It is late spring, meaning one thing: spawning season. All four of my betas will be laying a single egg each, giving birth to Jabberwocky pups. It should be noted that Jabberwockies start life as pups, and those pups look like fish with legs similar to a chicken. The pups will have an insatiable appetite and will eat three times their weight for at least 3 months. For this reason, Karpi has been using his geomancy to hasten our garden’s growth; it’s producing five times the normal harvest.
I think it’s ingenious really and much needed with our current situation. My beloved Noira is also heavy with child, and it’s starting to show. I’m curious if Noira will lay an egg or give live birth, as his kind is known to do. Either way, I have been preparing for this day by visiting with a mermaid midwife who has been teaching me techniques. I have also been taking lessons from the human midwife in case we’ll need to step out of the water for this birth. As far as I know, this will be the 331st interspecies birth in all of Fae history, so I wonder how our child will grow. A Jabberwocky pup will stay a child until they acquire their awakening.
For a Jabberwocky, an awakening is an amazing thing. We instantly grow to our adult forms, and our minds fully mature. Newly awakened Jabberwockies are referred to as whelps. It is at this point in life that Jabberwocky begin to pursue their own magical interests.
However, our peers would chastise and force us to study the magic that was easiest. Right now I’m anointing a mermaid child and collecting pearls and fish. It’s going to stink carrying it all the way up the mountain, but it’ll be worth it to taste some good, succulent seafood because, as it turns out, Noira is becoming an excellent cook.
I have a long line of parents today, so I’m able to get a lot of pearls for my reward, and I get a mountain of fish as a bonus. Absolutely delicious! As I finish up, I make my way towards my home. I look over at the view from the mountains; it’s beautiful. I then go further into the jungle to my home. I'm greeted by Ramza, who is jotting some notes into his tome. I walk up to him, and he smiles when he hears me. He smiles and says,
Ramza: “Hello, Klint, I have wondrous news.”
Klint: “Really, do tell.”
Ramza: “I’ve finally got my first barrier prototype down like that.”
Ramza then formed a small barrier around himself for 30 seconds. The barrier then melts away. The melting would signify that it was a magic-repelling barrier.
I clapped my hands in approval.
Klint: “Well, that is progress; now the key is making it last longer.”
Ramza rubbed the back of his head and blushed a deep indigo blue and said
Ramza: “Yeah, I know, but at least it’s progress.”
Klint: “So how is the egg doing, Ramza?”
Ramza: “It’s almost ready to come out, I believe, which is a good thing because this egg is pushing hard on my stomach; it’s going to be hell pushing it up.”
As I and Ramza were talking, our mouths started to water, and we smelled the delectable seafood stew with carrots. Ramza and I quickly made our way to the kitchen, and Noira was happily cooking away. Noira smiled at us and said
Noira: “Y’all better thank Karpi because he’s the one that provided us with the ingredients to make this meal.”
I then presented Noira with the fish, and he groaned. I then took the basket to the prep counter, and I began to cut, clean, and gut them all. Soon, Ramza began helping me. We made an amazing team. Soon, Soshu came gingerly skipping in, lured in by the smell of soup.
Soshu looked over to us and said
Soshu: “Wow, is this fish for tomorrow’s meal?”
I looked to Soshu and nodded my head. Soshu then began to talk to Noira; the two had really gotten along. They were incredibly artistic in their own way. I then finished cleaning the last fish; I then began to wash my hands. I then went back out front, and I began to practice my magic. I never get to do this anymore, which made me sad because practicing magic was incredibly relaxing to me. Soon I'm coming up with new spells after months of nothing. I then catch the strong smell of chum and blood. I then rushed inside, and I heard Soshu gagging. I hurried to his side, and I held his hand, and I told him to squeeze whenever it got hard.
Soshu had tears in his eyes as he gagged more and more; eventually, he started squeezing my hand so hard that it broke, and then it happened: Soshu coughed up an egg the size of a toy basketball. Soshu then passed out, and I held the egg in my arms. It was incredibly light; I was impressed. Soon all the beta males were gagging one by one, and soon I placed every egg in the new nursery. All the beta males slept for about four days, and they had a hard time swallowing. Luckily, the soup was easy for them to handle. We had four eggs resting upstairs; all the beta males took turns watching the eggs, and they all started to emit these feminine yet parental pheromones.
