How does one transport an alien with no access to advanced technology to another world? It's a problem I faced with Lily as well. I don't attempt to explain the mysterious circumstances that transported Arella. Sometimes mysteries should remain mysterious.
D&D defines both mermaid and merfolk species. The difference is mainly merfolk are always aquatic while mermaids can transform to 'human' when they are dry. This is a frequent aspect of mermaids and is featured as a plot element in the Australian TV series H20 and the movie Splash. I've written a version of her back story for each race.
Arella gets caught in a very strange storm
for both mermaid and merfolk
The swarmel hunt looked to be particularly good this year. Arella couldn't wait. Swarmel tasted sooo good! They were definitely worth all the effort her pod had to make to corral them. As they swam north, she could already feel the water getting colder. In just a few days, they'd arrive.
Adding to Arella's good mood, her pod just switched the group chorus to her composition. It was her first and Mom was so proud of her. She concentrated on singing the melody the sweetest she could. The rest of the pod harmonized with perfect timing. When her song reached its end, more than a few of her fellow mermaids looked at her and smiled with approval.
They surfaced for air and noticed a storm building to the north. The sun was about to slip behind Serel, the giant would that loomed ever present in the sky. Soon the stars would appear, ever circling her world. If the storm was bad, they'd have to dive deep. They dove and continued their long journey in a more subdued mood.
It soon grew dark and the water started to agitate. Kinena signaled for them to swim deeper and they dove in silence.
As the water really began to churn, they realized the storm had grown much worse than they had feared. How could it grow so fast? There had been no signs. They swam all the way to the bottom and still got tossed around. The forest of Danst trees swayed violently. Their Ulocks were getting restless and threatened to swim away with all the pod's belongings.
A sense of dread overcame Arella. She had never experienced anything like this.
Then she saw the lights.
for Arella as a merfolk
Multihued shafts of strange light appeared from the surface. They moved about the pod as if searching for something. A green one enveloped Arella. She went limp just before she lost consciousness.
She came to on a beach with waves splashing her at the water's edge. The sun bore down on her and her skin hurt. She dragged herself into the water and relaxed a bit. Normally, she would be fascinated by seeing land for the first time, but now she just wanted to get back to her pod.
She swam past the surf break and called out to them. When she didn't hear a response, she began to panic, swimming wildly about. She called out as loud as she could, but heard nothing.
Exhausted, she surfaced and looked despondent. She had never been alone before. She didn't even know where she was. She had heard stories of land above water, but there was nothing like that near anywhere her pod had traveled. This place was very far away. The water felt different ... or was that just her sun burn.
She looked up, searching for Serel, but the giant world was nowhere to be seen. How could she possibly navigate home?
for Arella as a mermaid
Multihued shafts of strange light appeared from the surface. They moved about the pod as if searching for something. A green one enveloped Arella. She went limp just before she lost consciousness.
She came to on a beach near the water's edge. The sun bore down on her and her skin hurt. Normally, she would be fascinated by seeing land for the first time, but now she just wanted to get back to her pod.
She started to drag herself back to the water, then she saw something that made her forget all about her sunburn.
Her tail!
It was split. The fin on the end had been replaced by a pair of strange appendages. There was one at the end of each of her new tails. The tails were stiff except for a joint in the middle. She tried moving the twin tails and discovered the joint only bent in one direction.
Overcome with shock, she dragged herself back into the water. Soon after she did, she felt something come over her and her tail, er tails, reverted to normal. She felt changes all over her body, but now seemed normal. She could swim again!
That didn't really happen did it? It must have been a kind of strange dream. She swam past the surf break and called out to her pod. When she didn't hear a response, she began to panic, swimming wildly about. She called out as loud as she could, but heard nothing.
Exhausted, she surfaced and looked despondent. She had never been alone before. She didn't even know where she was. She had heard stories of land above water, but there was nothing like that near anywhere her pod had traveled. This place must be very far away. The water felt different ... or was that just her sun burn. And did her tail really split?
Arella looked up, searching for Serel, but the giant world was nowhere to be seen. How could she possibly navigate home?
What was that? She sensed something big approaching her. Without her friends, she was particularly vulnerable here. As it got closer, she made a quick decision. What ever it was, it might not be able to reach her on the land so she deliberately beached herself.
She barely made it. Something with an impossibly large mouth and enough sharp teeth for several monsters, chased her all the way to the beach. In the shallow water, it angrily snapped at her, but stayed in the water.
Arella waited a while, but the monster waited too. She dragged herself over to the shade of a large land tree and waited for it to give up on her.
While waiting, she saw a small creature swim down from the sky. It had large, beautiful fins and swam gracefully. As it approached the sand, twin tails extended from its lower side. It rested on them as it tucked its two fins against its body.
Arella was so fascinated with the bird, she didn't notice that the body change had started again. Startled, she looked at her tail as it split again. She didn't know how or why the change happened, but she had an idea about what the new twin tails might be good for.
She tried to stand like the bird was doing. She was unsteady at first, but soon got the hang of it.
How strange to be standing ... on land. Yep, this had to be a dream. She couldn't wait to tell her friends. All she had to do was wake up!
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This page last updated 24-Jan-2018