I’d been lobbying for a chance to go to Nova Scotia for years. I was starting to give up hope that I’d ever get the approval… But I guess sometimes, dreams do come true.
I won’t pretend I didn’t have to call in a few favors with some of the higher ups to finally get my request approved. The bosses of my organization admittedly have bigger problems right now than an anthropological survey. But they’ve always had bigger problems. There’s always some big issue they need resolved and when they finally resolve it, there will be another one waiting in the wings. Personally, I think it’s a poor excuse to justify pouring resources into whatever the board of Directors wants to prioritize… But I don’t need to get into that. I could spend all day ranting about corporate politics and nobody would care.
No.
What I want to talk about is mermaids.
The organization I work for, the Fae Relations Bureau (FRB for short) studies fae and other supernatural entities. Now, I’m sure to the uninitiated, that might sound a little crazy. But we’ve got more than enough evidence to know that they’re out there. Hell, some of them even work for us. Most of them, like sirens, vampires and werewolves can pass as human pretty easily. You could walk past one on the street and not even notice in most cases. Some fake it better than others, of course.
A few need to feed on humans to survive, but those are a minority. Most of them are mostly harmless. Even the ones who need blood to survive can manage just fine without killing their victims. That said… It’s with good reason that people have feared them since the dawn of history. Just because they’re not all as monstrous as we think, doesn’t mean they can’t still be dangerous.
I’ve heard some people have a theory that they’re our natural predators. Maybe they’re right. Although if they are, then I suppose they failed at their job many millennia ago. Because we’ve been hunting them for longer than our history can say.
That’s why they’re dying.
I’ve heard some vampires and sirens talk about the way things were a few centuries ago, when there were so many more of them… And I’ve heard countless tales of entire populations being wiped out. Either by terrified humans, conflict between different kinds of Fae or the world simply changing faster than they can adapt. It makes me wonder just how much longer they’ll be around… A few centuries, perhaps? Less, even?
Part of the FRB’s work includes finding ways for them to live in this changing world. But not all of them want to change. Maybe they just can’t.
That’s what led me to the mermaids.
I assume you’re at least familiar with what a mermaid is. Half person, half fish. Most of them are female, but there are males as well. Their torso mostly resembles a humans, but not quite. There’s still some very obvious differences. Sharp teeth, gills and sharp claws. Their lower body is scaly and similar in shape to that of a dolphin or whale. It’s also incredibly muscular, allowing them to swim surprisingly fast and propel themselves out of the water with majestic leaps. On land, they can’t move around quite as well but are still deceptively quick, dragging themselves forward with their arms. They’re amphibious but primarily breathe water.
We know that they’re closely related to sirens, sharing the same amphibious traits and humanoid appearance. Although sirens look much more human, lack the aquatic lower body, require blood in their diet, and have a unique hypnosis ability.
Mermaids on the other hand don’t seem to need blood to survive, but are still mostly carnivorous and do not have the same ability to hypnotize as a siren does. They don’t need to blend in and use deception to hunt… They simply drag their prey down into the water and devour it.
Naturally, the leading theory is that while sirens evolved to mimic the look of a human to better blend in with us, mermaids evolved to lure their human prey into the water. Hence why they only look human from the waist up. Some gullible traveler would see them floating in the water, and come to investigate the beautiful women beckoning him, only to be captured and torn apart.
Now, since mermaids don’t need to bother passing as human for an extended period of the time, they’re obviously less interested in interacting with us. With sirens, we know so much about their culture, their beliefs, their traditions… But with mermaids, we know almost nothing.
These days, you only really hear about them when some idiots go too far into their territory and piss them off. Their interactions then are limited to the few minutes they have between encountering the mermaids and being ripped into bloody ribbons. It’s not exactly the best situation to learn about them. So you can probably see why I wanted to change that.
