Bastian's Song [Complete--Editing]

[ 4 ]

"The most basic form that the Song can take is the physical one."

The sapphire tailed mer-maid adjusted her long braid over her shoulder and smiled at the small school of mer-children. Eight little heads all gazed up at her in various states of awe. Though many had already manifested the first signs of their magical talent, this was to be their first formal lesson.

"When you sing, little ones, you release sound through the water." Her hands lifted up to her chest and then pushed out from her body slowly, mimicking her words.

"All it takes to form the Song is a little willpower. And practice, of course." Seneca dropped her hands and lifted them to her chest once more, repeating the gesture.

Only now, she straightened her spine and sang a staccato beat. "Do re do re."

With each note from her mouth, the wave she pushed outward pulsed with a soft blue magic. Across the room, a pot of sea lettuce whirled in a slow circle towards the edge of the shelf it was on, moved by the gentle blue light of her Song.

Instantly, the children slapped their tails on the floor, a show of excited appreciation. Seneca blushed a pale pink. Introducing the children to magic was always her favorite part of her role in Nereus. It was a time of wonder for all of them.

On average, they were twenty years old and all of them ranged from five feet long to about seven feet at the longest. Their tail colors mirrored their parents, from blues to greens and rarer reds and whites.

In Nereus, station had nothing to do with lineage. So, at almost halfway to adulthood, all of the mer-children in the city who showed an aptitude for magic were gathered and instructed equally.

"Now we will practice the proper stance for basic magic." The mermaid moved through the room, straightening backs and gently tugging small shoulders until her students were all in roughly the same pose; a pose designed to amplify their Songs and project physical manifestations of their magic.

Each mer-child was carefully positioned so they were facing the walls of the room, their backs to one another as they formed a loose circle. Better to cause property damage than to hurt another with untrained magic.

"Gather the breath in your lungs and gently push it out from you. Will the magic within you to respond. See it in your mind and make it so. The words you sing are not important, but the feelings you have to act on the world around you are."

Bastian concentrated, moving his hands up slowly to his chest. In his mind, the water around him was alive and had a will all its own. It was also a dear friend, and could be convinced to do what he wanted if he asked it nicely.

So he did.

He didn't even open his mouth. Bastian was a male child of Triton, and he knew even at a young age that he would never be able to produce a Song. Though he had tried to sing before, he had never been able to overcome the goddess's blessings. The pale mark of the Moon on his right wrist glimmered, as though it sensed his thoughts.

Bastian focused his mind and pushed his arms outward, his hands stretching towards the wall. Warmth filled his chest and suddenly the water lit up gold. His magic slammed into the wall with enough force to dent it. Across the room, the sea lettuce pot fell off the shelf and floated to the ground.

Seneca looked over at the golden tailed prince, her eyes wide. Bastian commenced wiggling his tail in victory. "I did it! Look, miss, I did it!"

The red tailed mer-boy beside Bastian looked over at him, disgruntled. "How did you do that?" He demanded, pointing at the dent in the wall.

Bastian puffed up his chest. "I asked the water to make a wave, and it did."

His neighbor frowned and his muddy red tail twitched in agitation. "Do it again."

The little prince frowned right back. "Why?"

"So I can see how you did it."

"But I just told you how I did it. I asked."

The dark skinned boy huffed at Bastian. "That doesn't make any sense. You can't just make things happen by asking."

Now Bastian was offended. "You callin' me a liar?"

Seneca was about to interrupt the pair before their tiny fists could fly, but she was beaten to the punch by yet another mer-boy.

"'Scuse me." Piped up a boy with a glittering emerald tail. His chestnut colored hair was close cropped and seemed to stick up in wayward tufts. "You can watch me if you wanna see."

Bastian and the red tail both turned to look at the newcomer, distracted.

"What?"

The third boy smiled shyly, revealing dimples in his cheeks. "I said you can watch me if you wanna. I can make it too." He waited a beat before speaking again. "My name is Lachlan. My ma is a Selchie and she's really good at magic. She taught me how ta Sing."

Bastian eyed the red tail, silently sizing him up in case he still wanted to fight. After a minute, his manners won out. "I'm Bastian. It's nice to meet you, Lachlan."

Lachlan beamed at him and looked expectantly to the red tail, who hesitated before nodding.

"I'm Zareb." The mer-boy stuck out a hand to shake Lachlan's. "My mum is of the Wata. But my Carrier isn't very good at magic. His name's Atreus."

Bastian perked up at that. "Atreus? He's in my Uncle Arsenius' group of personal guards!"

Zareb looked surprised. "Yeah. Prince Arsenius is the best warrior the Naiads have, and he is amazing. One day, I'm gonna be part of his guards too, just like Atreus."

"My mom always says Arsenius has more muscles than a tidepool and half the wit. Whatever that means."

Seneca gasped and lifted a hand to cover her mouth.

Zareb thought hard about what Bastian had said. It sounded like an insult, but he wasn't sure. Besides, Bastian didn't look like he was insulting Arsenius, and they were family.

"Weird." Zareb couldn't think of how else to respond.

"I know! I don't get it either." Bastian shook his head. "Adults."

Lachlan busted out laughing, startling the other two boys. "What?" Bastian and Zareb demanded together, now side by side.

"Mussels!" Lachlan managed to gasp out between fits of giggles. "Haha!"

Even though they didn't understand what was happening, Lachlan's laughter was infectious and soon Bastian and Zareb were chuckling along with him.

Seneca relaxed and moved forward, recovered enough to address them as their instructor. "I am glad you three are enjoying yourselves, but you should really be focusing on your magic right now."

She tsked at them and all three mer-boys skittered off to a corner of the room together, still giggling. Together, Lachlan and Bastian helped Zareb form his first magical Song.

From that point onwards, the three were inseparable at lessons. Lachlan, Zareb and Bastian, troublemakers of Nereus.

Though they hailed from different clans, they were brothers in spirit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Slightly edited this chapter to clarify some things, and also patch up some glaring plot holes. Yes, the boys are actually twenty whole years old. It's just that they will live for at least a couple hundred years so they are still "toddlers".