The Obsidian Beach

     This place is not what I expected it to be. I understand now why the kids’ grandfather did not tell anyone about this.

     “Wake up! Larana, you have to wake up!”

      Koro’s voice seemed to come from far away. Larana’s head didn’t hurt anymore, but she was delightfully warm and cosy wrapped up in her blankets.

      “Mmm,” she mumbled through her arms flung over her face. “Why?”

      “It’s amazing!” Koro said. “We’re here! We found the place on the map!”

      That was, finally, enough to pique Larana’s interest and rouse her. She sat up and let the blankets fall away. “Really? We’re there?”

      “Yeah!” Koro said. “Commodore Birkin just woke me up. It’s unbelievable! You have to come and see! They’re going to lower the plank so we can go ashore.”

      Larana looked around. After the Magic Goop had kicked in, she supposed Ayda had not needed to stick around. The medic was nowhere to be seen; presumably, she was on the top deck to see their discovery alongside the rest of the crew.

      The steampunk Acara hauled herself out of bed and began to pull on her boots and hat and followed Koro to the door. On the top deck, the ship had come to a halt, and the majority of the crew was standing port-side, staring over the railing. Larana and Koro found a gap between bodies.

      The ship had stopped quite a way from the shore. All of the magma in Moltara was contained within steep-sided basins; one could walk right up to the edge of one and be directly upon the magma within. The magma here, however, ended where the shore gently sloped upward along sharply angled volcanic rocks. It looked almost like the beaches near Mystery Island, except that instead of soft white sand, the surface was sharp black rocks. A lava beach, Larana mused.

      Standing atop the rocks were a series of shapes, dark with a glowing outline. “They weren’t here when I came down to get you,” Koro said from beside Larana.

      Squinting, Larana could make out that the shapes were Neopets. All of them were painted magma, tall and short, round and thin, four-legged and two-legged. For a few moments, they stood, the magma Neopets and the Moltarans aboard the ship, all staring at one another. No one seemed to know quite what to make of the other. Eventually, one of the figures from the shore stepped forward, a bulky Moehog with unusually long tusks. They stepped forward slowly and deliberately upon the uneven rocks, right down to the magma through which they waded to the side of the ship.

      “Who goes there?” they called up. Larana thought they sounded quite old, but their voice was clear and determined.

      “Commodore Rigney Birkin, of the S.S. Steam Reliant,” Birkin replied. “We sailed here from Moltara.”

      “What brings you to this place?”

      Larana’s heart sank; their voice did not sound welcoming.

      “My crew and I were commissioned to follow a set of coordinates on a map,” Birkin answered. “This appears to be our destination.”

      Larana pulled out the scroll tube from her pocket and held it up. “The map came from our grandfather,” she called. “No one knew where it led, but we were curious.”

      The Moehog was silent for a few moments as their gaze slid to the scroll in Larana’s hands and seemed to contemplate her words. “Who is your grandfather?” they asked finally.

      “His name was Ascaran Rhassi,” Larana said.

      A second magma pet - a Skeith that looked slightly younger, though definitely not young - had approached the Moehog. The two of them began to deliberate in low tones. Larana glanced at Koro. He shrugged at her.

      The Moehog turned to glance up at the boat once more. They were staring right at Larana and Koro. “Those two can come ashore,” they said. “No others.”

      Larana and Koro exchanged another look. She could see her trepidation reflected in her brother’s face. Murmurs came from the rest of the crew; they sounded disgruntled at being asked to stay behind. Larana ignored them and instead approached Birkin. “Is that okay?” she asked him.

      The Kougra was gazing hungrily at the shore and did not immediately answer. For a sailor like him, she realised, this was turning away the discovery of a lifetime. It would not be an easy decision. Finally, he closed his eyes and nodded. “This is your expedition. This is your discovery. Go make it.”

      With the gangplank lowered, Larana and Koro began to carefully disembark onto the rocky shores. The Moehog and Skeith followed them. They were gazing curiously at Koro. “You cannot walk in the magma as we do?” the Skeith asked.

      Koro started at being addressed so casually and took a moment to answer. “No,” he answered. “I snuck into the Magma Pool, but I can’t go into any old ordinary magma.”

      “Fascinating,” the Skeith mused, but said no more.

      “You must be well-versed in the ways of Moltara to be able to walk in the magma,” Koro said.

      The Moehog and Skeith exchanged a significant glance. “No,” the Skeith answered before both fell silent.

      In confused silence, Larana and Koro followed their guides through the crowd of equally bemused onlookers. The magma Neopets stared at them as they passed. Some followed them into the caves beyond while others stayed behind to keep an eye on the Steam Reliant.

      The caverns were much like the Moltaran Caves on the outskirts of Moltara City. No sounds of machinery could be heard here. Even more Neopets, all painted magma, peered from within homes carved into the walls of the caves. Though crude, Larana could see that there was a definite arrangement to the caves, a town of sorts. Larana and Koro were led into a large domed structure in the centre of the town. It reminded Larana of the home of Igneot, Moltara’s most venerated elder.

