Chapter 2: The Horizon Child

"**Chapter 2: The Horizon Child**" is the second chapter of *Phantomarine*. It was published between May 23, 2018 and May 1, 2019.

## Plot summary

On an island in the southwestern Candlelight Sea, a boy with white hair, pink eyes, and unusually pale skin on his head stands on a beach, looking out at a lighthouse road. He holds a paddleboard next to him, propped against the ground. Taking a deep breath, he pulls out a radio and, using the codename "Snowcap", calls up someone on the other end to check if the coast is clear. The person being contacted, Eddy, initially refuses to help, even as Snowcap insists he has to do the "crazy" thing. Eddy reluctantly reports that things are good to go, and as he takes to the water, the boy, real name Pavel, promises Eddy his dessert. Eddy is confident that Pavel is going to get himself eaten, but Pavel thinks it's worth it if he can stop someone from getting bitten.

Eddy asks if he can sell Pavel's paddleboard if he doesn't come back, but Pavel refuses and ends the transmission. Out on the edge of the ghostwater, Pavel greets the seaghosts by cheerfully wishing them a happy Fracture Day, but all they do is moan. Pavel asks them how things are, recognizing several new ghosts, including Yvette, Geraldo, and Salty Joe. He's disappointed in a lack of Redtiders, again, hoping that one will show up someday, before announcing that the day's meal is fresh from the harbor market. Pavel opens his bag, winces, and comments that its contents were fresher ten minutes ago, before throwing the pink salmon inside to the ghosts, describing the fish as "*mostly alive!*" They are quickly bitten by the ghosts, turning white with pink eyes, and Pavel rubs his neck, with its jagged border between pigmented and unpigmented skin, nervously.

Pavel asks the ghosts to promise not to bite anyone until he gets back, before starting back to shore, calling back to the ghosts to pass his regards to their king. As he heads back inland, he listens to a Salabay Radio morning news broadcast for this Fracture Day five thousand years after Shoshana brought peace to the sea. The announcer talks about the festival on Grand Physalia, where the radio station is holding a costume contest.

Inland, Pavel reaches a grassy cave, calling out to Eddy to ask whether "she's" back. But there's no one there. Passing through the cave and peeking over a hump at the Great Salabay Aquifer, Pavel grumbles about Eddy being a jerk. He runs mostly-barefoot over the hot sands around the hot spring pools, yelping in pain, before diving inside the aquifer's central building, hoping that Eddy just went to the bathroom. Pavel is interrupted by a disapproving female voice, saying that Eddy *did* – before fetching her. Abbess Sofia is not at all impressed by Pavel's behaviour, saying that he must follow the rules until he goes home. Pavel retorts that he is stronger than everyone else there, and doesn't need to be there at all, and that being scared of the sea won't help fix things, as it goes against Shoshana's teachings. Sofia believes he is sick, though, and that his mother has put thoughts into his head. She's surprised Pavel has learned nothing from Eddy, whose fear of puddles makes him a model patient in her eyes. Attempting to be sympathetic, the abbess adds that if the cardinal thinks Pavel is still tainted, he'll have to stay longer, which is the opposite of what he wants. Sofia leads the two boys along, saying she wants them to help her greet some new patients, and Pavel's "favourite" gown should be dry by now.

Pavel sits, outraged, wearing a hospital gown with a duckling pattern on it, a punishment for disobedience. Eddy is surprised, but Pavel retorts that it is his fault.

## Appearances

### Characters

* Bandanna woman
* Bert
* Camille
* Cheline (Mentioned only)
* Cheth (Costume only)
* Eddy
* Eyepatch man
* Garth (Mentioned only)
* Halea Haumea (Voice only)
* Pavel Morena
* Vanna Morena
* Phaedra Philemon (Mentioned only)
* Pharos Philemon (Mentioned only)
* Salty Joe (As a ghost)
* Shakti (Mentioned only)
* Shoshana (As a statue)
* Sofia
* Suresh

### Events

* The Fracture (Mentioned only)
* Fracture Day
	+ Fracture Day Maritime Fair
* New Year's (Mentioned only)

### Groups and titles

* Fata Morgana (Mentioned only)
* Lodestar Guild
* Monarch-Admiral (Mentioned only)
* Morena family
* Plume Church
	+ Cardinal (Mentioned only)
	+ High Priestess (Voice only)
* Salabay Radio

### Locations

* Saberfort (Mentioned only)
	+ Snapdragon's Barrow (Picture only)
* Salabay Archipelago
	+ Cabana Morena (Mentioned indirectly)
	+ Grand Physalia
	+ Great Salabay Aquifer
	+ Harbor market (Mentioned only)

### Other

* Aquifer
* Blessed food (Mentioned only)
* Bonefeather (As a statue)
* Charlie
* Ghostwater
* Gods' Tongue (Symbols only)
* *Golden Feronia*
* Horizon Line (Mentioned only)
* Lighthouse road
* *Mantasol* (Mentioned only)
* Osso
* Pavel's headdress
* Pavel's paddleboard
* Phantomarine
* Seabite
* Seaghost
* Shrine island

## Pages

1. The Horizon Child
2. Snowcap
3. Sea Shepherd
4. Mostly Alive
5. No Biting
6. The Aquifer
7. Hot Water
8. Slip Up
9. The Angry Duckling
10. Purity and Pancakes
11. Cheeks of Rage
12. Suspicious Sympathy
13. Seeing Red
14. A Little Kindness
15. Bad and Broken
16. The Anti-Spa
17. Vanna
18. Worth Celebrating
19. A Little Leeway
20. The Abandoned Boy
21. Golden Feronia
22. The Costume
23. A Small God
24. Bad Horse
25. The Glare
26. Grand Physalia
27. The Maritime Fair
28. Festival Shenanigans
29. Candles on the Water
30. Manners and Murmurs
31. A Fateful Toast
32. The Midnight Broadcast