THE LITTLE MERMAID IV
THE DARKEST TIDE
"There are more things between Heaven and Earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." —Hamlet, scene V
Chapter 1: The Monster, The Watcher, and The Traveler
Melody was falling.
Icy wind roared in her ears like thunder as she plummeted out of the dark storming clouds, nightgown torn to rags by the violence of the air. Her hair whipped and snapped against her skin with stinging force. Tears streaked from her eyes as her breath was rammed into her lungs one moment and sucked out the next. Her throat was raw from screaming, but she could barely hear herself over the deafening bellow of the storm. The world was a discordant blur of colors flying past her. Gray, teal, black, blue, red, gray, teal, black, gray, black, red, blue—the chaotic kaleidoscope never stopped. Her legs felt awkward as they kicked about, as though they had been bound together with rope. She looked to her feet but instead saw a ruby red tail. She was a mermaid!
A lightning bolt went streaking by her. The air went from frigid to blazing hot in a split second, the rent wind blasting her ears as it sent her into an uncontrolled roll. Her arms flailed about in blind hope of grasping something to stop her fall. Her tumble ended when an updraft struck her, stabilizing her fall but pushing her breath out of her.
She could see the world properly now. The sky was filled with dark thunderheads to the horizon, thick bolts of lightning flashing every few seconds as waterspouts danced about. The storming dark green ocean roiled and churned angrily below her. White-capped swells tall enough to swallow ships whole rolled across the surface. Monstrous icebergs rose and fell with the raging waters, sending jets of spray into the air when waves collided with their frozen walls. Spires of ice thrust upwards from the sea, ending in lethally sharp tips. It was as though the world were ripping itself apart.
Terror gripped Melody with a wringing icy grasp. She knew the water would greet her with the delicacy of a cannonball against a castle wall, provided she did not hit the ice first. Fresh panic rose up as she thought of her mangled body sinking into the dark depths of the sea, only to be devoured by those creatures that made their home far from the rays of the sun.
She was afraid to die. That single thought rang in her head even louder than the wind. Her screams became hoarse and choked as her voice failed. She was not nearly as afraid of the pain as she was of the end, of the unknown that awaited her in death. She did not want to die here. Not alone, plummeting from the heavens to a watery grave or smashed on the ice. There was still so much life she had to live. Places to go, people to meet, memories to make. She did not want to leave this world so soon.
"Melody!"
The voice cut through the tempest like a knife. It echoed with a hundred different voices calling in unison. Melody looked about for the source, clinging onto the slimmest but swelling hope that it would rescue her.
"Melody!" the voice called again, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
"Help!" she screamed, the wind immediately rushing into her mouth as though to silence her. Her cry was barely a whisper in her own ears, muted by her fall. How could anyone hear her over this din?
Then a new sound reached her ears. A dull whooshing like the beating of wings behind her. No, it was definitely wings. Hope sprang anew in her heart. Had the heavens heard her plea and sent an angel to her rescue?
Melody looked up behind her. Her hope immediately turned to terror as her screaming renewed.
It was not an angel that pursued her. It was a demon.
The only thing human about it was its overall form, for nothing else was. Its lean muscular body was covered by smooth black plates, forming an interlocking obsidian armor. Strange glowing orange lines covered it like roots of fire spread. Spikes ran down its spine to a long articulating skeletal tail with a bladed tip. More spikes extended along its forearms and from behind its pointed ears. Its hair was a mane of fire. A pair of large black bat-like wings protruded from its back, angled backwards as it dove after her. Its mouth was a ferocious set of sharp black teeth. Eyes like embers in the heart of a fire followed her. Its arms were stretched out to her, claw-tipped hands reaching for her fins. Even in the cold air she could feel the intense heat radiating off it.
"Get away!" screamed Melody. She fell even faster, as though fear was propelling her away from the creature. She kicked out with her tail and knocked the creature's hands aside. The plating was as smooth and hard as polished steel, yet hot as stone under a summer sun.
The demon fell back as though offended by her response. Then it narrowed its eyes and pulled its wings against its body for a full dive. It gained speed, quickly closing the distance between them. Its unblinking eyes followed her with the same intensity as a falcon diving for a dove, focused on its prey.
