The Call Of Thalassa

“How I long to be the shore and

feel your waves crash upon me

over and over again.”

-Timothy Joshua Chia

Far away from the village of Seaworth, there was the infinitive blue of the ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was like a never-ending blue veil that no one could see where it started and where it ended. You could only just watch it become one with the blue of the sky at the end of the horizon, from where the sun rises and sets every single day without any difference.

There, in the black depths of the ocean where the moonlight couldn’t reach, the peaceful atmosphere was suddenly disturbed. The small fishes and other creatures of the deep found themselves hiding into small secret spots, letting the dangerous predator that was swimming among them pass by them without any disturbance.

The dark figure made its way through the water silently but quickly, leaving small air bubbles as it passed by. The silver and blue scales of his powerful tail were glistering under the moonlight as he moved it faster to gain more speed.

His broad figure screamed authority and danger as he swam closer to the surface. His back fin the only thing that gave his presence away above the water. His long black hair seemed like silky curtains under the moon’s rays and made his already edgy face characteristics look sharper. He moved quietly through the waves like a skilled assassin ready to kill its prey. His eyes were like two glowing blue gems in the dark, the only thing that was giving him away to his prey.

His chest rumbled as he let a loud growl escape him, revealing two rows of sharp teeth behind his lips as he saw two big sharks blocking his way. Immediately, the creatures began to swim hurriedly away in utter surprise and fear after hearing the murderous sound. Something more lethal and dangerous than them was near. Someone that was higher in the food chain than they could ever be. However, they knew that no matter how much they tried, they wouldn’t be able to get too far away. The predator had already set his eyes on his prize.

They couldn’t move as fast as him and they were well aware of it. Black, sharp nails pierced the flesh of one shark making him bleed from his deep fatal wound as the water around turned scarlet. The other one tried to bite the killer of his companion with his big mouth full of several rows of sharp teeth without any success.

He caught his tail and cut it off his body with quick movements before his opponent had any chance of getting away. The shark started sinking alive in the deep abyss following his companion. That was until something slashed his stomach open leaving his insides to float in the water freely.

The predator didn’t sit around to enjoy his kill. He moved his large powerful tail, without as much as a second glance to his dead prey, and made his way towards his destination. An isolated quiet beach surrounded by dangerous high cliffs. The waters there were deep and full of underwater rocky caves, where he could find some peace and quiet and collect his thoughts.

Humans didn’t dare to set foot there, as the beach was full of sharp rocks and the waters too deep and dangerous for them to swim. The underwater creatures knew to not come close to this place as their prince was using it very often and would probably kill anyone who dared to come near it.

It was his very personal heaven, where no one ever bothered him. Only a small number of people were aware of its existence and they would only dare to disturb him if something very serious had happened.

The prince of Atlantis could calmly swim there for hours, making his way through the underwater caves that were connected with one another. He could think in silence and relax without anyone getting on his nerves and challenging him. It was also the only place that he could get his anger out however he saw fit, away from prying eyes.

It was a place where he could express his true feelings without needing to hide them. The one place he could be himself. And that’s why he loved it.

He began hitting the cave’s rocks with as much force as his tail could master as soon as he arrived in the familiar waters. Bubbles full of oxygen filled the water as the rocks were being destroyed. They were crushed under his powerful blue tail and the remaining of them reached the rocky bottom of the sea.

He growled angrily and shouted his lungs out, trying to let all his fury out. His sharp nails left marks on the stable rocks as he slashed whatever he could find. That continued until he got tired of swimming, moving and shouting, which was after a long time had passed by.

Tired after his outburst, he made his way towards the surface of the water. The silver full moon caressed the grey skin of his face with its rays as soon as he broke to the surface and made him close his electric blue glowing eyes for a few moments to enjoy it. His breathing calmed down slowly and his heartbeats became normal again.

Sighing tiredly, he made his way towards a familiar wide rock. He lifted his muscular body out of the water with his strong arms and sat upon it. His long tail that was still inside the sea, played slowly with the waters.

He looked towards the bright full moon that was hanging in the dark sky as he put his hands behind his head. The bright stars surrounded the silver circle making it look even more breathtaking. His blue, slitted eyes watched it with wonder and amazement as it floated effortlessly in the night sky. Its beauty taking his mind away from the fight he had with his King father.

He stayed like this for a long while. Laying on his rock with the waves crashing around him, looking at the bright circle in the stared-filled sky.

He closed his eyes tightly and prayed to the gods of his people. A crystal tear fell from his glowing blue orbs down to his sharp cheekbone. He prayed to Selene, the Goddess of the Moon, and to Thalassa, the Goddess of the Sea. A deep and long pain settled in his chest as he asked them the one question that was burning his insides.

