Her feet left the water slowly, and she inhaled the fresh scent of the forest. There were so many sounds and scents on land the undersea city lacked – the wind, the birds, the smell of grass and wood. Charlotte turned, glimpsing the magnificent view of the Cove – cliff-like islands rose from the water, upon which were built in stunning feats of architecture homes and structures for businesses and other centers, but the most stunning were the twin peaks of Virtus Academy and Anima Academy, the city's constant guardians. The sheer cliffs below were layered with structures and hollowed-out homes and shops that gradually disappeared beneath the water. Charlotte felt the stirrings of pride, but this was overtaken by something like dismay – the Cove, her magnificent home, looked vacant above the waters, though she knew activity buzzed inside each building. But where she was now – the shores – were forsaken. Her people knew to avoid these shores out of fear. Since the war had intensified, the Cove Nereids remained wrapped within their city like hostages.

She broke her gaze and her thoughts, looking back to the forest looming before her. This expedition included only the mature, and most advanced, Nereids from the Magic and Combat classes. The boys and girls around her were calm and collected, and unafraid as they, too, stared into the forest. Many of them – herself included – had done this before.

She unintentionally caught the piercing yellow eye of a particular boy, and just as quickly looked away, eliciting an un-amused sound from him. Unfortunately for her, they were not on good terms, and had not been for some time.

The leader of the expedition, a particular combat teacher whom the students called Quinn, cleared his throat. "Students, you are to meet at this spot in exactly three hours. I will sort you all into teams. Each team is to collect one sample, which I will assign you. Do not stray further than our territory lines, and if any of you see or otherwise sense an enemy, you are to return here immediately, without engaging, and report. Is this understood?"

The students nodded collectively, and two or three yeses were echoed.

"Good."

Not five minutes later, Charlotte could have snorted at her luck. She walked decisively in front of her teammates, back rigid. Her teammates were two boys with dark green hair, one sporting light blue eyes; the other, yellow.

"She could make it clearer," the yellow-eyed boy said scornfully. His name was Ristic, and the woman walking in front of him was none other than his ex-girlfriend. Needless to say, the breakup had been neither pretty nor civil.

The boy next to him, Soren, looked as if he wanted to roll his eyes at his brother's immaturity. "It's written all over you as well. Would it really do any harm to be courteous?"

Ristic ignored this. "Char," he barked, causing Charlotte to halt, "we're obviously going too far."

"We are obviously not," she responded coldly, picking up her pace again.

"Who said you were the leader?" Ristic countered, and Charlotte spun around.

"I did. Because I know this forest more than you do."

"Did you hear Quinn at all? The territory lines were back there." He threw his arm behind him in an irritated gesture.

"I'll turn around when we get our sample."

Soren put a sedative hand on his brother's shoulder. "He's right. If we don't turn back we won't make it back in time," he advised.

Char opened her mouth to respond in what would undoubtedly turn into a quarrel, but something stopped her. Something nearby. The trio felt it before they heard it: vibrations beneath their feet, rhythmic… footsteps.

They turned back into the direction from which they came, but did not make it a single step before, in mere strides, there was a giant before them. Ogre-like in its deformed jaw and beady eyes, the thing raised its fists, each the size of a tree stump, and roared.

"Next student, please."

Today was also the day of a particular exam in the intermediate level magic classes. More than a dozen female Cor students were gathered by the walls of the classroom when the next student approached with a flash of her white tail – she was quite pale skinned, as were many of her peers, but she possessed bright emerald-colored eyes and distinctive violet hair that floated around her downturned head when she stilled.

"Miss Heart," the teacher said, a strict look on her features, "demonstrate for us the defensive spell you have surely been practicing."

The student – Aurora – nodded and raised her hands slowly. Please don't fail.

"Love shield." Her palms, held out front of her, glowed a soft pink. A pink sheen stretched out in front of them, forming a translucent half-sphere. It cast a sweet-looking glow on the walls and ceiling and the faces of the other students.

"Hold," the teacher commanded.

Aurora tried to keep her hands steady, but after only a few seconds, the shield wavered and disintegrated. The teacher sighed more harshly than was necessary.

"Once more, then."

Wincing, Aurora tried again, placing her hands outward, but a snicker somewhere behind her from one of the students shattered both her concentration and self-esteem. Her hands balled into fists and she sank in the water under the gaze of her peers. The humiliation of it all caught in her throat.

"I see." The teacher made a few marks in her book. "You may sit."

Aurora sank into her seat, folding her arms on the table's cold surface and resting her forehead there. How could she demonstrate her powers in that setting? They were based on positive emotions, and being here, surrounded by the cold faces of her peers… it was impossible. Her self-confidence was at a new low.

The teacher raised her voice over the now murmuring classroom. "Maera Pherusa."

Immediately all was quiet. The students looked amongst themselves as if there were a plague among their ranks. Behind them, one student stirred, who was sitting instead of floating as most of the others were. In front of her, apparently dozing atop the table, was a strange, winged creature. Maera slid from her seat silently, waving her sea-green tail almost lazily until she stopped in the middle of the room.

