Elle and Thetis: The Genesis of the Merfolk

by IK161718

The final part of the Mermaid Anthology Series. A story about how the merfolk came to be and how some of their traits and skills made them who they are. This story has quite a few twists and turns in it.

Elle and Thetis: The Genesis of the Merfolk

Ominous storm clouds were billowing over a rather grand looking kingdom. The castle had a white color and stood firmly in its place despite the stormy conditions. Strong winds began to pick up and soon the whole sky was covered in the same puffy black and grey clouds. Rain and thunder began shortly after the winds picked up and the thunder could be seen and heard close by. The rain continued to come down until the roads and streets became flooded and eventually became rivers. Rain water continued to pile up in the kingdom until it reached the castle which made it difficult for anyone who was stuck in the castle to get out. Large waves began to crash onto the streets and made their way to the castle. Suddenly, everything went black just as the fate of the kingdom was about to be revealed!

A young man aged twenty one awoke with a start in the early hours of the morning. His name was Lucian and he looked quite frightened by what he had just dreamt. He tossed aside his bed sheets and panted in a rather fast manner. Lucian's green eyes were full of anxiety and sweat began to drip down his white muscular body. His shoulder length orchid hair was in a mess from all the tossing and turning that he did during his slumber. "The same dream and for the fifth time this month" Lucian muttered so he wouldn't wake anyone that might still be asleep. He got out of bed and got his shirts, pants, socks, and boots on. Lucian headed towards the dining room to have breakfast with his father Dyne and his elven step mother Saya. He would then go off to do crafting work with Dyne. Although Lucian was quite a skilled craftsman, he was still a journeyman working under his father and he hoped to leave his quiet mountain town soon and find his place in the world as an upcoming craftsman. Dyne's specialty was creating gold and silver idols for various people around the world but Lucian found that he was a jack of all trades when it came to crafting. He could create hunting weapons out of iron, eating utensils out of high quality silver, golden trinkets for noble women faraway, and he even created wooden toys for the children of his village. Lucian took extra special care with the wooden toys so that the children wouldn't get splinters. He enjoyed the happy looks on their faces as they played with the toys that he would labor over for days.

Lucian arrived at the dining room table and sat next to his step mother Saya. She looked at him with blue eyes full of worry knowing full well that he had that dream again and Dyne also gave Lucian a similar worried look. "Lucian, are you okay sweetheart" Saya asked and she looked at Lucian and lightly rubbed his face with her soft tan hands. She had long pink hair, pointed ears, and wore a pleasant white dress. Saya was one hundred and seven years old but many normal people wouldn't know that by merely looking at her due to her youthful appearance. "Yeah mom I'm fine, I just had that dream again that's all" Lucian responded. "How many times has this been son" Dyne asked and directed his gaze towards Lucian. "This is the fifth time this has happened dad" Lucian replied. Dyne was fifty seven years of age but he still looked as if he could do the work of five men. He had grey hair that was once black, green eyes, and an impressive muscular stature for someone his age. A large and impressive mustache covered the region above his lips. Dyne wore his typical craftsman clothes signaling that he was ready for work. "I'm giving you the day off boy, you need to go to see the elder about this if it's the fifth time this month" Dyne suggested. "That sounds like a good idea dad, I was about to go do that myself if it happened more than twice" Lucian stated. Lucian then walked towards the door and was ready to leave the house. "I'll tell you the elder's prediction when I get back" Lucian told his parents. "We'll be waiting" Dyne answered and watched his son leave the house. Saya stayed silent for about ten minutes. "Eh, Saya, what's wrong" Dyne questioned as he saw that his wife had been looking rather worried since this morning. "I'm just afraid that he's going to bring back bad news about leaving" Saya claimed. "Well he's got to go some time, he can't stay in this quiet little berg forever" Dyne reasoned. "Probably has been thinking about leaving for some time now" Dyne added. "I just hope this is just my imagination and the elder tells him that it'll stop soon" Saya said. "We'll just have to wait till he gets back" Dyne told her. He gave her a hug and a kiss and left to go to his shop for the day.

Lucian departed from his house and walked through the village and headed towards the elder's house. The village was a green and beautiful place with quite a few houses scattered about. Sounds of children playing and friendly chatter echoed throughout the village. Human and elven children played peacefully in this little berg. Lucian took these walks around the village when he could and it made him smile every time he did. "Hey Lucian, where ya goin" a little boy asked as his group of friends followed him and Lucian. "I'm going to the elder's place to talk about some adult matters" Lucian replied. "Okay, I hope he tells you some fun stories like he does for us" the little boy chimed. The little boy and his friends ran to a different part of the village to engage in childish games. Boy and girl children alike loved being around Lucian and he would try to play with them when he got some free time from his crafting work.

