By midday there was no land to be seen in any direction. Nissa used Kahlled s pathway stone to point the way, and they followed it. If the behemoth veered, Nissa crawled over the rope and whispered in its ear.
Soon the azure water changed to dark blue, and its surface became choppy. All the rest of the day Nissa watched a line of clouds at the horizon grow larger, until finally they were overhead.
The map showed the blue ocean gap between the continents of Ondu and Akoum to be only the length from the tip of her middle finger to its first digit not a long trip. But Nissa had no way to tell how fast they were traveling. So, by measuring with her finger how long it took them to travel from the Turntimber Forest in the center of Ondu to the coast, she guessed they would be traveling on the boat for two days.
Still, the behemoth never seemed to tire so it would perhaps be faster. The creature paddled its feet in the manner of an Onduan hound and moved along fast enough to create a small wake. Before night fell Nissa thought she d seen a landmass on the horizon.
The behemoth would not sleep. Nissa shimmied across the wrist-sized rope to tell it to stop, and either the creature did not hear her or it did not understand. If the behemoth did not sleep, neither could Nissa. She leaned against the mast with her cloak pulled tightly around her, holding up the pathway stone as often as she could to check their direction.
Their dry tack was long gone. For water they had the little still residing in their canteens that they had filled before going to bed at the inn. If the trip lasted no longer than another day, they would survive. Nissa knew the Joraga fasting mantras, and she could last without food for another week.
There was no sign of any landmass when the sun rose the next morning. Had they missed it in the darkness? Doubtful, Nissa thought. More likely she had mistaken a cloudbank on the horizon for a landmass. The light had been fading after all.
They sailed the rest of the day with no sight of land. When the sun was five hands high above the ocean, a flock of something appeared at the horizon. Nissa had a bad feeling about the creatures immediately. Her apprehension rose as they beat closer showing no visible wings, and for the first time she wished she could jump away, as she had when she d first learned to planeswalk. But Nissa knew that she had to see the trip to the Eye through. Where had running away ever got her? No, she would continue on her path.
Soon the creatures were close enough that Nissa could see tentacles. She narrowed in on the creatures. Flying brood, she announced.
The brood flapped closer. When they were close enough that Nissa could hear the wind rushing through their tentacles, the brood lineage turned and circled over the boat. She watched their tentacles squirm as they circled. Nissa looked to Sorin. There were large dark circles under his eyes. He appeared as though he had not slept in days. Did he have the stamina to fight off the brood circling the ship? His was the only ranged weapon they possessed.
The behemoth s eyes showed their whites as it struggled to raise its head enough to watch the brood.
If they glided down slowly in just the right formation she could perhaps use the stem in its whip form and dispose of two in quick order. Conceivably, Anowon could use one of his teeth.
Nissa was just preparing to pull her stem from its staff when the brood lineage moved out of their circling motion and moved away, flying west. Soon they were specks on the horizon again. The wind gusted, and the behemoth s breath puffed. Sorin s left hand was on top of his head holding his hair out of his eyes as he watched the brood disappear. Why had they gone?
The others slept that night on the deck of the ship. Nissa was not looking forward to another night of managing the behemoth, but she sat at the front of the ship trying not to fall asleep, holding the pathway stone Khalled had given her, and watching the immense creature she d summoned churn the brine water to foam.
The stars were bright enough to cast pale shadow on the deck. Anowon was at the other side of the ship with a nub of a candle burning as he read one of his cylinders. Nissa could hear Smara muttering somewhere below decks where the jars of turntimber bark were lashed packed in Zulaport for the markets of Guul Draz.
Nissa checked the pathway stone again. Sorin was standing across from her when she looked up.
Why did the brood leave us alone? Nissa said.
Sorin s face showed the annoyance the question caused him.
How do you suppose I would know that?
Nissa looked back at the stone hanging from the cord in her hand. A gust of wind blew it sideways, and she put it in the pocket of her cloak.
I know what you are, Sorin said, suddenly.
What did you say? A knot immediately formed in Nissa s throat. He knows.
I know what you are able to do, Sorin continued.
That you posses the ability to walk to other planes.
Nissa set her eyes on Sorin, and gave him what she hoped came off as a steady, level stare. I am not oddity. Why would you suppose I was?
We are not oddities.
Nissa felt as though she might swallow her tongue. Her heart hopped. She found herself making a conscious effort to control her breathing. She took a deep breath and released it. When she opened her eyes she had her center once again.
Why do you tell me that you know this about me? Who are you?
I am like you, Sorin replied.
You are not like me. I do not slay juveniles. Not even brood lineage juveniles.
You would if you had seen their parents.
Nissa let that statement hang in the windy air. She hoped he d say more, and when he did she could barely contain her smile.
The brood are only the minions, he said. That is why we must put them all back in their prison, and hold their parents in check with them.
Why must we?
Because if we fail to do so they will eat this and many other planes, Sorin said. Planes that you perhaps have visited?
Nissa had, in fact, visited only a handful. One had been a staggering metropolis of beings standing virtually cheek to cheek amid towering buildings. She had walked the street for about an hour and in that time it had seemed that the amount of people grew and the height of the buildings lengthened. There was nothing green that she could see. She had left soon after.
Another plane was stranger than the first. There had been natural features like mountains and forests, but on closer examination they turned out to have straight angles that showed they had been created. She had watched in amazement as a range of mountains were moved with the wave of a hand by a being with metal arms and an elongated head. She d been taken prisoner fairly quickly by one of those beings and barely escaped with her life. She would not be traveling to anywhere like those places again, if she could help it. Still, she said nothing in hopes that Sorin would keep talking. And he did.
If we do not contain the brood, they will free their titans, and Zendikar will cease to be what it is now.
What are these titans?
They are terrible creatures that eat energy, as the brood do, Sorin said. As he spoke he stared out over the starlit ocean. Small white crests appeared on the low choppy waves. They suck the very energy out of a plane and move on to the next one. Destroyers of planes. They are dreadful foes to anyone who stands against them.
And they are imprisoned now?
Yes, in the Eye of Ugin.
On Akoum? Nissa said.
Sorin nodded.
Nissa looked out at the water. How will we put the brood back in the prison the vampire saw them escape from?
Sorin did not say anything for a moment. We cannot, he said finally.
Did you say we cannot?
Yes.
Why is that?
They are too dispersed at this point. But they are not the true danger. If the titans escape he raised his eyebrows in the starlight there will be utter catastrophe. And the brood lineage are trying to accomplish this, they just do not know how yet.