The Conclusion

[nopreyremains]

This is the rough draft of a possible end to the Qyrl-plot. Due to real life, the plot is going pretty slowly and so I'm writing this in an effort to allow NPR to move forward without jeopardizing the continuing plot. The hand-waving and vagueness is intentional, since I have no clue yet how the final battle is going to go.

The huge great white swam lazily around the reef, just off the shore of Mexico. He paid no attention to where he swam. His mind was abuzz with the events of the last month. The Qyrling was dead, killed by the wolf-changer. That had surprised the other Kunspawn, and earned the wolf-changer a fair amount of respect in their eyes. No-Prey-Remains felt only relief. The hunt for him was over. Guards-the-Shoals asked the remora to spread the word that he was not to be hunted. No-Prey-Remains had proven himself loyal to Kunspawn in battle, and useful as a Betweener. He'd been offered the use of Storm's Heart Grotto, when he needed it. No-Prey-Remains had thanked the others and promised to return soon. There was something he had to do, though. Something he couldn't do in the waters around Los Angeles.

He swam south, towards Mexico. It only took two days for him to find another Rokea slew. By this time, the remora had been spreading his tale far and wide, and slew knew of him immediately. In cases like this, after such a battle, Rokea asked other, unrelated Rokea to accept the tales of their valor as truth, so that their renown among the Kunspawn would grow even greater. No-Prey-Remains asked and his valor was unchallenged. If he'd been in Long Fins, he'd probably have been grinning, or even calling Anika to tell her the news, because now he was no longer a Brightwater in the Open Sea. He was a Brightwater in the Cold Sea, very close to the same wisdom and valor as the elder Kunspawn. And he knew what Gifts he wanted to learn.

The first spirit he sought was a shark spirit, the spirit of Waves' Whisper Grotto. The spirit challenged him, made him feel the primal fear of being hunted by a cold, relentless being. It challenged him, and when he passed its test, it taught him the Gift he'd been seeking. Like the primal hunter, he'd be relentless in his chosen course. Nothing, not even tricks of Qyrl, would set him off his path. The consequence, of course, was that he'd find it difficult to focus similarly on another task until the first one was complete. His chosen course? The first thing on his mind, the first worry, was the woman waiting for him back in Los Angeles, his children and the family she lived with. His course was to protect them.

Now, No-Prey-Remains swam lazily back towards Los Angeles. There was one other spirit he wished to confront. One other spirit he wanted to learn from, and it lived in the reef he even now swam over, with the other remora. The Gift was the gift of truth-telling, and it was an area in which the remora excelled. With an excited flick of his tail, he darted toward the tiny spirit. He'd have to pass its challenge, but he was a Brightwater. He had no doubt that he would.