Without warning the demon let loose a soul-jarring roar that made Melody's entire body vibrate, drowning out the storm entirely. Its maw was a flaming orange furnace, as though the Pit itself burned within. Its teeth stood out like black swords against the glow. The demon snapped its mouth shut and swiped for her tail. It missed, the claws catching Melody in the tip of her fins. There was a moment of sharp pain as it drew blood, and then she went into a tumble once more. She clawed madly at the air to regain her balance, flipping head over fins like a tossed coin.
Suddenly a strong hot grip closed around her wrist, stopping her spin abruptly. She found herself staring the demon in the face, mere feet from it now.
"I have you!" The demon reached for her with its free hand, flames dancing on its claws as they approached her face. "And now it ends!"
Her panic doubled, sending a fresh wave of adrenaline and fight through her. "Let go let go let go let go!"
She lashed out with her tail and hand, flailing with desperate abandon as she tried to wrench herself from its grip. The demon was forced to shield itself with its free arm.
"Stop! You only make this harder!" said the demon. Its tail coiled around her fins like a snake, rendering them still. It reached for her face and she swung at its arm, striking it above the wrist.
CRACK!
The demon's arm broke apart like a charcoal log struck with a bat. Its eyes widened in alarm as the fractured remnants of the limb fell away in a trail of sparks and soot. Then its tail met the same fate as its arm, the left leg following suit closely after.
"Already!?" it exclaimed as its body began to break away. The luminescent lines on its body flickered and died, the gleaming black armor rapidly turning ash grey. The plating cracked and crumbled like clay left in a kiln, leaving a contrail of soot and sparks in the sky. Fires appeared in the chinks and splits, licking the air for dying breaths before the wind snuffed them out. Its fiery hair became thick black smoke. Parts of its wings began to break off, turning its once stable dive unsteady.
Melody's shock at the demon's sudden degeneration wore off as the cracks spread over its face. She pulled her tail back as far as she could. "Let! Me!"
The demon's eyes widened as it realized her intent. "Stop!"
"Go!"
Melody swung her tail into the demon's side as hard as she could. Its torso shattered into fragments of charcoal and embers, leaving only its head and right arm intact. The demon let loose an enraged howl as its wings disintegrated, followed by half of its face.
"This is not over, princess!" it roared, a black slit and ring forming in its remaining igneous eye. "Next time you won't escape me!"
With that the demon's eyes went dark. The black armor and half of a head turned white as talc and crumbled, no more than ash to be carried off by the wind.
Melody had no idea what just happened, but whatever it was the timing could not have been better. A small wave of relief swept over her at the stroke of luck. As Sebastian would say, she dodged that fishhook.
Which still left the harpoon-sized problem of falling to her death.
Melody looked down again. The ocean was much closer now, and the fear returned with it. The icebergs that looked large as ships were mountains now, while the rolling waves were tsunamis smashing against their icy faces. The jagged ice spires looked even sharper and higher than before.
Something black and shiny broke the surface momentarily before the swells covered it one more. Was her mind playing tricks, or was something moving under the waves?
She focused hard on the water. No, she definitely saw movement. Not just below her, but all around. The ocean was filled with them, whatever they were. She strained her squinting eyes against the wind, trying to make out the forms under the water.
They were tentacles. Monstrous black suckered tentacles. The ocean was a writhing mass of them slipping over each other like a pit of eels. As though sensing her awareness of their presence the tentacles began to creep up the ice spires, dark purple suckers clinging to the ice. Others sprouted from the ocean below, racing towards her with frenzied eagerness.
Melody screamed like she had never screamed before as she slammed into the tentacles. It was like falling into a pit of ravenous bloated snakes. Instantly they wrapped themselves around her body. She felt the suckers pulling mercilessly at her skin and scales. They tore at her clothes and hair, squeezing her limbs until she thought they would break. Her screams turned into pleading sobs, despair squeezing the hope from her like a python wrapped around a rat.
"Somebody help! Anyone! Help me! Please! Help!"
Then she heard laughter. A cold, vile laugh from the depths of her memory as far back as infancy. A laugh she heard as the world nearly fell into icy darkness. A laugh that should have been frozen for all eternity, now making Melody's blood run colder than the ice.