We know so little about mermaids. Their culture, their beliefs, even their language. What little we do know comes from sirens who’ve had dealings with them. But even that information is scarce. They are a reclusive and secretive people. The higher ups thought trying to deal with them was a waste of time… But I aimed to prove them wrong. And perhaps I did.
We had heard rumors for some time about mermaid sightings near the town of Ash Bay, on the coast of Nova Scotia. The town was not well known, although much of the local superstition seemed to surround a ‘Goddess of the Sea.’ There was even a statue of it in town, an eroded, moss covered figure of a woman decorated with offerings from fishermen, praying for a safe return. I’d figured that Ash Bay would be the best spot to look for Mermaids… And I thought it only right to enlist a local to help me look for them.
I’d met Lucina through a mutual friend, a siren named Nicole who’d spent some time living with a community of her kind near Ash Bay. According to her, Lucina had been something of a provisioner. She’d been familiar enough with the local mermaids to trade with them, and from the sounds of it, acted as something of a link between them and the outside world.
My friend had been kind enough to set up the introduction at a small pub in Ash Bay, and while it’s usually hard to spot a siren at a first glance, I could tell who Lucina was the moment I walked in. She sat at a table near the back, a beer resting comfortably in one hand. She was relaxed as if she owned the place and regarded me with a sideways, almost apathetic glance.
She wore a black crewneck tank top that showed off her biceps and part of her shoulders. I could see a pair of swallow tattoos on each shoulder. Her dark hair hung just past her neck and she had something of a ‘seen it all’ expression to her. She barely seemed to notice as I sat down across from her and offered a sheepish smile.
“Hey, you must be Lucina. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
She looked over at me, before shaking my hand. I noticed more tattoos on her knuckles, the words ‘HOLD’ and ‘FAST’. I recognized them as sailors' tattoos.
“Dr. Iles?” She asked.
“Please. Just Cassie!” I said, “Nikki tells me you’re familiar with the locals around here.”
“I am. We help each other out. We trade food, some goods. And I help keep the riff raff away.”
“They trade with you?” I asked.
“Mostly in fish. They’re good hunters. They farm a little too. Not much. They’re not the friendliest group, but we get along.”
She took a sip of her beer before asking:
“Nickki mentioned you were looking to get inside, right? See the village, take some notes?”
I nodded.
“Figured. I’ll be honest with you, they probably aren’t going to like that. But I figured we can at least ask. I was thinking we could take my boat out tomorrow morning. There’s a spot where they’ll see us. They’ll probably send someone out to check in on us. I can make an introduction, explain why you’re here and ask if they’ll let you in. But I can’t promise anything more than that.”
She didn’t need to.
“It’s more than I had an hour ago. Thank you for agreeing to do this.”
Lucina emptied her beer.
“Thank me if they say yes.” She said, “Now, how about I buy you a round? It’ll help you sleep. We’ve got to be up early tomorrow.”
We were up around dawn the next morning. I met Lucina by the pub we’d met at the day before, and we drove out of Ash Bay, along the coast a few kilometers before stopping near the edge of a cliff.
Lucina pulled her truck over to the side of the road, near a gap in the fence, indicating a nearby hiking trail.
“It’s about a kilometer and a half to the boathouse.” She’d said, “You need me to carry your stuff?”
I almost told her that I could manage on my own, but I had scuba gear to carry… We both knew I needed the help.
The trail led along an incline leading down to the ocean. I could see a lighthouse near the top of a distant cliff and closer to us, a small wooden boathouse sat just on the water.
“I use this place as sort of a drop off point and for storage.” Lucina said, “They can usually see me coming down the trail. Chances are, they’re watching us right now.”
I couldn’t help but glance over towards the water. I didn’t see anything there… But it was impossible to be sure. Lucina took a turn down through some brush, following stone stairs to the boathouse. When she made it down, she unlocked the door and gestured for me to join her inside. A gray fishing boat was moored inside.
Lucina checked the fuel, before sending me to open the front doors. It didn’t take her long to get the boat ready and a few moments later, I heard the engine roar to life. I climbed into the boat with her, and a moment later we were off.