After three minutes of walking, Lucian arrived at The Elder's hut and saw an elven woman with long sliver hair, red eyes and a thin build waiting outside the hut. She also had tanned skin and was fairly tall. "The elder's been waiting for you Lucian" she stated. "Very well then, I don't need to explain myself then" Lucian replied. Lucian went into the elder's hut and sat down in front of him. "Elder, we need to talk about something" Lucian blurted out. "I know why you're here child, calm down" The Elder replied. The Elder had a long white beard, squinty eyes, had a short stature, and looked quite old. He wore sagely clothes and was a human unlike his elven associate who guarded his hut. Lucian recounted his dream to The Elder to the minutest detail. "I think it's time you left this village to warn that kingdom" The Elder informed him and continued. "This place is real and you must go to it and help the people there" The Elder insisted and pointed at Lucian with his cane. "But how will I know which kingdom it is, there are a lot of kingdoms out in the world and I've never left this village before" Lucian admitted. "You will know when you see it" The Elder assured him. "You must leave tomorrow, you haven't got much time" The Elder warned him. "Very well then, I'll gather my things and leave tomorrow" Lucian responded. He then left the elder's hut with a rather sullen look on his face. Lucian didn't want to leave the village this soon but he felt that he needed to from the urgency of the elder's words. The Elder then sat in his chair and mused to himself. "Some sort of god or other ethereal being has some sort of plans for Lucian." "His step mother Saya will be sad to learn that he may never come back" The Elder said to himself as he finished his musing about Lucian's fate.

It was the late afternoon and Lucian had just finished a walk around the village where he contemplated his future. He then returned to his house. When he arrived, he saw both of his parents waiting for him outside of the house. Saya stood up and looked at Lucian anxiously. Lucian's real mother was a human woman with orchid hair but she died of an illness when Lucian was very young so he doesn't remember her much. Saya took over for her and became Dyne's second wife and Lucian's step mother. She cared about Lucian as if she gave birth to him herself and Lucian loved having her as his stepmom. Lucian gave Saya a sullen look and she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Y-y-you're leaving aren't you" Saya stammered. "Yeah mom I am" Lucian responded sadly. "Do you really have to" Saya asked and looked up at Lucian. "I have to leave and warn those people or they'll die in the flood" Lucian informed her. Saya then saw that there was no changing Lucian's mind based on the determination in his eyes. "Very well sweetheart, you'll always have a home here if you get tired and wanna come back" Saya told him. "This'll be good for ya boy, maybe you'll meet my good friend and fellow craftsman Nicolai" Dyne interjected. "That'll be something, meeting a fellow craftsman and learning some additional techniques" Lucian beamed. "I'm sure it will be, c'mon let's go inside now" Dyne suggested. Lucian spent the whole day making sure his last day in the village was a good one. He played with the children, helped out the elderly with their chores, and comforted his mother as she was very saddened about all of this news. Lucian then went to sleep early so he could get ready for his journey in the morning. The same dream happened again and he awoke in the same manner as the last five times.

He awoke that morning and got all of this things together and was prepared to leave the village. Dyne stopped him before he could head out the door. "Here ya go boy, it's my best work back when I was a journeyman like you." "I was gonna give it to ya when ya became a master like me, and a man" Dyne mentioned. Dyne had given Lucian an impressive silver trident that had never been used but was well maintained. "Wow, thanks dad, this'll prove useful since there might be monsters out there" Lucian marveled and took the silver trident from his dad and put it on his back. "Go on now, everyone's waitin to say goodbye" Dyne informed him. Lucian left his house and much to his surprise, everyone in the village was waiting outside his house to give him a memorable send off. Saya was there too and gave him a saddened look like yesterday. Everyone said good bye to Lucian and wished him luck on his journey. Some of them even gave him money and supplies for his excursion. Saya then approached him and gave him the biggest hug that she could possibly muster from her small womanly arms. "Sniff, Sniff, good bye my son" Saya sobbed. "I may not be your birth mother but I am still your mother and I always will be" Saya stated and wiped her tears away. "Good bye mom, I'll always be your son and I'll be with you in your heart" Lucian told her and pointed to where her heart was at on her body. Saya felt a little better about this and let go of her step son. He then left the village and everyone waved goodbye until he was out of sight. The villagers then went back to their business. Saya went back to her house, sat down at the table, and wept silently burying her face in her hands. Dyne then approached her and hugged her tenderly. He knew all too well how precious Lucian was to her and was just as sad about his departure. Both of them knew he wouldn't come back but hoped for good things in Lucian's future.