"No one to save you now…sweetheart!"
Her screaming was cut short as a tentacle wrapped around her neck and began to squeeze.
WHUMP!
Melody was jolted awake as she rolled off her bed, hitting the floor on her side. Her eyes snapped open, adrenaline surging through her body like liquid lightning. The tentacle was still around her neck, impeding her panicked breathing. She clawed at her neck for the choking assailant, lungs burning as the begged for air.
Instead of a slimy tentacle she felt the smooth texture of linen bedsheets. Her fingers quickly worked to loosen the fabric, desperate to release the constriction. The moment that first sip of air hit her lungs she pulled as hard as she could, tearing herself free. She took deep panicked breaths as her airway opened fully, the aching fire in her lungs quickly fading away.
The world slowly came back to her. She was in her room. She felt the smooth cold tile under her hands become slick with her sweat. Pale moonlight from the full moon came through her windows, casting her chambers in an otherworldly light. The floral seashell pattern of her walls resolved out of the dim night as her eyes began to adjust. She heard the waves lapping at the beach in the distance, the calls of a lone owl mixed with the rhythmic heartbeat of the sea. A breeze from her open balcony doors gently rustled her bed canopy, carrying that familiar salty scent.
She leaned back against her bed, drawing in deep breaths as she calmed her racing heart. There were no demons or storms or tentacles. It was all a dream.
Another terrifying dream.
Frantic footsteps approached room, growing louder with each step. Melody recognized the quick light steps of her mother and the heavier strides of her father. Moments later her door flew open, the yellow flickering light of a candelabra forcing her to squint at her parents.
King Eric was dressed in little more than a pair of black cloth pants and a hastily donned shirt. He may not have retained all of the musculature of his younger days, but frequent expeditions into the ocean had helped to maintain a physique many kings on the cusp of their fortieth year would be envious of. His face bore a thin layer of stubble and the faintest wrinkles framing his eyes, the result of drowsiness more than time's incessant march. His black hair was disheveled as though he went to bed straight from a bath. In his left hand was the candelabrum creating the offending light. In his right hand was his sword, the steel blade reflecting the candlelight like a mirror.
A blur of pink and red rushed past Eric to Melody, encompassing her in an embrace so tight it was hard to breathe.
"Melody! Are you okay? We heard you screaming and—!"
"Mom, I can't breathe," Melody wheezed. She regained her ability to breathe for the second time that night as her mother quickly released her.
If time had marked Queen Ariel at all as the years rolled by, it had done so with the lightest of touches. Her hair was still its distinctive vibrant red, now tied a braid for the night hours save a few rebellious strands dangling across her face. Her deep blue eyes were tinged with sleep and sincere concern.
"Sorry," said Ariel as she cupped her daughter's cheek, brushing hair out of her eyes. "But you were screaming so loud that we thought…are you sure you're okay?"
"I…think so." Melody started to get up when a wave of dizziness swept over her, cutting her ascent short. She sunk back to the floor, one hand clutching the side of her bed for something stable to hold on to. Everything continued to spin for several long moments, and then returned to its fixed state.
Ariel took hold of Melody's shoulders. She could feel the worry in her grip. "Melody?"
"Just a dizzy spell, mom. I'm all right."
Eric set down the candelabra and sword on Melody's vanity table before helping his wife move her onto the bed. "Nightmares again?"
Melody nodded.
"What was it?"
She tried to recall her dream, but like so many it was hard to put back together. As soon as she had awoken the images became fragmented and jumbled, like a book with pages missing and in the wrong order.
"I don't remember. I think I was falling. There was a storm, and..."
It suddenly came back to her in a terrifying flash. The storming icy sea. Those dark cold clouds. The demon with burning eyes. The tentacles closing around her body. The nape of her neck prickled and her pulse rose as the terror she felt in her nightmare returned with a vengeance. The images clawed at the edge of her imagination like the tiny claws of rats, as though searching for a small chink to escape from memory into reality. Her hands started to tremble as sweat broke across her brow.
Shhhhhh—BANG!