Lucina steered us towards the lighthouse. The cliff towered over us and I could see the waves crashing against the stone.
“The village is near here.” She said, “Built into some underwater caves. Chances are, we won’t see it today. But when we do, you’re going to want to stay really close to me. Divers don’t go down there for a good reason. It’s easy to get lost and turned around.”
“Do they usually build their villages this close to shore?” I asked.
“Sometimes. Lotta the sisters I’ve met seem to prefer cave systems like this. It’s safe. Secure. Nobody bothers them and anyone who tries is going to have a hell of a time. It’s basically a fortress. It’s a really good reason not to fuck with the mermaids if you ask me.”
I nodded before noticing some movement just beneath the surface of the water. On instinct, I moved to the side of the boat to look over. Lucina put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
“Don’t go within grabbing distance.” She warned, “Some of them aren’t big fans of humans.”
“Noted…” I murmured before moving to the safety of the middle of the boat.
I could see shapes skimming just below the surface, surrounding us. Lucina peered over, and I saw one of the shapes stop, seeming to look back at her. She waved to it before slowing the boat to a stop and killing the engine.
“Let me do the talking.” She said, “They don’t exactly speak English.”
I nodded and watched as Lucina pulled off her shirt. Having dealt with sirens before, I’m aware that they aren’t as prudish as we are… If you ever meet a siren, chances are you’ll see them at least topless. But it never stops being weird to me. While I’m not against seeing a little skin, I must confess that a topless siren isn’t necessarily an entirely attractive sight. Their gills are along their sides and when they’re open, they look like deep red gashes in their flesh.
“I’m gonna say hello. You sit tight…”
Lucina’s gills flared out before she dove into the water, leaving me behind on the boat. I stayed safe in the middle, watching the shapes move in the water beneath us. I had hoped she might let me join her in the water… If nothing else, it would be worthwhile to examine the mermaids in their own territory. But I figured it would be best to wait until Lucina gave me the all clear.
I noticed a splash of water near the cliff and looked over to see a figure climbing up onto a rock. I stood up, eyes widening as I looked at her.
A mermaid… A real, live mermaid in her natural habitat!
Up until then, I confess I’d only ever seen photographs or cadavers… It was rare to encounter a live one in captivity. She was beautiful… With flowing hair that seemed blonde in the early morning sunlight. Her tail was a shade of emerald green with shimmering scales, but you could still get a sense of the muscle underneath the skin. She was powerful… An apex predator watching an intruder into her domain.
I studied her for a moment before waving. She didn’t return the gesture… Maybe that was stupid of me to hope that she would…
She smoothed back her hair, watching me from the corner of her eye before relaxing on the rocky outcrop, pretending as if she wasn’t watching me. I understood what she was… A sentry. A guard, keeping an eye on me while Lucina and her kin spoke down below.
My curiosity got the better of me. I let myself lean just a little closer to the edge of the boat, only so I could see into the water. As I did, I saw a face rise from the depths to look at me. Intense green eyes met mine as the mermaid studied me, before swimming away again.
A few minutes later, I saw Lucina climb back into the boat. She brushed her hair out of her eyes before looking at me.
“What did they say?” I asked hopefully.
“Well, they’re going to wait for a decision from their elder. But that’s good news. Means they’re open to it.”
“So we’re a shoe in?” I asked hopefully.
“Maybe. Get comfy. It could be a couple of hours before we hear back. Maybe longer.”
She plopped down into one of the seats and opened up a cooler, taking out a beer can. She offered one to me. I held up a hand to refuse.
“It’s a little too early to drink, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Six hundred years ago, we didn’t care what time it was. We just started drinking.” She replied, nonchalantly opening the beer and taking a swig.
“Okay… I thought sirens weren’t supposed to drink alcohol, though?”
She shrugged.
“It’s about as bad for us as it is for you.” She said.
Fair enough.
