By the time they neared the end of the ravine, Zane was starting to feel more comfortable in his new role as protector. It felt like some part of himself that had been missing for his entire life had finally clicked into place. Who knew that acting as bodyguard for a magical mer prince would be his calling.

And speaking of that ‘magical’ part…

He eased his way closer to Leor, hoping for some tips on how to get started as a mage. Despite being the center of focus for the entire group Leor showed no signs of arrogance… or even leadership. He seemed… young. And now that Zane knew what to look for, as he neared Leor… beneath the ready smiles and singsong chant, he saw a deep, deep emptiness in the young prince’s eyes.

It hit him then just how much this boy had lost. Just how many friends, family members, and close companions must have been killed in the usurper's bloody rise to power.

Feeling suddenly awkward, Zane slowed his swimming without speaking to let Leor pull ahead. As much as he wanted to learn magic, it would feel—

“It’s alright, you can talk to me.” Leor had slowed his movement as well, falling back until he was even with Zane, smiling. “I’m not above conversation.”

“I know that, it’s not—“ Zane flared his gills in embarrassment. “I wanted to learn some magic.”

“What do you mean, ‘learn’?” Leor swam on his side, peering at Zane. “You are Called.”

“Well, yes. I have the aptitude,” he’d pushed that setting all the way up to max along with everything else, so he knew it was possible, “but I’ve never done it. How do I start?”

“How do you start.”

Zane waved a hand irritably, expelling a large bubble from his nose as he snorted. “It was just a question. If you don’t want to teach me, I’ll find someone else.”

Leor gave him a confused, hurt look. "I don't understand. What are you trying to ask?"

"What part of 'please teach me magic' doesn't make sense to you?"

As he spoke, the group emerged from the ravine into a broad open area, one which gave of an undeniable air of cultivation. Similar-looking plants grew in sections spread out far too regularly to be anything but intentional; a patch of waving yellow strands, a region of low pink fluff, a section of tall blue semi-transparent reeds that twisted and coiled like grapevine. No, on closer inspection, the live plants had been woven into a netlike dome which contained schools of thick flat yellow fish with small eyes and orange patches down their tails and fins.

Spires of stone split up the landscape, looking anywhere from twenty to fifty feet high, forming what he thought almost looked like a path. For a moment Zane was dumbstruck, staring out at these clear signs of civilization. He shouldn't have been surprised. He knew there had to be a culture and society here. But seeing it in actual solid proof felt different somehow.

"The 'teach' part." Leor's words interrupted his reverie, the prince continuing on as though this were all an ordinary and mundane sight. Zane floundered a moment to remember what they were talking about, but Leor's next words brought him back to it. "Magic cannot be taught. It is within you or it is not. I can no more teach you to use it than I can teach a rock to swim."

"Then, can you tell me what it's like when you use it yourself?"

"No. It is not a thing which can be described."

Zane felt a shiver run through him, a premonition of danger. He didn't stop to second guess the feeling, just grabbed Leor and dove back toward the ravine they'd just exited.

"Called?"

Before Zane could answer, a dark shadow loomed over them. Zane stared up, both eager to see and afraid of what he might find lurking overhead.

It wasn't, as he'd expected, a single large creature; rather, it was dozens of... sharks? But sharks with horns and four eyes. They swam in formation, each one with two mer strapped to their sides. It took him a moment to recognize that, of course, they wouldn't ride them by sitting on them like an above-water creature, instead they lay streamlined against their mount's side, holding tightly to what he now recognized as reigns.

As they passed, the mers on each shark-thing peered down, their over-large eyes seeming to peer right into Zane's soul before they passed by overhead, leaving silence in their wake.

Zane didn't dare peek out of the crevice until they'd passed by, but he hadn’t waited long enough.

One of the horned sharks was floating just out of sight, its riders turning back to look behind them just as Zane poked his head out of the shadow.

“There!”

Zane heard the shout carry through the water, as the mer riding the side of the shark pointed his way.

Before he could retreat the shark swooped down on him and Zane had no choice but to move or be skewered by its long horn. In a rush of bubbles he pushed off and dove forward. A burst of movement faster than he could have ever accomplished on land back in his old world, but barely enough to escape the enemy.

Then he was out in the open, the shark having missed and collided with the ravine wall, sending stones slowly tumbling down around it as it shook its horn free of the stone and coral.

The others were still hidden. Zane could still protect them, even if from a distance, he’d just have to draw the searchers’ attention to him and away from the prince and his entourage.

So against his instincts telling him to run, Zane dove instead for the nearest outcropping of crumbled rock and tore free a jagged piece, launching himself back toward the shark and its rider.

The rest of the sharks had turned and were coming back, though in a wide spread out formation. Zane had probably a few moments until they reached him.

He dove at the mer on this shark’s side, slashed the bindings connecting him to the shark, and grabbed the now-shortened reins, yanking hard to the side. The shark swerved in a tight turn and the mer rider was thrown off. He recovered quickly, but by then Zane had prodded the shark into motion and it swam straight at the oncoming searchers.

The further he could drag this confrontation away from where Myli, Leor and the others hid, the better.

But it seemed Leor had other ideas.

“Called Cerulin!” he shouted, and the voice caused half the returning shark-riders to focus in on the boy.

“No,” Zane growled, a protective heat building in his chest. “This isn’t going to end before it’s even begun!”

He yanked hard on the shark’s stolen reins and directed it at the nearest of the shark-riders, then swerved at the last second so he slammed into them broadside. Since he hadn’t ever been lashed to the shark properly, only hanging off the half-present harness, he was able to leap free without needing any time.

The enemy riders weren’t so fortunate. The one riding the other side of Zane’s captured shark was speared through by one of his own allies, whose shark was unable to turn fast enough. As blood filled the water in a red haze, the other sharks began to buck and strain against their restraints, fighting their riders as they tried to turn toward the carnage rather than continue their pursuit.

Zane pushed his maxed out strength to its limits, swimming among them faster than he’d ever moved before, slicing his jagged rock against one shark after another, turning the barely-controlled chaos into an all out frenzy.

Then, when the water was so thick with blood and the sound of shouts and the rending of fishy flesh, he finally dove away from the madness and back towards the ravine.

“Quick, we have to move,” he hissed to the others. “Wait, where’s Myli?”

“There,” Leor pointed.

Zane looked up and saw her then. She’d imitated him and was dancing among the edges of the conflict, keeping the chaos going and turning back any mer who started to emerge from the madness.

“I have to help her. You two, get Leor to safety, we’ll catch up.”

Without waiting for a reply, Zane rushed back toward the fight.