It's a mer...person. God knows what sex it is, but I'm sure it's not the one that kidnapped me. That one had smaller, uh, wings.
It's a mermaid, in the most abstract of terms. Ariel, she's not.
It's some kind of merperson, or what the book called the Maerum.
It's a mermaid.
It's Maerian female.
It's the Queen of the Maerum.
It's a spear...a harpoon, I guess it's called in maritime terminology.
It's a harpoon.
It's a glowing green substance that's spread evenly across the walls, providing light and heat.
It's the precious substance called Tanyenn.
Great view.
It's a pretty blue crystal.
I didn't get much out of our first conversation, so...no point, really. I need to find some other way to communicate with her.
I need to find some other way to communicate with her.
(strange bubbling sounds)
Why did you bring me here?
Who are you?
Nice tail.
(strange bubbling sounds)
(strange bubbling sounds)
Lucky me. I'm stuck at the bottom of the sea with Bubbles the Mermaid.
There has got to be a way to communicate with these creatures.
(bubbling sounds)
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Yes. We understand.
You have passed the two tests of the Gatherer, landwalker. Breathing water and speaking the tongue of the Maerum. You can serve us now.
Can we talk for a minute?
Yes, Gatherer. We may.
Weird. I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I shouldn't be able to understand what you're saying...but I do.
Serve you?
You have been brought here to serve us as the Gatherer of Tanyenn.
Are your people called the Maerum?
We are the Maerum. Most landwalkers call us mermen, or merpeople, but the Maerum is our name in truth.
Who are you, ma'am?
We are the Queen of the Third City of the Maerum, Enlightened Keeper of the Tanyenn, Protector of the Light.
I'm sorry, your...your majesty. I really had no idea you were a queen.
We are just a Queen. Our function is to serve the people, to light our cities, provide food for our men and children, and to protect them from the Snapjaw that hunt us in the dark.
Thanks for your time.
We will call on you soon, to begin your service. Until then, you should stay inside the landwalker's bubble, and away from the dark waters where the Snapjaw lurk.
Thanks for your time.
My time is yours, Gatherer.
Who or what is the Waterstiller?
The Waterstiller is in our prophecies. She is the landwalker who will make us a people united, and end all strife.
So you're at war with other Maerum?
No, and so the time for the Waterstiller is still to come. We are at peace with other Maerum.
What else can you tell me about the Waterstiller?
She will come among us by providence, and she will take something from us that we have kept hidden for many generations.
What is it the Waterstiller will come to take from you?
We do not know. But she will open up the ancient shrine, and bring light to darkness. She will destroy a Snapjaw with her spear, give witness of her mission, and then she will reunite us.
She sounds like a swell person.
She is the Waterstiller. She is prophecy.
I'd like to learn more about Tanyenn.
Certainly. What do you wish to learn?
Why was the cave with the altar and the wall paintings just outside the city abandoned?
What? Show us this cave, immediately!
Do you know where my ship went down?
The vessel you foolishly travel in above the water? It rests not far from the city, just past and beyond the landwalker's bubble where you were first brought.
Where did you say I could find the shipwreck?
Just past and beyond the landwalker's bubble.
Do you know the island of Alais?
Yes, we know the island of Alais. Our Gatherers find Tanyenn there, and the Maerum once had a city in the shallow waters below it.
Can you bring me there?
Until your training is complete, you cannot go gathering. We can not risk losing you to the Snapjaw, or to have you desert your duties to our people.
How long will my training take?
Six cold oceans.
Six years? Sure, that makes sense. Everything in this world takes ages.
I've been told that you worship an old god who lives in the deep.
How did you come by this forbidden knowledge?
I...picked it up on my way here. Could you take me to him?
You? No, we can not. Unless you are Maerum, you are not even allowed to speak of our sleeping god.
I think it is dead.
What's Tanyenn?
I'm nobody's servant.
I'm not supposed to be here.
Tanyenn is life. Tanyenn brings light to darkness, and sustenance to our caves. Tanyenn keeps the Snapjaw from our children, and heats us when it is cold. Tanyenn is life.
You are mistaken, landwalker. Your life is ours, now. You serve us. We took you from your death into our life.
I was perfectly capable of saving myself, thank you very much.
Landwalkers do not survive long in the heat of the yellow fire without their unsalted water. You would have been dead by the next darkness.
You are supposed to be here. You are now a Gatherer, and your service will ensure the survival of our people.
Where does Tanyenn come from?
How does Tanyenn do all those things you said?
Tanyenn provides warmth, and light. It draws the harvest close--
Harvest?
The creatures of the sea that we eat. The goldentail, and the weedeye, and the sandeater...
Fish. You're talking about fish.
The harvest, yes, that is what we said. The harvest is drawn to the light, and to the heat. But the Snapjaw are clever, they stay away, they know the light allows us better aim with our spears.
Why can't you gather Tanyenn yourself?
Our Gatherers collect it from the caves and shores of the islands, but there is less Tanyenn to be found each season, and we need help.
