( video ) [ BACKDATED TO LATE ON 4/9 ]

[heelies]

[ What broadcasts over the network is the picture of a peculiar pair: Achilles and Helga, serious of countenance both, as is each's modus operandi. The metallic shell of the submarine's curved insides serves as their backdrop. ]

I should like to call to assembly the members of this crew, and I understand that this is the best means by which to reach the ears of all men, although it is more to my liking to see those to whom I give these words. It is Achilles, son of Peleus, who wishes to speak to you: I have journeyed, with a crew led by gold-clad Gilgamesh and fair-haired Kida, to the darkest reaches within the sea, which lie beyond where the imagination of men can fathom. I shall tell of that to which we have borne witness.

Down there dwells Ryba, the goddess of the sea, who is Nalanni's sister. She knows not to where Nalanni has gone, for her eyes cannot see beyond that over which she presides - but we have her reassurance that Nalanni who delights in volcanoes has not vanished in full from this land, for she would know if such a calamity has come to pass. We are told that sea and rock are anchored one to another, as life is to death: either both must make this land, or nothing at all remains. Therefore, hope has not scattered to the wind.

Wave-ruling Ryba soon grew weary of our audience, and although she welcomes supplications the price she demands is steep. It is imprudent to test the generosity of the gods. Thus we parted with little solved: still, the answers she granted ought to be shared among all.

[ Helga looks as if she would have loved to interrupt him a fair few times already, but she kept quiet in spite of herself until now. Achilles, for his part, looks none too thrilled at having to share the floor thus. ]

Ryba has not been straightforward in her answers.

[ Surely, she hasn't shot a sideway glance at Achilles when she said this. ]

What we gathered from her is that the Dakal have been driven to (or near) extinction by the Nalawi during the war between them. They had been "sent to the bottom of the sea", either literally or figuratively. It checks out, if I'm allowed to hazard a guess: on our way to Ryba's lair, we came across plenty of wrecked submarines, none of which seem to fit in with the near complete lack of technology on Komo and the other islands.

The goddess mentioned one specific Dakal, who sold her soul in order to return to the surface world. In the process, she may have been granted powers by Ryba herself, but we do not know what became of her, what those powers were, or if she did anything with them.

I have been told by the Nalawi innkeep that minor gods exist alongside Nalanni, albeit no one worships them here. Ryba proves that they are tangible to the point of concern, so I urge all of you to take great care during your exploration.