eager for him to relieve the unease that twists uncomfortably in her gut, as she is ever faithful in the world and its goodness. Of course, there must be a purpose for all of this; a purpose that, surely, must be beneficial this people.

However, the events that unfold are far from her blissful fantasies.

There is no sign of the sea stallion in sight.
Instead, in a land where she has never been, the blue maiden finds herself looking at a black altar. Its presence is ominous, to say the least, with its shadowy walls seeming to pulse from an unknown life source, and—are those bones, at its foundation? Suddenly Tiamat feels her stomach drop, and the hair along her neck prickles uneasily. Sharing her bonded’s nervousness, Nimue presses close to the mare’s side, nearly hiding beneath her.

Tiamat barely acknowledges the little whale’s presence. Her attention is consumed by the disembodied voice that suddenly fills the air. It sends a cold chill along her spine, sparking a shiver that rattles her to her bones, and chills her muscles until all she can do is stand there, aghast. “Kisamoa…?” The name slips brokenly from her lips, hardly a whisper. Even as the pieces fall together, revealing the horrifying disaster that has haunted them (for so long), it takes several moments for the mare’s mind to accept the truth. Kisamoa is Kaos… They have been betrayed. “No—” She chokes out, hearing herself suddenly gasping for breath.

This can’t be happening.
It just can’t.

Around her, people have already begun to rally against the cruel, ethereal god and his pet monster. Cries of pain pierce the air, blood wets the ground—history has suddenly come to repeat itself. Just as she had feared it would. And she knows she can’t just stand by again.

From somewhere inside of her, Tiamat feels herself smoldering—shuddering and trembling as she never has before, when a ball of fire sits in her chest and her heart cries for its loss. She trembles not from fear, cold, or excitement—but of something else. It is not a sensation she is familiar with, and it consumes her. “NO!” Tiamat feels her mouth moving, feels her tongue curling and her throat constricting, but the voice is not her own. It is loud and violent and angry. “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US? WE TRUSTED YOU! I trusted you!” For probably the first time in her life, the ocean mare pins her ears flat against her head, gnashing her teeth and spitting as the words rip righteously from her lips.

“You say you haven’t led us astray, when EVERYTHING you have said to us has been built from lies!” By a will other than her own, her magic flickers into activity. The water that surrounds her vibrates, rising in droplets from the marsh grasses and remaining suspended in the air, pulsating in time with the fury that rips through the ocean maiden like a wildfire. Soon they gather together, forming a large, churning orb. “COME OUT AND FACE US, COWARD! You owe us that much!” Tiamat’s throat hurts, but still she snarls, throwing the cascade of water towards the bony monster with a cry of anger and pain.

She’s not sure what she had intended for it to do, but as she watches the water surge forward, her tears flow with it. Tiamat hadn’t noticed when she had started to cry, but by now her cheeks are wet and streaked from the tears that continue to fall. She blinks furiously, bitter eyes trying to see past the blurriness in her vision, while broken sobs hitch pathetically in her throat. “I trusted you,” she manages to hiss through her clenched teeth, lowering her head in silent, angry mourning.


notes; Tia actually gets angry and starts screaming. Uses her magic to throw a cascade of water towards the bone monster thing :3
“Speech.”