Dominus slammed into the surface of the water first, creating a ripple that dwarfed the one that the smaller Maria made when she sliced cleanly into the deep blue. It had been quite a while since she last had time to swim into Los Anthos. It had been almost literally work work work since she stepped back into Pronta city, up until recently. It was refreshing to shed her clothing and allow Mer scales to line her back and forearms, a seashell bra to form on her chest and her legs to meld together. She spun once, wildly so like a playful dolphin. Dominus couldn't help but also stretch his massive body fully in the open space. Below the surface he could fly without flapping his wings at all, so it was, for him, nice to exert so much less energy for the same freeing experience. Maria darted around him, manipulating the water around her to make her that bit faster. It is good to see you smile again, he thought to her. Maria slowed to a stop in front of his head and placed her own against it. "Oh my child. I shall never again let anything come between us." He puffed a jet of air through the water from his nose and smirked in a dragon-y way. He spoke not again but did shift his head so she could grab hold of one of his smaller horns. The black dragon flapped his wings but once, pointing himself like an arrow towards the glowing golden light that had caught their attention. It dawned on them that it was a trick of some kind that made it appear so close to the surface. It was actually not close at all, but rather near the ocean floor where Los Anthos was located. Whatever had caused it had the Queen's attention, and in a counter measure she drew her upgraded trident, Kalypso from what appeared to be thin air... Focusing and steeling themselves against the urge to be free spirits, both dragon and rider neared the golden city that lie deep below.
Los Anthos had never been explored by the surface world. It was huge, for one thing, spanning the entirety of the great ocean. It took Maria and Dominus hours of dedicated travel to reach what was once Kaminae's palace, and the source of the glowing. As they neared Dominus slowed himself and Maria swam of her own accord. A school of fish gathered around her, and her thoughts extended to them. It was a message of warmth and love, jovial and almost juvenile. It stopped a hunting shark's advance and called a pod of dolphins to her as well. As she descended with the seacreatures she realized she was not going to be surprising anyone, and her smile faded into the gaze of an owl as it sized up potential prey. Maria and Dominus looked as foreigners to some, a lost sister to others. To a few she even seemed like a betrayer. To all, the pair looked like gods.
On Axiom, and below it's waters, gods were often slain.
Maria hovered just above and away from what looked to be a procession of green and red haired Meritians and powerful, if small seashell bonds. They all floated, hovering in unison with hands on weapons aimed to create a dome. The pair swam among them, skeptical and with her hand tightly around the neck of Kalypso. She slowly approached the gates of the castle, a massive thing fit only for Kaminae. When she was at the end of the procession she stopped. A rumbling shook the waters as a pair of what lookde like guards pushed the water into the massive doors with fluid arm motions. They were taking their time, so Maria, frustrated, pushed with one hand and the doors hastily opened, revealing two more Mer folk. "Okay... what is going on? Who calls the Great Uniter, Queen of Beasts and Empress of Kevai? Why have you summoned me?" she said in meritian, but with a dialect native to the surface. A giggle escaped the mouth of the woman, who's face was not yet in view. You sure sound different now, Maria Kal. the woman said as she and her partner approached. Maria's eyes went wide and all manner of color left her face when she looked upon the full head of hair and green eyes. Don't look so pale. You look like you've seen a Ghost! it joked as Maria's long dead sister Arian, alive and well apparently, moved to embrace her sister...
• Seashores The Mer are hyper-aware of everything around them, their five senses deeply active. They feel the light touching their shoulder, the running about of the small creatures, everything. They're very perceptive, moreso than most races. Furthermore, when listening through a conch (many Mer carry one everywhere), they can hear things for hundreds of meters around them.
• Seashells The Mer are capable of speaking to all sea creatures, although they have the closest connection to the small ones. Tiny little creatures like crabs, shrimp and the littlest of fish, they often reach out to the Mer to protect them from the predators of the sea. A young Mer will often form a powerful bond with one of these creatures, and this enables them to quite literally share their longevity with this creature. The lifespan of the small creature they bond with will increase, making them as long-lived as their Mer companion, although they will also die if their Mer dies (though the Mer will not die if the companion dies). This life-long companion counts as a pet rather than a summon, but at high ranks, it can become extremely deadly.
The creature grows with you in ranks, and will also rapidly grow in size, into something that is simply unusual for its species. It should be noted that this creature will evolve into being capable of breathing/walking on land. Some animals are obvious; a lobster, a crab, etc. Less obvious ones such as regular fish will evolve in highly strange ways, some of them even turning out to look nearly parallel to a Mer. These creatures can have their own movesets. Furthermore, they can eventually, if desired, take up the summon slot and the seashell slot -- which would enable them to grow in power immensely.
• Masterful Dragon Riding The dragoon must spend a considerable amount of time riding on their dragon, and must know how to ride on them from every single part of the dragon without falling off. This takes a considerable amount of time to do, but once accomplished the dragoon will be able to accomplish incredible feats, such as holding onto a single dragon spine with one hand while your dragon is in an upside down position mid flight, whilst still being able to use your weapon proficiently.