The young man began his travels and saw may things while looking for the kingdom of his recurring dream. It would be a journey that would forever change his destiny. He traveled through a large evergreen forest that was quite large and expansive. Once he departed the forest, Lucian then had to buy a ferry pass to cross the sea with some strange fish in it that puffed up to large proportions. After getting off the ferry, he walked through a naturally formed tunnel and continued his journey. The trident Dyne gave him proved useful because he had to fight off a large and surly looking raccoon that was trying to steal his lunch and wasn't up for sharing any of it with Lucian if he had succeeded in stealing any of the food. He traveled for quite a while and encountered many unique kingdoms along the way but none of them matched the look of the one in his dreams. Lucian began to tire out from all of the traveling and he was short on money and supplies. Another naturally formed tunnel was in front of him and he went inside to see where it would take him. A cold wind blew throughout the tunnel and Lucian inferred that he would be heading towards a frigid region of the world. He walked and trudged throughout the snow and finally wound up at a remarkable looking kingdom of ice that was near the ocean. Fatigue began to set its course on Lucian and he stumbled throughout the city like a drunk wino who had too many cheap wines. The nagging feeling that The Elder told him about was setting in. "M-must be the tire and fatigue" Lucian uttered in exhaustion. He then fell face first on the cold ground of the city. At that same time, a gorgeous queen that looked to be twenty four years of age was strolling through her kingdom and inspecting her city and subjects. She had long brunette hair, blue eyes, peachy skin, and a slender womanly build. The queen saw that Lucian was collapsed and immediately got down to his level to check if he was still breathing. "Guards, someone, this man's collapsed in the middle of the street, someone help him" the queen demanded. Two guards approached the queen and immediately picked up Lucian without second thoughts and picked up his bag of belongings as well. "Where would you like him to go Queen Charlotte" one of the guards inquired. "Take him to my castle and put him in a warm bed, he doesn't look so good" Charlotte replied. Both of the guards followed Charlotte back to her castle while they carried Lucian and his bag of possessions. Charlotte went into her castle and made sure that Lucian got a comfy and warm bed. The castle had quite a familiar look to it despite the fact that the city was covered in snow.

Charlotte watched over Lucian as he slept in one of the comfy guest rooms. She wanted to be there the minute he woke up from his slumber. Lucian slowly opened his eyes and finally woke up and saw Charlotte hovering over him as if she were a caring nurse and not a queen. An older looking gentleman was in the room with her. "Look Nicolai!" "He finally woke up" Charlotte rejoiced. Nicolai was tall older man that was bald and had a beard that would make a lumberjack proud. His clothes were kind of dirty but were still fit for a castle craftsman. "That he is" Nicolai replied. "Let's let him recover his bearings before bombarding him with questions" Nicolai suggested. Charlotte anxiously waited for Lucian to recover his bearings and he looked at the unfamiliar room while he sat up in bed. He then looked at Nicolai and then at Charlotte. "Where am I" Lucian inquired. "You're in the queendom of ice handsome" Charlotte announced proudly. "Who's the queen in charge of this place" Lucian asked. "I'm the queen and my name's Charlotte, how about you honey" Charlotte questioned. "My name's Lucian and I'm a craftsman" Lucian told her. "A craftsman huh, what brings you all the way out here" Charlotte questioned. Lucian proceeded to tell Charlotte all about his adventures thus far. "Wow, you must have seen a whole bunch of different places on your travels then" Charlotte chimed. "Yeah I have but I haven't found that kingdom yet to warn them and I hope it's not too late for them" Lucian said. "I'm sure they're still alive and waiting for your message" Charlotte assured him. Lucian tried to get out of bed but was still out of it due to the fatigue. "I think you need to rest for a little while longer until you're well enough to walk" Charlotte insisted. He agreed with her and got back into bed. Charlotte then had an idea and looked at Lucian happily. "How about you do some crafting work for me until you have what you need to start traveling again" Charlotte advised. "But you already have a craftsman and he seems to be good at what he's doing just by the looks of him" Lucian replied and Nicolai gave him a proud look. "And besides, I'm still a journeyman, I haven't become a master yet" Lucian added. "Well yeah but he's so old, what if he keels over" Charlotte whined. "Hey, I'm not that old, I'm only fifty seven" Nicolai barked. "You know I was just messing with you right" Charlotte teased. Lucian thought hard about all of this and came to a decision. "Okay deal, but only till I have enough money and supplies to travel again got it" Lucian promised. Charlotte hugged his head and kissed him on the cheek. "Yay, yay, yay" Charlotte cheered. "You'll love working here" Charlotte told him. "And since you're still a journeyman, you can continue your work with Nicolai to become a master" Charlotte finished. "I look forward to working under someone that my dad knew" Lucian said and Nicolai gave Lucian yet another proud look. He looked forward to doing some more craftsmanship after all the traveling that he had done.

Two weeks later. Lucian enjoyed his occupation as one of the queen's craftsman. He and Nicolai created many charms and idols for Charlotte. Lucian enjoyed learning more crafting techniques from a fellow craftsman and Nicolai enjoyed the company of someone who shares an affinity for crafting. One day, Queen Charlotte summoned Lucian to her throne room for an important job. "Lucian, I've got an important job for you today" Charlotte announced and Lucian gave her his undivided attention. "I want you to fetch some crafting equipment from a pair of merchants that are visiting the queendom today." "Their names are Beau and May and they've got some goods from the Far East that look very unique" Charlotte finished. "Alright then, you can count on me your highness" Lucian confirmed. Before leaving, Charlotte got off of her throne and gave Lucian two items. One was a blue winter parka and the other was a bag of money. "Here's some money so you can pay for the goods and here's a winter parka so you don't pass out again" Charlotte teased. "Thank you your majesty" Lucian stated and took both of the items from Charlotte. "Your welcome Lucian, oh by the way, just call me Charlotte not any of those stuffy titles" Charlotte demanded. "Very well Charlotte, I'll be going now" Lucian told her and left the castle.

