The old ones conversed in silence, leaving him alone in their halls ignorant to his fate. Time passed ever slowly, and still he stood with head bowed low out of respect that he felt they no longer deserved.

He sighed, growing restless as the old ones took their time to decide, wondering perhaps forgetting him was punishment after all. Becoming weary of this farce he closed his eyes, hoping perhaps the passage of time would speed up while he lost himself within his own thoughts.

But something felt strange, something felt wrong.

He opened his glowing lapis eyes, only to find himself no longer in the deep halls of the elder gods. He was standing amidst a dark shore, thick gravelled sand at his feet and granite cliffs to his back. He became aware of the sound of the waves lapping the shoreline, the wind gently blowing cool against his smooth skin, and it unnerved him to no end.

He slowly waded out into the surf trying to listen as best he could. He could feel the cool waters, smell the salt air, hear the distant cry of a gull in the distance… and that was all. He looked down at himself, realizing what has passed, what they had done. His teal skin no longer carried the brilliant electrical charge and was now dull and plain. His submerged palm could not feel the life of the sea or the creatures that dwell within it.

This was too much. This was unfair.

A single glowing mote felt his sudden pain, fluttering closer to investigate. He did not notice it immediately, only able to see it with his eyes and not his mind. His hands came forward as the tiny thing approached, cupping the mote between his palms as it glided on the breeze.

“I no longer feel your voice.”

He said, quietly, solemnly, as a single tear escaped and vanished into the sea below.

****

:( poor Thunder....