Kamehameha's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Kamehameha, god of Akua Aina, could not lift the ocean anymore. He stood on the steps of his temple island and raised one hand. The tide should have leaped to his call. Instead it slid back like water from cupped fingers. Thieves had stolen the relic that tied his power to this world, and each hour without it left him weaker. He did not know where they took it. Without a trail, he was a god running dry. He walked to the sacred tree at the center of his sanctuary. Glowing fruit hung from its branches, each one a small store of the world's life. He plucked one and crushed it in his fist. Light bled between his fingers and sank into his skin. His arms felt steady again, but only for a breath. The tree could feed him. It could not tell him who robbed him. Then he remembered the water remembered everything. Below the temple lay a still lake, packed with fish and drifting sea creatures. Every current in his realm passed through it first. Kamehameha knelt at its edge and pressed both palms to the surface. "Show me," he said. His voice cracked. He poured what strength he had left into the water, the last of his tide. The lake went dark. Fish scattered to the edges. In the center, an image formed on the water like oil spreading. He saw hands wrapping his relic in cloth. He saw a boat. He saw a shore of white towers and silver banners. He knew those banners. They belonged to the elf queen, Aelindra Silverleaf. The image held long enough for him to fix the shore in his mind. Then it broke apart, and the fish swam back into the gap. Kamehameha fell forward onto his hands. The seeing had cost him. His shoulders shook. His skin had gone gray at the knuckles. But he had a place now. A name. He pushed himself up and looked across the water toward the distant coast he could not yet see. The thieves had not simply taken his relic to hide it. They had carried it to a queen's own hall. That meant this was no common theft. Someone with a throne wanted him powerless, and they had nearly done it. Kamehameha turned back to the glowing tree and stripped three fruits from its lowest branch. He would need them for the crossing. His power kept fading with every hour, and now he knew the road ahead led straight to Aelindra Silverleaf's court. He would reach her shore before the tree could no longer keep him standing.