Other residents of the queendom who were young and old had informed Lucian that Charlotte was a kind and fair queen as he was making his way to the merchant's stalls. She cared a lot about her people and made sure to rule them with a fair and firm hand. Charlotte took over the title of queen when her mother felt that she was ready to take on the responsibilities of queen. She was unmarried but did an excellent job of ruling the queendom even without a spouse at her side. Lucian did catch her giving him flirty stares from time to time but he dismissed them as her way of being nice to him. He didn't think that a queen would be interested in a craftsman who was still at the journeyman level.

He then found the merchant's stalls in the city square and say many merchants peddling their wares. Lucian was easily able to spot Beau and May from among the many merchants present. Beau was a short stout older gentleman who looked to be about thirty years of age. He had the proper winter attire on and had short black hair and a bushy mustache that would make an Italian jealous. May was around the same stature as Beau and had medium length black hair and wore a magenta winter dress that concealed her wide hips. They both had fairly tanned skin and gave Lucian a warm smile as he approached the two. "Hi, I'm picking up some Eastern goods for Queen Charlotte today" Lucian explained and got out the money the queen gave him. Beau took the money from Lucian and May gave him the eastern goods that the queen ordered. Lucian's eyes widened as he recognized some of the materials used to make the queen's eastern trinkets. "You like that stuff" May asked. "Yeah, my dad is a master craftsman and he created a lot of Eastern charms and idols out of these trinkets" Lucian mentioned. "I always liked how different they looked from other charms and idols out there" Lucian chatted. He recalled how he would use some of the materials to make cat statues or idols of eastern goddesses based on his father's instructions. Lucian then had a short discussion with the couple about various charms and idols from the Far East. "Thanks for the goods, I may see you too again some time" Lucian promised. "We look forward to your visits hon" May replied. "Be sure to make them look nice for the queen" Beau added.

Lucian headed back to the castle with required materials needed to create the eastern charms and crafts. Nicolai was waiting for him outside the castle in his own parka and the two of them went to the workshop of the castle and got to work on the eastern goods. Both of them created some odd but pretty looking charms and idols based on the instructions that Nicolai had on him. "You look and work just like your father boy" Nicolai noted. "My dad says that you two worked together is that true" Lucian inquired. "It is, we worked under the same master and then we split up to set up shop far from our master." "I came to this queendom when Charlotte was just a young girl Dyne went off to set up shop in a mountain village shortly after becoming a master." Nicolai told him. They then conversed more about Lucian's father Dyne. "C'mon boy, enough talk about your dad, we need to take these to the queen now" Nicolai insisted. Lucian gathered up the charms and idols and presented them to Charlotte at her throne room. Her eyes widened at the excellent level of quality as she examined each of the items created. "I knew I was right in hiring another craftsman to help" Charlotte cheered. "Well done, here's your pay for the day" Charlotte said and presented both men with a large sum of gold. "Thank you Charlotte" they both said and bowed to her. "Your welcome" Charlotte replied. "Both of you are done for the day so you can go and rest up" Charlotte told them. Lucian and Nicolai went back to their respective rooms and retired for the day.

The next day. Charlotte had sent one of her maids to summon Lucian to her throne room. Lucian approached the throne room and bowed to her. She was sitting on her throne smiling and a young man was on the same level as Lucian. This man had long brown hair that was in a ponytail, brown eyes, wore glasses, and had a healthy build. He didn't look much older than Lucian and he was wearing a scholar uniform and glasses. "Who's this and why'd you summon for me" Lucian questioned. "His name is Horace and he's a scholar who works under me and researches various legends surrounding my queendom" Charlotte explained and continued. "Your job is to escort him to the wall of ice to the north of the castle" Charlotte finished. "Why do you need me again" Lucian asked. "While we were looking through your belongings when you first arrived here, I noticed that you had a sturdy looking trident so you must know your way around a fight or two am I wrong" Charlotte responded. "I mainly use my weapons to hunt for food but I am perfectly capable of holding my own" Lucian stated. "A few weeks ago, I had to fight off a giant raccoon who wanted to steal my lunch and he wasn't looking for a hug afterwards" Lucian recalled. Charlotte giggled at this story but Horace looked quite interested in Lucian. "He'll do Queen Charlotte, he looks pretty tough" Horace said. "It seems Horace thinks highly of you." "How about it Lucian, do you want to take on this job" Charlotte inquired. "Sure, plus I'll get to see this big wall of ice outside the kingdom" Lucian replied. "Very well then, now off you go both of you" Charlotte commanded.

