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PROLOGUE1728.A cacophony of screams and wails echo throughout the small village. Children cry and blood floods the streets of what was once a peaceful place, turning the dirt roads to sludge. A safe haven from ever growing trading companies and government is now a gory husk. A ghost town caused by the very people it protected the most. Pirates.A stocky man wearing a dark blue waistcoat with gold accents stands amidst the chaos as his men slaughter any and all persons accused of piracy. Those who so much as look like a pirate are to be slaughtered with no remorse. His blue eyes are cold and unyielding just like him, boring into all they land on. His face is all hard planes and lines, weathered from the salty spray of the tides. There was a time he was a fine young man with good looks. That fact shines through with his strong jawline and Roman nose. However, the man is a monster. On the hunt for something-- for someone. A woman stumbles from a nearby alley with a small shape clutched to her chest. Her dress, if you could call scraps of cloth sewn together by fraying thread as such, clings to her boney frame in a lame attempt of modesty. Her face is gaunt and eyes sunken in. The bundle she clutches to her chest is a mere shape of tattered rags with some questionable stains. The man assumes it’s the last of her meager belongings in an attempt to flee until the bundle squirms and cries out. He sneers and takes a few steps forward, his boots splashing in the red tinted mud. The woman's black eyes fill with terror, legs quaking under his predatorial gaze, and she lands on her knees with an audible thud. "Please, I beg of you! Spare me and my child. I won't tell a soul of what happened here! Please let us go!" the woman gasps with quivering hands. Her child fusses and she gently bounces it out of habit. The man says nothing, his blue eyes staring into her own. Her breath rattles in her chest and up her throat into a soft whisper, "She’s only a baby." A tear slides down her dirtied cheek leaving a visible trail. The man mulls her words over for a moment. His hand grasps the pommel of his gold sword and he slides it from its sheath. The woman sobs louder, begging for life. For her child's life. He thrusts the tip of the sword forward through the woman's flesh, impaling her lung. Her eyes widen in surprise, her mouth hangs but words no longer tumble frantically from her lips. Just strangled gasps. She falls to her side along with the bundle. The village of Tortuga falls silent. A stranger would even say it's peaceful. After a brief moment the bundle stirs and a pale baby with blue eyes stares at the man with innocent wonder. He looks down his nose at the child and takes off his leather gloves in such a way it can only be described as methodical. He grasps the child by her tiny little waist and inch by torturous inch, pure gold creeps from his fingertips to encase the bundle. The man grins as she wails in pain while tiny limbs turn to gold and her dainty little heart stops beating. The screams cease and in his arms is a gold swaddled infant. Another man in a similar but less formal uniform runs up to the man."Captain, the ship is ready to make way. Your orders, sir?" He says standing at attention. The Captain drops the gold statue carelessly next to her dead mother’s corpse and turns to the man."Now we set sail to find more," He says and leisurely makes his way towards the large naval ship, his coat-tails swaying in the breeze as dark clouds gather on the horizon.He doesn’t look back.
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1625."My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing that can console me but my jolly sailor bold." a velvety voice carries across the calm glass surface of the ocean. It emanates from a wide cliff side which juts out fifty feet from the sea at an angle with edges scrawled from the constant bashing of the waves.The voice is coming from a woman with hair the color of spun gold. She grips what appears to be a spear harpoon salvaged from a ship wreck of her doing. Black wings ascend and descend with every breath, causing the light to refract off the glossy pitch feathers glinting hints of green and purple. Her legs are morphed into crow-like talons which grip the edge of the rocky terrain for stability.Her piercing green eyes dart over to another woman emerging from the water. The brunette tosses her sword on the rocks before hoisting herself up from the water about ten feet from the blonde siren. Her curls drip with salt water but her grin is wide and filled with pointed teeth, brown eyes alight in mischief. A layered fishing net covers her breasts and further down starting at her hips, her humanoid figure is formed to a dark green, shark-like tail.She