Beneath the aquamarine waters surrounding the moon Isle, there lies a dormant world of myth. Cavernous deep sea trenches, sparkling crystal caves, lush green rivers, freezing glacial gulfs; and a giant blooming coral reef.
-Investigating Atlatian Faerietales, Vol 1: Sirens
by Prof. A. Bayne
The Aquadora reef was filled with sunlight on the morning of the Blood Moon. It was the rainbow of the ocean, sparkling brighter than anything she had ever seen. Caspia weaved through giant Venus sea fans and tube coral longer than her own body, moving through the reef as an extension of itself. Her shimmering golden tail swam rapidly, reflecting the colours of the reef; a flash of pink and gold sparkles in the light. A pod of angelfish followed her, taking every twist and turn she did. Funny little social fish, she thought.
Caspia swam quickly, knowing that if she was late to meet her sister she would have to go to the surface alone. The mornings of full moons were always the best time to watch ships. She tore through an alley of orange coral, past a pod of stingrays floating southwards. Tiny purple fish with yellow fins circled the soft coral, playing hiding games with each other. Mira is probably waiting by now, she thought.
Caspia turned past bushes of gorgonian fans flecked with green and violet, wondering if she would get to see any humans at the surface. As she weaved through the Aquadora and its endless colors, she saw nereids of the reef greeting her on her way. Tails of teal, green, gold and pink dappled the water; all sparkling like rare jewels.
Caspia sat on a kelpy rock before turning down the sun coral quarter, her long dark curls floated around her face in spirals. She admired the colours of the reef, thinking about how the older sirens often spoke of the coral being even brighter before humans lived on the island. It was hard to imagine a time before the humans.
“What’s got Caspia rushing this time? Moondust days are for comfort.” a shrill voice taunted from behind her. Leira, a nereid from the brain coral quarter swam around her; bright red hair swirling around Caspias dark curls. Her pale green tail sparkled gold in the sunlight.
“I’m meeting Mira for practice.” Caspia said.
Leira raised a thin brow, “You’re always headed somewhere. Where’s practice today?”
Leira seemed to always have questions, and Caspia had grown used to providing half answers. “The drop off.” she replied nonchalantly.
Leira’s green eyes widened, her face even paler than usual. “Why would you go to the drop off for practice?” Leira shook her head and fiddled with her pearls.
Caspia shrugged, “Sometimes the reef gets boring. We won’t go too far.”
Leira rolled her eyes, “Try not to be late; you know how the ancients get. And you don’t want to miss your favorite part of the month.”
Caspias’ gaze flitted up to the dolphin pod playing above them, “I’ll see you later, on time, at Morgannon’s temple.” Caspia swam off as she spoke the words, past the purple oyster beds and the golden Trident of Mora; then, she turned into the sun coral quarter.
The colors of the sun coral danced in the light, reflecting orange and pink flecks into the water like tiny dancing crystals. Caspia spotted her grotto at the edge of the reef and swam through the slim opening to enter the sea cave. Inside the grotto, Mira was perched atop an orange coral shelf, her deep turquoise tail shimmered with glints of gold.
“There you are.” Mira said as she brushed through dark crimson curls with her hands, her golden brown skin glowed in the sunlight of the reef. When she saw her sister, Caspia understood why men sang songs of the beauty of sirens.
“Happy Full Moon, Sister.” Caspia said, a grin on her face, “Are you ready to see the surface again? What has it been, six full moons since you’ve joined me?”
Mira rolled her eyes, “I wish it were more. You know what those men can do, you should fear them more.” Mira rose from her seat atop the reef, and swam down to the ledge near Caspia, “I will come with you today,” she paused for a moment, then smiled, “because you are the most foolish siren I’ve ever known!”
Caspia beamed with a smile and shot towards Mira with a hug “Oh thank the Kraken sister! I promise we will remain unseen.” A pod of angelfish swam around them.
Mira looked at Caspia with severity in her eyes, “One ship. That’s all. Then we return for the moondust procession. You understand? One visit up.”
Caspia nodded “I understand, sister.”
Mira patted her shoulder, and swam to the top of the coral shelves, gesturing Caspia towards the grotto’s exit and the blue expanse past the reef, “Let’s get this over with.”
The sisters swam through the rocky pass out of their coral cave, and they were on the edge of the reef. Engulfed by a deep blue, the sisters shot through the water, following a path of starfish to the edge of the Southern Isles. The sisters stopped at the edge of the drop off, catching their strength on the edge of the rocky cliff that was leagues deep. Caspia stared into the blue-black abyss, the territory of the Oceanids; sirens of the deep. Far in the distance were the bright blasts of the Calathai Volcanoes; a blaze of orange in the dark blue expanse.
Caspia looked at her sister, who watched the glowing explosions with unease, “Are you ready?” She gave Mira a smile.
Mira looked doubtfully upwards, then sighed. “Let’s go.”
They raced to the surface and stopped just below the joining of sea and air; when Caspia spotted a ship above, being thrown around by the explosions of the sea Volcanoes. It looked like a tiny rock being tossed around in a storm’s waves; helpless. When the ship was freed from the valley of volcanoes, the sisters shot upwards and plunged out of the sea into the air of the surface; blinded by sunlight.