Horace and Lucian left the castle to head for the wall of ice. "So you're a scholar huh, what kinds of things do you study" Lucian asked. "I mainly study the history of this queendom and the legends surrounding it" Horace responded as they got their parkas on and exited town. "What kinds of things have you found out" Lucian asked. "Not much but I have found that this area might have been completely submerged in water at one point." "Just look at that shrine off in the distance that's on that large unreachable stone pillar" Horace pointed out. Lucian saw a rather large stone pillar and he saw a small shrine on top of it. It was also completely surrounded by seawater. "Anyone know what's in there" Lucian queried. "No, no one in the queendom does, not even me." "It might have been a shrine to one of the many gods that people once worshipped thousands of years ago" Horace suggested. "Another god huh, my dad and I have made a lot of different idols and statues of different gods in our line of crafting work." "Maybe we've made an idol of a god that people worshipped way back when" Lucian pondered. Lucian and Horace continued to talk about gods and idols the whole way until they reached the wall of ice. "How do you think this wall of ice came to be" Lucian asked. "This area might have been part of a lush forest before it was frozen over so it could be a grand waterfall of some sort" Horace answered. "Come on, there's a cave at the base of the wall, let's go inside and investigate" Horace ordered. Lucian followed Horace to the base of the waterfall and went into the cave with him and had his trident ready.

They both walked through the cave and were able to walk along the path without too much trouble. Both of them eventually arrived at a courtyard of sorts where many arctic animals were playing. Horace then began to examine the area in its entirety and noticed that something was wrong. There weren't as many arctic animals around and there were some green patches on the ground. He then noticed something that shocked him. "The sun, it seems to be shining too bright in this area" Horace noted. "Is that a problem" Lucian asked. "Yes because this area is starting to thaw and if this thawing continues, then the whole queendom could be in danger" Horace stammered. "In what way would the thawing cause the queendom to be in danger" Lucian inquired. "The thawing could cause a weather anomaly that would lead to massive flooding and storms!" "No one would survive it unless they evacuated to higher grounds" Horace explained. "Well I'm glad we found this out before it was too late then" Lucian stated. Horace recorded his findings in his journal and prepared for the walk back. Neither of them said a word to each other when they walked back. Lucian's nagging feeling returned but it got a bit stronger.

It was midday and both Lucian and Horace had returned to the castle unharmed. Horace bowed before the queen and gave his report. "Are you certain about this Horace" Charlotte asked. "Yes I'm certain about his and we need to warn everyone before -" He was cut off before he could finish. "No, the kingdom's not thawing and it never will" Charlotte fumed and didn't look too pleased with Horace. "But your majesty, people will die if the queendom completely thaws and the whole place will be submerged in water just like it was thousands of years ago" Horace argued. "Silence, I'll hear no more of this" Charlotte snapped. "But your majesty" Horace protested. "Guards, take him to the dungeon and keep him there for a week" Charlotte commanded. Two of the guards grabbed Horace and took him to the dungeon. "Sorry bud but this is my job" one of the guards whispered to Horace. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right about the thawing but you know how she feels about her queendom and people" another guard whispered. Horace did not protest or struggle and simply let the guards take him to his dungeon cell. Lucian could do nothing but let all of this unfold before him. He then approached the queen cautiously. "Why did that have to happen to Horace" Lucian inquired. "Would you like to join him in the dungeon" Charlotte questioned and gave Lucian a scary look. "N-no, I'm sorry I asked you that Charlotte" Lucian replied. "I'm sorry you had to see that Lucian but I just don't want to cause a panic right away" Charlotte explained and continued. "The queendom will one day thaw and flood but I'm not sure how I'm going to break it to my people" Charlotte finished. "If that's your decision then I have no right to argue with it" Lucian told her. He then was about to retire to his chambers but saw Nicolai, Beau, and May waiting for him. "What are you all doing here" Lucian asked. "We heard the queen's little outburst and decided to go pay Horace a visit" Nicolai replied. "What'd that scholar tell her anyway that got her so worked up" Beau and May asked. Lucian relayed Horace's findings to the group. "A flood of catastrophic proportions huh" Nicolai said in disbelief. Lucian nodded at Nicolai's response. "Well let's go see him to see if he has anything else to tell us" May suggested. Everyone nodded yes and went down to the dungeon to see Horace in his cell.

All of them went down to the dungeon to see Horace in his cell. He looked like he just had a vision from above. "Good timing everyone, I've got an idea of how to save the queen from the catastrophic flooding" Horace exclaimed. Lucian and company gathered around Horace's cell to hear him out. "An odd voice told me that we have everything we need and that two craftsman will be able to build an ark to save the queen from the flooding" Horace explained. They all looked at each other and tried to make since of what Horace was saying "An ark huh, many craftsman dream of creating one of those to show off their skills" Nicolai remarked. "Those tools we gave you yesterday should assist you in building this ark" Beau told them. "Yes, those are some well-made tools that can pretty much build anything, even an ark" May added. "How are we gonna make it look like we're not building it because of the thawing" Lucian asked. "Just say that it's to commemorate the queen's five year reign or something like that" Horace suggested. "I think that'll work out well" Nicolai said. Everyone agreed on this and everyone except Lucian left the dungeon to retire for the night. Lucian then approached Horace's cell. "What are you gonna do after your sentence is up" Lucian inquired. "I'm going to leave this place and go get a job at a library or a school house that's far from here" Horace replied. "That's good to hear, good luck with your endeavors" Lucian told him and began to go back to his room. "Lucian, good luck to you as well, wherever the future takes you" Horace stated and Lucian simply gave him a thumbs up. He then went back into his room to retire for the night. A strange voice entered his head telling him to use the ark to keep the queen safe. The nagging feeling he felt earlier became stronger and Lucian knew that he and Nicolai couldn't waste any time working on the ark.