"I hope you've been practicing." This time the teacher's tone was downright disdainful.

Maera's blue eyes flashed with anger, not only for herself, but for Aurora – everyone knew this teacher played favorites with her students and was so unnecessarily rude to them, and it angered her. Without waiting for the okay, she spat, "Aqua shard."

Blue shapes appeared in the space between her and the teacher, intensifying in color until they were solidified into hard-edged crystals. Maera waved her hand, stirring her red hair around her face, and the crystals shattered, shards flying toward her teacher. The reaction was swift and harsh, the teacher's raised arm summoning an opaque white cloud that caught the shards harmlessly.

With another wave of her arm, the cloud disappeared, and the teacher's angry face was revealed. "Offensive spells are forbidden on the premises of this school!"

Maera crossed her arms. "The best defense is not allowing your opponent to attack."

"Miss Perusa and Miss Heart to the headmaster's office. Immediately," the teacher snapped.

From the corner of her eye Maera saw Aurora's head shoot up. "She didn't do anyth-"

"At this instant!" The teacher shrilled, pointing to the door. The students parted for Maera, staring condemningly at her, while Aurora followed her out slowly.

Char threw spell after spell at the giant, while Soren and Ristic used their bladed javelins like spears, but the giant was persistent and far too large. It deflected every blow easily with its hands. Soren flew at it again, aiming his javelin, but failed to see the giant's arm coming at him in a sweep until it was too late to dodge. He was thrown against the trees and crashed to the ground with a thunk. With the same hand he violently snatched Char from the ground, his grip tightening around her waist and legs. Disoriented, she was vaguely aware of Ristic's shouting from the ground, and the giant moved to swat him away, too. Char grit her teeth and concentrated, and a moment later powerful veins of electricity shot into the giant's arm. It roared, twitching as if paralyzed, and Ristic hurled his javelin one more time. The giant was distracted, and the weapon embedded itself in its shoulder. Char was dropped to the ground, where she landed with a stumble, and the giant fled, crashing through the trees.

Immediately, Charlotte's eyes searched out Soren. She was by his side just as he groaned, and her shoulders slumped in relief; Soren had been her friend for a long time and she didn't want to see him injured or worse. She checked him for injuries, pressing in various places, until he finally pushed her hands away, insisting that he was fine. She shook her head anyway, going to heal a particular bruise on his back.

Ristic knelt on the other side of his brother, seething. "I told you we went too far! You never listen to me!"

"This isn't the time for this," Char growled, sending him a halting look, but he didn't care.

"He's hurt because of you. Because you didn't listen."

This stung her more than she expected. Her hands wavered.

Ristic's tone quieted, but sounded no less hurt. "You never did trust me."

She was silent, a hot anger sealing her lips shut. Something else made her teeth clench – something like guilt.

Soren stopped her. "It's okay, Char." He stood, helping her up. She leaned on him, suddenly exhausted; the three of them began the long trek back toward the shore.

Magistrate Grianne Quinn rubbed her temples, eyes turned unseeingly down to the papers on her desk. The Chamber had been disbanded for nearly an hour, yet she still had not left the room. As a Magistrate, one of the seven Chamber members who decided on – and sometimes argued about – the Cove's politics, she was in a constant state of vigilance, one that, in past months, had turned to anxiety. This war had been raging for decades, yet this sudden turn mere months ago had intensified the conflict, and the tension continued even now to spike between the forest clans. Her previously unwavering faith in diplomacy had slipped long ago – there would be fighting, and much of it.

The chamber door swung open, clattering against the wall. Grianne's head shot up. A young man hurried through the doorway, tail lashing and a worried look painted on his face.

"Yes?" she asked as he came to a stop in front of the large rounded table.
"An urgent message from Glacier, Magistrate Quinn." He handed a stiff sealed envelope over.

"From Glacier?" she questioned. Glacier was a distant frozen planet where Nereids – an arctic variety of Nereids – were far greater in number.

"There has been a massive attack. Whole covens have been eradicated."

Grianne's hands tightened as she scanned down the letter. "I see. And what has this to do with us?"

"They say attacking forces may be coming here, Magistrate."

"And why would they do that?"

"One of our Nereids is a descendant of their royal line. They need her power," the young man was still breathing hard. "We have to find her."

Grianne narrowed her eyes at the name on the last line of the letter. "No. We already know who she is."

Featured in this chapter:

Charlotte Aniuk

Aurora Heart

Maera Pherusa

Soren Del Ray

Ristic Del Ray

Who is the mysterious princess? What happened to Maera? And what about Char and Ristic? And Soren? Especially Soren.

All that aside, now you know how the story is going to go – instead of a band of five main characters, it's more episodic, so that I can focus on individuals more. The overarching plot is the war, and character plots are interwoven sub-plots. This is my favorite kind of storytelling.

Submissions are still open too guys! Make a girl, or a guy, or a teacher, or anything! You can even relate and pair them with existing characters.

I'll also be making a directory for the characters on my profile, so there's that, if you want to submit.

Constructive criticism welcome!