It was cute to see, really. Soshu started making clothing for the pups, and Sapphire was working on making lesson plans. Karpi even started to carve some toys. Ramza had a burst of inspiration and had created an advanced barrier formula that resisted some attacks, but Ramza planned on using it as a base for future projects. It was nice to see him come into his own.
In three months time, we had so many toys and clothes made for our pups. Noira had been making soup for the beta males so that their throats could properly heal. Soshu would use healing magic to help with the pain, though it became hard because Soshu relied on incantations, so now he is learning silent casting. It’s not really going well; he can’t wait to get his voice back.
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As I was sorting out a dispute between the mermaids and the humans, a large ship decorated with white metal plates landed ashore, and a group of humans dressed in white cleric robes came to the village. As the island’s guardian, I quickly made my presence known; they sneered at me and with a posh, uptight voice said
Cleric: “Bah, foul demon, begone from my sight! I seek the island’s guardian, not some unholy spawn of hell.”
I simply chuckled when the humans of the village directed the Clarics to me. They had a look of pure disgust on their faces and began to give a lecture of how the Fae are nothing more than demons from hell. After ten minutes, no one was really paying them any mind, and I left eventually to my home. The Clarics stayed on the island for twelve days and eventually left, promising to baptize the island with a White Magido. This seemed like an incredibly empty threat.
But I chose to err on the side of caution. Ramza has been creating barriers left and right since he had finally mastered a formula that works for him. Ever since, he has been coming up with new barriers for different types of emergencies. Sapphire informs me that the other Jabberwockies are having a hard time trying to find a king. I was surprised to hear that the position of king was still vacant. I might need to sort that out as well.
One night as I slept, I was suddenly awoken to an incredible influx of mana. I went outside and saw a white star form in the sky. The mana that came from it was alien; it was like it was unnatural, almost disturbing. Soon all the beta males joined me outside, and we all felt the same uncomfortable aura.
We soon realized that the star was building up power. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was the White Megido that the Clarics threatened us with. I quickly told Ramza to create a Reflect Barrier around the island. Ramza looked at me with sheer surprise; this would be the first time he made a barrier of that size. Ramza began to doubt himself, but then Sapphire stood up and said,
Sapphire: “Ramza I know this seems impossible, but I know you can do this. We just need to join together!”
The four of us then took positions around Ramza, and we began to form a pentacle around him, putting all our magic into it, which would then flow into Ramza, who smiled and began to concentrate in order to create the Reflect Barrier.
Above the island a crystal would begin to form slowly, creating a glass-like dome around the whole island. The pentacle we are creating is called a Mana Spring. This is a technique used to empower whoever is in the center of the pentacle.
In time the barrier reaches near completion, and it seems all is well, but then the Magido comes into contact with it. A large majority of the Magido is repelled into the heavens, but a small portion breaches the barrier, hits the southern side of the island like a meteorite, and the damage doesn’t spread that far.
The next morning I go to investigate the damage, and what I see is haunting: everything has been turned to stone, and there is a ghostly silence—no birds, no wind, or anything, just an eerie silence. I leave quickly and return to my family, and I hear the sound of baby crocodiles, meaning only one thing. I soon rush inside, and I see all four of the Jabberwocky pups walking around and chewing on toys.
All the pups resemble small salmon fish with all-white scales; their skinny chicken legs are a bright pink. It brings a tear to my eye to see them move around. I pick up one, and I bring him up to my face. The pup lets out some adorable noises, and I end up kissing the pup with my lips. I then lick my lips and smile because he tastes just like powdered sugar. I soon place the little pup on the floor, and he scampers off. The four pups slowly start to communicate with each other in their own little language. I then look to Noira, and he is completely starstruck at the sight of the pups.
Soon Soshu gathers the pups in the kitchen and begins to feed them. I then look to Sapphire, who smiles happily, readjusting his glasses and saying,
Sapphire: “So we might need to come up with names for our pups. Shall I study their actions and decide on names then?”
Klint: “I say we leave them alone until their awakening; until then we call them guppies until then.”