A few days later. Lucian and Nicolai got right to work on building the ark and when Charlotte or her advisors asked about it, they said it was to commemorate her five year reign as queen. It was being built on an upper part of the castle that overlooked the whole kingdom. The advisors and castle staff liked this idea and even the queen allowed the construction of the ark to continue. Nicolai mentioned that a mysterious voice gave him explicit instructions on how to build the ark and that he wrote them down as soon as woke up from his slumber a few nights before. When the ark was close to completion, it had a medium but impressive size to it and even had a cabin for bad weather. The ark looked like something out of a fairy tale. It was made out of wood from evergreen trees that was either bought from the merchant's square or chopped down in the woods. There were also large sails on it when the winds blew viciously and it even had three oars on each side for some odd reason. Lucian would sometimes go down to the merchants square to get additional tools and even had some discussions about eastern artifacts with Beau and May. They would discuss the designs of the idols, charms, and goddesses and what they meant to the people there. Eventually, the ark was completed after a week or two of work on it and the air in the city was getting noticeably warmer. Lucian and Nicolai looked at the ark that the two of them built proudly. "I think this is the best thing a craftsman can make eh Lucian" Nicolai remarked. Everyone else in the castle looked at the ark in awe and even the queen was impressed. She even went as far as kissing Lucian on the cheek for making such a splendid looking ark and this made Lucian blush quite a bit. When Lucian and Nicolai were alone, Nicolai gave Lucian a rather somber look. "Lucian, I'll be leaving this place tomorrow morning" Nicolai confessed. "What, why" Lucian asked and looked confused. "I don't wanna be around when this place is flooded." "I think I'm gonna retire from the crafting game and use my funds to settle down in the countryside" Nicolai told him. "But there's so much I can still learn from you" Lucian argued. "No there's not, I've got nothing left to teach you now" Nicolai acknowledged and continued. "You've become a master now and a man." "Your parents would be proud of you if they saw you today" Nicolai told the young man. "Your job now is to protect the queen when disaster strikes and take good care of her you hear" Nicolai demanded. He then took his crafting tools and left the castle without a word. Lucian stood there in silence as he left. This man had been like a second father for the time he was here and now he was leaving the queendom for good. Lucian was saddened by this and walked back to his room slowly and silently. He then lied on the bed for a good while and stared at the ceiling.

Later that night, Lucian heard a loud knock at his door. He opened the door and saw Beau and May right outside the door. "Hey, what're you guys doing here at this hour" Lucian inquired. "We're just telling you that we're moving far away from this place and wanted to give you one last farewell" May informed him. Lucian looked quite disappointed by this news but the pair got closer to him. "Don't feel sad Lucian, I've enjoyed our time together discussing eastern idols and charms." "We'll be in a warmer place far from here that's got people wearing large funny hats and the garlic toast is supposed to be huge" Beau interjected. "Both of us wanted to say goodbye and good luck to you before we left" May told him. The three of them had one last lengthy discussion on Far East idols and then it was time for the couple to leave Lucian. "Goodbye Lucian, I feel that some sort of higher power has big plans for you and the queen" May mentioned and gave Lucian a hug. "It was nice knowing you Lucian if only for a short time." "We'll always remember you" Beau added and shook Lucian's hand. "Not going to hug him are ya?" "Do you think that two men hugging will be in some sort of scriptures thousands of years later" May teased and they all let out hearty laughs. Lucian watched them leave the castle from his window until they were out of sight. He then wept silently because his friends and mentors that he had met had left him in such a short amount of time. Charlotte came in to check on Lucian to see how he was holding up after building the ark. She saw that he was in a forlorn state and sat on the bed next to him. Charlotte looked at him, said nothing, and then embraced him. She allowed him to shed tears onto one of her maroon dresses. When he felt better she let go of him and headed towards the door. "Good night Lucian, I care a lot about you and am still here for you if you need me for anything" Charlotte informed him. Lucian smiled and nodded at her as she left to retire to her chambers for the night. "I love you Lucian" Charlotte whispered to herself as she slowly walked back to her room. Lucian then fell asleep and thought about Charlotte. He liked how she comforted him in his time of need and wondered how she really felt about him. It wouldn't be so bad staying by her side if he never found the kingdom. She was kind and quite beautiful as well. The queendom of ice's fate would soon be revealed as Lucian and Charlotte would learn that they were being connected by some sort of strange force. Perhaps fate meant to have them meet for some unknown reason.