A gust of wind had caught the curtains around the open balcony doors and rustled them, producing a noise like wings flapping. A moment later the same gust slammed the doors shut with a sound like a thunderclap.
Instinct took control of Melody. Before she could understand her actions she leapt from her bed, grabbed her father's sword, and ran to the door as fast as she could. She grabbed the door handle and jerked frantically, completely forgetting that it opened the other way.
"Melody!"
Her body went cold at the demon's voice. It was in the room! It was behind her! She could hear it running towards her.
She spun around, pointing the sword straight at it as she shouted, "Get away from me!"
Except there was no demon. Instead she found her father hurriedly stepping back from her, hands held up defensively. He looked past the shaking tip of the sword to her, eyes filled with equal parts alarm and concern. On the bed sat her mother, hands covering her mouth in shock.
Carefully Eric took a step towards his daughter. "Melody..."
She barely heard him. Her mind was fixated on the balcony behind him. Paranoia had her in its grip, screaming for her to watch one second more in case the demon suddenly dropped from the sky. Her eyes watered from refusing to blink, pupils dilated and face pale. The tip of the sword shook, betraying the tremble of her body.
Slowly Eric pushed the sword aside, placed his hands under hers. "Melody, give me the sword."
The touch of her father's hand was enough to pull her out of her terrified daze. She became aware of how heavy and unwelcome the weapon felt in her hands. And that she had just pointed it at her father's heart. She felt sick. She quickly let go, as though holding it any longer would infect her with some incurable disease. It fell into Eric's waiting hand, who carefully set it against the wall before leading her back towards the bed and a tremendously worried mother.
"Dad, I…I didn't mean to…" she stammered. "I was…I thought I…"
"It's all right, Melody," he said as they sat down. "You got scared, that's all."
A trio of sharp knocks sounded from the door. "Your majesties, are you all right?"
"We're alright, Grimsby," said Ariel as she draped a blanket around Melody's shoulders. When she was younger a simple blanket could feel like an impermeable iron curtain against whatever fears the world or imagination had to offer. Now it felt as flimsy and fragile as the threads it was made from.
The door opened as the aging advisor let himself into the room, armed with his own candelabrum. He was still garbed in his sleepers, which were striped in hideous eye-watering shades of lime green and bright orange. They hung so loose on his body that one would call him the very definition for "skinny as a rail." The addition of a floppy bobble-tipped cap on his head only added to the comical ridiculousness of his attire.
"Another nightmare?" he asked. Melody nodded. "Shall I fetch some tea for your majesties?"
"Please," answered Ariel.
"And send for the physician as well," added Eric. "Tell him to bring his strongest sleeping tonic."
"No!"
Melody's shout was so loud and abrupt it caused everyone to jump, including Grimsby who had to scramble to catch one of the candles that fell of his candelabra.
"I don't want to sleep!" she pleaded.
"But Melody…" Eric clasped his daughter's shoulder, only to have her immediately shrug it off.
"No!" She bolted to her feet, turning on her parents. "They don't work! None of it works! Don't you get that!?"
"Melody, you need to sleep," pleaded Ariel. "You'll make yourself sick if you don't!"
"I don't care! I don't care if I never sleep again! I can't keep going through this! Just… just stop!"
She ran over to her window seat, pressing herself into the corner as she curled up tight. She buried her face against her legs as the tears started.
All her life she had been the bold one. The one who did not shy away from the unknown, but dove head first into it. The one who who was ready to go through whatever walls life put in front of her. Sometimes literally. The one who did not fear the dark cave, but wondered what lay inside. "My little explorer" as Ariel sometimes called her after particularly adventurous expeditions. Now she felt like a child afraid of monsters under her bed, her imagination rendering her completely helpless should they decide to attack.
She felt the cushions shift as Ariel sat next to her. Without a word she gently took Melody's arm and pulled her close, stroking her hair soothingly. Melody leaned into her, clinging to the contact as though she were the lone rock in a storm. She heard Grimsby and Eric conversing, but she did not pay any attention to the words.
She was so tired.