Sapphire: “Understood, darling.”
I then saw Karpi make his way outside; he said he was going to build a fence so that the pups don’t fall into the lake. I then let him go. Ramza then came over to me; he seemed worried. I placed my hand on the young beta male’s shoulder and asked what was wrong.
Ramza: “It’s just that there's a whole lot more at stake now. My barrier didn’t manifest fast enough, and a whole section of the island was completely devastated. I failed you, Klint.”
Klint: “Ramza You didn’t let anyone down. I investigated the impact site; it’s perfectly fine; nothing of importance was lost.”
Ramza then let out a soft smile. He would then go back to perfecting his barrier, but this time he was driven to protect the future of our pups. I took a sigh of relief and went over to Noira. He had fallen asleep in a father chair. I gently roused Noira from his slumber, and he looked up at me and smiled.
Noira: “Mmm, where did the pups run off to?”
I smiled and kissed my boyfriend on the head, saying
Klint: “Soshu is feeding them now. I’m going to check on the other Jabberwockies on the Western Shore. Apparently there has been a ruckus on who should be king.”
Noira: “ah so what are you going to do i know you don’t want to be king”
Klint: “I’m not sure, but it seems I might be the one to lead my kind into the light.”
I then made my way to the western shore. When I approached the shore, I saw several Jabberwocky pups scavenging for food off some fish bones. I was horrified. I soon came across the cave decorated with the runes of my ancestors; only this time there were several Jabberwocky corpses. It would seem there was a massive power struggle for the throne. I found one surviving Jabberwocky with purple and gold skin, dark blue nails, and a white dorsal fin. His four legs were badly wounded, and he was clutching a tome and an egg in his arms. I knelt down beside this Jabberwocky and inquired as to what happened to this place.
Wounded Jabberwocky: The fight for the throne was fierce; everyone wanted the power to be king. They used powerful water magic on each other to do battle, but some used crude weapons to fight on and on. No one was safe; eggs were even smashed to secure the lineage. We then ran out of food, and an even bigger war started. You should have become king, Klint. Please take my egg and those pups and leave this forsaken place.
I let out a soft sigh. You're telling me that my kind fought so fiercely for the throne that they ended up murdering each other? I wish I could say I was surprised. My kind keeps to themselves, and they haven’t changed their ways in years. Usually, one outstanding Jabberwocky would appear and take the throne, but I killed him, and I also refused the throne. God damn it.
I looked over at the wounded Jabberwocky at my feet; he wouldn’t last long, and by the time I returned with help, he would be dead, so I honored his request and took his egg and the pups back to my home. Everyone was ecstatic about the new additions to the family, but sadly, I had to go back down to the Western Shore; it would be wrong to leave them like that, so I spent the rest of the day burying the bodies of my fallen kind and converting our cave into a shrine. With that done, I came to the human village, and I told them that my kind had wiped themselves out so they wouldn’t be a problem in the future.
The chief could tell I was pissed, so out of respect, he declared the Western Shore sacred land for my tribe. I thanked him for that. There were a few hours of light left, so I decided to anoint some mermaid children in exchange for pearls and fish. There wasn’t much to do today, but with what I did gain, I took home.
When I came to my abode, the moon had climbed its way into the sky. I walked into my home, and it was incredibly peaceful. I went upstairs and slept in my bed, my sweet mermaid beside me. I dreamt blissfully for a bit until I jumped up, feeling my magic being sealed. That only happens when Jabberwockies come in contact with water.
I then look to Noira, and I see that my lover’s water had broken. Noira yelps and tells me to take him to the lake. I quickly carry Noira to the lake, and he goes under the water, morphing into his mermaid tail.
I watch as the water becomes cloudy, and I see a soft, purplish light fill the water. I’m incredibly curious as to what is happening. Nothing happens for hours, but then Noira rises from the water, and in his arms is a beautiful baby girl with purple skin and a tuft of white hair. She has a pink and gold mermaid tail. She’s absolutely beautiful. She soon starts to cry, and I can’t help but smile. We decided to name her Ambrosia, and the next morning I anointed her. Noira and I decided that it was best that we keep her in the lake with him since she had no legs of her own.
Things are perfect as of right now.
End of Episode