Many months passed and the queendom ice started to get warmer and warmer. Lucian started to spend more and more time with Charlotte and they became increasingly close as time went on. They began to notice that they were attracted to each other and didn't care if anyone that was left in the city gossiped about them. People and their families began to leave the queendom to move to other places that were on higher ground for varying reasons. Charlotte wasn't sure if she should announce the flooding to anyone at all since the queendom was starting to empty. The city began to take on the look of a ghost city and the remaining people were a few guards, some of the queen's maids, Charlotte, and Lucian. The maids and guards didn't stay long though. Lucian went for a walk outside the castle to see how different the queendom looked. There wasn't a single patch of snow to be seen and there was an abundance of greenery. He got a good view of the castle and his heart began to beat in a rapid manner. The castle was the one from his dreams and it was going to be flooded and destroyed very soon. Brutal winds began to pick up and large dark grey storm clouds could be seen off in the distance along with the sounds of thunder. A guard then approached Lucian. "What're you still doing here didn't you see they sky" the guard asked. "I-I was just making sure everyone evacuated okay" Lucian responded. "Everyone seems to have left and I'm getting out of here myself" the guard told him. "I'll go make sure the queen's okay, get out of here while you can and don't wait up for me" Lucian commanded. "Very well then, you make sure the queen's alright you hear" the guard told him. Lucian nodded at the guard and ran to the throne room to make sure Charlotte was okay.

He arrived at the throne room and saw Charlotte on her throne looking frightened. She was shaking and trembling as she sat on her throne. "Queen Charlotte are you okay" Lucian asked and immediately rushed to her side. "P-p-p-please don't leave me all alone" Charlotte wailed and Lucian held her in his arms. "It's okay, I'm here for you and I won't leave you ever" Lucian promised her. The sound of thunder was heard and Lucian held Charlotte tighter. Charlotte felt safe in Lucian's firm grasp and Lucian petted her back in an attempt to calm her. Lucian let go of her and looked her straight in the face. "There's something I need to show you now" Lucian informed her. Charlotte simply nodded and followed him to where the ark was. Both of them got into the ark and prepared for the storm. "We'll be safe in here because it's water and storm proof" Lucian assured her in a proud fashion. "So this was being built to save me was it" Charlotte asked. "Why did you lie to me about it?" "We didn't want you throwing us in jail so we lied about its purpose" Lucian replied. "C'mon, let's go into the cabin and prepare for the storm" Lucian insisted. The two of them went into the cabin and found that it was filled with supplies and food in case they would be on the ark for a long period of time. Lucian then found a letter among the supplies. Here's some food in case you get stuck on this chunk of wood for a long period of time. We had the guards load it on before the storm was about to happen. Godspeed to you Lucian. The letter had May and Beau's signatures on it. Lucian shed a few tears of happiness at this final gesture. He also found his trident among the supplies with another letter. Don't forget this boy, you'll probably need it to protect the queen from danger. The letter was signed with Nicolai's name on it. "Thanks guys" Lucian said to himself. "Brace yourself" Lucian instructed and got next to the queen to ensure her safety on the ark. They sat down next to one another and prepared for the worst. As the hours passed, the ark was rocked all over the place and the both of them wondered if the queendom was being flooded already. Both of them ate the food that Beau and May had so kindly left for them. Lucian held Charlotte firmly and did not let go of her the whole time the ark tilted and rocked. Many hours had passed and the ark finally stopped moving around. Lucian and Charlotte opened the cabin door cautiously to see the state of the queendom.

Charlotte and Lucian took a look at what was once Charlotte's queendom. The queendom was completely submerged beneath volumes of sea water and the storm clouds could be seen moving out. "M-m-m-my queendom, gone" Charlotte blubbered. Tears welled up in her eyes and she began crying. Lucian held her gently until she stopped crying. He then saw the shrine that he noticed on the way to the ice wall a few months back when he was with Horace. Lucian also tried to look for the ice wall but saw that it was no more. A small waterfall could be seen hitting the sea water though. The oars began to move by themselves and rowed in the direction of the shrine. Light and gentle winds blew on the sails to get them to the island a little quicker. The ark stopped at the island when it go there a few minutes later. They saw that the shrine and a triangular roof with many pillars supporting it which gave it a square like shape. Lucian and Charlotte exited the ark and approached with shrine with caution. He brought his trident with him in case there would be trouble.

