The Palkias Chronicles

Chapter 1

Astro Lands on Palkias

Astro stumbled out of the magical portal, his eyes adjusting from the dark forests of Merlopia to the bright blue skies of… wait, where was he? He looked around, noticing the sand beneath his feet and the palm trees swaying in the wind. Could this be Palkias? The planet of water and islands, full of treasure and treacherous seas?
Still wearing his space suit from travelling through the portal, he begins to adjust his helmet when something glints from the reflection of the glass in the corner of his eye. 

He looks over to find a bottle, half buried in the sand, containing what seems to be a piece of rolled up old parchment. 

Brushing the sand off his paws, he padded over the soft sand, heated from the afternoon sun, and picks up the bottle, carefully examining it, before curiosity took over and he pulled the cork free from the top and unfurled the parchment to reveal a map.

It appeared to be a treasure map, showing a dotted line which Astro traced with his paw, through the shark infested waters and The Kraken’s lair, then eventually to the large red X over an etching of a cave. 


‘What could lie waiting in that cave?’, Astro wondered to himself. 


Astro shifted on his feet, suddenly realising how warm the sun was as it beat down upon him. No longer needing the suit, he wriggled it off and packed it back in his satchel before noticing something else on the shore. Just beyond the palm trees lay a boat, made of dark wood and sails yellowed with age, furled up against the mast and sitting perfectly on the shoreline, as if waiting for its captain. A small chest sat inside the boat, which upon inspection contained a worn coat, a tricorn hat, and a blue silk sash that glimmered like the sea under starlight. This seemed too convenient to be a coincidence. The boat, the clothes, the map… it seems as though Astro was destined to be here all along, following a story already written.

With a flick of his ears, he donned his new clothes, tucked the map in his satchel, and unfurled the sails of his boat. Adventure awaited him out there on the horizon, and Astro was ready to follow his destiny.

Chapter 2

Astro Sets Sail

With the sails of his boat ready to catch the wind, Astro embarks on his journey to discover what is at the end of his this map. Maybe it’s gold, maybe it’s sparkly gemstones, or maybe it’s not even treasure at all! The sea breeze began to whip at Astro’s fur, his new coat billowing in the wind. He held onto his tricorn hat as he peered into the openness before him, seeing nothing but a vast expanse of water. The waves furled away as the boat cut through the sea, while Astro brought out his compass and compared it to the map. It didn’t have an indication of how far south to travel, all he knew was the he needed to pass through what appeared to be shark infested waters. Being a land dweller, Astro had never encountered a shark before, but he had heard tales and seen pictures of them from fellow travellers, so when an elongated shadow emerged from the waters depths, Astro’s heart skipped a beat. First one shadow, then another…. two sharks! They began to circle the boat ominously as Astro reached for one of the boat’s oars, ready to swat away any sharks who wanted to come and play. 

‘Not that my wooden oar would do much against all those teeth’, Astro thought to himself. 

As Astro began to devise a plan, a third shadowy figure appeared from the depths, though this one was a different shape to the others. It grew closer and closer, Astro’s paws began to shake as he held tight on the oar. He held his breath as the figure emerged…. Oh! It wasn’t a shark at all! It was a beautiful mermaid with shimmery, iridescent hair. 

"Hello! I’m Selene, pleased to meet you!", the mermaid introduced herself, as her tail curled up to break the water, flashing the most stunning tail, reflecting colours of turquoise and gold.

Astro must have been visibly stunned, as the mermaid sweetly continued on without Astro saying a word. 

"You don’t need to be afraid, let me introduce you to my friends." She gestured towards the circling shadows which had creeped alarmingly closer during this interaction. 

One after the other, two sharks popped up next to Selene, one was pink, and the other yellow. They didn’t look menacing at all! Even with all those teeth. 

"This is Winky", Selene tilted her head towards the pink shark, "and this is Chase." She nodded towards the yellow one. "They are here to help you navigate through the rips and currents so you may continue on your path."

Astro stumbled a quick thank you, then just as suddenly as she appeared, she vanished beneath the water’s surface. 

Winky the shark waved a fin, signalling Astro to follow. He took a few deep breaths, picked up the other oar, and followed the two sharks through the southern waters, onto the next part of his adventure…

With the help of his new unlikely friends, two sharks named Winky and Chase, Astro navigated the swirling rips and currents of the sea. The sharks gently nudged his boat in the right direction as Astro did his best at rowing through the rough waters, until gradually the waves calmed and Astro let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the mast of his boat. The two sharks playfully flicked the water with their fins as a ‘goodbye’, before Astro watched their shadows fade into the darkness. It was then that Astro realised how late it had become. He looked up into the sky where the daylight had been replaced by scattered stars and three moons of varying sizes. Everything was still, calm, silent…. Astro’s fur prickled on the back of his neck as he lit the little lantern on his boat, which provided little comfort in the eerie ambiance. 