The figure in the black hooded cloak watched from afar. It stood on the water's surface as though it were solid earth, watching the king and queen do their best to calm their distraught daughter. The light of its luminous blue eyes shining in the shadowed recesses of its hood was lost amidst the reflection of countless stars on the forever shifting ocean surface. The crying of the princess was muted by the waves, barely audible even for its hearing from so far away. It continued to watch as Grimsby left, returning soon with the tea. The cries dwindled to small whimpers as Melody was encouraged to drink.
A malevolent chuckle escaped its lips. It felt such delight at the suffering of the princess, made even sweeter knowing how it must wring her parents' hearts to have no way to help her. The nightmares had proven not only how fragile the girl's spirit was, but also provided a dependable source of entertainment. How it wished it could see her suffering up close. That it could watch the fear corrode her will like acid dripping upon sandstone.
But it would be patient. Such a trait came with being a villain of its caliber, among others. It had waited for centuries already, hiding in the dark until the opportune time for action arrived. It could wait another decade if necessary, though no shortage of heads would roll during the postponement. Though if things progressed at their current rate it would not have to wait so long. Its plans were moving forward with the slow unyielding gate of an earthquake, building in strength before unleashing destruction in one monstrous burst of mayhem and destruction. The game had already started, even if the opposing side was completely unaware of their involvement.
The figure sunk into the ocean without so much as a ripple. It would not have to wait long at all.
Far east of Melody's room in the kingdom of Seahaven; past the lush Emerald Woods and the eerie slopes of the Howling Forest; past the eternally snowy windswept caps of the rocky White Iron Mountains, lay the desert known as the Devil's Steppe.
As anyone who traveled near this arid wasteland would tell you, the Devil's Steppe was a desert in a league of its own. The land was the definition of destitute desolation—nothing but an endless waste of scorched sand bordered east and west by perilous mountains. A land without trees, shrubs, cacti, rocks, and obviously not a drop a water to be found. Clouds appeared between decade-long intervals of open sky. Sand and dust rolled on in monstrous dunes as far as the eye could see. Sandstorms as frequent as they were savage could blind instantly and peel away skin in seconds as they shifted kingdoms worth of dunes in mere hours. Every day the sun burned the sands like an oven, raising temperatures far above human tolerances and ensuring the air remained dry as a potter's kiln. The cold nights were no less lethal than the daylight heat. Temperatures fell far below freezing, the wind drinking heat from a body like a leech suckling blood. No sane person would attempt to cross through the heart of this place, and no small number of fools had perished trying to for fame, exploration and desperation.
On the desert's eastern border was a mountain range known throughout the eastern kingdoms as the Dragon's Teeth. A range of jagged rocky peaks, these mountains were no less treacherous and barren than the desert. The slopes were steep rock devoid of life except for various lichens and mosses that subsisted on snowmelt and thick morning mists. The peaks rose thousands of feet into the sky like the fossilized remains of some colossal primordial titan, lending them their name. The mountains frequently sent deadly rock slides cascading down into the narrow valleys winding their way between them, meeting the rolling sandy expanses in an abrupt wall of near-vertical stone faces. The same winds that generated the desert's sandstorms were said to be the mournful cries of those who met their end here, forever wailing for someone to guide them out of this natural labyrinth where even Death could not find them.
Tonight, however, there was someone to hear that plea.
A lone traveler knelt at the edge of a small mountaintop plateau, barely thirty feet across atop the sawtoothed spire. The full moon blazed above it like a second sun, the ghostly pale light blotting out the stars. It wore a dark gray hooded traveling cloak, the ragged hem and frayed fabric blending with the rock. The hood was pulled low over its face, concealing all features in shadow. The nighttime wind kicked up small flurries of icy dust around it, pulling at the hood as though the night itself wished to know the identity of this solitary individual. It was sifting through a tattered drawstring pack, talking to itself as it sorted the contents into two separate piles.
"Cipher, no. Telescope, no. Compass, no. Flint, fine. Whetstone, no. Blackbook…definitely no. Cord, fine. Dried meat, fine. Ira coins, no."
It tossed a small purse jingling with coins into a large pile of stuff. The pile contained clothes, papers, maps, coins, a few small journals, and other small items of unknown purpose. A second and much smaller pile was set near its pack. This one held only the barest of essentials for travel—some dried foodstuffs, several large canteens, a length of leather cord, and little else. There was not even a blanket for sleeping.
