Ecco: The Glyph Caller
Oh, for the chosen oneexcept for the stars on his brow, normal be he
The past, the present, the future calls his name
on that day he saved all three
The story unfolded, or so it seems for now
can the darknesses, they would truly leave
As long as ancient Delphineus protects
Those who deeply or never believe
The future of his, our present now,
forever and a day is safe to swim
As long as the sea laughs and cries
fate for us, as a day sky, can't grow that dim.
-Sung by Trellia and the Flying Singers after Ecco's victory
Chapter One
"Ah, can the seas ever be calmer than this very moment?" Trellia asked of her podmate, Tiderider.
"Maybe. As long as your ancestor keeps the peace in his time, our time never sees the dark vortex equivalent."
"His name is Ecco," corrected Trellia. She felt a heavy need to remember her ancestor after he saved the natural future of Earth.
It all started with the alien creatures called the Vortex. Ecco, a young dolphin who was only known for the constellation-like star pattern on his forehead at the time, had his family torn from him in a crimson blaze of wind and the fearful cries of his family, friends, and love that tore his heart apart. He traveled through the beauty of a sea that he thought he knew, but was changed and paralyzed by fear. Through the rip tides, dangerous and strange creatures, and ancient wise souls that he once thought were extensions of the sea itself: fearless, strong, invincible. He learned quickly that no one really lives forever. With help from the great Big Blue, the ancient Asterite, and with the mysterious Glyph crystals, he eventually defeated the Vortex queen and saved the world.
Later, it was found that the queen followed him to Earth and supposedly killed the Asterite, which split the strands of time into two futures: The one that was meant to be, and the dark, featureless void that used to be life. He traveled to both and met his descendant, Trellia, in the light future. He had to save the Asterite's life in order to regain his powers and rid the Earth of the Vortex once and for all.
"Whatever. That was eons ago. You may be Ecco's blood, but I will rule these skies one day."
"Go away, Tideslider."
"TideRIDER!" He corrected. He laughed and floated off for his scheduled swim. Trellia sighed. He was an annoying one, but she'd known him since they flew the skies as young ones. He was her best friend, and maybe more.
Trellia floated above the ocean, the waves still as active as the dawn of life. The moon was high in the sky, the constellation of Delphineus barely visible yet in the dusk. The stars reminded Trellia that nothing was more precious than life. She was the only one in the sky, the other flying singers starting to dream. Trellia always took this time to remember her ancestor and the wild look in his eyes when he was brought to the future that, in Delphine terms, was a sense of duty. The way he immediately raced to the sky tubes after hearing the Asterite wanted to talk, the shrill battle cry he invented as a way to sing for luck, his flukes as fast and powerful as the great Orca. All of that floated with Trellia as her long fins--dorsal, pectoral and fluke--moved her through a sky now indigo and dotted with bright stars. The water below her was cool to the touch, and black in color.
She was getting ready to descend so she could sleep, when the sky caught her eye. It did so every night; at first she dismissed it as another star dying. But it only showed up at night, a big red and black mass of clouds. Every night it crept closer, covering the stars. It was big enough now to reach Delphineus, which made Trellia very worried. The lone star on her head, proof of her relation to the great Ecco, always shined with the stars. Now it was so dim the other singers could have dismissed her as just another singer. She hung in midair, powerless to comprehend what happened to grow every night.
As Trellia slunk low to the sea but eye frozen to the blood-red apparition, her other eye caught the surface. Under the dark water, Something was shining as bright as a diamond.
Trellia dove underwater and used her sonar to find the source of the white light. The surface of the water was dark red as it reflected the, thing, in the sky.
Trellia stared at the crystal. It was a Glyph, placed there to help Ecco through his journey. She sang to it, but it gave only one message before blinking out: "Help...help...find...the...Glyph Caller." Then, all the Glyph crystals in the sea, placed by the time-traveling Atlanteans, began to glow white like that one. It illuminated the seabed and made a few fish scurry out of the area.
Trellia was scared. The Glyphs never seemed hurt even after they were of no use, but they were in pain now. She got the same wild look in her eyes as Ecco once did and flew back to the sky.
"Singers of the Skylands gather!" Cried Trellia in a blast of song. She used it to call attention to any singer that was present in all of the seas and skyseas. It was so powerful, it can be heard by all.
However, no one came. Trellia cried out again, but again no luck.
No one can sleep that deep, thought Trellia. Something was wrong; the phenomenon was getting ever closer and seemed to put a sleep spell on everyone but her. That's it, Trellia realized. The Glyphs are the key. But who better than Tiderider to unlock the key, since he's a descendant of someone legendary?
Trellia thought about that, then came up with the obvious answer. She had powers alone to time travel, so that was the answer.
"Ecco."
Trellia called down the Song of Transport in the version that allows one to travel through time, and vanished in a ring of stars.
"What is that, Ecco?" asked young Radero.
His mother, Enuia, came to him first. "Radero, how many times have I told you, show respect to all elders, especially the pod leader?"
"I am not an elder anyway" said Ecco, the five stars on his forehead as bright as any young dolphin; and he was still as pure despite the fact that he was a real hero among all singers; and to the sea.
Ecco came up to Radero and smiled. "Now what do you ask of me, young calfling?"
Radero pointed to the gleaming crystal. "That thing. What is it?"
Ecco smiled. "That is a Glyph. They are scattered all over the sea, as the Atlanteans intended. They are a mystery, being everywhere and not saying much, but legend has it the sea would lose balance with the sky if they were broken."
Ecco left the young one to ponder the mysteries on his own. Ecco was the great hero and savior from the Vortex, but he always needed time alone now and then.
Suddenly, there was a nagging feeling tugging at his head, which he always trusted meant trouble. He swam from his family to find it out. And there, right before the chosen one's eyes, appeared the one dolphin he could never forget. "Trellia?"
Trellia was exhausted. She had been struggling through the time stream that the Glyphs held together, partly because they were breaking the binds that held life and time. Both Trellia and Ecco had very strong instincts about the broken peace.
"Yes, it is I," Trellia replied. "You have to come with me to my time, it is being ripped apart!"