[Open Class] Cave of Wonder [Dekana Solo]

[SkieBorne]

He wasn't entirely sure why he'd agreed to have a go at the Cave of Wonders. The reputation it carried was one of self-inflicted torment at the hands of your deepest fears... it didn't exactly sound wonderful all told. Still, somebody had suggested it as a possible training module to use for improving his duelling abilities – a sound point, really, to develop strength by facing your fears. And as sound as that logic was, Dekana still didn't really want to spend an afternoon facing every deep-seated fear in his psyche with the distinct possibility of failing. He wasn't sure how brave he actually was – he never really had to face his fears in such a literal way before...

The letter inviting him to the Cave had been simple... and anonymous, again. Why people kept sending him anonymous messages, he wasn't sure but it was definitely getting irritating.

When he arrived at the entrance, it was a simple door. He had expected an opening like that of a natural cave, actually, and a door caught him off guard. Was cave a fancy way of saying office maybe? But the area was more... rundown then usual, with the distinct possibility of there actually being a cave in behind. Possibly. Curiously, he knocked on the door and when no voice answered after a second knock, he experimentally tugged on the door. It stayed shut. He tried pushing it in, and with a great long eerie creak, it swung open before him to reveal a tunnel leading into gloom. A faint glow could be seen in the distance, presumably the goal.  

[SkieBorne]

Upon entering the tunnel, the door slammed shut behind him and would not budge regardless of how hard Dekana tugged. He was locked in now, with nowhere to go but forward... and with no instruction and no visible professor, it wasn't much a choice. As he walked, the tunnel grew brighter and brighter, enough that the walls could be seen covered in things of a pink and fluffy, cute nature cast in eerie lighting and throwing long shadows. It made his skin crawl something fierce... and the ceiling was getting closer too, he thought... he could almost touch it with his fingers!

As the tunnel narrowed, Dekana moved faster until he was sure was moving as he did and made a dash for the light. He got there and the tunnel behind him closed off, becoming a very tiny square hole in the wall that almost made him wonder if he'd somehow been shrunk or enlarged during the run.

The room before him was sparse but damp. Moisture sparkled on the wall as rivulets found their way down cracks and depressions, lending the room a constant rushing sound that made his ears twitch. A water room? Dekana was moderately unimpressed. He was a lord of the water, one of the creatures that commanded the shadows and gave humanity a reason to fear the rivers and lakes they so frequently abused.

With confidence, Dekana strode to the edge of the ground portion to look into the lake-like pool of water at one end. It shimmered and shifted but something was off... It appeared thicker than usual, the surface almost a slick of oil in the way its iridescent colour changed in the light. What was it filled with? Dekana sniffed and shook his head, it smelled like water... like any water he'd ever sniffed. That meant this was probably an illusion.

Just as he was about to enter the water, he saw a great shape far below disturb the lake's floor and glide onward to disappear into a black gaping hole in the side. Something was down there... something large and powerful. Dekana frowned... he couldn't just give up because a leviathan was swimming around, now could he? Rolling his shoulders, the shadow panther settled his nerves and dove in.  

[SkieBorne]

After diving in, Dekana took a long moment to get used to the thick water, it's oily texture gliding against his skin unpleasantly. When he turned to look back, Dekana saw that the surface was no longer there, covered over by cave ceiling. He frowned. It seemed like this cave of wonders was named for it's constantly changing nature... nothing too impressive yet. And the deeper he went, the more the shadows loomed but nothing else. It was if the cave was leading up to something, developing the anticipation so as to strike him harder when something happened... but all that it managed to do was bore him and he swam, a little off put by the water but not otherwise set on edge.  

[SkieBorne]

As he continued on the underwater path, he came to a fork in the road. One was lit by bioluminescent aquatic plants and smooth, its surfaces sparkling and beautiful... the other was dark with only a faint glow far down the path. Occasionally shapes would swim into the gloom enough to hint at something lurking in the shadows of the darker path... Dekana took a moment to consider his options before he strayed away from the lighted path to take the darker one... only to find the path simple and straightforward.  

[SkieBorne]

It was a simple swim, uneventful, but as he came to a bend in the path, his sense of orientation began to waver and he was unable to tell up from down or side to side. Swimming awkward in a circle, he found the closer he got to the bend the more disoriented he became... regardless of how much he fought through the disorientation. He spent a good half hour swimming in circles before he gave up and stopped... and it was then that he was suddenly sucked through the pool to be deposited back at the beginning of the cave.

Dekana cursed. He'd failed. At least the water was back to being regular water now...