harmonizes with the first woman, and as their song grows stronger, a distorted shape emerges from the fog. If there was a lick of a breeze before it stops and the women sing even louder, anticipating the meal ahead that can no longer escape using the wind.Their perfect trap.Finally Thelxiope approaches from the shadows of a cave with human legs and no wings in sight. A makeshift skirt made from the tattered sail of a ship ties at her hip, not quite big enough to cover both thighs. Her damp black hair sticks to her back, some strands wrapping over her shoulders and neck in a wet cling offering her bare chest some modesty. The rest of their colony lurks below, waiting. Watching.She grips her twin swords, amber eyes just as sharp, and her enchanting voice joins her sisters. The three harmonies blend together like butter and rum. If there were any sane men left aboard the steadily approaching ship, they sure weren't sane anymore. A few humans leap from the ship but never stood a chance and instead disappear far beneath the surface as their colony makes quick work of them, lurking below. Even so the ship creeps closer still. Closer. Closer until it crashes into the large jagged rocks jutting out from the now raging sea. The blonde woman gives a quick signal to the creatures in the water before her fingertips spark and thunder rolls toward them and rain pours down in sheets.The violent storm is pierced by the screams of slaughtered pirates. The captain’s eyes held a matte glaze until the ship crashed into the rocks. He stumbles, shakes his head as realization hits him and shouts orders to his remaining men."Cowards! Don't run! Face your fate like men! We will not be taken down by mere myths!" He shouts.The crew responds with gut retching battle cries and raised weapons.The trio tear the men to pieces with their sharp claws and weapons. Whoever they fail to slaughter on the rocks are doomed to drown far below the water. Various fins peeks through the rain and tumbling waves here and there as the colony slowly but surely pick the pirates apart one by one, staining areas of the water a deep red until another wave washes it away only for red to bloom again. Over and over in a bloody cycle as the skies weep.Meanwhile, Thelxiope jerks her blade out of the captain and blood splatters across her face. She hisses at the dead body and kicks it into the water. She turns to the next pirate. He is a scrawny thing with a small dagger as his weapon. His knees knock together and his eyes dart about his screaming brothers. She almost felt pity for him.Almost.She advances on the panicked pirate with her sword ready. He spots her now, his face growing as pale as sea foam. He must see Death in her.Her heart lurches in her chest, stopping her dead in her tracks. It knocks the air from her three lungs and her grip slackens on her weapons.Pirate forgotten, her eyes frantically searching for her two bond sisters. Thelxiope’s eyes land on Parthenope, blonde hair easy to spot, and then travel down to the tip of a sword impaling through her chest from behind, blade stained with blue blood that pulses from her sister's chest. The man standing behind her wears a sinister grin.A woman shoots out of the water–fin and all. Slamming into the man, her claws burrow into his body. Their weight drags them down into the water. It blooms red. "Parthenope!" Thelxiope cries out as her sister falls over the edge of the cliff, down to the rocks below. Her chest pours blood.Sirens may be strong but not formidable enough to survive a sword to the heart. She doesn't need to look through the torrents of rain to see the body of her bonded sister to know she is dead. She can feel the unending pit of emptiness in the cavern of her chest where her heart throbs.However, now is not the time to mourn. Later. For now she still has one last bond to protect. Her dear baby sister Aglaope.She finds her curly haired sister has shifted out of her tail, fighting off a large man who must have been the boatswain. Aglaope grunts against the overbearing weight of the man and her foot slips against the wet surface of the cliff. Her sister tries to hold him off but is failing miserably, her talents thriving in water rather than land.