[830 words]
In the Kawani lands, the new year dawned with a hush, as if the very earth had paused to catch its breath beneath the weight of the winter snow. The wind sighed through frost-covered trees, and the rivers lay trapped beneath layers of ice. Winter had claimed the land fully, blanketing it in purity and stillness, but for Leviathan, the great seathi-like creature of the deep, this season brought a strange and wistful kind of reflection.
Unlike the herds of land-dwelling soquili that seemed to have gathered in small, close-knit groups to share warmth and stories, Leviathan roamed alone. His domain was the water—oceans and lakes that glimmered like sheets of glass in the icy cold. The rivers that fed into his underwater territories were choked with frost, making his usual travels difficult. Yet, even in his solitary existence, he felt the weight of time turning, as if the changing year stirred something ancient and instinctual within him.
Leviathan lingered near the shore where the land met the sea, watching the land-bound herds from afar. He saw them moving as one—herds of powerful, long-maned horses, their breath rising like clouds into the crisp air. Bells and ribbons adorned some of their manes and tails, bright against the silver-and-white landscape. Together, they danced beneath the pale sun, their hooves striking rhythms into the snow that echoed with the pulse of life itself. The sound carried over the water, and Leviathan felt it reverberate in his heart.
He had no family, no herd. His kind were few and scattered, bound by the currents of the sea and the solitude. Yet, the spirit of the new year called to him, a whisper of something he longed to touch but did not fully understand.
The Kawani Soquili performed their ritual, one that had been passed down through countless generations. They gathered at twilight, encircling a great bonfire built of branches and dried seaweed, an offering to the spirits of water and sky. Each soquili cast a token into the flames—symbols of the burdens they wished to leave behind or the hopes they carried into the future. Some tossed old, broken shells, representing regrets and sorrows, while others offered pinecones and berries as promises of renewal and growth.
Leviathan watched the event from the icy waters, his fins gently propelling him forward as the flames flickered and cast dancing shadows across the snow. His heart ached with an unfamiliar yearning. What burdens did he carry? What hopes had he nurtured in the dark places of the sea?
He turned his gaze downward, to the reflections that rippled in the water’s surface. Memories stirred like the silt of the ocean floor—memories of the Valkyrie, of the strange and powerful connection forged when he had touched her helm. Her strength, her resolve, and her fierce defiance had burned within him, even if only for a fleeting moment. Since that time, a question had lingered in his mind: was he content with merely guarding the boundaries of his realm, or was there a greater purpose calling to him?
The wind shifted, and with it came a sense of clarity. Leviathan swam to the edge of the ice where the Kawani herds gathered. He did not approach too closely—he knew the land was not his domain—but he let himself be seen. His iridescent scales shimmered beneath the pale moonlight, and his great fin arched like the crest of a wave. The fire’s warmth reached him, a distant caress, but it was the shared spirit of renewal that truly touched his soul.
With a deliberate motion, he dipped his head beneath the water, searching the sands for a token. His gaze settled on a single pearl—a small, perfect sphere formed from a grain of sand that had been transformed over time by layers of nacre. It was a symbol of patience, endurance, and change. He took it gently into his mouth and rose once more to the surface.
From his place in the water, Leviathan cast the pearl into the waves between himself and the shore. It sank slowly, glimmering as it fell, until it disappeared into the depths. It was his offering to the new year—an acknowledgment of the transformation he had begun and the journey still ahead. He would carry the memory of the valkyrie’s courage and the knowledge of his own inner strength as a guiding current, pulling him toward a future he had yet to fully envision.
As the bonfire burned and the Kawani herds celebrated with their songs and dances, Leviathan lingered a while longer, basking in the shared hope of the turning year. Then, with a final glance at the flames and the stars reflected in the ice, he turned and slipped back into the sea, his heart lighter, his spirit renewed. He would not simply wait for spring to arrive—he would swim boldly toward it, forging his own path through the waters of the world and the uncharted depths of his own destiny.