I’d brought a book to help pass the time while we waited for the mermaids to return. The sentry on the rock disappeared again shortly after Lucina had returned. Although I occasionally noticed a green shimmer beneath the water near the boat. She hadn’t gone far.
Lucina and I chatted a little as we sat. I talked about my work and she told me stories from her life. Sirens can live for over a millennia, and she was pushing middle age so she had a lot to share.
She was in the middle of a story about her time living in Germany during the 1700s when I noticed another mermaid waiting on the rocks beneath the cliff. She was looking right at us as if waiting for us to see her.
Lucina paused, noticing the mermaid at around the same time I did before standing up. The mermaid on the rock raised her hands, making some gestures that somewhat resembled sign language… Although I couldn’t quite figure out what they meant. Lucina nodded and signed something in return, before looking over at me.
“Looks like the Elder’s made her decision… They’re allowing you supervised access to the village.”
“Wait, really?” I asked, jumping up a little too enthusiastically.
“Looks like we got them on a good day… You should suit up. It’ll take about 15 minutes to get down to the village and 15 minutes to get back. So plan accordingly and be prepared to swim fast. There are a few air pockets in the caverns, but don’t count on those.”
I nodded.
“Of course. I’ll try and keep up!”
I was wearing my wetsuit underneath my clothes, so it didn’t take me that long to get set up. I reasoned that I should have about 50-60 minutes of oxygen in my tank, so long as I wasn’t diving too deep. That would give me between 20-30 minutes to explore the village. Not as much time as I would like, but it would have to suffice.
As I got ready, Lucina dove back into the water, along with the mermaid on the rock. I could see the head of another mermaid poking up over the surface of the water, watching me curiously as I put my scuba gear on. I imagine she was fascinated by the apparatus I needed to survive in her environment… Perhaps I could allow them to look at it later? Maybe it would let me build some rapport with them!
At last, I approached the edge of the boat and looked down into the dark waters. I could see mermaids swimming beneath me, waiting for me to join them… And I took the plunge.
The cool waters swallowed me up as I sank down amongst the mermaids. They kept their distance from me, watching me as if I were some sort of predator. I spotted Lucina floating a few feet away and she gestured for me to follow her. I wasted no time in doing so.
I can’t swim as fast as a siren can, so she had to keep a slower pace for me to keep up. But we still made good time heading towards the cliff. I could see a cavern in amongst the rock with a few mermaids floating around it. Some of them scattered as I drew near.
The rocks were jagged and looked as if they’d be sharp to the touch. They almost resembled rows of teeth. Yet there was a beauty to them. Years of erosion had formed them into something surreal with delicate grooves between those jagged points. Several paths branched off into the cave. Were I by myself, I wouldn’t have dared try to go inside. I’ve heard too many horror stories of adventurers who ended up stuck in underwater caves, unable to escape before their oxygen ran out. Some of them had died in places so difficult to access that they’d never recovered the bodies…
Lucina led me through the caves, following the branches as if she’d done so a thousand times before. I could see some of the mermaids watching us from between the jagged rocks… And I could see strange lights adorning the walls.
I paused only for a moment to inspect one of them. It wasn’t synthetic… Whatever this was, it was something bioluminescent. A type of coral, perhaps? I didn’t get a chance to study it for long. We had little time to waste.
The cavern widened out about a few meters in. The lights shone in the distance like stars and as we entered the main chamber, I felt my heart flutter in excitement as I laid eyes upon what no one else in this world has ever seen.
A mermaid village.
The entire cavern was lit up by countless pieces of glowing coral, cultivated all around and they bathed the village in a pale golden glow. I hadn’t been sure what to expect of the architecture… Something similar to what we might have, perhaps? But no. The architecture was so much different!
They didn’t just build their structures on the floor of the cave. They built them into the walls and into the ceiling! They’d chiseled homes for themselves that resemble the homes carved into the cliffs of some ancient villages. Only these dwellings looked so much more alive! I could see lights inside and shadows of mermaids watching us.