“NO!” Thelxiope releases a guttural cry, running to her sister. Her feet tear on the rough surface leaving bloody footprints in her haste to reach her sister. She isn't fast enough. The man takes his sword and drags it across her sister's stomach."You deserve to be gut like the fish you are!" The man spits, yellow rotted teeth flashing.Thelxiope’s close now. Almost close enough to see the whites of his eyes. Aglaope chokes on blue blood. It dribbles from her lips in a sticky consistency. Her own trembling hands hold the gash to keep her precious organs from spilling from her body. However, she is a warrior just like her sisters and will not go out easily."Filthy pirates. You assume you're the strongest in the sea-" her sister retches, vomiting more blood, "-all you do is run, and pillage, and plunder, and rape. The world is getting smaller, boy. While you’re hung and beheaded, my sisters will only thrive and grow. We are warriors, not some dead man’s tale for you to underestimate!"With the last of her strength, Aglaope leans forward and latches onto the man's neck, razor sharp teeth stabbing through muscle.. His screams are frantic as he attempts to pull her off only to shred the skin of his neck more. Her sister growls and with a harsh twist of her chin rips the man's throat out.The man’s face goes slack and the light dims from his eyes before his body falls to the side, tumbling down into the ocean.Aglaope collapses but Thelxiope is finally there to catch her. She holds her sister close to her chest, Aglaope’s dark blue blood staining her chest and stomach."No, no.” She whimpers, stroking her sister's curls from her sickly pale forehead. Her sister's eyes gaze into hers weakly. Aglaope opens her mouth, Thelxiope’s fingers press softly against them.“No. You're okay. It's okay. I got you, don't speak Agla,”She rocks her gently just like their mother did when they were small. She presses her hands against her sister's abdomen in an attempt to stave the bleeding. Aglaope reaches up with a trembling hand to stroke the raven black hair away from her brow."My dear Thel. You’re not alone. We will be with you always," she whispers. Thelxiope tries to keep a grip on her sister but when life leaves her, Aglaope slips from her grasp, turning to dust that scatters on the wind. Yet another pit forms in her soul.Another missing piece.Thelxiope screeches. The waves ripple and remaining men cripple to shield their bloodied ears from the frequency. With a violent snarl, she uses her claws to trip them to shreds. Bodies fall around her but she continues to scream and stab and crush.She doesn't know how long it goes on, only that when she gets to the last man she is panting and her body shakes. The man’s once blonde hair is caked in the blood of his brothers and her colony - mixing into a purple hue.Thelxiope screams and hurls herself against him, sending them sprawling across the ground. He’s quick to shove her off and looks for his lost sword while she struggles to fill her lungs with breath. She rolls over still gasping and spots her sister's serrated dagger. He does too. They crawl toward the weapon - he gets to it first. His arm swings towards her throat and her leg kicks his knee out from under him. Even so, he manages to stab her thigh. She gasps at the sharp burn of the blade tearing her skin as it leaves and grabs his wrist before he can bring it down on her again.He grabs her by the hair and screams, "Rot in hell, cunt!" his spittle flying at her face.Thelxiope pants, "Can't you tell? We are."She releases his arm and turns her head to avoid the blade that nics her cheek. Grabbing his head between her clawed hands, she screams and twists her hands with all her strength. He drops her sister's dagger and swats at her hands but it's too late. Tendons and muscle tear, his bones creak. Too slow to kill him instantly. Finally she hears the snap she was waiting for and his body falls limp to the side, head facing an unnatural angle.She pants, disoriented and slowly crawls to her knees. The sky still pours and through the thick curtain of rain can see her colony watching from the water. Sirens may live in colonies but they are harsh. Only the strong survive. They would never interfere in her battles unless it benefits them. She has never cared about it before and she still doesn't feel any anger towards them for not helping her save her sisters. Instead she just feels numb. Her two bonded sisters' deaths have weakened her supernatural strength down to a human-like level. The only two people in her life that really mattered to her are gone now.She collects her blades along with her sisters' weapons and limps to the cliff side her sisters stood on just hours before. She sits down with a painful grunt and watches the storm clouds clear. The sun emerges from the ocean and warms her clammy skin. She wants to scream, cry, and sleep. Instead she sits there staring at the sunrise.Eventually the sound of bare feet slapping against the blood soaked rock alerts her of their presence. She’s faintly surprised they haven't abandoned her yet. Madeline, their leader of sorts, comes to sit beside her. Thelxiope glances at her pity filled eyes and looks back to the sky. Madeline sighs and looks out too. Some time passes before Thelxiope speaks.