The Sea Princess and The Storyteller

Chapter Twelve: YAM AND ADIR

Lord Yam and Adir were identical twins. Twins were fairly common in the merfolk world, as mermaids had an approximately one in seven chance of laying two eggs at a time. They were born, to middle-class Reddian parents named Alara and Dalit, during a lunar eclipse. Mer-babies who are hatched during a lunar eclipse are often born with mental or physical impairments. In the case of Lord Yam and Adir, they completely lacked a capacity for empathy. The Grand Vizier of Reddia was ruthlessly pragmatic, but his heart was not quite as icy cold as his twin brother Adir's.

Both of the twins had been excellent students in their youth. Adir served as the valedictorian of their graduating class at the Reddia Private Academy for Young Mermen, and Yam had been the salutatorian. Following their graduation from secondary school, Yam enlisted in the Reddian Royal Force and Adir continued his education at the University of MexiSea, which was located eight thousand nautical miles away from Reddia.

Yam's superiors in the Reddian Royal Force had been impressed that he wasn't the least bit squeamish about learning how to use a spear, unlike the majority of new recruits. Within a few short years, he rose in the ranks. After serving in the Eleven Days' War, he was offered the position of Grand Vizier to the newly crowned King Bahr of Reddia.

Adir majored in Magical Studies at the prestigious University of MexiSea. For as long he could remember, he had been deeply fascinated with magic, and had grandiose ambitions of becoming the most powerful Sea Wizard in the four oceans.

He learned at the University that mermaids tend to have a much stronger natural aptitude for magic than mermen. Adir was easily the most magically gifted merman in his class, but his skills paled in comparison to most of the mermaids at the University of MexiSea...especially compared to Tempest.

Tempest, who had jet black hair, a shiny silver fishtail, and the curious habit of singing in her hauntingly beautiful voice instead of speaking, was the only mermaid Adir had ever felt romantically attracted to, even though of course he also envied her exceptional talent for magic. Unfortunately for Adir, Tempest did not reciprocate his infatuation with her. Her adamant rejection of his affections further hardened Adir's already steely heart. As far as he was concerned, nothing, not even love, really mattered except for power.

Due to his single-minded obsession with eventually becoming the greatest Sea Wizard in the merfolk world, Adir, for many years, made his home in a cavern in the Wilderness just outside of Mediterrania, and spent his days re-reading his old Magical Studies textbooks and practicing his skills. On a rare visit to his family in the merfolk kingdom of Reddia, he purchased two ancient, dogfish-eared books from a dealer of rare antiques at the marketplace. One of the books was a slim volume about the Pearl of Wonder and the Cavern of Enchantment, and the other one was a tome entitled "Sirenology".

At the University of MexiSea, Adir had learned a bit about Sirens, who were wicked mermaids who lured hapless human sailors to their deaths with their enthralling singing voices. "Sirenology" was written in Archaic Pacifican, a dead language that virtually no Reddian merfolk understood, but, as luck would have it, Adir had diligently studied at the University. An Archaic Pacifican class had been a required course for Magical Studies majors.

According to "Sirenology", "some merfolk theorize that Sirens are mermaids whose hearts have turned cold as ice, as a result of heartbreak or trauma. Others claim that Sirens are mermaids who have extensively dabbled in dark magic...there has been only one recorded case of a male Siren in thousands of years of merfolk history...". Adir wondered if he could become the second male Siren in history.

The book also said that Sirens developed a predatory mindset. In sharp contrast to nearly all other mermaids and mermen, Sirens usually had no ethical qualms about hunting, killing, and eating sentient marine animals, such as fish and crustaceans. Adir decided to break the Forty Commandments of Amphitrite by adopting a carnivorous diet. Consuming a copious amount of swordfish, sea bass, daurades, groupers, red shrimp, European lobsters, and common octopi, as well as the occasional adorable baby dolphin, helped Adir to build robust muscles all over his body, and he took sadistic pleasure in stalking and murdering sea creatures who were smaller than him. One day, though, he came across a Wild spotted parrotfish that was so beautiful even Adir could not bring himself to kill it. Instead, he brought the green and pink fish home with him, and named the creature Deniz. After all, villains in sea nymph tales sometimes had sidekicks! Much to Adir's surprise, Deniz was not exactly an ordinary Wild parrotfish. His cute and colorful sidekick had the unique ability to repeat whatever his master says, which Adir surprisingly perceived as charming rather than annoying.