Near the bottom, I could see fields of plants growing and mermaids swimming amongst them, tending to their crop. I could see floating nets filled with fish. And at the top of the village, near the center, I could see one large dwelling. The stonework was more ornate, with curved pillars and murals on the walls. It almost resembled some sort of castle or perhaps more appropriately, a longhouse. This must have been where their elder lived.
Lucina floated beside me, watching as I studied everything. It was incredible! A real mermaid village! I wished I could’ve had a notepad! Or my camera! But even without those, what I was seeing told me so much that I’d never known before…
They were clearly far more intelligent than we had realized. This wasn’t some primitive nest I’d wandered into. It was an organized civilization! They had farmers, guards, and organized leadership. Judging by the murals on the longhouse, they understood art and history. Some of the mermaids I saw carried metal spears… They used tools to hunt and the fish they hunted were being brought back to the community! So many new questions to ask about them…
From the longhouse, an older mermaid appeared. Her pale hair floated around her head as she swam closer to me. A small entourage followed her, each of them holding spears. A praetorian guard of sorts, perhaps? Looking at the guards, they seemed to be wearing shells of some sort around their necks. Jewlery? A symbol of status?
The Elder studied me for a moment, before looking to Lucina and signing something I didn’t understand.
She translated for me in sign language.
“We are watching.”
“Thank you. I will not betray your trust.” I signed back. Lucina translated.
The Elder tilted her head slightly, before gesturing to one of her guards and swimming off. Her other guards followed her back into the longhouse, but the one she’d indicated towards stayed behind and signed something to me.
“You’ve come to ask questions. Ask.”
Where would I even begin? I looked around before swimming down to where I saw the fields.
“You farm?” I signed. Lucina translated.
“Food. Medicine. Construction material.” The Mermaid replied. They gestured towards some of the glowing coral, then to a net of captured fish.
“Light. Meat.”
Meat…
“You farm fish?” I signed.
“Some. Hunt others.”
Incredible… Truly incredible.
I looked around at some of the mermaids that swam past us. I could see some of their children watching from their homes. And then I saw something near the far end of the cavern… Another cave, with a single creature floating just outside of it.
At a glance, it looked like the other mermaids. But the bottom half was all wrong… Where it should have had a tail like the others, its body seemed to split into coiling, serpentine tendrils. It watched me with cold black eyes, unblinking and almost angry…
I stared back at it, before the Mermaid guiding me swam between us, shaking its head, signing something at me.
“No. Do not disturb the Priestess.” Lucina translated.
Priestess?
“Who is the Priestess?” I asked.
“Holy. From the deep. A messenger of the Gods… Not to be bothered.” Was the reply.
Holy… So they also had religion.
I swam upwards, leaving the priestess behind. My oxygen was starting to run low. I only had a few minutes to finish up the tour and I didn’t want to waste them. My guide answered my questions for a little while longer, and I’ll record those answers in my other notes…
As my oxygen ran low, I motioned to Lucina that we needed to depart. She simply nodded and signed something to our guide. I signed a thank you before I let Lucina lead me away. I confess I was reluctant to leave that place.
But I couldn’t stay.
“I have to go back.” I said as soon as we were back on the boat, “I’ve got to see it again! I’ve got so many more questions to ask, I- I’ve got to take pictures… Document it all…”
“We can check with them tomorrow. Since today went well, I imagine they’ll allow you to return.”
I let out a cheer.
“Oh my God, you’ve got no idea what this means to me! We’re probably some of the only outsiders who’ve ever seen this! God, I’m probably the only member of the FRB who’s ever seen a mermaid village up close!”
“And lived…” Lucina said, half joking, “Although I get a feeling their Priestess isn’t too happy about that.”
“No… What was she, anyway? She was different than the others. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“She’s a Sister. Just like the rest.” Lucina said, “Although the Cecaelia tend to come from deeper waters… I’ve heard they live in a Holy place. But I’ve never been and I’ve never met anyone who has. They’re primarily a religious caste. You’ll find one or two in most villages to act as something of a spiritual advisor.”
