Excerpt from Levia, by Whitman Paul Palmer

 

Introduction

Meditate.

Meditate upon the idea of a Multiverse.

Meditate upon the idea of worlds upon worlds, each just as vast and complex and storied as ours, as each other.

Meditate upon the thought of a creature as vast as the lands we stand on.

Meditate upon this creature, so vast that the building of a city would not be noticed, just as a human does not notice the touch of dust upon their skin.

Meditate upon these ideas, the world that must exist for them to be true, and more.

Do these things, as you are welcomed into… LEVIA

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Part the First

“Broctakret.” Jeremie shook his head, taking another swig of his beer as he listened to the Deep Diver, whose unkempt beard and glassy eyes were the norm for the patrons of that bar. “No, lad, it’s true! I saw it, while we was deep divin’! A field, a field of domes, goin’ for klicks and klicks! They sparkled in the lights, like gems they was.”

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“You were hallucinating. Or mistaking a bunch of deep-plants for something they ain’t. I refuse to believe that those are Deep One eggs.”

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“What else could they be? Gems cannae’ grow that large, and the only thing that could make so many things, with so much beauty, would be-”

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“This is sounding dangerously close to Deep Worship, old man.” Jeremie snarled, knowing that dive bars like this often held a rather disturbing amount of the cultists who worshipped the creatures they constructed their cities upon.

 

“Lay off him, Jerem.” His eyes snapped to the side, taking in his larger friend for a moment. Daveed was soft spoken, soft fleshed, and sharp of mind. Despite his physical strength, he greatly preferred to read of toils and triumphs rather than experience them. He and Jeremie were temporarily on city-leave, taking a rest from the open sea. Thankfully, the Deep One Levia was anchored to was surfaced for breath, meaning a nice few months of stable ground and a chance for the farmers to harvest their crops, grown between the scales of the creature that shared the city’s name (or provided it, if you believed the hokey tale of how the biggest of the Anchorcities was founded).

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“Oh, I-I’m sorry, I...didn’t wannae make ye nervous lads. Hows’about the next round’s on me-”

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Jeremie stood, leaving his half-finished beer at the table. “We’re fine, thank you.” He glanced down to Daveed, who was still reading. He nudged him with his elbow.

 

“Just a second…” Jeremie waited one second and did it again. This time, Daveed caught his arm with his left hand, finally finishing the chapter and snapping the book shut. “Now we can leave.” Jeremie sighed, stepping behind his friend’s chair and heading towards the door.

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