The World Oceans

First fanfic on the wiki featuring my first four characters. Hope you like it.

Maher

Tanya

Thalassa

Thuren

## Prologue

A storm was brewing.

The fierce wind whipped over the surface of the Loch Ness lake, foaming white caps disrupting the usually pristine waters. Lightning flashed and disappeared like a cat being chased by a dog, followed by a boom that sounded like the baying of a loud hound. The sky was an ancient stone grey, clouds rolling about, stuffed with rain that poured down in freezing torrents.

A white horse broke the surface of the water. Long, dark green seaweed-like hair hung from its neck and tail. Barnacles clung to the slippery wet mane and tail, crabs gripping onto the seaweed-like hair with minuscule claws. The horse grunted and shook its head, flinging water back into the air and crabs onto the ground. It turned around whinnied at the lake, where a forehead appeared, a pair of feminine brown eyes half-below and half-above the water.

"Go back to where you came from, salt-drinker." the horse spat, its human words slurred by a heavy Scottish accent. The figure in the water said nothing, eyes staring back at the horse. "You miserable sharks! Go back to the dirty depths of the ocean where you belong!" The horse reared, snorting angrily.

"And you, kelpie, should be ashamed of your assistance to the darkness." Another form appeared in the water, this time stretching her head above the water. Her cream white skin was assailed by her wet brown hair being flung about in the wind. Her golden brown eyes glared definitely at the white mare.

"I have no shame in assisting someone who will give me what I want." growled the mare, pawing at the mud. "You and your 'peacemakers' condemn creatures like us, forcing us to live in the dirty waters of the world." The oceanid's face broke out into an ugly snarl.

"Then you should have thought about your actions long ago," the oceanid snarled, "when you could have." The two of them disappeared under the raging surface of the lake, shimmering scales flashing to the depths.

"TRAITOROUS COWARDS!" the horse neighed to the wind. "YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED, LOCKING US IN THE MISERABLE LAKES AND RIVERS OF THE DRYGROUND!" Her withers shook with rage.

"I take that you've been trying to apprehend the artifact." A woman appeared next to the mare, who immediately bowed her head.

"Yes, yes, Mistress Gihipa." the mare said. The woman took the kelpie's chin and forced the mare to look her in the eyes.

"You understand what it means if you do not?" Mistress Gihipa replied evenly, a dark edge to her voice.

"Yes, Mistress Gihipa." the kelpie responded fervently, nodding her head. The woman straightened.

"I expected more of you, Akloclea." Mistress Gihipa smiled grimly. "Do try better." With that, she disappeared into a twisted cloud of inky mist and floated away, leaving the kelpie alone on the battered shore of Loch Ness.

## Chapter One

Tanya sat on the couch, spooning her morning cereal into her mouth, eyes glued to the TV. "What's this about?" her father asked, whacking a rolled-up newspaper on his palm. Her mother rolled her eyes. "It was all over the news last night. Did you fall asleep on the couch again?" Tanya looked back at her parents in time to see her dad look sheepishly away. A voice brought her back to the TV.

"This is Cheryl Thames, reporting live from the city of Typhri, where *another* attack has happened. As you can see, buildings are destroyed, roadways are torn up, and, worst of all, merpeople *killed.* We have a witness from the horrific event." A man beside the green-tailed reporter smiled shyly at the camera. A caption appeared under them: *Kyle Laiken, Witness.*

The reporter shoved the microphone underneath Kyle's chin. "Well, um, yes, this is what happened." Kyle stuttered, gesturing to the disaster. "My family and I were vacationing here from Nord Glacies, b-by Greenland, a-and we were heading out to dinner from our hotel. We were coming down the s-sidewalk here when there was a loud bang and three or four merpeople came out of a building behind us. They had something, I don't know what, but a second later black sludge was filling the water around us."

Cheryl turned back to the camera and grimaced into it, taking the microphone back. "This is just another attack from around the oceans that has happened in the past month." Kyle tapped Cheryl's shoulder. She turned to him and put the mic under his chin, her jaw muscles tightening in frustration.

"M-my daughter's in the hospital today. Whatever the sludge was it burned her tail." Cheryl whipped the mic back from him.

"All merpeople who have been affected by this... sludge *will* experience burns wherever it makes contact with them. Alright, Nautilus, back to you."

"Thank you Cheryl. Today, the governor..."

Her mother shut the TV off.