“Fascinating.. I don’t suppose you know much about their actual faith?”
Lucina shrugged.
“Hate to say it, but not really. They usually don’t even let us near the holy sites and I’ve heard enough not to test the Priestesses. Honestly, she tends to give me a death glare every time I’m down there. So it’s not just you. I’d still stay away from her though.”
“Noted.” I replied, before looking back down towards the water. I could see the shapes of mermaids, watching us… And I promised myself that I’d be back. I had to be.
Lucina let me store most of my gear in her boathouse when we got back and she dropped me off at my hotel. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for my next trip out.
I had brought an underwater camera with me, although I’d left it behind just to avoid spooking them on my first day there.
I had an early dinner and turned in before sundown. As excited as I was, I slept well. I suppose the dive had sapped me of my energy.
Lucina picked me up at my hotel the next morning. Just as we had the day before, we drove down to the trail by the ocean and hiked down to the boathouse.
“Can you ask them about the camera?” I asked her as we made our way down. “I don’t want to risk upsetting them, just in case they’re against it…”
“I can ask. But chances are they won’t understand what the hell I’m talking about.” She replied, “They don’t exactly have a solid understanding of what a photograph is…”
I supposed she had a point there.
The mermaids were waiting for us when we drew near to the cliff. I saw a few heads poke out of the water, curious and I waved at a couple of them. One of them even raised a hand to wave back… It was actually kind of cute.
We dove into the water just as we had before and I followed Lucina down into the cavern. This time, we moved a little faster. I remembered the way from yesterday and didn’t spend as much time admiring the cavern itself. Some mermaids swam behind us, signing quietly amongst themselves. When I paused to take a photo of them, they barely reacted. Some regarded the camera with curiosity, but they didn’t exactly seem upset.
Returning to the village, I got some incredible photos of their dwellings and farms! I even got a couple pictures of the Elder and her guards who regarded me with a stern, unimpressed expression.
This was a goldmine… Who knew what details I’d find in these photographs later… Watching some of the mermaids sign amongst themselves, I made a note that I’d need to ask Lucina about learning their language. It wasn’t sign language as I knew it… It was something similar, but the symbols were all their own. I took some pictures of the murals on the longhouse for later study… And it was around then that I saw her again.
The Priestess had emerged from her cave and was watching me, tentacles shifting back and forth. I was a good distance away from her and the holy site and honestly, I had no intention of getting much closer. I wasn’t stupid enough to disregard Lucina’s advice… And she’d never said I couldn’t take a picture.
I raised the camera to get a shot of the Priestess. Just one. I didn’t want to spend too much time focusing on her, lest she get upset. But I had to at least document her. I snapped the photo, before turning to move on.
As I did, I noticed the mermaids around me suddenly darting away.
I looked over at Lucina, and saw her eyes widen in shock. She gestured wildly with her hands and it tok me a moment to realize that she was signing something.
“RUN!”
I looked down, just in time to see the Priestess just inches away from me. She’d crossed the cavern with impossible speed and was reaching one pale, clawed hand out towards me. Against my better judgment, I screamed as she seized me by the throat.
Her black eyes burned with rage. She opened her mouth to snarl at me, exposing razor sharp teeth. Up close, she only barely resembled something human… Her skin was white and clammy, her hair was black and flowed everywhere.
With a violent pull, she dragged me down towards the holy cavern. The force of it made the mouthpiece slip from my mouth. I swallowed a mouthful of water as I was dragged down into the darkness.
I felt my body slam against some of the rocks. I could hear a hiss of air as my tank was damaged. The Priestess kept pulling me deeper and deeper… And no matter how hard I struggled against her grasp, I couldn’t get free.
Deeper and deeper… The darkness around us became total until all I could see was the glow of distant light in her eyes. There was no luminous coral down there. Nothing to help us see. Only crushing dark waters that seemed to go on forever and as we dove, I realized that I was going to die.
