A girl, adorning a white dress, perused the outer streets of Asanoch. The dress was stained and left without any intricate patterns, plain. Everyday she wore this same dress whenever she left her… Home?

It wasn’t exactly a home. Instead, it was closer to a nook. A small part of a street, the back of an alleyway. It didn’t matter, in a city like Asanoch, where rain never fell. A home with proper shelter didn’t matter, no environmental harm to think of.

That was of course without considering any external factors. Living in the outer ring had a cost. Namely, addicts and criminals. The former didn’t have the ability to hold a job, and if they did then there wasn’t any room in the budget for a house. And the Criminals wouldn’t get hired.

It was common to be attacked, robbed of any quartz on your person. The girl didn’t need to fear though. She was at the top of her classes and well versed with a weapon, at least before she had to leave school. And she was taller than the average person, standing at six feet tall.

This girl wasn’t like any of them though. She was kind and compassionate, undeserving of what happened to her. Oh so undeserving. A father who left her with a bothersome curse, always with her. And a mother who abandoned her after a few years of abuse.

Her household wasn’t always that way. Once kind and caring, how had it managed to fall to such behavior. Her father was a wicked man but he didn’t hold all the blame and neither did the mother.

It had turned from a picturesque scene one would hear about in stories to a terribly horrible one. Not unlike her warm personality growing cold in the harsh outer ring.

The girl would often ruminate over whether or not her being there made a difference in the tearing apart of her familial life. Everytime she came to the same conclusion: “Maybe, but what did it matter?”

After she was abandoned. The girl was forced to quit school. “Wouldn’t they laugh me out of the room? In my dirty clothes and of my lack of lunch.” She did grow thin. Her body was relatively feeble compared to the average girl her age.

‘What do I care what they say?’ The girl spited them and spat onto the concrete paved walkway. But she had to have cared, or she would have stayed enrolled in school.

She kicked rocks across the street as she made her way towards a familiar spot. The disturbing onlookers were turned away at just a look into her light seafoam colored eyes. They were beautiful and striking. As was the rest of her face, at least when it wasn’t covered in dirt.

The eyes were familiar. That uncommon color belonged to a feared figure in the outer ring of Asanoch. At least in this small part of said ring. A woman that could bring anyone to their knees in only a moment. But it couldn’t be the same person. Not the same as this pure girl, an innocent flower stomped into the ground by her surroundings.

“Hello Jyrid.” The girl said with a deadpan face. “How’s business?”

“What do you think? After your last stunt those hooligans are spreading tales of the ‘siren.’ Do you think anyone wants to dine at my fine establishment now?” Jyrid’s aged face contorted as he wiped at the counter.

‘Fine establishment?’ The girl mocked the man internally. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked… Why don’t you run your pub somewhere closer to inner Asanoch? Surely you’d get better clientele. And you wouldn’t have to deal with me as a bonus,”

“I don’t doubt I’d get a better clientele, and that is a world of a bonus. But it’s obvious why I run my ‘diner’ out here in no man’s land. It’s damn expensive to rent out space in inner Asanoch.”

“Well surely even being just a little closer…”

“Nope. Here in this terrible area it costs almost nothing to run this place. Not only do I pay almost nothing, the customers pay almost double what they would in central Asanoch. Think about it, those fiends need to get their alcohol somewhere. And no other sane person would run a pub out here.” Jyrid explained concisely.

Indeed the girl was ignorant of certain matters. She was only seventeen years old. Technically she was only a year away from being an adult but there was a lot she didn’t know as a result of her abandonment and withdrawal from school.

“Isn’t that kinda messed up? I mean you are the problem here. The central cog in their spiral into depression and god knows what.” The girl was horrified at Jyrid’s seeming indifference.

“Look kid, it ain't my problem to give a damn about those fools. They’ve already messed up their lives, and they go outta their way to mess around with kids like you too. Taking money from you guys… Anyways, as far as I’m concerned. I’m actually doing society a favor, keeping these ‘people’ locked in the outer ring.”

Jyrid let out a sigh, taking a swig of alcohol. He scanned the girl in front of him. “But you, why haven’t you gone to an orphanage or something. Surely a cute girl like you could get a nice, loving family pretty quick.”

“That’s my secret…” The girl leaned back in her chair before standing up. “Besides, I’m nearly an adult. You think anybody’s going to want to adopt a grown woman. No thanks… I’m fine perusing these streets.”

