Chapter 7 Tideian's Trouble

• The laws of the Heavens, The Seas, the Underworlds, and Earth could not be tested but Atana had tested fate and changed what wasn't meant to be and worse using dark powers from Glasa. There is a saying in Aquarial 'Nothing Good Comes Out Of Glasa' she understood these things better but she chose her part. The Gods were angry and they withdrew their favors from her. The humans suffered and tormented Atana, so much so she couldn't show her face outside of her home. They were all afraid to go out for fear of what the people would do.
• And Atana's beauty began to fade.
• One of her great-grandchildren betrayed her, he went and told the townspeople that the source of their youthfulness was the blood of the mermaid who was his great-grandmother. This railed the people, they were filled with wrath and animosity towards Atana. Their hatred for the mermaid grew and her secret, exposed. Their sailors sailed the Seven Seas in their hundreds, tricking merfolks and all sea dwellers, capturing them at large, slaying them, and having their blood mixed into the makings of healing balms, and drops of youth, it was sold at higher prices and only the rich could afford them.
• These manmade potions began to heal many of their diseases even the ones their physicians couldn't name. This drove them harder into the capturing of sea dwellers, those who had paired with sea dwellers killed their partners for greed's sake.
• Once Atana's remaining strengths left her, she was soon captured and killed. A war arose between the sea creatures and the humans. It lasted for hundreds of years and many were killed. Then Neptune died and the sixth was called. He pleaded with the merfairies and they swept Aquarial deeper into the depths of the sea and created the strongest of barriers so no one ever gets in or out of the city. As years flew by, the merfairies used their powers to wipe their memories from the remnant of the human race until their existence faded with the wind, and thus till this day the humans considered them mystical creatures only found and created by wandering authors with wild imaginations in children's bedtime stories.
• Aquarial was saved and the sea creatures hated the likes of the humans for they were selfish and greedy. They gave them their own and they killed her for her blood. Who said the sea creatures were immortal? Even they die in time, and only the kings and Tideians have the power of reincarnation. The Witches of Glasa made a fool of the princess who sorted nothing but for those, she loved to live as long as she could.
• In the city of Riveri lies the golden lake of immortality, just a jar filled with the sparkly water would have kept her Duke as young as they both shall live. But, Atana had acted according to her own fate and the end she met wasn't the one Aquarial had expected. The witches of Glasa had indeed fooled her even until the end.
• After all, she gave all for her handsome Duke. Until this day, the sea dwellers never made themselves known to the humans, and only when they began to pollute the seas would Neptune, rage and the sea would rise and destroy both those sailing above and those who have made their dwellings within close range to the sea. But, even in that, the humans considered these disasters as natural. The Merfairies had done great work as protectors of the Seven Seas and its dwellers till this day.
• A decree was made by the Elder of Elders that if Neptune is to have a daughter, she shall be given to the next Tideian as his merbride and so it has been for thousands of years since that great war.
• *******
• The big-screen shut off and the pupils seated in the class exhaled. They had watched the history of Aquarial so many times that they could relate its happenings with their eyes closed. Bored out of their minds they wanted to escape the class and ran off.
• "Anyone, have any questions concerning what we have just watched?" Their teacher asked and a collective groan echoed around the class. "Well... Anyone?" He smiled warmly at them but none made a move. The merman exhaled and turned towards his table but a merboy soon put up his hand.
• "Senior Tide?"
• "Yes!" He was eager to hear his question and so he was facing the class in a heartbeat. It's not easy being a history teacher and he didn't understand why he had to be punished with this job but it is a curse all Tideians had to deal with. It is said that in all of Aquarial that only a Tideian could tell the histories of Aquarial as they were naturally birthed with these abilities.
• "Is it true that you are betrothed to the princess?"
• Was that even part of what they had watched and he was asking him that? The merman exhaled and shook his head.
• "Yes, it is." He answered truthfully.
• "Is it also true that you have refused to honor the oath of the ancestors and marry the princess?" Another asked and the merman was about giving up on teaching completely.
• "Where in the Seven Seas are you all hearing these things from?" He asked, a frown contouring his expression.
• "Do you not like the Princess?" Another mergirl asked.
• "She is the most beautiful in all of Aquarial; only the fairies could match her in beauty." Another said and now the merman just watched them chat amongst themselves.
• "Yeah, I have seen her at the purple Rose festival, her skin was like that of the snows of Riveri, her hair was like the iced streams of Riveri and her eyes twinkled as clear and pure as the finest mountain tears."
• In Aquarial, when one is compared with Riveri it means that they were of exceeding beauty.
