Walking through tall trees and hills, carrying Victor on his shoulder, Prince Draveric was dissolving every little detail in his icy eyes. Over such a huge island, beside the woman walking before them, there was no sign of life that he could have sensed yet.
That was quite odd what he had encountered because to his expectations, it was supposed to be an underwater condition or maybe a simple war above water from where he was supposed to grab a siren to bring back and kill the others. Do they always fool and welcome the men like this and then kill them strategically? He thought.
That could be the reason why there were so many victims and not even one survived. Because in a war there are at least some survivors but a trap of trickeries doesn't spare its prey. Anyways, whatever it was, he was going to see it with his own eyes.
They had been walking for quite some time now when the trees started thickening noticeably. However, the hills were replaced with various sized black rocks. He couldn't help but wonder why there were so many of them all around. Soon they came to stand before a wall of the same black rocks he had been seeing earlier. The only difference was that they were smaller and fixed in together symmetrically.
Though he was one of the tallest men in his family, almost six feet-nine, he couldn't see past the wall which was even taller than him. The woman before them made a high-pitched sound that hurt his ears for some reason.
Soon before his eyes, several heads started popping on the wall from the other side. The heads only peeked enough to allow a glance at their eyes and forehead. Even from that little detail, Draveric could tell that they were all women. They were scrutinizing them with their dead stares that were very well capable of making anyone crawl into their skin but then again, it was Prince Draveric they were dealing with this time.
The woman clapped her claw like hands and immediately the heads from the wall disappeared. A black hole started forming inside the wall that transformed into a small opening through which the woman climbed in. She then gestured for them and Draveric followed her without questioning.
Where he had expected ruins and wreckage, he was embraced by the sight of a beautiful garden instead. He had been through many castles and traveled through states but he had never seen such beautiful flowers anywhere. He wasn't a keen admirer to start with but the sight forced him to look around twice.
However, there were other details that didn't sit right with him. There were statues of men that looked more like caste than statues. It seemed like someone had painted hardened sand over a real human body, trapping it within. There were a lot of them, almost around every corner and beside every tree.
Many heads peeked from behind the statues soon followed by their bodies which were naked from above. From under their lower backs were starting glimmering black, shiny tails that they wrapped around the statues while they sat upon them. The long tails divided into two wing-like fins that swayed in the air smoothly as the creatures observed the newcomers keenly. Some of them tilted their heads and batted their eyes unknowingly while some bared their sharp, pointed teeth at them.
In between perceiving all of that, Draveric didn't notice that they had come out of the garden and was standing before a huge gold door. Two black eyes were carved inside the door and Draveric could swear that he saw them blinking and changing color.
Everything was odd here and he had started wondering if he had pulled his friend into an inescapable trap. His grip on Victor's legs had tightened instinctively as his hand unnoticeably went to his thigh where he could feel his dagger and some other necessary things that he had packed before coming here.
The woman who had brought them here banged on the door and soon the door opened with a grave creaking noise.
A whole new world was waiting for them on the other side…
~
Away from the blue ocean and into the town, the word has spread like fire. Apparently some maiden working at the castle had poured the gossip in her lover's ear who in return spread it in the market, causing the news to blow.
The next day it was upon everyone's tongue that the prince had fallen victim to the call of the sirens and now they were left vulnerable without a crown prince. Everyone already knew about the illness of the king and there were even suspicions that the king was long dead but the royalty was refraining from declaring it publically due to threats from enemy kingdoms.
The crown prince was the next option but now with him almost declared dead as well, everyone was worried for their fate. They were living in a state where the neighboring kingdoms and villages weren't mere human antagonists for them but dangerous creatures who fed upon humans.
When King Bastian had taken over the throne, those were hard times when humans were amongst the most vulnerable races of all. They were at the mercy of blood-sucking creatures who looked just like them and those who turned into hungry beasts under full-moon. There were also those who chanted weird things and casted spells upon the weak by their evil intentions. Some who breathed fire and some who were known to be the descendants of demons, walking openly among the others.
It was the biggest mess that humanity had ever witnessed and those were some dark days. Things had gotten out of hands when an open war broke out among all and it fingered towards the ultimate destruction. That was when the higher authorities beholding the maximum power had to come together and sign a peace treaty, carved out from the blood of all races and protected with the ultimate light spell.
Races were divided into sects, secluded from each other in their own peaceful territories, around the Blue Ocean. King Bastian was a brave knight who volunteered to take the humans under his wing. After a while, trade had been initiated among the sects and it promoted alliance but with time many other unexpected things had started happening as well. Hybrids of different races and slipping outcasts among each other's territories were among the most concerning ones.
Inside one of the corridors of the castle, maidens were standing in a line with their heads bowed down and arms tied at the back. A woman was walking back and forth with a metal rod in her hand which she slowly tapped on the palm of her other hand.
"Which one of you was it?!" she roared.