Erunestian ran until his heart pounded and stopped at the end of the pier, gasping.

He shouted a few words in his language and waited for an answer.

Nothing.

He was certain someone was beneath the water, he could feel a familiar presence, and it was not the magical kind, like Cyrene.

He began to whistle and click his tongue.

Then came a splash.

“Dolphins!” he thought.

Two or three broke the surface, calling back to him.

He lay flat on his stomach to reach the water. The dolphins swam closer and greeted him. They weren’t ordinary ones, they were trained. That meant a sea-person had to be nearby.

“Mangluienan! Bheimtrúeach?” he called. (Sea-creature! Who are you?) Still no reply.

He ran a hand over the dolphin's smooth, slippery skin and said, “Be good boys and fetch your master. Come on.”

They obeyed him at once, to the surprise of the owner, who had remained hidding in silence.

“Lai mangluienan! Erunestian laitru!” Erunestian cried, kneeling. (Come, sea-creature! Erunestian calls you!)

As soon as he pronounced his name, the man rose from the water and, in an instant, he had a spear aimed straight at his throat.

“Bheim Erunestian, sa dochaséte!” the man growled. (If you are Erunestian, prove it!)

Erunestian held his breath. He could feel the spear’s edge brushing his neck. Very slowly he raised both hands and said, “It’s me, Erunestian, son of Máfortion, prince of Erymannen. By the magic of the spirits, I now have a land-body.”

The man didn’t move.

“I’m telling the truth,” Erunestian insisted. “If you didn’t know me, your dolphins wouldn’t have obeyed. You’re from Erymannen, aren't you?”

At that, the man lowered his spear.

“You did well,” he said. “Now tell me who you are.”

He stayed on guard and didn’t answer. Erunestian tried to guess: Is it Destraiel? Is it Iriden? No… Is it Satragtinel?Satragtinel, the messenger?

“Satragtinel, son of Destraiel,” said Erunestian. "What are you doing on the coast?”

“Satragtinel aläitru... Erunestian-traiu.” The doubt in his voice was clear, Satragtinel wouldn’t reveal his reasons to this human-looking Erunestian so easily.

Still, Erunestian’s joy was genuine. He reached out to greet him as a young man of their clan would.

Satragtinel looked at him in surprise.

“Erunestian-traiu bheimtru...” he muttered. 

“Erunestian-traiu nai!” Erunestian said with a smile. “Ná Erunestian! Satrag, treat me like a friend.”

“Why did you abandon us?” Satragtinel demanded, studying Erunestian’s appearance. “You wear the body of a demon,” he remarked. “But… I’m glad you’re alive. How did you change bodies?”

Erunestian couldn’t contain his excitement; his grin stretched across his face. Sometimes his life under the sea felt like a distant dream, but his friend’s presence chased that uncertainty away. Satragtinel’s voice, speaking their native tongue, brought him home. He could clearly remember the dance and the voices of his people in the dim depths, the currents brushing his skin, his body floating in the water, weightless, unbound.

He let out a long breath. “I’m sorry, Satrag... I left without saying goodbye… And I know it’s hard to understand but… I met the queen of the mermaids and I asked her for a favor…”

“I knew they were real!” Satragtinel interrupted. “My grandmother used to tell me stories and I believed her, but the other boys made fun of me. Now I will make fun of them.”

Erunestian smiled. “Anyway, I’m very happy you’re here. Please tell me, how is everyone?”

“Not before you tell me if you’re all right, young master. Did the humans do anything to you? Did they torture you?”

“Torture? No!” he exclaimed, laughing. “Don’t believe all the things they tell you about land-people. Most humans are very peaceful… too peaceful, actually. They’re weak. They don’t even know how to hunt, fish, or fight. Instead they sit for hours staring at their machines they call computers… It’s so boring…”

“But... ” Satragtinel tried to protest, though he didn’t know what to say.

The sea-people had always seen humans as nothing but monsters. Contact had been forbidden for more than two thousand years. Erunestian’s words were beyond imagining.

“I’m sorry,” Erunestian said, still smiling. “This is a lot to take in. You speak first. What are you doing on the coast? Do you bring messages?”

“I was looking for you, prince Erunestian. I have two messages.”

Satragtinel began to recite them in his rhythmic, melodic way. As a messenger, he had to memorize every word, without writing, rhythm was his safeguard:

In the fourth moon of the 4,389th Sun of the Fifth Era,
His Highness Máfortion of Erymannen
and His Highness Beriadan of Nontreiemannen
have forged a solemn alliance, uniting their clans as brothers. They promise to defend and aid one another against any threat.
Eternal peace beneath the sea, dominion of Erglütinem, lord of the waters.

Then came the message from Erunestian’s father:

My son, if you are hearing this, my heart fills with joy because you are alive. I know your greatest wish is to serve your people. But how will you save your people if you are not here with them? Return, accept your punishment, and continue with your precious life. Your people need you.

Erunestian sighed. He had expected as much. He missed home, but he wasn’t ready to return.

“Satrag… send him my answer,” he said.

Satragtinel nodded.

