The Trials of Ruin and Longing

Ilea

As Ilea shifted, she felt a strange tingling sensation as scales burst across her legs. Teal and turquoise scales exploded into little sunbursts on her tan legs. As they raced across Ilea's legs, her hands shifted into long dagger-like claws. When the scales had fully melded with her body, a wispy tail was formed. 

     Ilea gave her shifted form a few spins to test it. It felt so good to be in this form. To be one with the water once more. She swam into a nearby current, letting it take her where it would. It was fairly easy travels. There was a reason that trade was much quicker in the merfolk kingdoms than those on land. The right currents could take massive loads to a location in about a day or two. 

     Ilea dove into deeper water, exiting the current. Sharks drifted by, and a large pod of whales swam by. She floated in the water for a moment, suspended in the dark water. Her hair drifted around her in ethereal circles, her tail swaying gently. If an onlooker had seen her, they would have mistaken her for a long-forgotten goddess of the sea. 

     Ilea heard a slight whistle, and turned her head to see a variety of dark shapes in the water. They exploded into a blur of white and black, whistles and clicks as they circled her. Ilea couldn't help but laugh. 

     For the shapes circling her were orcas. A least a dozen of them. She had saved a calf almost a century prior, and they just kept following her. Ilea held her hand out to a calf, it's head dwarfing her long skeletal claws. She shifted her claws back into regular hands before proceeding to rub the calf's head. The little creature pushed into her hand a little bit before swimming off to it's mother. A much larger orca approached her, pushing its head into her hands. 

     "Yes, hello to you too." A whistle of joy. Ilea couldn't understand their whistles meant, but they had been around so long, she kind of learned the inflections in the various noises these beautiful hunters made. 

     Ilea swam with the pod for the rest of the night. She played with the calves, rode on the adults when they let her, and had peace in her heart. 

     When they had all paused for sleep, Ilea floated on the surface of ocean. She thought of bar and Thetos and Revellen. She was fairly certain she knew who Revellen was. The sixth heir of Hell, the Prince of the Revel. She never would have suspected he would be so... tired. But being an heir to one of the biggest kingdoms would be pretty tiring. And she had definitely heard of Thetos. Lord to one of the biggest fortunes in the world, and had his fair share of scandals with women. 

     But how did he know about her? Ilea had never gotten tested on the Ragnarok scale in any government facility, but had paid a pretty price for a home tester. She had definitely landed outside of the known scale. But she had expected that. No one could know that she had that much though. It suited her needs better to pretend to be considered part of the merfolk, and that she had exceptional water gifts that was common among merfolk nobility. Ilea hummed for a minute. And why the Trials? She would probably survive, but she didn't want to be responsible for a stranger's death when their only fault is being an idiot for signing up in the first place. 

     She began swimming back to shore, as dawn was surely on the way. The orcas had stayed asleep as she slipped away. As she approached the beach, there was a figure sitting there. She shifted a mile or so out again, her scales sinking into skin and bones remolding into human features. She swam the rest of the way in her human form. As she got closer to the figure sitting on the beach, she saw more and more of the figure. Dark hair, tan skin, and owl eyes greeted her as she made her way on the beach.

     "Here to see what your companion missed out on?" Ilea asked as she made her way to her clothes that someone, presumably Revellen, had a put in a neat pile. 

     "I have someone else. The only thing I'm missing out on is her." Revellen said, his voice comfortable. Ilea proceeded to put on her clothes. When half your body needs to be naked before shifting, she kind of lost any semblance of caring about nudity a while ago. 

     "Is this someone the reason your eyes are so lost?" Ilea finished putting on her sandals when she turned to Revellen. "Or is that due to the insufferable brute who is your companion?"

     "Both, believe it or not. But that's not why I'm here." Revellen held out a piece of paper. Ilea took it from him, examining it.

     "I already told you, I'm not interested. I have no use for the fortune that lies within that cursed maze, and I am perfectly happy on the seas with my crew. I have no use for this agreement." Ilea had been disappointed by the fact that Revellen had come to convince her. She had thought he had been smarter than that.

     "Well, I need you. If I'm going to make it through this maze, I'm going to need another powerful contender on my team." Revellen mused, amusement sparking in his eyes. "Oh, and I know your secret." 

     "What?" That honestly threw Ilea. He had to be bluffing-- 

     "Monsters recognize monsters. I could smell it on you. You're a siren."