The sirens shielded their eyes of the bright light, and for a moment when all was white the sisters heard a man with a strange voice scream “Men you may thank your Captain for his skill at the helm, and the sea god for sparing ya— we’ve made it out of Morgannons Canyon alive.”
The blinding light faded and she saw Mira beside her, gawking at the ship before them. When Caspia looked up she saw what may have been the most magnificent human creation she had yet to behold. The ship was giant, made of various woods, covered in barnacles and seaweed at the base with giant sails in various shades of plum, amber, and rusty tones. The ship’s sails were like coral come to life on the wind.
There were men of young and old aboard, all celebrating the victory they had just seen. Caspia thought she had never seen a ship so beautiful, but the true beauty of it was the wooden sea dragon carved into the front. Painted in hues of green and gold, the dragon was framed by a swath of letters, and in the tongue of men was written ‘The Sea Dragon’
She looked to Mira, who was whispering to herself, “Do these men really worship the gods? What would they know of the sea god? Do they know of the creatures amongst them, or is it simply a foolish joke?”
Caspia pointed to the dragon carving, “Their ship is called the sea dragon.” She pointed to the man with pale yellow hair, “He just thanked the sea god. Perhaps they worship the same gods we do.”
Mira shook her head and scoffed, “We don’t worship them Cas, they made us. Don’t be so naive.”
The ship sailed forth, headed for the city the King of Men had established years before Caspia and Mira’s birth. The humans called it ‘Mirrenorre’ she had once heard. It was said that before humans arrived at the Crescent, sirens lived in all waters surrounding it, moving freely around the island. Caspia wondered what it was like to swim in a sea unmarked by barriers. As she swam towards the forbidden territory, Caspia pushed the tales of sirens killed by men from her mind; and swam for the wooden Sea Dragon.
When she surfaced again, she heard the sound of human voices speaking over one another, men with accents of all different Isles, and waves lapping against wood.
“I think we’ve seen enough Cas, let’s go home.” Mira’s voice shook. Caspia saw the fear in her sister’s deep blue eyes. These weren’t just any men, they were pirates.
“I just want to get a bit closer.” she said. Before Mira could respond, Caspia dove towards the ship. As she surfaced, she heard the voice of another man. She popped her head up to an opening in a lowered section of the ship, where a smaller boat was tied up, and pushed herself upwards, peeking her head through the opening. If the look of their ship wasn’t enough, she knew who they were from their clothing. Their heavy coats were lined with weapons, and they had jewelry adorned fingers with compass necklaces dangling between the openings of their airy tops. Some of them carried two swords, some with a strap of knives across their chests; the picture of pirates as she knew them. The embodiment of danger.
One of the pirates stepped forth, a serious looking man with a sad sparkle in his eye.
“Aye men, we have made it to the Isle of Lunadira.” The men rejoiced in a loud cheer. The man speaking had hair dark like her own, and sunkissed skin covered in strange inky markings; but there was a harsh beauty about him.
Mira surfaced beside her, popping her head up “You need to get down from there now Cas. You’ve gone too far! Remember the laws of the ancients.”
“Please just another moment… Can I meet you at the dropoff?” Caspia pleaded.
Mira shook her head, “I will wait for no longer than a few moments when I reach the cliff.” Caspia smiled. Mira rolled her eyes, and dove into the water.
Caspia returned to scanning the deck of the ship, noticing the golden haired pirate from before speaking to the dark haired man. He was taller than the golden haired pirate, taller than most of the crew; he watched them work from a wheel at the back of the ship. Around his mouth and jaw, short hairs pushed through his skin. There was even hair across his chest too, peeking through his willowy shirt. She couldn’t look away from him. The dark haired pirate nodded as his friend spoke into his ear, and then spoke back. It looked as if his crew had seen a rough journey, they were all a bit burnt from the sun; but the dark haired man was still striking somehow. Not magically beautiful in the way sirens were, but certainly not ugly in the way pirates were meant to be.
While she clung to the side of the ship, they had drifted into the port, and Caspia was surrounded by the smell of humans and dead fish. After the dark haired pirate had given a speech, the golden haired pirate addressed the crew,
“Your captain wishes you to be on your very best behaviour. You’d do best to remember that.” The dark haired pirate was their captain.
Then, the Captain spoke, “Men, we are on a mission, and I will see none of our usual antics until our mission is complete. Is this understood?”
In front of the ledge from which she watched, a boot stepped, then another. Caspia had never been so close to a human; she thought if she got a bit closer she could almost touch the pirate without him noticing. What am I thinking? What would Mira think? She had been foolish staying above for this long, and soon the procession of the Moondust would begin. She stole a final glance of the dark haired Captain, and slowly sank underneath the water.
She looked around her at the underneath of all the ships in the port, wondering where their sailors had come from; and why they docked at the Great Crescent. Without another thought, Caspia began racing towards her sister at the dropoff.
She shot past the beach of bones, racing through the southern waters surrounded by tiny bubbles. She caught herself not far from the drop offs edge, spotting her sister in the distance. Caspia was grateful for what she had in the sea, on the reef. She was grateful for Mira, for the powers of a siren, for their friends back at the Aquadora; for all of it. A simple and beautiful life, resigned to the great blue sea; and treated to a night on land once every full moon.
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