“Where is she?“, he whispered desperately.

For too long he was without his precious soul mate. For too long he saw others around him find their beloved ones and cherish them. He had searched everywhere for her from the lowest bottom of the sea to its surface and yet, he still couldn’t find her.

After so many years, he began to become restless and feral without her. He snapped easily when he was challenged and his blood lust became stronger. A constant pain was hammering inside of his chest from the loneliness he felt and as the years passed by, it only became stronger.

His kin couldn’t live without their other half for a long period of time. The two Goddesses gave them only one fated love for their whole life and if they ever lost them, they had to spend the rest of their long lives alone and in misery.

They slowly turned mad or depressed without their mates and sometimes even feral, therefore being a danger to the people that surrounded them. They couldn’t go on for too long without them -they were drowning in the pain of loneliness and in the heartbreak they felt.

Most of those who lost or never found their mates, ended their lives by their own hand before they completely lost control of their selves. They didn’t know what it was worse, to never find your other half or to lose them after finding them. Most of them believed that the second option was the worst.

Mermen were territorial and possessive beings, but also very protective of the people they loved. They believed that it was their responsibility to keep their beloved always happy and safe and they took great pleasure by doing so. To lose a mate meant that they weren’t good enough to protect them. They blamed their selves greatly for it, almost driving themselves to insanity. They had failed the most important duty they ever had -to protect and cherish their fated beloved.

However, in this case, the young merman hadn’t even found his soul’s other half to begin with. The prince had been looking for his mate ever since he had reached adulthood, but he couldn’t find her. More than one hundred and fifty years had passed since he had become an adult but he still was mateless and alone, spending his long years in misery and self-hate.

He almost believed that for his previous violent actions the Goddesses had decided to not grace him with one and let him live a life full of loneliness and pain. He hoped that this wasn’t true.

He prayed that he would soon find her and that she would light up his world, giving a happy ending to his tragic story. He hoped that after everything he had to go through, he would finally be able to relax and feel loved in the warm embrace of his mate.

However, as the years passed and he still hadn’t found her -he felt himself beginning to act differently. His behavior was changing and so did his mood swings that were becoming worse and worse every passing year. He could not bear to watch other couples interacting together, while he was standing alone. He didn’t know what else to do anymore. His sanity was hanging by a thin thread and he was falling slowly but surely into a deep depression.

Suddenly, a splashing sound was heard from his left side, making him snap his attention back to reality. He released a warning growl to whoever had dared to set foot on his safe haven and disturb his peace. His chest continued to rumble in anger as he sat himself up in a sitting position as the intruder ignored his warnings and tried to approach him.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar pair of glowing yellow eyes looking at him from the water, instantly making him huff in annoyance and quit his growling. The moonlight made his silver-blonde locks glow as he came closer to his laying form. Lifting himself up with his muscled arms, the other merman came out of the water and sat on a rock that was near his own.

Nobody said anything for a while, the only sound that could be heard was Osmond’s dark purple tail splashing around in the water. He was frequently sending worried glances towards his friend’s melancholic form as he seemed to be in a world of his own.

Knowing Havelock since they could barely swim, the young merman had been through many difficult situations with him and knew him like the back of his palm. He knew that life wasn’t going easy on him and that he had gone through things in the past that a young boy his age shouldn’t have to.

The Goddesses seemed to show no mercy to him, never giving him a ray of sunlight in his life. The tragic incidents of the past, the betrayals, and losses he had to accept didn’t seem enough punishment in their eyes. Oh no. They had to take away from him the most treasured thing that a merman could ever have. They hadn’t graced him yet with his soul’s mate, leaving him to live a tortured and miserable life.

Osmond hoped that his best friend would soon find her and he would finally be able to live happily ever after. He wished for it with his whole heart, knowing that he himself could never live a second of his life without his beloved Thekla. He couldn’t even imagine his life without her! He understood that his friend tried to seem tough and collective, but inside of him, he was desperately screaming for her.

“Don’t lose hope, Have”, he used the nickname he had given to him when they were still small children.

“You’ll find her soon enough. I am sure of it”, he tried to console him, making him not to lose hope.

The other merman just shook his head hopeless at his friend’s words. He felt that he was losing all of his control as the time passed by. His sanity was almost completely gone at his mate’s absence.

“Where are you, meum Arcanum?”, he whispered to himself.

And then they both disappeared in the dark waters of the ocean.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of chapter 6!!

Imagine that merfolk mates are almost the same as the ones that werewolves have, but they are more affected by their existence and more sensitive to this subject.

Latin translations:

“Meum Arcanum”: my treasure

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Until next time!!