A gust hit the mountaintop. The traveler hunkered down as the frigid air lifted the cloak, revealing the traveler's garb. It wore a ragged sleeveless brown tunic and loose faded black pants, a black chord strung through the waist to hold it in place. Its arms and hands were wrapped in dirty grey bandages, leaving only the fingers exposed. Simple flat-soled brown leather boots were covered with fine ice crystals and grit. A straight bladed katana hung off a leather belt on its left hip, the moonlight glinting off the polished pommel and blood red scabbard. The black shark skin wrapping the handle was worn from heavy use, unlike the new leather cord on a pair of knives secure in their sheaths below the small of its back.
The wind lifted the traveler's hood enough to reveal its face, or rather what was covering it. A faded green and black shemagh was wrapped around to shield it from the chilling winds and stinging sand, not to mention any possible prying eyes. Its own eyes were hidden beneath a pair of circular black goggles, the lenses too darkly tinted to see inside. Small puffs of steam came from the shemagh as the traveler's warm breath condensed with each exhale.
The traveler rolled a grapefruit-sized bundle of rags to the larger pile as the cloak settled. Looking the piles over twice it began returning the contents of the smaller pile to its pack. It glanced to the unbroken plane of sand stretching to the western horizon. Not a single feature as far as it could see, as though a giant hand had come down and wiped it clean. Small wonder easterners were quick to tell such spooky tales about this place. There was an inexplicably unnatural feel to it. It struck them as the sort of place where people went in and were never heard from again.
Making it the perfect place for someone like the traveler to disappear into.
It knew this was a dangerous gamble to take. It was going into completely uncharted territory. For all it knew this ocean of sand stretched to the ends of the earth, or perhaps without end at all. All its exodus might accomplish was adding one more body to the desert's victims. Even if there was a new land out there it had to be thousands of miles away. Such a journey would be the end of a normal person. Even with the best of supplies and the fastest of horses or hardiest of camels they would have to turn back. That was assuming they did not become lost amidst the deadly maze of shifting dunes, and they could get through the Dragon's Teeth alive.
The traveler, however, was anything but ordinary.
"That's packing done," it said, pulling off its knives and stowing them in the pack. "Just one thing left."
It drew its sword, the polished silver metal glinting with the moon's pale light as it left the scabbard. The traveler raised it overhead then pointed the weapon to its unpacked belongings.
"Claymore…"
Immediately the blade turned orange. The air shimmered and distorted as it gave off an intense heat, making a low humming sound.
"Burn away."
The heat traveled down the metal, bursting from the sword's tip in a shower of brilliant sparks. They fanned out over the pile, engulfing it in searing orange flames. Metal became molten and carbonized to dust. Glass splintered and shattered with how fast it heated. Clothes, papers, wood and food writhed like snakes in the fire. Then they too were reduced to embers along with everything else. Within seconds it was all destroyed, leaving only ash for the wind to carry away. There was not even a scorch mark on the rocks.
The traveler sheathed its sword. Some of those items had been valuable and unique artifacts worth more than the traveler's weight in gems, but the sacrifice was a necessary precaution. It could not truly disappear if it left clues to where it came from. Disappearing from this place meant leaving not even footprints behind. The desert would see to that, as sand was not known to keep a trail for long. As for its lost belongings, it had no more attachment to them than it did this forsaken part of the world and its people. The only thing it would be forced to take with it from this land were its memories.
"What's this?" she asked as she took the box.
"Uh…just a little something I made."
She popped the lid off, eyes widening when she saw the bracelet of braided gold, white and orange silk. It was an altogether unremarkable thing, like something sold by a street vendor peddling dozens exactly like it. Just colored strands of fabric woven together.
"You made this? For me."
"Not really the quality of gift you're used to getting for your birthday, I know. But it's the best I could—."
Her entire face lit up with how bright she smiled, blonde hair dancing as she shook her head enthusiastically. "You goof! I love it! Really, I do!"
She slipped it onto her wrist and held it up to the light, admiring how the bright colors wove together. "It's beautiful. Thank y—."