“I guess that’s your choice…” Jyrid lost himself for a minute in the dusting of his many shelves. “Now hurry on out of here. Nobody’s gonna eat here if the ‘siren’ is sitting around.”

“Fine, at least give me a drink for the road…” The girl spoke like it was a given. She held her hand out, seemingly ready to be given a glass.

“You want liquor?” Jyrid asked plainly, grabbing a couple glasses from the heavy wooden cupboard.

“Jyrid.” The girl addressed him with a plain face. It seemed he really didn’t care about their periodic talks. “It has never been liquor. It’s always water! For lord’s sake I’m not even an adult, let alone drinking age.”

“My father always told me that any age is a drinking age. Coincidentally that’s what I tell anyone who walks through these doors too.” Jyrid chuckled slightly. Then, he filled the cup with water and handed it over.

“Thank you Jyrid.” The girl seemed to abandon all familiarity and then walk out, stone faced. Maybe she didn’t care about the man. Maybe it was all an act.

As the girl grew closer to her destination, she sighed. ‘Almost out of water…’ She looked at the nearly depleted glass longingly. It was a good feeling to have something so nice, even if it was short lived. This was how most things seemed to her these days. Like a temporary curse placed on her, doomed to fade away again. To peel away and reveal her melancholic excuse of a life.

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‘Heh… Maybe I should take Jyrid up on his offer the next time. Some alcohol might go a long way. Pushing me to the right path or something like that… But enough of that! It’s time!’

The girl arrived at the edge of Asanoch. She lived very close by and it had still taken her nearly an hour and a half to get there. The city was gargantuan in size. Maybe not so much as others but it was damn impressive for being underwater.

Maybe that wasn’t the right term though… It was sort of a cheat. The girl reached her hand out and touched the large bubble that encased the entire city, resting at the bottom of the Nethirian sea.

It almost felt mystical. Like a fable that her father or mother would tell her. Many speculated that the bubble came from a mammoth of a fable rift. Or perhaps that it was the result of a relic from a similar rift. Either way, it didn’t matter to this girl, right at this moment in time.

All that mattered to her was that it was here. The only moment of joy in an entire day of her life lay here. In this large bubble, or rather what was outside of it. Outside of this bubble she wasn’t the siren, her apparent persona that wrought havoc on this part of the outer ring. She also wasn’t herself.

Instead, she was like a fish in the sea. Not like many fish frequented being so low down in the sea but it didn’t matter. It was the feeling behind it. No matter how terrible her life in Asanoch, no matter the rumors that spread about her. None of it mattered, she was insignificant. And that lack of a need to take accountability let her be free.

The girl had already removed her long dress and stepped through the bubble. It was unique, never popping no matter the pressure inflicted upon it. As expected from a structure at the bottom of the sea. The unique feeling of the water gliding across her skin felt nice and serene, as it always did.

The flaps on the sides of her neck rippled, separating the oxygen from the water and feeding it to her. Any normal human wouldn’t be able to be able to survive under this immense pressure. Luckily she was not a normal woman. She was a secare half human, half nymph woman.

Thus, she thrived in the water, and she loved the water. Her aerodynamic body softly flowed as she swam upwards. The girl reveled in the deepness of her domain. Although she was half and half. The girl didn’t really feel too strong a connection to her human side. In her mind, humans were mostly negative people.

Humans were often louder than nymphs. They were very vocal creatures and were sociable as a result. That was their strength more than anything, second to their adaptability. They weren’t exemplary at much else. Nymphs performed better in water. Fierans were true predators of the night, champions of the umbral belt. And Sulphans were unparalleled in high heat, their body endured all.

As the girl swam towards the surface, she thought about what she would see. Everyday there were new things for her to see. The outer ring didn’t hold much value with every day only being slightly different than the last. So she loved coming up to the surface and watching the world, a world that was much nicer than her own.

This was the most impactful moment of her day. Not that her daily swim was very impactful by itself but in a life as mundane as hers, it was the highlight.

The swim wouldn’t take long, only fifteen minutes or so were needed to reach the surface. The closer she got, the more light would seep into the cold ocean. It wasn’t too cold for her of course, due to her nymph genetics. And if those genetics weren’t enough, the sheer amount of time she spent in the cold water would surely be enough for her to have adapted.