A strange gurgle and a flurry of bubbles bellowed out from the depths around Astro’s boat. First one giant tentacle, then several more, followed by a large bulbous head with glowing green eyes and swirling galaxy globs on the forehead, emerged from the bubbling sea. Astro stares, shocked at the sight before him. The Kraken loomed over the boat, but did not attack, only watched in stillness, while Astro stared back in stunned silence. It didn’t take long, though, to notice an object wrapped in one of the Kraken’s eight tentacles. It seemed to be part of a ship, a piece of the bow perhaps as it seemed to have some lettering painted along it, but Astro couldn’t make it out from his position.

He courageously took up his oar once more, however this movement triggered the Kraken to begin twisting and coiling his tentacles, carefully creating whirls and swells in the water, almost as if he had done this many times before. It seemed obvious to Astro now, that he needed to use the skills he learned from Winky and Chase to navigate the maze of waves created by the Kraken, like some kind of test. He expertly manoeuvred his boat, cutting through the course set by the flailing tentacles, remembering the nudges of the sharks as he recognised the direction the water swirled and knew just how to position his boat to glide through with ease. Eventually Astro was able to get his boat at just the right angle to make out the mysterious word on the weathered piece of hull, still being held up by the tentacle. 
"Oc…ta..vius", Astro muttered, as he spelled out the letters he saw. "OCTAVIUS!" Astro said again, louder. "That’s your name, isn’t it?!" He questioned, though he already knew the answer. 
Octavius stilled once more, accepting Astro as a worthy adventurer, while an orb of light from below the surface began to glow, outlining a giant shipwreck on the seafloor. He knew then, where his adventure would take him next…

Astro peered over the edge of his boat to see the shipwreck beneath the water, lit by the glowing orb of light. He sifted through his satchel to retrieve his space suit and carefully pulled it on, trying his best not to capsize his boat in the process. Since it allowed him to breathe in space, surely it’d work underwater too, right? Astro looked back at where Octavius the Kraken had been moments before, but only saw the reflections of Palkias’ moons in the softly rippling water and realised then that he was once again alone. He took a deep breath in and donned his helmet before stuffing his coat and hat into his satchel and plunging into the water. Even through his suit, Astro felt the chill of the water as he began to swim down towards the magnificent wreck. 
‘I wonder what this ship would’ve looked like when it sailed the seas?’, Astro thought to himself as he neared closer, realising with each kick and stroke that it was much larger than it seemed from the surface. 
The glowing orb followed Astro at a steady pace, lighting the way until he reached what once would have been the ship’s bow, but was now covered in seagrass and barnacles. He noticed some planks missing where the name of the ship would have been as the orb hovered above a carved wooden figurehead in the shape of a kraken. 
"I suppose I’m to go in there?" Astro asked to no one.

As soon as he started towards the hole on the side of the ship, the orb swiftly ducked in before him and quickened its pace. Astro kicked harder, trying to keep up. The orb weaved through the remnants of the watery passages and rooms as Astro followed, his breath becoming heavier as he swam as fast as he could… just a little faster, just a bit longer!! But it wasn’t fast enough, as the orb disappeared around a corner, plunging Astro into darkness… 
Or was he? He felt his heart pounding in his head as he caught his breath. His eyes adjusted, realising he was surrounded by bioluminescent fish shedding an eerie, yet somewhat comforting blue light on the passage where he floated. Astro swam down the hallway and around the corner towards the direction in which he last saw the orb. But where to now? He looked around the room and spotted a framed painting on the wall, a kraken with one of his 8 tentacles pointing towards an open door, so he followed. He looked around the next room to find a similar clue, this one pointed up, so Astro followed once again. He poked his head through the opening and hoisted himself up to a bigger, more ornate room than the rest of the ship. The water only came up to his ankles, some kind of magic had created an air pocket here, and it was completely lit up… the orb! This was the room the orb had come to, and it was hovering over a plinth containing some kind of artefact. Astro removed his helmet as he approached the plinth, and was drawn to the glimmering gold medallion sitting atop it, which was etched with inscriptions and symbols he didn’t understand. Something within him urged him to pick it up, and it was then that he felt a cool breeze as a tattered curtain covering another dark passageway brushed the back of the plinth. He wrapped the medallion in the blue sash from his satchel and stored it safely in one of the pockets before taking a step towards the opening, while the orb followed in confirmation.