Things were somewhat different this time: there were no floating islands, wide-open skies, or half-bird creatures soaring around.  Instead, Alexandria, Zenaida, and Terranon found themselves deep underwater in a chasm that seemed to reach down forever, or at least, extend deeper than any of them were ever willing to swim.  Some things were the same, though: the trio had been sent to find an elder that had become corrupted and gone rogue.  Given the leviathan’s size, they were to lure him into a trap instead of attempting to subdue him.  Preparations had been in progress for days, but at last, the trap was complete.

In an offshoot from the main chasm, an enormous weighted net was attached to the ceiling, a huge contraption of chain and reinforced rope.  It would be Zenaida’s job to sever the primary rope that held it in place.  Once Livyatan was secured, other dragons could arrive with cleansing tonics and return his clarity of mind.  Alexandria and Terranon were to ensure the Livyatan did not get out of hand before they could reach him.  It was a dangerous plan, but it was the best anyone could come up with.  No plan could be guaranteed safe, with a corrupted leviathan on the loose.

Zenaida clung to the roof of the cavern, swaying gently with the currents.  Despite how obvious she appeared, pale scales against dark stone, Livyatan did not have eyes, and would likely not notice her as long as she stayed still.  Privately, she was quite relieved to be staying away from the fighting this time.  The gryphons were much smaller and they terrified her; she had not even seen their opponent, but the rayfins she knew were huge, and scary on an entirely different level than the gryphons.

Terranon, by contrast, was quite eager to be on the luring team.  She hoped something would go wrong, and she’d have an excuse to take on the biggest fight she’d ever had.  In her mind, a blind leviathan was an easy fight, no matter how large he was.  Easy win, huge bragging rights.  She swung her tail back and forth in the water, eager to get started.

Alexandria watched the entrance to the cavern, waiting for the messenger to tell them where Livyatan had been spotted.  While none of the others could see it, she was apprehensive.  Zenaida was often unlucky, and Terranon far too eager.  There could be trouble, and it would be her responsibility to resolve it.  This would not be like fighting the gryphons, where even the largest was smaller than her.  Livyatan dwarfed even regular leviathans, and regular leviathans made Alexandria look small.  She was also not used to fighting underwater.  Unlike Terranon, she quite fervently hoped that nothing would go wrong.

At last, the word came.  Livyatan had left his hiding place in one of the crevasses, and was now in the main abyssal chasm.  Terranon and Alexandria were to swim out to meet him.  They left the cavern, which was lit by bioluminescent coral and softly glowing stones, and entered the chasm, which was lit only by the light that barely filtered down from the surface.  Dragons could see well in darkness, but this light level strained even their vision.  Livyatan might only be visible by the glint of his scales and the glowing markings along his sides.  The pair swam onward, watching carefully for any hint of movement larger than a fish.

Below them, something shifted, ripples of water moving outward as they were displaced.  Sensing the change, Alexandria looked down, and watched spots of blue light up like eyes opening.  They had found their target.  Moreover, their target had found them.  “Look!” Alexandria called.  “Down there!  Let’s start luring him back.”

Terranon glanced at where Alexandria was pointing, and for just a second, she hesitated.  Livyatan was….big.  But, well, she wasn’t going to make a name for herself by being a coward.  “Let’s make sure he’ll follow us,” she growled, and with a few strokes of her wings, she powered downward, ramming her antlers directly into the leviathan’s side.  A shriek rang out across the chasm, echoing off the walls, bouncing back before the noise had even subsided.  The water shuddered.  Terranon drew back, then gave her own shout of surprise as she saw jaws half as large as she was bearing down on her.  She whirled, paddling her wings frantically to get back and get away.  Livyatan followed, extraordinarily fast despite his size.  He snapped at her, and Terranon swung her tail, catching the side of his face.  Blood floated into the water from the half dozen punctures her tail spikes had left.

It would have been enough to give Terranon an opening for escape if it had been anyone else, and she opened her wings wide, ready for one big push out of reach.  She had beaten back one head, but two more emerged from the darkness of that abyssal water.  Another set of jaws closed on the back half of her body, and Terranon roared in pain.  She turned, aiming to claw at Livyatan’s nose, but saw the third head reaching for her, ready to grab her front half and rend her in two.  She froze, terrified, watching her end loom closer.

Alexandria slammed hard into the side of Livyatan’s head, claws scrabbling against smooth scales.  She bit down at the base of his skull, and the water shuddered again with his furious growl, repeated in triplicate.  The head that Terranon had swiped with her tail snapped at Alexandria, but she pushed away, and his teeth closed only on his own hide.  The pain of this injury was enough to garner the leviathan’s full attention, and he tossed Terranon aside, turning to go after Alexandria.  In jumping off his head, she had reached the wall of the chasm and crouched there, swinging her tail to disturb the water and growling.  She wanted to be sure he knew where she was.  All three heads lunged for her, and again she leapt free, leaving Livyatan to slam painfully into the stone wall.  By the time he had shaken himself off, Alexandria was already well clear of his reach.

“Over here!” she shouted.  “Come on, I’ve got a treat for you!”  Turning to the sound, Livyatan roared, and followed.  She led him up, along, and into the cavern, still calling out, until she reached the far side of the trap, where she flattened herself to the wall.  Livyatan poured into the cavern like a living hurricane and paused in the center, whipping his heads around in the sudden quiet.  Carefully, Zenaida reached out a claw and severed the single rope holding the net to the ceiling.  A great rattling sounded as chains were set free, and the leviathan growled, snapping in all directions at the confusion of noise that suddenly surrounded him.

Terranon limped into the cavern just in time to see the net crash down on Livyatan, pinning him to the stone floor.  She wanted to snarl in victory, but was too exhausted, and instead let herself drift down to the ground as well.  Zenaida, her part played, swam over to her, checking the other dragon over.  “I’ll tell the rayfins to bring some medics along with the cleansing tonics!” she said, and darted out of the entrance, on her way to tell the rest that the plan had worked.

Alexandria surveyed the scene.  Livyatan thrashed, but the weighted net held.  Red stained the water around Terranon’s sides, but help was on the way.  She sighed.  It had not worked out quite perfectly, but it could have been far worse.  This underwater kingdom would soon be free of the corruption as well.