As she neared the surface, various creatures but shoulders with her as they moved past. They were each unique. Composed of claws and teeth, surrounded in hard carapace or exoskeletons. These creatures both big and small led equally important lives. They tended to their families and contributed to the ecosystem as a whole.

‘I wonder where my role would set me in this vast ocean.’ The girl often found herself pondering these deep although insignificant questions.

Her time on the outside of the city had taken its fair toll on her. Sometimes she would speak with Jyrid or have to deal with a couple of rapscallions. The former was nice, a means to get decent food or fresh water. The latter unfortunately perpetuated the rumors about her. Fiersome rumors about a ‘siren’ who attacked people for food.

‘What am I supposed to do? Just sit by and watch while children are forced to empty their pockets to the drunkards… Whatever, not like the name matters all that much to me.’ The girl grit her teeth as she swam faster.

Her body moved gracefully. The water danced across her smooth body. She picked up her speed, the pressure sending her cerulean blue hair flowing behind her back. The world grew lighter and lighter until… She pierced the water’s surface.

The girl cheered, inwardly of course. ‘A new best time! Maybe… What was that twelve and a half minutes… Roughly.’ She didn’t possess a means of counting outside of keeping mental notes. Her times weren’t completely accurate but they were consistent enough to time herself against.

She swam over towards a nearby town that skirted on the edge of the water. It was the town of Acrylian. Most of its houses were modest and rested on the edges of the coast; people liked ocean views. Most of all though this town was known for its large beach that stretched for a few kilometers.

The girl stalked the beach from far away, like a kraken stalking a rickety ship. Close enough that she could see the general idea of what was going on, but far enough that she wouldn’t be detected. After all, what would the people think?

Nymphs were certainly more rare than humans. At least in this city they were. There were certainly cities where predominantly either one or the other lived but on the edge of a place as beautiful as Asanoch, which sat in the middle of their domain… Why would a nymph ever want to live in a small town so close to the place of their dreams.

So what would the people of the town think of a nymph seen hovering around their beach, probably nothing good. To reach so far out of paradise meant that they probably wanted to take something from outside back in. At least this was the common human perspective, or the one that this ignorant girl saw the most.

The girl narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the obscure details of the -tiny in her eyes- beach. A long white and black strip was suspended in the air and a couple of people hit a ball overtop of it. Everybody wore such colorful clothing, pastel colors that were hardly worn in Asanoch. These colors contrasted with their figures, the majority of people rounding the beach were tanned and fit.

It was like an entirely different world to the one down in Asanoch. The place where people generally wore more extravagant clothing. It was an expensive place to live, central Asanoch. It was natural for the clothing to be of higher quality and more expensive but to be so different was intriguing.

The girl could almost imagine a life up on the surface. She would look over the sea. She would have a pet which was a dream underwater. Then she would get a tan. If nymphs even tanned… ‘It wouldn’t be nearly as much trouble to have the sun beam its light upon me…’ She sank at the thought that it would go away soon. The artificial one that sat idle in the center of Asanoch felt like a cheap imitation.

‘Well that’s just about enough of that…’ The girl swam back towards Asanoch. People were beginning to push out further into the tide and it was getting dangerous for her to remain.

On her way back the secare nymph took it slow. She gently flowed down with no need to rush after her record time to the surface. All the while the gills on the girl's neck opened and closed, keeping her alive. She wondered what would happen if they got clogged. Was her innate air capacity enough to last her until she made it back to the surface or to Asanoch? Or was her capacity only that of a human’s?

The water became dark and difficult to see through, though algae was rare which made the journey a little better. The city hired people to routinely cut the algae around the bubble. What good was a view that was obscured by the irritating weeds of the ocean?

The Nymph was generally displeased with the removal of nature. Especially for such a shallow reason. But she liked it in this case. The void of algae not only served as a guide of sorts for her to know where Asanoch was in the dark ocean. It also made her journeys to and from the surface a little less irritating. Algae would often wrap around her body causing sometimes whole minutes to be wasted freeing herself.

Finally, she reached the side of the domed bubble. She looked inwards, at the dunes at the edge and the houses beyond. What she was looking for was a familiar void of houses. This void was where she would leave to swim, avoiding prying eyes and having top tier privacy.

So why was it that this boy was here? And why was he frozen in place, stunned even.