“Tell him I cannot return yet. I came to learn as much as I can about Ardenlanig. When we’re ready, we’ll demand from the humans our right to the waters and food, and I want to make sure, when we tell them, that they don’t react in a way that endangers us. I can’t come back until I’ve achieved that.”

Satragtinel’s face darkened, and Erunestian noticed. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Why can’t we just live as we always have? This business of talking to humans seems stupid to me.”

“You don’t know what peace is…”

“Well, yes!” Satragtinel interrupted. “Unlike humans, we haven’t had wars for generations.”

“Not having had a war in two hundred years doesn’t mean we have peace,” Erunestian explained. “The peace I'm talking about isn’t just the absence of war. It’s not fearing for your life every day. It’s having food, and living to old age, and curing diseases. It’s not having to swim for months, risking your life, just to deliver a message. It’s…” he choked slightly. “Everyone having the right to live.”

“You said that last part for Serfindel, didn’t you?” Satragtinel muttered. 

Erunestian nodded. In truth, besides Serfindel, he was also thinking of himself.

There was a word in their language for his condition: Bhrúsnanen. Bhrúsna- meant broken, incomplete, or useless, and -nen referred to a person. It was a derogatory term sometimes used as an insult. Erunestian kept his eyes open, trying to look as normal as possible so Satragtinel wouldn’t notice and tell his father and the clan. Now, besides being human and a friend of humans, he was a Bhrúsnanen.

The sea-people told enough legends for everyone to know that the Suru (spirits) don’t offer gifts without taking something valuable in return. Sometimes they took firstborn children, sometimes beauty or youth, sometimes years of life, or forced a mortal to marry them. Sooner or later Satragtinel would ask what Erunestian had paid for his deal with the mermaids.

“It’s been many years… you must leave what happened with Serfindel behind,” Satragtinel continued. “I know it was hard for you, but it is what it is.”

“I know… thank you."

Still melancholic, Satragtinel said, “Then I will tell His Highness, your father, that you will not return…”

“You must also tell him to consider using my position to ask the humans for sovereignty over our domains.”

“And reveal ourselves to them!?”

“And reveal ourselves to them.”

“Do you mean breaking the secret of Manglülanig?”

“Every day I learn more about how this world works. I find out which nations are powerful, how humans react, how governments respond…”

Satrag shuddered, was he serious? Or was this a malicious spirit pretending to be Erunestian?

“With me here, discussions would be smarter and more effective,” Erunestian went on. “If we are lucky, no one will have to die.”

Satragtinel fell silent and watched him warily.

“Are you a spirit?”

“What?”

“If I cut you, do you bleed?”

“What are you talking about? I’m not a spirit.”

Satragtinel was quiet again. Erunestian began to laugh.

“I’m sorry, Satrag, I know this sounds absurd. Believe me, it’s me; it’s not a trick.”

“If you reveal the secret of Manglülanig, I’ll have to kill you,” Satragtinel warned.

“Wait!” Erunestian cried, raising his hands again. “No, I won’t reveal it. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.”

Satragtinel hesitated, still gripping his spear.

“Humans wouldn’t believe me,” Erunestian added. “They have to see the sea-people with their own eyes. I’m here to learn about them and their language for now.”

“So you’re a spy…”

“More like an ambassador,” Erunestian corrected, a little puffed up.

“Ambassador?” Satragtinel lowered his spear.

“They’re important people who go to another country to represent their nation,” Erunestian explained.

“Like me?”

Erunestian laughed, still with his hands raised. “No, they don’t just deliver messages; they live there and handle affairs between the two nations.”

“You mean trade and wars?”

“Yes! Those things.”

“But why do you want to live on land?” Satragtinel complained.

“Because no one else speaks the language of the humans, and because I won’t rest until I see my people living with dignity.”

“Is that your plan?”

“Not only that,” Erunestian answered. “I also have to...”

Satragtinel suddenly dove back into the sea, leaving Erunestian speaking to the air. He had sensed someone approaching.

“It’s time to eat,” said Mateo, walking up to him. “We were calling you but you wouldn’t come. What were you doing?”

Erunestian, bursting with excitement, quickly told him everything that had happened. Back home, they told the others. Amazed, they asked if they could meet the man of the sea as well.

Erunestian knew that such request was serious.

“We understand,” they said. “If your people don’t want us to see them, it’s okay…”

“No, no!” Erunestian interrupted. “Actually… I was thinking it would be perfect if I could convince Satrag to meet you. So, I'm going to try!”

They jumped with excitement. They would finally see a sea-person with their own eyes!

But Erunestian knew convincing Satrag would be hard. Centuries of prejudice and belief don’t vanish overnight.

Satragtinel would stay near that beach for several days, resting from his long journey. That would give Erunestian the chance to speak with him every day.

Satragtinel knew the laws well, yet this case confused him. Was it even allowed to speak with Erunestian? He didn’t like one of the Mangluienan, but he wasn't truly human.

During those days, Erunestian came to talk, sharing stories and adventures. He described his life on land and everything new he’d discovered.

In the end, thanks to Erunestian’s eloquence, Satragtinel’s curiosity won out. He agreed to break the law a little, to meet a real human. No one would ever find out.

Adrenaline surged through their veins.

Young people are the same everywhere; they’re drawn to danger.