      Inside was a Cybunny, even older than the Moehog. She sat hunched with her eyes closed inside a small pool of magma. Larana took care to walk quietly, in case she was asleep. However, she spoke in a frail voice: “Who are these visitors? It has been a long time since we had visitors here.”

      “They claim to be descendants of Ascaran Rhassi,” the Moehog said.

      “Ascaran Rhassi,” the Cybunny repeated. “Yes, I can sense the resemblance.” Her eyes were still closed. “What brings you here, descendants of Ascaran?”

      “My name is Larana, and my brother here is Koro. Grandpa Ascaran unfortunately passed away,” Larana explained. “In his belongings, we found a map with coordinates that led here.”

      “What is this place?” Koro asked. “I mean, where are we? This isn’t still Moltara, is it?”

      “No,” the Cybunny answered. “We do not consider ourselves a part of your Moltara.” She gestured to two low, smooth stones on the ground. “Please, sit, and I shall explain.”

      Larana and Koro sat. The Moehog and Skeith backed away toward the entrance and stood there like sentinels.

      “My name is Saida,” the Cybunny introduced herself. “I am the elder of the original magma Neopets.” Still with her eyes closed, she nodded to Koro. “You Moltarans can take a magma form, but it is aesthetic, is it not? You cannot walk in the magma as we can?”

      “No,” Koro admitted. “But, Igneot probably can! And the others who are well-versed in the ways of Moltara. They learn to control magma using magic.”

      Saida was silent for a moment, nodding. “The old ways do live on, I suppose, even among those who have connected to the surface.”

      “What’s wrong with the surface?” Larana asked. “I mean, I prefer living in Moltara, but we don’t mind visitors.”

      “For ones such as yourself, nothing is wrong,” Saida said. “But much as magma cannot exist on the surface without becoming lava, our society eschews the surface and its trappings.” After a pause, she added, “But as in the case of volcanoes, some magma is determined to escape from the core and reach the surface. Not all who are born here are content to live their lives here. Some choose to brave the tunnels to seek their destinies in the passages to the surface, or in your city of Moltara. Some, such as your grandfather, my son, Ascaran.”

      It took Larana a moment to process what she had just heard. “You’re our great-grandmother?” she asked in a gasp.

      “Indeed,” Saida replied. For the first time, she opened her eyes. They were a deep molten orange, deeper and brighter than even Koro’s eyes. “For many long years, I had wondered what became of my only son when he went into the tunnels, never to return. It does my heart good to see that he found happiness and a family of his own.”

      “It’s wonderful to meet you, too,” Koro said.

      “I am glad to have seen you before I become one with the core,” Saida said. Her eyes slid closed again. “But for now, I must ask you to leave.”

      “Leave?” Larana said, shocked. “But we only just got here.”

      “Yes. Aboard a vessel bearing many outsiders,” Saida said, and Larana thought she heard a sad note in her voice. “Bearing colours from paint brushes, and with clothing and gadgets bought with surface Neopoints. No. Our society is not for you, and your society is not for us. It is unfortunate, but that is the way it must be. We do not normally welcome outsiders. You two were a... special case.”

      A wave of understanding swept over Larana. She stood and bowed deeply. “Thank you for meeting with us,” she said somberly. “You’re right. We shouldn’t overstay our welcome.”

      “But -” Koro said.

      Larana shook her head. “Saida’s right. We belong back in Moltara, with our family. The family that Grandpa chose.”

      Reluctantly, Koro got to his feet. He waved his feathered hand at Saida. “Bye, then,” he said sadly.

      “Before you go, wait one moment.”

      Saida reached down into the magma. Then she got to her paws and hopped forward slowly. In her front paws were two stones, one in each paw. She held them to Larana and Koro. “It’s okay,” she assured them. “They will not burn you.”

      Larana took hers. It was indeed only pleasantly warm to the touch. It was black and granite-like, with a faint reddish glow. “Thank you,” she said.

      “A keepsake,” Saida said, a smile playing at her mouth. “That though we live apart, our hearts beat as one.”

      Larana reached into her pocket and pulled out the tube containing the map and coordinates. “Here,” she said, setting it on the ground. “This is for you. It’s not as nice as the stone, but it’s Grandpa Ascaran’s map. It’s proof he never stopped thinking about his first home, and our promise to you that no one else from Moltara will intrude.” She turned to Koro. “Now, it’s time for us to go home.”

     ***

     “There!”

      Larana took a step back and marvelled at her creation. She had gathered all of her grandfather’s precious belongings from her parents’ attic and arranged them upon her own knick-knack shelf. His abacus, his favourite pen, a framed photo of himself and their grandmother at the Terror Mountain Ski Lodge were all present. And, in the very center, sitting upon a carefully crafted metal frame, a curiously warm black stone lined like granite and emitting a faint red glow, a stone that Larana would only ever say was a memento of her grandfather’s time at the obsidian beach.

     ***

     Captain’s Log:

     11 Day of Eating, Y28, 0600 hours -

     We have returned in Moltara. The kids have asked me to keep quiet about what we discovered. They did not even tell me what they discovered. They wish to keep it to themselves. While I ultimately have no control over my crew, without a map, I have a hard time imagining anyone else following in our footsteps.

     The End.