Prologue
"Tritannus you will pass through the Gates of Oblivion, never to return!"
Was it truly mercy that allowed him to live? Or had public executions merely gone out of fashion? Even with the mist of spite clouding his mind, the fallen prince knew his father would have given anything to kill him there and then. If only there weren't subjects to please, diplomatic ties to maintain, his mother to appease…Tritannus was certain King Neptune would have done it if there weren't so many other things at stake.
And he had been so close…
The triton just avoided the gaze of every other living creature as the guards escorted him from the surface and to his doom. He let the curious and distasteful murmurs and whispers of the gathered crowd wash past him. His mother's grieving and the disappointed looks of his siblings fading quickly from his mind. At least he didn't have to dwell on it for long. The next thing Tritannus knew was that he was back underwater, listening to several mages beginning the ritual to open the forbidden portal.
A sickening red crack rippled before him like a decaying wound, revealing a whirling void of utter blackness. No one really knew what lay on the other side, but the Gates of Oblivion had only been open by the merfolk to enact the greatest punishment since time immemorial.
"I'm sorry that I didn't crush you all when I had the chance."
He had meant every word he said. If it weren't for the politicking of these stupid kingdoms he would have never ended up this way. Their very existence had sealed his eternal unhappiness. The only problem was that he had been foolish enough to believe his actions would be powerful enough for them to respect him and let him live his own life the way he wanted.
"He totally earned this." a harsh voice echoed behind him. By then the dimensional tear was stabilized and the guards restraining him shoved him forward, goading him towards the portal with their sharpened tridents.
He hated that voice but it compelled him to look back. All he saw was his cousin and her friends, the powerful Sirenix fairies, the champions of the day. They were doing their heroic duty, ensuring that justice was delivered this day. Gloating over the finality of the sentence being carried out.
Apart from his smug cousin, everyone else had mixed expressions full of fear of the punishment but without pity. Yet there was that one fairy with the blankest expression he had ever seen. Her sparkling azure eyes spoke worlds of different meaning.
At least underneath the sea one couldn't really see tears.
No.
Taking one last breath, he plunged through the crude dimensional tear and into the oceans of nothingness that lay beyond the known universe. Leaving the only woman he had ever loved behind.