Meeresliebe

Dolorval Ocean...Dangers?

In the small coastal town of Oceania, which was rarely visited in the summer due to it being so tiny, there was a problem off the coast of the Dolorval Ocean. There were reports that people would encounter scary or troublesome things while in the water, regardless of whether they were from Oceania or not. From possible monster sightings to being caught in whirlpools that could destroy even a toy boat, the people in and around Oceania were on edge about anyone going in, especially late at night. That worry was passed down through many generations, but when one citizen heard it from her parents, she was curious about what dangers were really out there.

Caroline Rue lived with her family a couple of blocks away from the shoreline, and other than when visiting relatives, they never felt the urge to travel anywhere because they had the beach nearby. She had heard the warnings about the possible dangers awaiting those who went past the shore, and even though she wanted to explore the ocean, she held herself back. Not only did she want to wait until she was living on her own, but she also didn't want to have her ideas make her the laughingstock of her family, or the town for that matter. As soon as she was financially stable enough to have a humble beachfront property and a small rowboat, she moved out of her family's home and waited for a chance to explore the Dolorval on her own.

The weather was perfect on the summer evening when she planned to go away from shore, and Caroline made sure she had a small first aid kit on hand before starting to head outside. That was when she decided to grab something last-minute: a token or something to possibly give whatever creatures she found. With that in mind, she found a silver-chained necklace with a flower-shaped pendant made of fake amethysts, which she half-heartedly put on before locking the house and getting her boat. The necklace never really meant much to her, since it was just a chunk of plastic on a weak cord, but she thought it looked nice and decided it would be her token. She then walked further down the shore, looking for a spot where nobody would notice her going out, before finding the perfect place and doing just that. With her first aid kit on her wrist and her oar in hand, she pushed herself away from the land and started rowing away.

While she was scouring the waters for any possible dangers, Caroline's boat was unknowingly being watched by a very curious merman, but not just any merman. Siegfried Del Koi was the ruler of the DeKoi underwater kingdom, but since their kingdom was so little known, there wasn't much to do from day to day. He had heard about the warnings spread amongst the humans, and even though the ocean did contain some monsters, that didn't mean that the visitor population should decrease. Anyway, Siegfried was out for a swim around the castle that night with his servants, and they were in the castle garden when they noticed something casting a shadow over them. That was when they looked up and saw something large, with ripples appearing on alternating sides, and one of the servants volunteered to go investigate.

Just as Siegfried was persuading his servants to let him explore for himself, they saw the boat get caught in a sudden whirlpool, galvanizing everyone into action. Not only did Siegfried and his servants swim up to help the boat before it capsized, but Caroline was also trying to paddle her way out of the whirlpool, and her efforts were unfortunately failing. Thankful that she didn't have a lot on the boat with her, and knowing that she could always buy a new boat in the future, she dove overboard with her first aid kid still strapped around her wrist. As she tried to swim away from the whirlpool before being dragged under, Siegfried grabbed her and started pulling her to the nearest shoreline, all while his servants grabbed the boat and oar before following him. While she was being held in his arms, Caroline wanted to know what was saving her, but she didn't want to open her eyes in case the salt in the water would hurt them.