• Telepathy As the name implies, it is a simple form of telepathy between you and your dragon. Thoughts, images, emotions, sounds... pretty much anything can be felt in this link, and it is a constant link. If the dragon is hurt, the dragoon can sense it, and vice versa. This however, also prevents the two from lying to each other, as they can see what the other is truly thinking.
• Soft Landing A passive all dragoons must learn, as without learning this skill, when they performed their super high jumps they would simply splatter against the ground. Once this technique is learned the dragoon can survive falls from incredible distances, and come out unharmed.
Maria was utterly stunned. Her eyes were wide, her face a look of complete distance. She was taken back in her mind to that day, so long ago. She had been tending to the seaweed gardens where the fish and sea turtles gathered around her. Intet had been there, blowing bubbles at her, much to the younger Maria's glee. It was sudden.Everything was fine the literal second before, and then a torrent of water rushed through, tearing her little city apart. She saw that murderous, giant face clearly as it tore into her home, her undersea village. She grasped for intet in all the scrambling, all the chaos. Her father came to her, his spear in hand and her mother right behind brandishing a weapon as well. We knew this day might come. You need to run, tadpole. Run and don't look back! Maria had moved her lips to respond but was cut off by a roar. Creeping death itself came past them then. Her infernal beast. GO! he called out. She looked at him pleadingly but he merely hugged her one last time, as did their mother. Arian came then, already clad in battle armor. She would stay behind to fight a meaningless fight. Maria turned then, jetting away as Arian and their parents went to aid the evactuation efforts. When she snapped back into reality she closed her arms around her sister, closing her eyes. "Oh... my sister how many tears i have cried, how many nights I have soaked my pillow with them. I cannot believe this... you are alive! After all these years..." she whispered slow to believe any of this was real at all. "How can this be? How can you be here?"
Arian pulled away, her eyes totally full of delight. Like Maria, she had fair, beautiful features. Her father's bright red hair, however was not present. Hers, by contrast, was a dark green, like algae but not at all any less visually striking. Like maria, her eyes were also as green as emeralds, and the jewels were nearly identical though Arian was ten years her elder. Her attire was like that of Royalty below the surface. She had a gold tiara, similar to Maria's actually. She wore only a bra of golden clamshells, holding back a bust that was actually quite large, larger than her younger sisters. A golden chain connected them, and her lower half, greener than her hair in her mer form. She spoke, and it was a voice so similar to her own it shocked Maria. It is quite a long story, my dear sister. Come with me, I will find a more fitting setting. she said beckoning Maria within the vast underwater city, all within a single palace. Maria looked to her dragon, who puffed icy rings up from his nostrils which rose slowly to the surface. Well of course, he can come too. I have a friend he should meet as well. she said as Intet very haughtily waded in, his body moving more like a snake than any other kind of reptile. Maria followed her lead, looking around as they swam. Everything was so sparkly, especially compared to the darkwaters that had been surrounding them previously. The city hustled and bustled with activity, mer and there seashell bonds hurried along, carrying this or that, some greeting Arian, or her majesty as they called her. Her sister, too was a queen? Back in their old village her parents were among the leaders, though there was no real governing body there. Maria got some strange looks, but passed it off as having to do with the elven ears that poked from the lashes of red hair, inconsistently braided and with seashells as well as elven adornments tacked in. That or the weapon of absolute power she held, or perhaps even the fact that her dragon was so freakishly huge. Maria was speechless, too, at the world they lived in. Kaminae's death those years ago released her grip upon our throats and with this space vacant, many of those free of her enslavement wanted to destroy it and purpose the gold to other things. Instead, I asked a question. 'Why not use it in it's state. A golden city, and a shining example of unity below the seas.' She mused as they reached a room higher up in the massive palace, where she and maria "sat" on soft giant clamshell seats. Not everyone wanted to stay. Some were eager to leave, to branch out. We, instead, chose to live on here in spite of Kaminae. You'll have to excuse people. Seeing a piece of belfast, even in that state, my strike sour notes. Maria let go of the weapon, and it seemed to fade into the water. "Now they can just stick to staring at my ears." Maria joked. Arian seemed to be inquisitive but didn't want to be rude so Maria giggled before speaking again. "Well, my time on the surface has been very eventful. I met the ruler of most of the land, and became a knight, essentially. And then I killed a failed ruler of another nation who let it fall to naught. I ended up a vassal, a queen below only him, of the forest lands known as Kranilla. And then I united that land with another through marriage... but my wife died, sadly. Oh yeah I married a woman but it was mostly a power play. She was quite good at... ahem. Anyway I was chosen by the sun god after I killed Kaminae with help from the underwater city ruler and became her champion. But I ended up... um, well I basically had to save the elf lands, Kranilla, from a blight and honestly in hindsight it worked out because I met an ancient elven guardian who accidentally unleashed it and I merged souls with him. And then the merge combined with genemods i used to get stronger killed me and intet and Solonor, the sun god, abandoned me and let it happen and I became a host to a swarm of insects but niraliel turned back time and saved me and