The pair went inside the shrine and saw that it had many gold and white pillars in it. "What is this place" Charlotte asked. "I don't know but Horace said that it was a place that people went to so they could worship some sort of god thousands of years ago" Lucian responded. Both of them walked through the shrine and found that there was no danger present. They went to the center of the shrine and saw that the stairs were arranged in a waterfall like fashion. Lucian and Charlotte also saw a golden statue of a robed man holding a trident. They approached the statue and the inscription read Neptune God of the Seas in English lettering. Neptune's statue then began to glow. "Welcome my children" a disembodied voice boomed. "Who's there, show yourself" Lucian demanded and pointed his trident at the ceiling. "I mean you no harm young ones, I'm glad the both of you made it here safely with the help of the others" the voice assured them. "Who are you" Charlotte asked. "My name is Neptune but some humans used to call me Poseidon many moons ago when they worshipped me" Neptune responded. "So Horace was right about this place" Lucian noted. "I've been watching all of you and I wanted to try and save the queen." "I'm glad I was able to influence the people so that the queen could be saved" Neptune said. "So the dreams, and the visions about the ark, and the people leaving the town, that was all you" Lucian questioned. "Yes, I knew that this storm was coming and wanted to save the people in it so I influenced the people's thoughts and decisions to save them and Charlotte" Neptune explained. "I called out to you using those dreams because I knew you'd be able to take care of Charlotte" Neptune added. "But what'll Lucian and I do now that were here" Charlotte inquired. "The both of you will become entirely new beings and live under the ocean forever" Neptune answered. The statue began glowing brighter and a blinding flash enveloped the room and then everything became clear again.

When Charlotte and Lucian came to, they saw that their bodies looked rather different. Their clothes had dissipated into nothingness and their legs were replaced with fish tails. Charlotte had a green scaly fish tail where her legs once were and Lucian had a royal blue fish tail. "W-what the hell are we" Lucian shouted and flopped his new tail up and down. "You are a merman and Charlotte is now a mermaid and both of you are now fit to live under the sea and start new lives for yourselves." "Your people shall be called the merfolk or merpeople" Neptune told them. "If you find survivors on boats or humans stranded at sea, then you can use the magic I've given you to change them into merfolk as well" Neptune explained and continued. 'Beware though because there is no turning back for them once they become merfolk" Neptune finished. Lucian and Charlotte stared at each other for quite some time and held each other's hands. "Let's create a new kingdom together under the sea" Charlotte suggested. "A kingdom of merfolk, sounds like an adventure" Lucian told her. "It seems that you have taken a liking to your new forms" Neptune stated. "Good luck my children and enjoy your new lives." "I'll always be watching over you" Neptune promised. The shrine began to flood with sea water which caused Lucian and Charlotte to be swept out. Lucian and Charlotte held onto each other as they were being swept out by the shrine's flooding. He still had his trident in hand when he was swept out.

Lucian and Charlotte got used to their new bodies fairly quickly and swam up to the surface. They found that the sun was still shining high in the sky. "You ready to start a new life under the sea" Lucian asked. "Of course I am, it'll be an adventure just like you said and I'll have you by my side forever Charlotte stated and continued." "If you want to stay by my side that is" Charlotte answered. Lucian swam next to her and got close to her. "I'll stay by your side until the end of time" Lucian promised her. Charlotte smiled at this promise and kissed Lucian's lips passionately. "I love you Lucian and I always have since the day we met" Charlotte chimed. "I love you too Charlotte and I feel the same way" Lucian answered. "I think we need new names though since a few people think we're probably dead" Lucian noted. "You're right about that one" Charlotte agreed. "How about Elle for me and Thetis for you." "Those sound like names fit for new merfolk wouldn't you agree" Elle inquired. "I like our new names Elle" Thetis told her. "I'm glad you agree Thetis" Elle replied. Elle and Thetis embraced one another and shared yet another passionate kiss. They then dove under the ocean to get used to their new lives. With its job done, the ark sailed away by itself to parts unknown.

Days turned into months and months turned into years and the passage of time kept going even under the sea. Elle and Thetis would swim around the ocean catching seafood and adapting to their lives under the ocean. They would sometimes find shipwreck survivors or people stranded at sea and turn them into merfolk. Shipwreck survivors and those stranded at sea agreed to become merfolk and didn't really give this opportunity a second thought. The merfolk population increased thanks to their efforts even though the mermaids outnumbered the mermen. Elle and Thetis were credited as the first two merfolk and their exploits were recorded by other merfolk under the sea so that they'd be remembered always and statues of them were even built that made would make them as important as Neptune in mermaid history. Thetis helped the merfolk by utilizing his crafting skills to show them how to make homes out of grottos and large stone structures. He also showed them how to hunt for food under the ocean using stone tipped spears and other tools. Elle would sing to the other mermaids and this made them realize the power of their voices. She also helped them by creating the Mermish language and imparted ways to avoid humans since they would treat their kind differently. Many mermaid villages would eventually be established under the sea and all of the merfolk worked together and helped each other out so that they could find ways to make the ocean inhabitable. The merfolk found that their bodies functioned similar to when they were humans but with their legs replaced by fish tails. It helped them identify themselves as aquatic mammals that could breathe underwater rather than fish. Other variations of mermaids would eventually come into being such as dolphin mermaids, shark mermaids, whale mermaids, eel mermaids, and even octopus mermaids. Elle and Thetis would sit on rocks together and reflect on their lives up to this point. Elle would sing to Thetis and he enjoyed hearing her beautiful voice. She also noted that many mermaids would be able to sing as well as her. They would then kiss and return to the ocean to live their lives to the fullest. Elle would eventually bear many children so that she and her mate would always live on in some form. The age of the merfolk had officially begun and Elle and Thetis had gotten the ball rolling for a new world under the deep blue ocean.

Fin

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