"Not really. At least not those of the Attica kingdom. We are a…how would you say it? A crockpot culture. Like your America, it was formed from many different Mer coming together from all over to form a collective."
"Doesn't mean that prejudice doesn't exist."
“You're right." He tilted his head and appeared to be looking in Theseus's direction. "It just probably isn't what you're used to."
He was silent for a while after that, so I took the moment to marvel at our surroundings. Humanity had hardly explored 20% of our own oceans, and as we zoomed past reefs, rocks, sand, and giant plummeting gorges, I was really feeling how vast our oceans were. I bet it was a similar feeling to when astronauts stared in the emptiness of space. I felt so small, yet strangely centered.
It was also very quiet. Closer to the shore, there was the crashing sound of the waves acting as white noise, but now, so deep, it was still and silent. Until it wasn’t. Whenever we passed by schools of fish or larger sea life for a brief moment, that static-like noise would flare up in my mind, like what happened back at the aquarium.
At least now I knew I wasn’t crazy, it had to do with the sea creatures. Perhaps something to do with what Hip had talked about, my talent.
“If your talent is what I think it might be, it’s a pretty cool one.” Callum said, quietly.
‘Eavesdropping is rude.’ I thought pointedly at him.
“Hmmm, perhaps,” he hummed.
‘So, what do you think my talent is?’ I asked.
“I believe I’ll let you figure that one out on your own. Just trust your mates and know you’re not insane.”
‘Thank you. You're pretty nice, for one of Calder’s flunkies.’
“I’ll have you know I’m not a flunky. I’m simply a guard of the kingdom. My commander was the one who put me on this mission.”
‘Oh, I see.’ He was just following orders. I felt bad for him.
We stayed silent for a while after that, I knew Callum could hear me, but I pondered over what was to come and worried over Jason’s condition. I had to remember that we had literally been in the hospital. Jason would be fine. We would all be fine.
My stomach was flopping around like a fish thrown out of water.
"Hey, hey. It’s going to be okay." Callum reassured me, his hands rubbing at my arms wrapped around him.
I snorted. ”Easy for you to say."
"True, but your mates are here.” He crooned, in a comforting tone. “They have clearly bonded to you and that means they would never let anything bad happen to you. Mermen are extremely protective of their mates. In fact, this whole time, they have been mentally plotting how they would whoop the tar out of me the moment I'm out of your sight for nearly touching you."
“Really?" I couldn’t hold back my grin.
He nodded. ”The blond one in particular is very vindictive."
That got a chuckle out of me.
“Thanks, Callum.” I squeezed my arms in a hug.
“Don’t thank me yet. We're almost there."
My head snapped up, and at first I only saw flat ocean floor in front of me. But then the ground dipped down into what at first appeared to be another trench, but was actually a crater-like slope. There, far up ahead, was a glowing mass. It looked huge, and if it was this big from so far away, it had to be massive.
As we swam closer, I was reminded of the photos I had once seen of the great barrier reef. Bright colored coral, swarmed by hundreds of different types of colorful fish. But as we got closer, I realized how massive some of these structures were. It wasn't just a simple reef, it was, in fact, its own city. A city made from coral, rows of jagged buildings spiraled upwards. Mer were everywhere, their scales shimmering in the city’s lights.
“Wait, we’re under water. How are there lights?”
“The Mer who are skilled at fire manipulation power all the lights in the city.” Callum answered.
“Fire manipulation?” I looked back over my shoulder at Hip. "Like how you control water?”
He shrugged, not tearing his eyes away from the city in front of him. “Must be.”
Hip was adopted by humans. Was it possible this was the first time he had ever seen Attica?
As we got closer, the immense size of this city almost overwhelmed me. From our vantage point, I could see over the coral buildings to the cityscape, but I couldn't see the other side. The tallest structures looked almost as big as the empire state building!
Theseus drifted back to swim next to us. He looked at me. “Magnificent, isn't it?”
“Insane, is what it is.” I continued to stare at the city as it came closer, elation swelling in my chest. “How is it that humans have never found this place?"
He pointed upwards. “You're not realizing how deep we are. No human could ever swim this deep down without killing themselves."
"But we—they have machines that can."
Theseus had a mischievous smile on his face. “But we have magic defenses for those."
"Magic?" I squeaked.
"Yeah, magic," Callum twisted his head to try and look at me. "Are you telling me that you were turned into a mermaid and didn't think magic was real?"
Something tickled at the back of my mind, a distorted memory of Hip saying something similar. Another lost memory.
Callum was looking at me with concern now.
I shook my head and focused back on the looming city.
Calder called from up ahead, "Our destination is the Imperium Tower."
"Oh, you're getting some nice digs. The Imperium Tower is used for visiting diplomats.” Callum said.
"That seriously doesn't make me feel better.” I mumbled.
We reached the edge of the city, where much smaller buildings speckled the land. I was right in that most of their structures were made from magnificently large hunks of coral, which looked to be beautifully hollowed out with windows and doorways and everything. They must have used some sort of magic to do it, because there was no way that was natural. Something I would love to look into later.
I noticed we were following some kind of pathway, the sand shimmering with blues and pinks. With us now going at a much slower pace, I reached down and scooped up the sand. It was super small shells, the texture looked rough and sharp, but it just flowed through my fingers like silk. As we came further into the city the buildings became more densely packed and the path was then lit with floating lanterns.
Callum was right, the Mer here came in many shapes and colors. Men, women, and children paused in whatever they were doing as we passed. Their scales were all different colors of the rainbow and their tail types varied greatly. I spotted a woman who had a tail that resembled a clownfish with orange and white stripes. I noticed a lot more men than women, but there was just this quiet humanity to everything I was seeing.
Two women floated along down the path, holding children and chatting about their day over at the ‘Scaler’, whatever that was. Three men and a woman sat at a table outside of what seemed to be a restaurant, eating lunch. On one corner, there was this man playing an instrument. I had no idea what it was, but the sound was similar to that of a trumpet, just more bulbous.
It honestly felt like any city I had been to in the past, until you realized that everyone was underwater, covered in scales, with tails, and mostly naked. Oh, and of course, a giant whale had just casually passed overhead, minding its own business.