“Thank you for helping my sister,” She says, remembering how the woman beside her threw herself and the man who stabbed her sister over the edge of the cliff. Madeline hums in recognition but says nothing.A few from the colony call out to Madeline who sighs and turns to Thelxiope.“It's time, Thel.”Thelxiope says nothing. Does nothing.Madeline stands, “Join us or not. We won’t wait for you.”Madeline walks off and her colony dives into the water. Still Thelxiope does not move. They abandon her thereAfter a few hours she looks down at her exposed leg which had healed during her conversation with Madeline. There is a faint scar, pale silver and jagged with an iridescent shimmer that remains even after she finally dives into the water and her legs form into a tail darker than night. Her fingers brush over the scar that stands stark against the pitch black matte scales, a reminder for the rest of her life. Multiple frills trail in the water around her, the fragile webbing almost translucent. A spiny dorsal fin starts at the nape of her neck and ends at the base of her tail right before her caudal fin, allowing her to make sharp turns. Her makeshift skirt flows in the current still tied around her hips. She glances at the cliff that stretches well below the surface into the depths of the ocean and that one look is all that she allows herself before she twists around, flicking her tail and beginning her long journey to a new life. (This is how I picture her just without the eye patch and darker tail)—For four days and three nights she swims until her fin aches, until finally she reaches a cluster of islands. She notices the lush tropical forests that span the entire lengths of the beaches, too dense to really see much past the treeline while circling around the islands. She takes note of the docks along the coastlines of each island as well.Deciding the coast is clear, she swims up to the beach until her tail thuds against the squishy sand and then uses her arms to drag herself the rest of the way out of the water. Her scales recede leaving angry red crescents along her legs, a few bleed and finally her tail splits into two human legs. She lays on her back staring at the clear blue sky. She is alive but she doesn't want to be.She finally sits up, tired of her own pathetic wallowing and stands on weak legs, skirt still dripping. She walks closer to the tree line, her exhaustion weighs her down and she doesn't notice the man until he is right in front of her, sword in hand."Who are you, foreigner?" he asks, leveling his sword with her face."Visenya."--103 years later (1728)--Water crashes against the sandy beach of a small island and the sand glows beige and glitters white under the glaring sun. Luscious forestry bordering the beach sway with the breeze. Crashing, thundering waves will always be Visenya’s favorite sound.She sits upon an outcropping of boulders in a shallow pool littered with goose-neck barnacles and aggregating sea anemones. A few ochre sea stars are half dipped in the pool of water, the parts exposed to the air shriveled and dried. She stands from her spot and lightly jumps across the water to the soft sand. She strides to a large hollow piece of driftwood and grabs her hunting bow and seagull feathered arrows before making her way up a worn down trail leading deep into the tropical forest.Deep in the forest, a family of canaries perch among the trees singing their sweet high pitched songs for her. Her eyes of honey watch the small clutch from her spot within the underbrush. Her long black hair falls down the strong but feminine curve of her back in thick curly waves from the humidity. It sticks to the back of her neck like a wet blanket and she refrains the urge to rip it out at the roots. Purple and green reflects subtly off the strands from the little sunlight that trickles down between the canopy of trees and their leaves.Her full lips curl into a soft smile while she watches the small birds learn to fly for the first time.The canaries stop singing. The forest goes deathly still. A shrill cry from above makes her glance up and she slowly knocks an arrow, taking aim at the canopy of trees. The silence continues and she remains still and quiet. She knew it would show up, birds of prey are quite predictable.She would know.The large hawk circles above the family of canaries. Its head cocks to the side before tucking in its wings and dives. It quickly builds speed and extends its talons, ready to rip into the soft downy feathers of the young songbirds. Her arrow whistles through the air , silencing once it hits its target. The hawk doesn’t make a sound when it’s speared, dead before it hits the dirt. The family of canaries flit off between the branches to safety.Visenya breathes out and lowers her bow. She pulls some twine from her quiver and begins to knot it while walking over to the large bird. She kneels in the