We do, but we cannot move far from our cities, or the Snapjaw will hunt us, and eat us. If we travel in force, we leave our men and children without guard.
And we cannot travel too close to the islands, or the Wingdemons may catch eye of us. They leave our Gatherers alone, though, so you have nothing to fear.
Who are the Wingdemons?
Ugly, leathery creatures who defy nature to fly up there, in the sky. They are evil, and live to destroy our people.
Don't the Snapjaw kill the Gatherers?
Rarely. Your meat is bitter and tough, not soft and tender like ours.
I won't ask how you know that.
I think I've learned enough about Tanyenn for now.
You have learned nothing. But your training will teach you what you need to know.
Thanks, I don't have any more questions about Tanyenn.
(angry high-pitched noise)
Leave the spear be. It belongs to the Waterstiller.
Sorry.
Do you need this?
No, we do not. You may take it.
(soft bubbling sounds)
Here's proof of my mission -- a magical talisman with the sign of the Balance. It means that I'm the Thirteenth Guardian of the Balance.
You have fulfilled that part of the prophecy. If you fulfill the rest, we will acknowledge you as the Waterstiller.
I've taken from you the object you've kept hidden for generations. It's part of the disc that will restore the Balance, and save the twin worlds from Chaos.
Here's a tooth from the dreaded Snapjaw that guarded the shipwreck, proof of my strength and courage.
We will hold on to the piece of the disc you found in the temple. If the Wingdemons -- the Alatiens -- agree to meet us, we will bring the stone.
Who is the Waterstiller?
She is of the prophecies. She will bring an end to strife and unite our people.
How can I prove that I'm the Waterstiller?
You have uncovered the ancient shrine and brought light to the darkness. But this could be just chance. You must show us the witness you carry of your mission to the Balance.
The talisman! Damn. I lost it when the storm hit us.
You must also kill a Snapjaw with a spear, and then you will have proven yourself to us. Once you have done this, we will aid you in your quest to make us one people.
Where do I begin?
Take this spear and slaughter a Snapjaw. This must be done to prove your strength, and to prove you are of the Maerum.
Where do I find the Snapjaw?
If you are the Waterstiller, you will find a way.
You have indeed fulfilled all but one of the prophecies. You might yet be the Waterstiller. We would not have thought she would come in our lifetime.
There is but one more prophecy you must fulfill.
There's more? Sure, there's always more. That's the fun part about prophecies.
You must unite our people once again.
But you said you were united, that there's no strife between Maerum.
The Waterstiller will come to bring our people together again, to unite us and save us. This has still not come to pass. Until you do so, the prophecies of the Waterstiller have not fully come to pass.
Good. Then you'll take me to your sleeping god?
Where did you find it? It looks very old.
I believe one of the children found it just outside the city, not far from the landwalker's bubble, among the seaweed by the rocks.
We have used it for decoration in our hall, but you are welcome to it. Consider it a gift, Gatherer.
Where did you find the crystal again?
Among the seaweed by the rocks not far from the landwalker's bubble.
No, it is of no value to us.
I think I know now what the prophecies mean when they say your people will be reunited.
The Maerum are at peace with each other, yes? But you're not at peace with the Alatien, the Wingdemons.
They are our enemies.
Right now, they might be. But it wasn't always like that. Not according to the carvings in the temple cave.
What do you mean?
Once upon a time, long ago, the Maerum and the Alatien were one people.
What? This is heresy!
I'm just telling you what I saw in your temple. This was a very long time ago, mind, and the one species soon divided in two. One sought refuge in the sea, the other on the winds.
But both the Maerum and the Alatien were dependent on the other for various reasons, amongst them Tanyenn, which was abundant where the two people lived in close proximity to each other.
Apparently, there was peace between your two people for a very long time, but then something happened, something that caused a war to break out.
Both the Alatien and the Maerum moved far away from each other, and ever since then, your people have had a tough time finding Tanyenn.
I think the only way to save the Maerum from a slow death -- and the Alatien as well, probably -- is to reconcile you with your, uh, common ancestry.
How can we believe you, Waterstiller? Your words are too outrageous, and the consequences, were you to be speaking the truth, are...grave.
If you don't believe me, check out the temple walls. The whole story has been recorded there, probably when you first came to this place.
But what will our people say? What will they think when we tell them they are brothers and sisters to the Wingdemons?
You're their queen, and so you'll have to make them understand and accept their heritage. As must the Alatien, I expect. And I don't think it'll be any easier for them to come to terms with their history.
You must go to them, then, to find if our temple speaks the truth, and if they are willing to speak with us like civilized people.
I guess I must, Waterstiller or not. If you don't reunite with them, you will die, eventually.
We will bring you to the shores of their closest island, and we will await word from you on their answer.
Does this mean you believe me?
You are the Waterstiller. You are prophecy. We will follow your directions and fulfill our destiny.
One of our people will bring you to Alais, a night's journey from here. Once there, you will find the Alatien and speak with their leaders. If they agree to meet, then we will do so in a place of your choosing.
I promise I'll do my best. Goodbye.
Safe journey, Waterstiller.