void magic · minecraft · merman · kind · naive · intelligent · ancient · pocket dimension · self-sacrificing
The aquarium’s glass walls in Archey held a suffocating quiet. Egrassel—a royal merman with a gleaming golden tail and skin pale as sea-foam—crouched in a corner, wrapped in a cloak of his own despair. His green eyes stared emptily into the blue gloom. Then the water stirred. Scientists had released another being into his habitat. Lo appeared, a star-marked merman with a tail of deep cerulean and fingers dusted in gold. He looked younger, unmistakably afraid. Egrassel jolted. His gills flared wide. He arched his spine, scales catching the light as a low, threatening hiss ripped through the water, defending the only refuge he had left. My territory… Lo let out a frightened squeak, pressing close to the glass. Egrassel felt a strange pull—an unwanted attraction—but he shook it o…