soft dirt and slips it over the bird's feet. Visenya wipes a drop of sweat from her brow and tears a piece of twine off to braid her hair away from her neck. She sighs in relief and swings the hawk over her shoulder with ease, the motion familiar and practiced.After claiming a few feathers to keep, Visenya sets out to hunt for something large enough to entice the local butcher. A pig will do. She spends most of the day looking for other animals to hunt but after downing a mid-sized pig, luck seems to evade her. With a huff, she makes the long trek back to the village..Children run past Visenya screaming in joy, wielding wooden sticks as swords. The smell of fire smoke and ale fills the air with a hint of fresh bread, even the sounds of chatter are warm and sweet.She always loves coming into the village to watch the humans go about their daily lives. Mothers scolding their children and fathers returning home to their families. To watch the little girls climbing trees and playing in the mud while the boys tend to jump off the barns into stacks of hay. Of course, she loved to watch a good pub brawl every now and then too. Even join one on the occasion. Her boots crunch dry leaves and dirt that will eventually turn to sludge come winter time. It would be her favorite season if it wasn't for all the mud that cakes her clothes and game. Visenya is snapped from her thoughts when a small boy with dark waves barrels into her. She smiles fondly at the boy and pats his head, he looks up at her with bright blue eyes. A spatter of freckles dust his nose and she points at the smudge of dirt on his cheeks which he halfheartedly scrubs with the sleeve of his shirt."What are you doing Ethan? You know your pa wouldn't like it if you were running about and bumping into strangers" she says.Ethan grins, "But yer notta stranger Vissie!" and before she can reprimand him, the boy runs off to join his friends. Visenya sighs and shakes her head and steps around the boy to the same shop that Ethan had just run out of.The butcher’s shop is moderate in size considering the village isn't a wealthy one with tools lining the wall behind the butcher's block. Each tool shines with obvious time and care. A large man stands behind the counter chopping up a squirrel. He glances up and when his blue eyes meet hers a wide grin splits his scruffy face. Visenya smiles back at the man who's often been compared to a bear. The man was large, yes but he wasn't chubby like some of the rich merchants that visit during the summer. Days on end heaving large animals and chopping will do that to your physique. Despite his broad frame he is the most caring person in this village. Ethan is lucky to have such a kind father."Good to see ya, Vissie! What 'ave ya brought in for me t'day?" The man says, rounding the counter to trap Visenya in a bone-crushing hug. When he finally releases her she has to shake out her arms to bring back sensation. Visenya lugs the pig and hawk on the counter with little difficulty."Well Joey, I got you a pig and a falcon," she says. The butcher's eyes light up and when he reaches for the animals Visenya smacks his hand. She crosses her arms and leans a hip against the block."My pay?" She asks smugly and Joe grumbles before reaching into his bloodied apron to fetch a few coins. Visenya pushes from the counter and plucks them from his hand."Thank you very much," she chimes and turns to head out the door. Joe continues to grumble so she sighs exasperated and faces the butcher."Yes, Joe?"He scratches his nape and fiddles with the feathers of the falcon. "I jus' think you should come down more often. Ya’know how much Ethan and I enjoy yer comp’ny," he says with a shrug and red creeps up from below his tunic. “Can't be good fer ya stayin’ all alone out there,” he mutters.Visenya sighs and studies Joe for a moment, "We've been over this before. I can’t give you and Ethan what you want." Maybe in another life she could see herself truly loving Joe. Maybe even being a mother to Ethan. But not this one. Joe picks at the feathers of the hawk and his cheek twitches with every grind of his teeth.“So yer never gonna ‘ave a family?” he asks, looking at her in frustration and something more that twists her heart. She cares about him of course. She has known him his whole life even if he doesn't know it. He looks just like his father, the man who found her on the beach, but she will never be able to trust his feelings no matter how good his intentions are. Her siren heritage is more of a curse than a blessing sometimes. She sends him a small sad smile and walks out of the shop."Ya ain't gonna be young forever" he shouts as she exits the shop.She chuckles, If only he knew.With one last glance at the village, she begins her hike to her hidden home deep in the tropical forest.