• The mountain tears are droplets of clear waters wish rained from the mountain once in a year and only a Tideian could collect them and furthermore delivers it into the hands of the Merelves who used them to make powerful healing potions and distributes the potions all over Aquarial for each household to keep and use carefully until the next ninth month of the year, on the second week and the last day of that week when the mountain tears shall come down again. The act of distributing the potion is known as the Mountain Tears festival. A drop of the potion has the power to heal a sea dweller's soulpearl and replenish their used strength.
• All sea dwellers have within them a soulpearl, which is their spiritual strength, the source of their powerful magic, and the reason they can live for thousands of years. Without their soulpearl, they are weak and soon will die.
• "Senior Tide, also has beauty like that of the fairies." A gentle mergirl quoted and half the class agreed with whisperings.
• "Yes, his hair is the finest, in all of Aquarial too." Another said with a smile directed at the confused merman.
• "My mother said, he was kissed by a merdragon when he was born." The first mergirl revealed and the others gasped loudly.
• "Is it true, Senior Tide?" A merboy interrogated and he smiled grandly and nodded.
• "Whoa!" Nearly half the class groaned.
• "And she also said that the fairies came to bestow magical crystals and purple Roses to the newborn Tideian." The first girl added and Tide wondered how much more of his life history these merchildren knew.
• Purple Roses were rare in Aquarial, and can only be found in Scytis. The merfairies grew them with special magic and only made them bloom on the day of the purple Rose festival; its heavenly scent would linger in Aquarial for another ten years until the next festival.
• "Were you born like all merfolks or were you born like fairies in little glowing flower buds or like a merdragon in a crystal egg?"
• "Are you a merdragon?"
• "Do you have pointy horns?"
• "Do you have wings?"
• "Can you fly?"
• The class became rowdy as nearly half of his pupils threw questions at him at the same time.
• "My brother says you must be the dumbest merman in the whole of Aquarial to not have married the princess until now. He says he would have married her even before she came of age." The first merboy accused directly and the merman shook his head again. His rude comment seems to have stopped the storm of questions from the other pupils as well.
• "First of all, your brother is gross, and second of all, why are you all suddenly interested in my personal life. Who said I wasn't going to marry Princess Diondra? She has been betrothed to me since my seventh year of birth. So she is my merbride."
• The merboy huffed and sat down, eyes piercing into those of the merman.
• "Is it true that she was betrothed to you because you were born on the same month and day and exact time the Fire Trident arrived on the Seventh Apex?"
• "Yes, it is." He answered the little mergirl and she smiled and sat down, nodding. "And so is every Tideian before me and ever will be." She nodded again, content with his answer. If only they can all be like her. "Now, can we please ask questions on the history video we have just watched?"
• "We know everything about the history of Aquarial, what is there to ask?" The first merboy snapped and the merman gave up.
• "Senior Tide?" Another gentle mergirl called and he faced her.
• "Yes, Merry."
• "You are a Tideian right?"
• "What stupid question is that?" The first merboy snarled at the little mergirl and she whimpered and quickly sat down. "Is this your first time in this class and are you a stranger in Aquarial? Who else is named Tide in all of Aquarial if not A Tideian, you stupid mermaid."
• "Okay, that's it, you're out of my class, Tory," Tide yelled and the merboy grabbed his stuff and left.
• "This is why my brother hates you." He retorted before leaving the class.
• "Yes, Merry, I am a Tideian, and just as that little grumpy eel said, only the keepers of the Seven Apex Sea mountain are called Tide."
• "Thank you, senior Tide." She smiled and he returned her smile. The bell dinged and the class was dismissed.
• ********
• "This is why my brother hates you."
• He remembered the hateful words from the little merboy and shook his head. He has no idea what he has ever done to anger Titan. If he wanted the princess so badly, he was willing to let her go, it's not like he wanted her to begin with. He has a lot on his plate as it is. Adding another to that pile already overflowing would be suicidal. He has nothing against Titan. Why does he have to hold so much resentment towards him? His clamphone began to vibrate and he picked it up. It was the only merman in the whole of Aquarial who gets him and loves him. He hoped someday, when he didn't have to be bound by the laws of the Elders, that he would be able to have a happy life with his merman.
• "Roan..." he smiled into the clamphone.
• "I need a favor from my beautiful Tideian, can you meet me at our secret cave, please?"
• Tide laughed, it was always little favors with him. "You are in luck, the little Mers just dismissed so I'll be right there."
• "Thanks, Tideian."
• The phone beeped and he rose to begin gathering his things. He couldn't wait to be in his embrace. With that thought, igniting his cold blood, he rushed out of the class.
• *******************