Prologue

Shelt Village was right by the ocean. Fishermen went out daily to capture their prizes and sell them to provide for their families. Shelt was said to be the luckiest town for fishing, the fish were large, healthy, tasty, and most importantly, there were many of them. Tiny, quaint, carefully built shops and businesses dotted the land, as well as straw roofed houses. The villagers were happy, and friendly towards one another, knowing everyone as was the case in small villages. Anyone who visited there would say that it was the most friendly, magical place, and promised to come back soon. Ships would always stop at the docks to stock up on rations even if they didn't need any, and would rush to the pubs and restaurants to be served by the pretty maids and indulge in homemade pie and vegetables from the garden out back.

Yet it wasn't just these things that made Shelt Village one of the most sought after places. It was also because the mer folk were said to live close to the village, deep in the ocean right by the roads that were pounded with the feet of eager townspeople. They were most said to be where the ocean rounded into the land like a half moon, creating some sort of large pool, with rocks perfect for sitting, and waters warm. Children often went swimming there. Mer folk lived all over the world of Thrain, but it was fairly rare that they came out of the water. Sometimes a person would see a flicker of large tail in the water, or a beautiful young girl with her head out the water combing her silvery green hair. Occasionally a child would run home and tell their parents of the nice woman they had met in the Pool, as they called it. And if a small child happened to find themselves in the water when their mother looked away, webbed hands pushed it back out to save it from drowning. When sailors and merchants docked in Shelt, the sailors would often try to catch a pretty sea maiden, but never succeeded, as they were too quick and intelligent. They could tell where bad intentions lay.

But then came the day the Pool grew cold, the fishermen returned home empty-handed, and the children found themselves all alone in the waters. That was the day when the unthinkably gruesome became reality.