Ever After #7: Waves of Scales

Chapter 1.1 The Order

Three hundred meters under the Western Pacific Ocean, near the Philippines, there was a hidden sea cave where no light from the sun could penetrate. Inside, the four serceans were wearing varying colors of coral crowns, they settled around a circular flat table made of rock while waiting for the Crown of the Order. Their tails, just inches above the ground, were slowly moving Their webbed hands were also gently moving to keep themselves in their position. One of the sercean reached for the rough rock with an odd shape in the center of the table, his hand and talons wrapped the object and shook it until it glowed into a bright white light giving colors to their surroundings.

They were the Elders of the Order of the Philippine serceans. Together, the Order had a crucial role in maintaining the balance in the ecosystem and was designed to preserve and conserve the ocean.

The serceano wearing a red coral crown was the Father of all Senticians. They were tasked to discreetly sabotage any harmful acts of humans against the marine environment and they were the first line of defense of the serceans. The serceana with a blue coral crown was the Mother of all Curaceans, every day they swam the bodies of water around the Philippines to save or rescue the marine animals trapped in fishing lines, choking by plastics, and to cure those with illnesses.

The serceano with the green coral crown was the Father of Floraceans. They can affect marine plants, help create potions for the Curaceans, and supply food for several species of the ocean. On the other hand, the serceana with a violet coral crown was the Mother of all Faunaceans, they have the ability to communicate with marine animals.

Before long, the Crown of the Order finally arrived and came inside the cave, she was the Mother of all Sirenceans. The four family elders bowed in the presence of the highest being in their kind. She was wearing a yellow coral crown. Her family has the least population, but they are the most powerful among the serceans for they have a weaponized voice box. As she took her space, they stared at each other for a second, opening their minds and connecting them all telepathically.

"I called you all today because of this alarming concern of our kind on the land. We need to do something," the Crown of the Order said.

"I lost my connection to Leyrosa today while she was cleaning her apartment. The last thing she said was about her stalker. She felt someone was following and watching her moves." The Father of Senticeans sounded so worried.

"In just a day, we lost all of them." The Mother of Curaceans sighed, "And none of them said or given us an idea of what is going on."

"We need to send a sercean to investigate this, someone capable of handling this alone because we can't risk sending a pack out there," the Crown of the Order suggested.

"And who might that be?"

"My daughter, Asceia."

"I mean no disrespect, Mother Senthuria, but our Order agreed that your species will never step back on the land again after what happened to one of yours a hundred years ago," the Father of Floraceans intervened.

"Yes, I know our history. But this is a different time. As humans discover and learn more about technology, our kind is threatened. We might be the most advanced species on this planet, but we are getting behind because of their technology. We don't know what happened on the land and we have no idea what we will discover. If our species are compromised, I hope it's not, then it's a must to send a sirencean just to be prepared in case anything goes out of hand."

The Father of Faunacean nodded. "I agree. This is the longest time I lost a telepathic connection with my son. If something happened to him and others, we need a sirencean to bring them back."

"Or avenge them..."

The others were hesitant at first. For them, this was one of those moments where they needed to weigh more complicated decisions, but given their situation, they came around and agreed to the plan of the Crown.

"Let's hope this will not end up a war."

°°••°°

FROM THE DEPTHS of the blue water, a serceana arose at her highest speed. She blasted off the water and held her breath. Her projectile brought her to the dock, she fell and dropped on the wood planks and felt the heat of the sun burning her body. The oxygen in the air reacted to her skin: she was descaled, and her thick skin, spines, and nails loosened and dried out quickly, shedding off of her body. Her irises' color changed from yellow to brown. She went into a whole-body metamorphosis, except for her curly hair which remained the same.

She groaned in pain, enduring the process that she hoped would be quick. Her deep moans of pain caused the birds flying overhead to fall into the water and sink. When she noticed the death of birds and the ripples she caused on the water around her, she bit her lip tightly to suppress her voice.

After her transformation that felt like forever, the waves crashing on the docks washed away her skin, leaving her naked. She was panting. Her body was adjusting to the changes, especially now that she was breathing through her nose. She put her arm above her to shade her eyes from the sun, she blinked many times to adjust her sight to the changes in the light intensity. For a while she lay there, listening to the waves, the seagulls mewing, and the wind whispering her to ears. She reached for the nearest pillar of the docks for aid as she pulled herself together. She stood and looked around.

She turned around and stared at the Bato Island, a privately owned secluded island their kind bought from the humans. This island had a cave, which served as their outpost, a place where they needed to go to gather resources before going out into the land of humans. She took a deep breath and started walking, step by step, trying to get used to the hot wood touching her sole, and the balance she needed to maintain.

She was greeted by a man wearing a simple shirt and pants, he was walking barefoot and holding a piece of towel. As he approached her, he quickly wrapped the thick cloth around her body. He smiled and established a telepathic connection through eye-to-eye contact.

"Welcome, Asceia of Family Sirencean. I am Zarro of Family Faunacean. I am the protector of Bato Island. Everything our Order needs, I provide it. And I already prepared everything you need." He led the way and they headed to the mouth of the cave.

"How long have you been here?" she telepathically asked.

"Since I learned how to morph," he answered vocally.

"That's a very long time."

"Yes, but I'm not alone. Sometimes, I have visitors, many serceans stay here to relax."

They entered the cave and inside, she was astonished by the walls filled with numerous hanging things, varying from human clothes, ornaments, and cosmetics, to weapons. Silence filled the whole cave as she stared, touched, and adored them.

"I only prepared your essential things. As for your dresses, you can choose anything you'd like."

"I don't need much...just clothes and I'm good to go."