The realm called Ocean’s Edge is quite a large area but sparsely populated due to the poor soils and maddening wind. Rau’u spends most of her time there coordinating the different geographic boundaries that run up against each other: the edge of the Round Woods meets grassy scrubland, that meets sandy beach and rocky seashore, that eventually rims the wide blue Infinity Ocean. Rau’u coordinates not only the creatures of the land and air, but also the beings of the sea, including my favorites, the mermaids.
After Phyler and I greeted Rau’u, we all climbed upon the granite cliffs of Sailor Rock to summon the mermaids. We would easily see them glide through the water as they arrived.
The high rocky peak is called Sailor Rock because sailors traditionally leave offerings there for the mermaids. They row to the base of the rock from their sailing ships, singing praises all the way. The songs contain flattering phrases and extravagant good wishes, and are sung sincerely even if out of tune. They leave small scrolls of love poetry tucked into gifts of flower necklaces, fresh fruit, or carved wooden treasure boxes.
The sailors hope their songs and offerings will convince the mermaids to help any seafarers who fall into the ocean due to accident or shipwreck, and set them safely onto the shore instead of dragging them to their demises in the marine depths. It is unknown to me whether their sycophant gifts work or not, but I don’t hear many rumors of sailor bodies washing up on the beaches in our area of the world. So maybe it is a clever move on their part.
The mermaids eventually arrived, their silvery scales shimmering green and blue as they glided through the water. We walked down to the beach to greet them. They smiled and greeted us, too, their long silver hair streaming with water.
Zelen mermaids are humanoid on their top half. Although their skin is pale and slightly green, they are quite lovely. Instead of legs their bodies merge into fishy tails covered in scales that reflect shifting colors. The mermaids can leave the ocean for a time whenever they like, so they joined us at the base of Sailor Rock.
As always, languages and interspecies communication modes are not my specialty. I can convey honesty and willingness to help as needed, and I am adequate with telepathic languages, but I don’t really understand most spoken foreign languages very well. Phyler and Rau’u always seem to easily comprehend both leader and group and any language, no matter where we are or who we speak with. I think that is a real gift in life.
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Phyler and Rau’u spoke animatedly with Queen Mystica. I was relieved that there were no serious issues we needed to discuss. Our visit remained social and uneventful. As far as business affairs, we merely conducted a satisfied discussion of how we continued to keep on top of our two main problems: smugglers and polluters. Yes, some problems are universal to all worlds.
Next we moved onto exchanging mutual tokens of regard. Since this was not a state visit, I brought gifts neutral enough to serve as official presentations, if we ended up discussing any kind of pressing business, yet personal enough to be enjoyed.
First, I brought a pot of local orange blossom honey for Rau’u, knowing how much she enjoys it on warm homemade bread.
For the mermaids, I carried fresh delicate spring lettuces for Queen Mystica to pass along to the manatees, who are great favorites of mine. I also brought a mesh bag of navel oranges for the entire mermaid pod. They do enjoy the novelty of sweet and brightly colored fruit now and again. I didn’t need to carry these fresh items all the way from the southern climates of Zelen, I just transported to a tropical region to pick them up while we were waiting for the mermaids.
The mermaids brought me a large assortment of fresh seaweed. They know I love to dry it and keep it for use in cooking. I enjoy the briny flavor added to my occasional woodland greens and mushroom stews. For Phyler, the mermaids brought dried sand dollars and rare seashells. It was a charming gift that the entire flutter of fairies will enjoy viewing and displaying.
Next, we settled on granite chairs at the base of Sailor Rock. These chairs had been carved eons ago and were smoothed by wind and rain. Their purpose was to allow visitors to comfortably listen to mermaid music.
The mermaid voices were so beguiling that even I, a fellow magical being rarely mesmerized by any music, felt the urge to walk right into the ocean and follow after them. Imagine how much stronger the desire to swim with the mermaids would have been if I had been human with few defenses against magic and enchantment.
Phyler and I headed back to the Round Woods after our successful visit. Since we were still feeling caught up in the mermaid songs, we each just instantly transported back to our respective homes instead of walking.
I hung some of the seaweed in my stone cottage to dry, but decided I felt a little lonely. I wanted to take most of the briny gift to my wife Jaal, and tell her about the mermaids. I decided to transport to my home world and surprise my family. There is nothing like a visit home for a long weekend, with a gift I know the family will enjoy, to make me completely happy.