Earthborne

1

*Year: 998

   "I believe you're missing this." A young female mermaid pecked her husband's blue cheek in a playful manner. Her green hair flowed around her like a seaweed halo. The tips of her hair hung beside her lower back, and in her slender hand was a knife carved from the strongest, greyest stone, a gift from the indigenous two-legged creatures from above, and she dropped it in her husband's hand. She and her husband occasionally grabbed the chance to visit the two-leggers at night. The mermaid and merman, along with several other merfolk, would visit the shoreline to trade trinkets, weapons, and food with the surface dwellers. The bond between their people - The Taiyo - and them were mutual, "It would fit wonderfully in that bag I sewed for you." 

   "Anything you create with your gifted hands is a treasure, Amra." the man replied back, and he embraced his wife with his muscled arms, "I'll be right back." 

   "But wait, Ruok, the rumors are true, aren't they?" 

   Ruok's yellow eyes narrowed with wariness, "Are you going to bring up those silly talks from the other tribe? They live across the other side of this land, they cannot possibly know our side of the waters." 

   Amra shot a finger up at him, "But please, let me explain. The white gulls have spoken to us with a message from the Mu'awai. There are terrible men and women in narrow boats that plunder the poor and the unprotected. They kill, Ruok, they have no sense of mercy!" Amra pleaded. 

   "Is that why you have given me this weapon?" 

   Amra didn't reply right away, but soon she nodded and replied, "Yes, I have." 

   Ruok planted his hands on her slender shoulders. He gazed at her hard and straight, "Amra, do not blind yourself with these foul words." Even if he were saying these assuring words to his wife, he wouldn't lie if he said he was growing anxious as well. The only land-born people they knew were the earth-colored people at the coastlines. Compared to the foreigners, the two-leggers were harmless unless threatened. Ruok also knew that the Mu'awai were never wrong in their predictions, and the sudden realization crystallized into a stinking pit in his stomach.

   "Foul words...?" Amra answered, "why would you -"

   He firmly grasped Amra's shoulders again like he needed to standardize the truth, "Alright, but do not underestimate me for I will return. I will see toward the babe's arrival," His eyes cast down towards the egg-shaped lump blooming on her torso. Inside the dome was a life that was worth waiting for, to be seen. He could not miss it, "besides, I have the Light with me." He lifted a hand and with the slight movement of his fingers a glittering, golden glow assimilated between his digits. 

   Amra was hesitant, unsure of Ruok's promise, "Um, I agree," she nodded briefly, "I will pray for your safety and return," She rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, "you better." she muttered in his ear. 

   Ruok chuckled light-heartedly, "Do I ever break a promise?" Amra let go and swam backward a few inches, allowing her husband to make way towards the gaping entrance of the home, which was carved into a behemoth boulder. This open entrance, the circular, center room which was adjacent to this entrance, and other rooms that webbed from the center were all carved by using the Light, which was a force that allowed the Taiyo people, including Amra and Ruok, to manipulate nature. However, it was not the only ability granted to the Taiyo. 

   With a hand on her belly, she drifted towards the mouth of the gap and leaned against a side of the entrance on her side, "Good-bye, I will see you soon." Amra replied, her tone hinting distress. 

   Ruok turned around to face her, "You worry too much." He said, kissing her quickly on the forehead one last time before he swam away with a flick of his dark, cerulean tail. She watched as Ruok disappeared gradually in the distance... and his figure blinked out of existence into the deep blue. She held her stance at the rock for a while before she returned inside to the cooking room to prepare the crabs. Entering the space, she hovered over a stone box and pulled out a crab, snapping its claws at her in panic. Just as she was about to kill it by chomping her teeth through its shell, her head perked up as her eyes blown up with great apprehension. The crab floated down briskly and crawled away to safety. Ignoring the crustacean, Amra quickly set to action and pumped her pregnant mer-self out of her home and towards her husband's location.  

   A warning! Something frightening was going to happen! Amra was breathing in-and-out rhythmically but in a panic. Her mind slightly blurred from going beyond the threshold of her energy. She was carrying a babe and forcing herself to work beyond the limits, but there was a gull! Amra saw its webbed feet dangling in the water.

   Her head popped through the surface of the water, and she bobbed gently until she regained control of her position, "Oh dear, my head..." but then she turned her head towards the presence of a white bird, patiently perched on the surface of the ocean, "White gull..."

   Amra! Amra! A female voice urgently called out, but the seagull wasn't moving its beak. The voice was echoing around the bird. 

   Amra gasped, "It's you, Cho!"

   This is urgent, I plead you to listen!

   "Tell me now, woman!"

   Those monsters, the men and women on the serpent boats! They're coming! I didn't realize it sooner, I wish I had -!

   "No...", Amra's yellow eyes darted back and forth. She was delirious. Her eyes snapped towards the gull who tilted its head at her, " You're saying that those... infidels are out there and so is my husband!?"

   Ruok is out there?? Oh, by the mercy of the gods, why is he out there?

   "I-He... He wanted to warn the humans on land, but I'm not sure if he's going to make it on time." 

   Amra, whatever you do, you stay right there - 

   "I'm going to help him." Amra grounded her next move. She steely eyed the beady-eyed avian. 

   No, wait! Amra, you have an unborn child, you could hurt the both - Amra cut Cho off as he dived back under the water. She wouldn't waste another word of Cho's protests for a second of Ruok's inpending fate. As she pumped her tail and increased her swimming speed, her mind racked with potential futures of her husband, "Come on, come on, can I make it to the coast in time??" She muttered to herself. 

   A pale glow emitted from her chest, preparing her to transform on land. She should have brought a weapon with her, but at least Ruok would have defense first hand.  

~~~

   *Hello, everyone~! Thanks for reading this first-ever, newly-written, hopefully-much-more-wonderful chapter! So I wasn't sure about the vikings' exact year of arriving to America, SO I wrote a random year that was close to the estimate year of 1000. I'll change this information later if I find better research, but in the meantime please leave a vote and a comment and share this budding novel with your friends aaand I'll see you later!