[Silverhart]

While searching for seashells with my Rune Dragon Mariana, the two of us heard tell of a fantastic treasure ship which had sunk long ago in such deep waters no one had ever been able to locate or dive the wreck. In out quest to learn more, we happened upon an old sea chart that marked the believed resting place of the ship. Apparently a team had set off to recover the riches years ago, and by mapping the winds and currents had pinpointed the most likely location of the wreck. But the water had proved far too deep for the team to dive. Of course, they didn't have a Deep Sea Rune with them!

Being enterprising adventurers we decided to check this out further. We hopped into my grandfather's boat and sailed to the location marked on the map. Once there, Mariana turned her tail to the sky and dove like a graceful seabird into the ocean. The water pressure being too dangerous for humans at those depths, I had to wait on board the ship. We lowered a net bag, so that Mariana could load it up with all the interesting things she found. Then we waited.

Mariana dove to the very bottom of a great sea trench, where warring currents had swept the ancient ship as she went down. The dragon's skills of echolocation proved as good, if not better, then any sort of vision. Mariana is a very curious being, and she especially loves exploring old ship wrecks, since ships are so very odd to her. This wreck however, was especially unique.

When we felt a tug on the line from Mariana we started to drag the net bag back up. The Rune Dragon was no help with that, she decided it would be more fun to splash as while we toiled. Finally we brought the net bag up, and spilled it's treasures on deck. I gasped. There was no gold or silver, but Mariana had retrieved a very odd collection indeed!

The net bag contained a piece of metal corroded beyond recognition, three amphorae, a small carved figure, and a rusty sword. The jewel of the catch however, was an elaborate suit of armor. Or rather, it seemed, pieces of a suit. I picked up the strangely shaped helmet and eyed it for several moments. It had a flamboyant red crest, like the crest of a deep sea oarfish. Mariana had climbed back on board, and was checking out her other finds. She liked the amphorae best of all. She had never seen one before. One of them was still sealed, and she was trying to open it to find out what was inside it. I scolded her playfully for trying to chew on the ancient vase. The Rune Dragon gave me an indignant look that said, 'Let's see you try it then!' I laughed, and plonked the helmet on her head. I had meant it to be funny, but as Mariana shook her head, and the helmet settled into place perfectly, it suddenly dawned on me. This armor was for Rune Dragons! Not only that, but it was probably centuries old, yet the metal and the crest were in fairly good condition. I picked up the rest of the armor and told Mariana my idea. She was skeptical at first, but some flattery soon won her over, and she let me dress her up.

It fit her remarkably well, though it did seem a little big. But then, what do I know about dragon armor? Most of the leather that had held it together had rotted away, but the chain mail, helmet, and decorative crest and sail had survived. They seemed to have been made of metal, coral, and bone, obviously treated with something to keep it from decaying rapidly. Using some rope I quickly threw together the final product.

The armor, when assembled had obviously never seen battle. It looked very intimidating, with all it's bells and whistles, but not very functional. I couldn't see the big sail along the spine or the heavy chain mail doing much for maneuverability. Mariana agreed. She couldn't wait to get it off. The armor had probably been made to decorate a dragon rather then protect it.

We took our catch back to shore, and I was able to restore the armor to how it probably used to look, with some help of course. Though it's still a bit worn in places, Mariana agreed to model it again for me, while I sketched it.

Oh, and we never did find any gold.

But the questions remain: Who made the armor, and why? Who wore it? What era could it be from? And what on Earth could be in that sealed amphora? (Actually that last one's more Mariana's question, then mine).

The Rune Dragons and Mariana's design belong to Benathorn
The Story and Artwork are mine, and who knows, maybe I'll expand on it one day. I was inspired for the armor design by the oarfish, one of my favorite fishes, and also the sailfish.

[*JACKAL*]

Uber Ace!

[Silverhart]

Thank you! ^^ Forgot to put the light thingys on it. Now they're on.

[Benathorn]

Wow, this is simply stunning Silver! You certainly do Mariana justice with your art and the scenes you create are like something from a story book with your own style added to it. (Well since you wrote a story it literally is like a page from a book. XD)
Amazing work and you truly have talent Silver! ^___^

[*JACKAL*]

Can't see what you meant. I'm half asleep so didn't get a good look before! XD
But still aceage!

[Silverhart]

Aww, thanks Benathorn. That means a lot coming from you.

Thanks again, *JACKAL*. It's the sunlight/water refraction squiggly light things. I forgot to put the layer on before I posted it.

[*JACKAL*]

I think I remember not seeing them!

[JEddi]

Aww i love it!

[bananer]

This is really good! XD

[Silverhart]

Aww, thank you guys!