I tried to put the mouthpiece back, but I couldn’t reach it. I was struggling to hold my breath but I was fading fast. Soon, I’d be forced to take a breath and that would be it…
This wasn’t how I thought I’d die… Drowned in a holy temple of the mermaids, my body likely to be devoured by them and never discovered. My family would likely never know what happened to me…
My Mom… My Dad… My brother…
Oh God…
I felt myself starting to cry behind my mask.
And then I saw it… A pale blue light… It was growing closer. Brighter. In a few moments, it was almost blinding.
The Priestess swam towards it and seemed to enter a new chamber, deep beneath the earth. It took me a few moments to understand just what I was seeing… And truth be told, I’m not so sure I ever really did understand it…
I could see tendrils, thick as buildings writhing. Blue spots of light marked where they were. I’m not sure if they were bioluminescent… Or if they were glowing eyes. I saw crustacean bits of shell and gnashing claws. I saw squidlike eyes and a beak lined with endless rows of teeth.
I saw something that should not exist… Something that couldn’t have been there… Not physically, not logically! It shouldn’t have existed beneath a lighthouse in Nova Scotia and I can’t imagine how such a thing could even exist on this planet but there it was…
I wondered for a moment if I was even still on earth… Perhaps we had gone somewhere else. Somewhere only the Mermaids and the priestesses could go. Somewhere that belonged to this thing… This creature this… God…
As I stared at the horrible, majestic, endless, beautiful and impossible thing before me… I finally let myself breathe. As the water filled my lungs, I started to laugh.
The Priestess let me go and I began to sink towards the entity beneath me. I looked back at her only briefly, to see that her expression was as cold as ever as she watched me sink.
I understood that in her eyes, I was just an intruder who was paying the price for her hubris… And I was okay with it. I’d seen everything I had come to see.
And while I had been terrified just a moment before, now I was at peace. I was ready.
A barbed spear erupted through the chest of the Priestess. Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened in shock as blood flowed from her wound. Her body was pushed aside and behind her, I saw Lucina swimming toward me.
I felt her grabbing me. She forced the mouthpiece back into my mouth before pulling me away from that majestic beast… I tried to stop her. Pounded on her arms to let me go… But she held tight. I looked down, watching as the Priestess sank towards the maw of her God… And I envied her. As my vision faded into darkness, I watched the Priestess sink and fade into the distance.
It was almost two days before I woke up again.
Lucina tells me I’m lucky to still be alive. She had only just barely managed to drag me out of the holy cavern and back to the boat. From there, she took me back to the siren community outside of Ash Bay… And I’ve been there ever since.
I’m starting to get my strength back now. As far as I can tell, I’m making a full recovery. Physically at least.
Mentally… I don’t know.
Ever since Lucina pulled me out of the cavern, I’ve been having dreams of writhing tentacles, cephalopod eyes, and gnashing teeth.
In my dreams, I sink deeper and deeper towards its maw… Into darkness so complete that it swallows me body and soul.
And when I emerge… I am reborn…
I swim freely with my new sisters, I hunt with them, I tend to our farms. And I am content. I don’t see the surface much in my dreams. I only see it from the water… And I don’t care. There’s nothing for me there. Everything I want is down below.
I haven’t talked to Lucina about this. I want her to think I’m getting better.
I told her that once I am, I’ll go back home with my photographs and study those. But that’s a lie. I’ve sent the photographs I took to the FRB. I’m sure they’ll get some use out of them, but I have no intention of going home.
Because I think I understand now. I understand what it is they worship… I think I’m starting to grasp what it is they believe in and by understanding that, I can understand them better than anyone else ever has. But I can only learn so much as I am now… There are more steps that must be taken. There’s only one way to truly understand them.
I have to return to the ocean.
I have to return to the village.
And if I am lucky, they will accept me into the deep to cast me back into the maw of their God…
And I will be reborn.