The Nereid, a race of shy, solitary aquatic Fae. Little is known of them, apart from their homes in the Reef and their dislike of company that isn’t one of their own. When they become of age, they set off from their mothers’ homes to search for a place of their own. Rarely do they interact with one another afterwards, though on occasion they may encounter a Nereid, and perhaps even live together with each other should their homes be close enough to one another.

They may not often leave home, but this does not preclude them from being aware of the Reef they call home. And currently, within the Hynix Grand Reef, there were more than a few near the barriers which were confused. The waters seemed nearly devoid of life in a rather large area, and yet there had never been more mana in them than now. Many were torn on going to investigate, while most wouldn’t abandon their homes, they were deeply interested in understanding what had happened, and perhaps even improving their own homes.

However, none had decided to brave the trek. They lived in the Fringe, corals, shells, and any other items that could obscure their movements were already sparse, and they had already seen far more than usual sapients recently. While it wasn’t a certainty that leaving the safety of their homes was a bad idea, few were willing to risk doing so, at least for the moment.

However, slightly further away, in the Barrier, the Nereids had grown restless, many of them were removed from one or more of the symptoms plaguing that area of the Reef, be it having vastly more mana for no explicable reason, seeing far more sapient traffic than ever before, or all the life in the area disappearing overnight.

They were confused, and some even scared. They met amongst one-another, forming groups with their peers, something not often seen with Nereids. While they too didn’t try and investigate, nothing but the oldest and most powerful would feel comfortable meeting with other races, word began spreading amongst their own numbers of an interesting, curious, or frightful occurrence happening towards the Fringe, nearing a time when young Nereids would once more venture out to find their future homes.

Mothers were worried for their daughters, and those daughters too were frightened by the prospect of being caught. Should things progress as they had been, many would try instead to find a home nearer to the ReefHeart, but that too was fraught with peril, and even the strongest of them-the strongest of any race-could find itself losing their lives in but a moment. And so, unease spread through the Fae of the Hynix Grand, though they knew not of the cause.

~~~~~

Whilst the Nereids worked themselves into a fit over the strange occurrences, the other sea-faring Fae in the world were blissfully unaware of their plight, far too busy enjoying the outcome of these unusual happenings. Oceanids, embodying almost everything the opposite of Nereids. Where the latter liked calm and seclusion to the point of being asocial, the former could almost never be found without at least a partner, and more often in massive groups.

They were also entirely homeless, and almost never even stopped moving. Huge groups would often be seen travelling to and fro across the open oceans, seemingly always happy as they did so. They would actively seek out sapients, playing games on or with them, hoping to have conversations, pestering them over one thing or another, and any manner of tricks. Seen as good luck for their ability to not only alert someone to danger, but also seeming to actively repel it, they were beloved by most.

To the mild mannered, they were a pleasant surprise, a means to pass the time when on or in the barren waters of the Deep. To those with a more social inclination, they were nothing less than a blessing; a creature who seems to live entirely just to have fun is hard to turn down when one wishes to do the same.

However, to those with more malicious intent, Oceanids can be a disaster. Anyone they know to have hurt one of their own is advised by all to avoid the open ocean at all costs, both for their own safety and that of those around them. Stories, tales, retellings, and even studies on the subject showed time and time again that to draw the ire of one Oceanid was to draw the wrath of dozens, hundreds, even thousands. And while they may not be very strong or intimidating themselves, even en masse, they were more than capable of finding something which was.

The super-group which lived near the Hynix Grand was no different, they showed no mercy in eradicating those who were bold enough to return to their domain after proving themselves unworthy, whether they were they surface race or aquatic. And oddly, in recent days, there were far more of those who had earned their displeasure returning. These unintelligent fools were met with maritime catastrophes, be they creatures of legend or storms from myth, the oceans favored the Fae far more than it did the interlopers, and was more than eager to prove it.

Of course, there were more innocent these days, too, and the Oceanids were overjoyed at having an amount of company they’d never even thought possible. Ships were lined from the Reef to the horizon, caravans idled forward through the ocean, aquatic races staffed to guide them from parts unknown to this corner of the world, they even witnessed huge flocks of aerial races flying overhead from time to time.

Through idle conversation with more than a few travelers, they learned that there was a Dungeon in the Reef, something curious indeed, but not world-shaking to the Fae. They were very happy, though, that it came to be, and brought about more traffic than they had ever thought to be possible for their slice of the sea. As the number of visitors steadily increased, so too did their enjoyment.

Masses of Oceanids patrolled near the Reef, stuck in their perpetual party, and looking for any who they could share this with. They had gotten thoroughly worked up and were more than pleased to share this riotous mood with any who pass by.

~~~~~

Sela woke up, finding that sometime during the night she had been entombed by all three of her new spirits. While she was unsure of how she got into this position, their icy warmth and soft light hampered her ability to try and deduce the answer for a while. Eventually, she gave up contemplating it altogether, and rolled over back to sleep. One of her hibernating hug-pillows shivered at her disturbance, then quickly flickered itself more snugly into her arms.