Khalo's Journal: Transpiration

From Ozgander's teachings, I learned that water moves through plants from root to leaf, and when the water reaches the leaf, it evaporates in the sunlight. The name for this process is transpiration, the active term for which is transpire. This is also the word in the common language for the occurrence of an event. The common denominator between the two meanings is that they both refer to a thing that happens.

Down below the streets of Bornos, several things were happening. Among them, I saw fit to utilize my transformative powers to become a porpoise, and in the form of that porpoise I defeated several sharks. This form of combat felt more natural and purposeful than many of my encounters in dwarf form; they wanted to eat me, and I wanted to survive. Some of my other encounters have been imbued with the same purpose, but they are all too few. 

We also moved past the troglodytes to encounter a new subterranean foe - the Sahuagin, so named by Jace, who has a talent for this sort of random identification. They are a hybrid of fish and man, and they seemed to have a bustling city below the ocean, very near to Bornos. Upon discovery of this city, we had intended to leave and return to the surface, but first, Orenthal advocated for the excavation of an ancient room, and enough of us agreed that Osbert was overruled, and we opened the door. Within, we found the tomb of something (Jace called it Vas Ra), and Orenthal was mystically compelled to disturb the sarcophagus, which seemed to awaken the creature from it's doubtlessly long slumber. At that point, our group felt it was best not to hang around, and we returned to the surface alongside Leito, a prisoner of the Sahuagin whom we had rescued. Leito had been looking for the tomb of Vas Ra, but was satisfied enough by our report that he did not feel compelled to see for himself. 

We returned to Bornos, and I to Mome Rath, who had been waiting patiently for my return these past two days. I immediately saw to his care, grateful for his loyalty, and intent upon repayment of the debt. From there, we returned to the Don't Go Inn, but were soon attracted to the docks along with a good portion of the rest of the town to see the sight of thousands of Sahuagin and shark corpses floating on the surface of the water. No great leap in logic was required to attribute this genocide to whatever was occupying the tomb of Vas Ra.

In plants, the transpiration process is considered by some to be wasteful, for while the water that courses through the plant is necessary for its survival, only a small portion of that water ends up being of use to the entity, which is why the majority must be evaporated by the sun through the leaf. And yet, this evaporated water will serve some purpose once it becomes a cloud, then rain, giving life to another part of the earth, perhaps even sustaining the very plant that guided the water from underneath the ground. Similarly, as I reflected on our time in the sewers of Bornos, I was tempted to consider it time wasted, at best some form of training for my eventual life's purpose in the Domelands. But I should know better than this. I would do well to remember that every action - all that transpires, is part of the thrumming organism that is life and existence. These events may not have a considerable impact on my life, but they are certain - and not just for the dead - to be important to many others. 

Entry concluded.