Pronta. Oh I forgot to mention my mountain lands Yuran, which i got through marriage was destroyed by Zachariah, but i actually helped him be destroyed as well. I tore his heart out to save the old night city, after he did a last ditch destroy the world thing after he was slain. Then I spent a year making the border between my lands evaporate and made the places even better. Speaking of demons" Maria stopped to inhale. "I was notified by Solaris, god of demon hate, that there are demons down here?" she asked going from bubbly to highly serious in seconds. Arian, honestly, had no idea where to begin and so sat with her jaw agape. Rather than say anymore Maria simply hovered there in her sisters home waiting. Well that would explain why I haven't heard from you in such a long time. We heard of many things on the surface but I didn't know how... involved you were until recently. That night when Kaminae came I very barely escaped destruction. It was by the grace of our parents that I lived. When you ran, I was knocked unconscious immediately by a swift strike from behind, no doubt our mother, and when I awoke it was inside of a frozen ball of ice that drifted far away from our original home. I returned to Kaminae's kingdom, aware that my parents were dead and my sister would never be seen again. I searched for you of course but the ocean is huge, and the loyalists were everywhere. I had no assistance in finding you. I gave up on it. Eventually I did realize there was nothing I could do but wait for her to be killed, along with the other secret dissenters. The moment she called her mer into an army to fight on her behalf I was forced into the role. I narrowly escaped death yet again at the hands of the Fronta fleet. When the dust settled I was of the few elder Mer left in the community. You can imagine the communities rallied together, with their leaders gathering here across the ocean world, even some islands as of yet uncharted across the great ocean are inhabited. They too answer the call. As you did." Maria nodded in understanding. She was to be included in this world, this metropolis. She smiled and nodded in understanding but before she could speak a rather large dragon, just as large as Dominus in fact, swam through the open door, his swimming hastened as he found his way to Arian. He seemed panicked for some reason, and Maria immediately was on her guard. Arian touched the beasts head, his blue body smooth as if he had spent his whole life underwater, and had seen less conflict than Dominus and Maria. Still the reptile looked as if he had urgent nose and Arian's face twisting suddenly told Maria her hunch was on the money. "Demons in the great ocean are like Leviathans. They are massive, terrible beasts and just as territorial as the great sea witch herself was. It would appear one of them, a twisted perversion of a Turtle Titan, aims to come here and is making a slow wade towards the city. I fear for the Golden City should he arrive." Maria swam to Dominus and knelt on his head. "I swore an oath to an old god that I would protect nature and life at all costs. I leave for now, but I will return... with help. Arian..." Maria stumbled a little. "Be safe, dear sister," she melodiously spoke in Meritian before with a grunt and flap of both wing and tail Dominus began his ascent.
• Seashores The Mer are hyper-aware of everything around them, their five senses deeply active. They feel the light touching their shoulder, the running about of the small creatures, everything. They're very perceptive, moreso than most races. Furthermore, when listening through a conch (many Mer carry one everywhere), they can hear things for hundreds of meters around them.
• Seashells The Mer are capable of speaking to all sea creatures, although they have the closest connection to the small ones. Tiny little creatures like crabs, shrimp and the littlest of fish, they often reach out to the Mer to protect them from the predators of the sea. A young Mer will often form a powerful bond with one of these creatures, and this enables them to quite literally share their longevity with this creature. The lifespan of the small creature they bond with will increase, making them as long-lived as their Mer companion, although they will also die if their Mer dies (though the Mer will not die if the companion dies). This life-long companion counts as a pet rather than a summon, but at high ranks, it can become extremely deadly.
The creature grows with you in ranks, and will also rapidly grow in size, into something that is simply unusual for its species. It should be noted that this creature will evolve into being capable of breathing/walking on land. Some animals are obvious; a lobster, a crab, etc. Less obvious ones such as regular fish will evolve in highly strange ways, some of them even turning out to look nearly parallel to a Mer. These creatures can have their own movesets. Furthermore, they can eventually, if desired, take up the summon slot and the seashell slot -- which would enable them to grow in power immensely.
• Masterful Dragon Riding The dragoon must spend a considerable amount of time riding on their dragon, and must know how to ride on them from every single part of the dragon without falling off. This takes a considerable amount of time to do, but once accomplished the dragoon will be able to accomplish incredible feats, such as holding onto a single dragon spine with one hand while your dragon is in an upside down position mid flight, whilst still being able to use your weapon proficiently.
• Telepathy As the name implies, it is a simple form of telepathy between you and your dragon. Thoughts, images, emotions, sounds... pretty much anything can be felt in this link, and it is a constant link. If the dragon is hurt, the dragoon can sense it, and vice versa. This however, also prevents the two from lying to each other, as they can see what the other is truly thinking.
• Soft Landing A passive all dragoons must learn, as without learning this skill, when they performed their super high jumps they would simply splatter against the ground. Once this technique is learned the dragoon can survive falls from incredible distances, and come out unharmed.
