Cormac and Melusine continued on their journey through the Arctic Ocean. Neither knew if the blue whales had managed to escape the whalers or if the whalers had met some fateful accident that would make sure that they would murder no more, though they both hoped it was one of those things.
Eventually, the Young Egan and the Surface-Born Merrow-Maiden came across something that caught their attention. Down on the seafloor was a statue that had many a mermaid crowded around it, Pacifican mermaids included. The statue depicted a mermaid, her tail much like Melusine's in build, but with the scales going up far enough that she almost looked like she was wearing an evening gown. Her human portions were not skeletal like that of the Pacifican mermaids, looking as flesh-covered as Melusine and the merrow-maidens had been, but much like the Pacifican mermaids, the statue had snakes for hair.
It was Melusine who swam down first, much to Cormac's surprise. He had not been expecting her to swim down and with such speed! She must have been very interested at what was going on.
As soon as Cormac had caught up with the Helena of the Deep, he heard her ask a mermaid who looked perfectly human save for being covered in fine hair: "Who is this?"
The mermaid replied: "Adnarim, child. She is our patron goddess!"
Cormac watched as Melusine's eyes widened and she stared in awe at the statue of Adnarim. Cormac looked to the statue as well, but could only wonder if there was a patron deity for individuals such as himself. Phmyn, Ikne, Sutec and now Adnarim, all deities he never would have dreamed existed and so, the Young Egan could not help but wonder, in the far away Mediterranean, did Poseidon or Neptune exist, or someone else altogether?