One day Little Miru, Ardramelk, and The First one (19 years old) went on an adventure to see the world outside of the enclosure. They encountered many animals and surprisingly other oasis as well, for Miru who has never been outside before this whole experience was awesome.
During the height of the sun the three of them as well as other 12 merman militias were searching for a place to rest. There was a cave that appeared to be deep and cool inside, and true indeed as they stepped in it was an enormous space. Miru watched the dark greenish colored stones and the occassional yellow reflecting shots of sunrays. The further in they went the colder the air become, the First one and the other troops were looking at each other with excitement. "Have you guys seen this before?" "No I haven't", "How come such magnificent place and cool escaped the views of the older ones all these time?"
So they went deeper and deeper.
A slight buzzing noise at the ceiling, the cold air were coupled with breezes of humidity. A small figure blasted through the ranks unnoticed. Faint but constant there were sounds of dripping water, and as they couldn't help but getting even more amazed the negligible buzzing became louder, and louder.
First One: Hold on, what?
Troop 1: Hey, listen guys...
Ardramelk: (*pinched eyes) its from the outside, they are... they are...
Everyone: Bees!!!
Soon they were running further in searching for a good hiding spot, but too late the swarm of bees flew in so quickly they passed through them. They were buzzing and spinning everywhere and bumping themselves on the wall and on their bodies.
Troop 2: Help! Help! Help!
First One: Miru!
Ardramelk: He's with me! he's under my shirt!
Miru: Brother they don't seem to be stinging,
Ardramelk confirmed his brother's remark and watched in perplexion as they were flying all over the place, chaotic but harmonious, violent but not harming, it feels almost as if they were crying.
Troop 3: They, They... somehow I feel sadness
Troop 4: How weird
Miru looked around and started to follow one bee that is separated from the others, at the bottom where it flew there's a giant bee lying, its already dead.
Miru watched in perplexion but soon the bee started to crash its body on his face, and then his body, such were as if it was pushing him back towards the entrance of the cave.
Miru: (First One) I think they are trying to tell us to get out of this cave
Troop 5: Oh no!
First One: What is it?
Troop 5: Could this be
Troop 1: What brother?
Troop 2: Oh no!
Troop 5 and 2 together: The Basilisk's cave!
Right after they said that green mist started fuming from inside the cave, a loud shriek blasting through all of the cave, as if a soldier was blowing on a horn in a midst of an ambush.
Miru: Ruuuuuuun!!!
Everyone was running as fast as they could, Ardramelk picked Miru up and Miru, with his strengthening magic reinforced his brother's muscles so that they wouldn't tear even when he exerted a lot of power. So Ardramelk with his excellent athleticism ran faster than the others, and faster and faster, until he managed to get outside and put Miru down and then went in again.
Miru: Brother wait! what are you doing!...
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After the intense battle, the merman reinforcement arrived. Ardramelk lied in a comma, his whole body was black and gasseous. The black mist had permeated into his cells, Miru had used the monsters' bones and muscles to patch his broken legs.
"What happened here" the merman doctor asked while they put Adramelk onto the emergency vehicle, a cart that swam through the desert using modified water as "wheels".
"Doctor..." Miru expressed his extreme distress, "I dont understand, I was just, I was just..."
"Calm down" an assistant healer gave him some water and also put inside him a tube that delivered water straight through the inner side of his gills
"I was using some reconstruction magic to treat his leg, it was a long story, but I managed to piece together his leg using the powerful basilisks' bones and muscle"
"I see, hmmm..." the doctor seemed to be watching Adramelk's body now in perplexity
"What is going on doctor? Why is he becoming like this?" Number 1 asked
"His conscious ness appeared to be intact, I could sense it, and it is pretty healthy. It is almost as if he is healing from a surgery, but..."
"But?" Miru intently expecting for a whatever explanation she was about to give
"His whole body, this, this couldn't be, it is entirely empty, or had merged into the cloud, or gas, or whatever this black thing is"
Everyone was watching in silence, deep down Miru believed that his brother was alright and healthy, he could sense it, even though he doesn't understand how, he could confirm what the doctor said. That his brother is healthy and good, recovering as if he was in a deep sleep. Miru haven't understood yet but everyone had access to an unidentified dimension, a slit that is laying beyond the current fabric of what's seen, Miru just happened to be able to sense and discern these fluctuation naturally and more seamlessly than the ordinary people.
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5 years later,
Adramelk has been recognized to be equal to the 13 of the most powerful merman knights. The Prince even had been entrusted 500 merman elite soldiers of his own. On which he usually took only 50 whenever he was assigned a mission.
The merman kingdom had grew 10x bigger than before, having multiple provinces in different strategic sections of the desert. However because of their expanse, more water is needed, and more soldiers were needed. The north bordered with the territories of the purple serpent race, multiple gangs of giant snakes that constantly at war with each other and eating each other. The south was facing both the mysterious forest and the shining hill, a place so bright and so hot it is incinerating anyone that came close. From the intersection between the two, was a massive river, for due to unknown reasons it seasonally flooded parts of the south, nourishing the mysterious forest and some oasis, one which is now had become a province of the merman, where they would dug a hole underground and periodically stored the floodwater.
The south was particularly dangerous recently, as a band of eagle like bird tribe identified the water reserve and often attempted to steal some of it. They don't understand human language, moreover the merman language, so even though seemed to be an intelligent species, the monsters only deals trouble in the area.
Ardramelk the hero, is known to had acquired the power of the basilisks is the only merman that could morph half of his body into lizard mode, and therefore limit his need for water, while highly nourished by the poisonous substances that the purple snake beasts use, also the poisonous mists of the mysterious forest, said to had swallowed many soldiers and adventurers.
