Chapter Sixteen - The Tower of Stars

 In fifth grade, I had a friend whose house burnt down a few weeks before school ended. My friends and I had planned on spending our last summer before middle school together since our paths would diverge. One friend was moving to Canada, and another was switching school districts.

Our homeroom teacher organized our class a bit differently after that. We were almost done with projects, and while they weren’t excused, we were given an extra project. We were curious about the tragedy, but our teacher always diverted our attention into art. We drew, we wrote poetry, and we journaled. Anytime the house fire came up, we went into art mode.

The heavy emotions I felt and saw from my friend were overwhelming. Fortunately, no one was home when it happened, but at the time I could not imagine something as fierce and destructive as a housefire. Of course there was both a crowd and support for my friend and her family. The abundant support that they received was welcoming, but it could not replace that which they lost. I will never forget the view and smell of the mixture of ash and soot that I witnessed when she showed me the ruins where her home once stood.

The sun rose from the eradicated forest. This false sun underground follows astronomical rules. Orbit, heat, gravity. I believe those are some of the rules that apply to it. The starry tower however was a foreign entity. Its pitch black exterior, floating ability, and dim hum might as well make it an eldritch being. Even by fantasy rules that this world adheres to, that tower defied my conceptualization and acceptance of such rules.

I awoke on the beach, covered in the familiar ocean slugs. The heavy smell of fire and smoke overwhelmed my nostrils. The smell of seawater that I had been trying hard to avoid is vague and I cannot find it even as I am next to the water. A huge wave envelops me as I try to understand my surroundings. I gasped for air and spit out the salty water then crawled towards the mainland. As my hands survey for stone, I keep grabbing and kicking sand.

“Seiko!” I called out to my friend.

I glance around and find her passed out, hopefully sleeping, on the edge of the beach. I find the stone border that separates the town and the beach and help myself stand up.

“Seiko! I called out again.

The waves wake her up as she flails around. The ocean slugs slide off. She rolls around on the wet sand until she finds a foothold. She stands up too and looks at me. I can see the despair in her eyes as she then gazes at the ruins of Slug Beach Town. As she once stood up, she fell back down on her knees. She is stoic by nature, but she clearly cared about this town and its people. She screams.

We both manage to stand and walk over to the site. We knew there were no survivors but that did not stop us from looking. I used my eel tail to electrolocate anyone to no avail. Todrick, Aqaustar, Clover, anyone. The grim reality of this storm had begun to settle in and I am close to giving up. I turn to Seiko.

“Seiko, I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s not your fault Gabriela.” Her voice had returned to the same gravitas that she usually conveys with. She is still in grief, but at least she is responding to my voice.

I think back to my time in my childhood, about my friend, about school. The house fire that affected not only her, but the whole class. A disastrous event that brought a new perspective into our young minds. And the preparedness to know how to act in the face of the unknown. I am there and here. Earth and this fantasy world, drawing parallels onto one another. These memories are here to help me with this new journey. And I am here to help anyway I can.

“They’re gone,” I’m blunt. When it comes to trauma it is necessary to state the cold, hard facts, “There is nothing we can do to bring them back, but there is a way we can honor them.”

She turns to me with sadness and curiosity. I bet I’ll regret what I’ll say next, but it is the only thing that my mind can conjure in this hardship.

“Every adventurer party needs a name.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Ocean Slugs. They represent the calming spirit and fierce, persistent attitude of this town’s people.” I repeat the words I heard from her yesterday.

“Ocean Slugs.” she repeats back. A small, sympathetic smile forming.

“So, what is the Tower of Stars?”

“Hmm…” Seiko is pensive. I had never seen a person as scared as she was last night. But now, she is a lot calmer. She rocks her body back and forth in her sitting position with her arms wrapped around her knees. We both sit on the beach, exhausted from hours-long search. We could only find ashes and soot and no trace of anyone. I reach for the seawater to feel the cold water slip between my fingers.

“The Tower of Stars is one of the five known methods to climb to the fifth floor.”

“Is it supposed to be hostile?”

“Yes, but before, it was a stationary tower. Someone powerful took over the tower and used it as a tool of destruction and anguish. This was my second time seeing it. I scouted outside the town every few weeks to make sure we could always evacuate if it got too close. ArgHh! How could I let it get so close?!?!?” she talks letting it all out, fluctuating in emotions.

“You can’t blame yourself. That is too much burden for anyone to bear.” I try to calm her down knowing my words probably hold empty weight. I knew she wanted revenge.

“I know what our first adventure as the Ocean Slugs will be: take down the Tower of Stars!” Seiko says with an eerie enthusiasm.

“It can’t be for revenge. It will be to make sure no one else gets hurt,” I stood up, making myself blunt again, “The people of Slug Beach Town would not want you to fight for them like this.”

This won’t convince her immediately. But I hope throughout the journey, she can come around to realize that her thought process is flawed. If she’s too revenge-driven, that could affect her mental state and focus in a battle. In the worst case scenario, she could die. This adventurer party is my way of helping her with her grief and finding a way to save as many lives as possible. I want Seiko to live a long life and climb floors.

“The Tower of Stars is still a climbable path to the fifth floor. If we were to begin our journey now, it would take us about a month to reach it. More than enough time to train and acquire new abilities along the way.” Seiko says.

Her thought process was more rational. We would travel and train at the same time, killing two birds with one stone. The forest is uncharted territory, but in theory it should have more creatures with bizarre tails for me to acquire.”

“Sounds like a solid plan. Ocean Slugs, roll out!” I cringe at my words.