Once there lived a fair young maiden called Cliona. Cliona loved the sea, and dreamed of exploring its depths. One fine morning, Cliona was offered passage on a fishing vessel, which she graciously accepted. The ship was sturdy and beautiful, and Cliona was elated to be traveling out to sea. But not many hours into their voyage the weather turned sour, and the sea began to churn. The wind blew through the sails, cutting them to shreds with its daggers of rain. Cliona was ushered below decks as the fishermen fought in vain to keep their ship above the waves. Cliona felt the ship struggling to stay afloat, and started when she was splashed with sea water pouring in from above. The ship turned and tumbled and filled with water, as Cliona fought to escape the wooden cage.
Under the sea, swam a young merman. He saw the little ship slowly falling to the bottom of the sea, and rushed to find the sailors, but none were around. He then heard scratching from the inside of the ship, and found the young maiden inside, running out of breath. The merman quickly helped the maiden out of the ship, and carried her to the surface.
Cliona had lost consciousness, and awoke on a large piece of driftwood in the middle of the ocean. She looked around, nothing but sea stretched on and on to the horizon. She vaguely remembered a man saving her, and called out, but none answered her.
Under the sea, the merman watched Cliona as she struggled to make her way back to land. He decided to help her one further, and taking ahold of her makeshift raft from underneath, pushed her back to shore.
Cliona started when she started moving swiftly through the water. She looked down on the one side of the raft, and saw the tail of some great fish, which seemed to be what was propelling her. She looked on the other side, and gasped when she saw the face of a handsome young man. The merman smiled up at her kindly, and she smiled back. Cliona laid on her stomach on the raft, the sun burning into her back, and watched the merman as he swam. She would find a way to repay him, she determined.
The maiden had started watching him. She was very beautiful, especially now that she was conscious. The merman thought of talking to her, but decided against it. She was a human after all. But he would enjoy the moment he had with the maiden.
Cliona had dozed off on the raft, and awoke again on the land. She was laying on her stomach still, on the beach with the tide water tickling her feet. She wondered for a moment if she had imagined the young man, but it had seemed too real for that. If she had imagined him, then who was it that had saved her?
Cliona decided she had to find this man again.
Under the sea, the young merman could not shake Cliona from his mind. He had memorized her face on the long ride back to shore. He wanted to meet this maiden, and he was adamant about doing so. He knew of a sea witch, who was said to grant the wishes of poor souls for a small price. He would become human, and then he would find her and ask her to return with him to the sea.
The merman scoured the seas looking for the sea witch, and when finally he found her he was desperate. He was worried that the maiden would by then have forgotten him, or found another who she loved and his efforts would be in vain. The sea witch promised she could indeed make him human, but with a catch. The effects of the spell would become permanent if he did not find his maiden and bring her back to the sea with him. He agreed to her terms, and before he knew it, he found himself on a beach, his strong tail replaced by a pair of legs, and his gills by lungs.
And with that, the merman began his search for Cliona.
In her researching how to find the young merman, Cliona discovered a sorcerer who was said to be able to transform creatures into other creatures. Cliona decided that she would search out this sorcerer and ask him to make her a mermaid. Then she could find the young man and thank him for saving her. She would also be able to explore the sea that she had always loved so much.
Upon finding the sorcerer, Cliona discovered that there was a catch to his spell. Once cast he could not reverse it. She would be forever a mermaid swimming in the sea. Cliona thought for a short moment, and decided that she would be okay with that. The spell was cast, and Cliona found herself shortly in the depths of the sea, her slender legs replaced with a beautiful tail, and her lungs replaced with gills.
The two of them searched and searched, each for the other, but neither to any avail. Until one day, the merman, now a man, was sitting by the sea, gazing wistfully at his once-home. Cliona happened to be doing the same, and from under the water, she saw a face she recognized clearly. Their search was at an end, but all their efforts amounted to naught.