The memory abruptly shifted. Her laugh was replaced with sounds of screaming and death amidst the roar of gunfire and cannons. The traveler saw the black skeletons of burned homes and charred bodies as the fires raged on. A castle on a hill reduced to rubble as the harbor burned. It smelled ash and the acrid stench of burnt flesh. A sharp pain pierced the traveler's skull, followed by a thousand other voices shouting in terror, panic and anger.
"Get the guards!"
"Stay away from me!"
"Somebody help!"
"Shut up," growled the traveler, pressing its forehead into its palm as though it could push the memory away. It focused on clearing its mind, seeking the emptiness that would bring it some semblance of peace. The pain and memories dissipated, granting the traveler the reprieve it wanted. For now.
"Right…no putting this off any more." It grabbed its pack, positioning it over its chest and tying a strap around its waist. A check of the drawstring and ties to make sure everything was secure and the traveler walked to the edge of the plateau. It peered over, giving a low whistle at the sheer vertical distance. There had to be at least a mile between it and the ground.
It turned around, casting one last look to the east. In a few hours the first traces of sunrise would appear in the sky to chase the stars away. Another day would begin in the eastern kingdoms and the people would start their lives once again. The same harsh reality they had always known and likely always would. For too long the traveler had shared in that reality, in this accursed torment they were forced to call home. It would not be here to share this new day with them. It would never return here, and it felt no regret in that decision.
Why stay somewhere that everyone wanted you dead?
A gust from the desert hit the mountain slopes, turning into a fierce updraft. It raced up the steep slope, carrying sand and icy dust in a plume taller than a castle. The traveler saw it coming and pulled the cloak to shield itself from the natural sandblaster. It struck the traveler fast and loudly, encasing it in a blinding flurry. The sand and ice were so thick that not even a shadow was visible.
When the wind died away the traveler was gone, vanished into the night.
A/N: The first steps as a journey begins. The first movements of the clock's hands as the gears start to move. The first sparks before the blaze. The first drops of rain striking the dusty dry ground. The turning of the first page. The sun's first light breaking the horizon. All herald the start of something new, and so do words herald the beginning of a new tale. Now the hands of the clock begin to move as the sun marches across the heavens, and so it will continue till the day is done. But for Melody, Ariel, Eric, and all those who call land and sea their home, the setting sun will not mark the end. Their story shall go on into days untold and history yet to be written. For this is only the beginning.
So, hello everyone! My name's DarkDragonFires12—not my real name, but the name I use here because, you know…anyway, Fanfiction! This is my very first! Now some of you will know that this is the revised version following the original I published a while back, so for all my previous fans don't spoil it for those who are just starting this tale! This story was spinning at the back of my mind for quite a few years, and I finally got the courage up to put it on here! And I have to say, the response has been phenomenal! Unbelievable! Astounding! Better than I could have imagined! I never would have imagined anything I wrote getting the attention or praise that this story has! My gratitude to you readers—past, present and future—is boundless and eternal!
Now for those of you hoping for frequent regular updates, I am sorry to say I will surely disappoint in these aspects. My life outside writing is not regular or free enough to allow me much assurances as to how often and how long I can write, though I look for time where I can. The result is that my updating schedule is rather hectic. I am also a perfectionist, so I devote more time to fine-tuning the updates than I probably should. As such, this story is going to be a long-term project…and I mean LONG-term! But despair not, for I promise I will not abandon this story no matter what may appear in my life, and I will see this through to the end!
I greatly appreciate any comments/thoughts/constructive criticism you may have while reading. Really, I do! I like hearing the reader's opinions of the story and kicking ideas around with them. If you enjoy the story by all means please favorite it. If you can't wait to find out what happens next then please follow.
Lastly, a very special and heartfelt thank you to my dear friend Mastermind4982! This revision would not have been possible without your tireless musings and the countless pages of correspondence! You have been a source of inspiration and encouragement throughout this process, and I hope you will continue to be as this story continues on! Words cannot fully express my gratitude to you!
Well that's enough of my rambling! Sit down, pull up the device of your choosing, and come witness a story of "The Little Mermaid" like nothing you've ever imagined!
Disclaimer: I do not own "The Little Mermaid" franchise, Disney, or any of its associated characters and intellectual property. Everything else, however, is mine =)