In a realm of unending storms, there existed Esteroy—an island cloaked in mist and rain, where furious waves ceaselessly battered its rugged, stony shores.
Home to an ancient race of shapeshifters.
These beings, born of the sea, lived as seals in the depths, but with the shedding of their sleek, furred pelts, could emerge from the water as humans—masters of both water and land.
Their race was tethered to the mysteries of the tempest and some believe that Esteroy does not exist for no one who traveled there returned and it was similar to the Bermuda Triangle.
One of these shifters was a small child who was waiting for his father Mannanan, God of the sea, to come home.
The sky was cloudy and dark all of the time here, and a breeze blew through his shirt leaving a strong chill in his bones, but he didn't care.
He watched the horizon as a boat suddenly made its way through the water towards him.
The wavesweeper.
The boat sailed easily through the stormy water even though it had no sails and no one accompanied the man as he needed no help rowing either. He stood tall controlling the boat with his mind. The burly man was enormous and strong, and stepped out of the boat as it reached the shore. Holding nets full of fishes. He smiled wide as he noticed the boy sitting there.
Hello son, he said, "how long did you wait for me this time?"
"The whole time daddy," he exclaimed, "I didnt sleep once just like you taught me, I just know I can come with you next time!"
His father laughed a gluttorial laugh that warmed his son's heart as he attempted to stand taller. He ruffled the boys curly red hair with his enormous hand. Then he scooped his son up and lifted him to his shoulders and carried him up the hill to the house.
As he approached, 5 other children came outside jumping up and down, daddy's home! Daddy's home! A couple of the little girls exclaimed as they attempted to climb him as well.
"He waited on the shoreline for 3 days." His wife said as he set his son down and gave her a kiss. She meant to be reprimanding him for being gone so long, but he smiled and responded, "Sounds like he's almost ready to come with me!" He looked down at his boy with pride in his eyes and his boy looked up to him with wonder.
"Do you really mean it? I get to come with you on the WaveSweeper?!" He said excitedly.
"I don't see why not." His father said, you're almost 8, it's a good time for a selkie to learn about the sea." He said. "If your mother thinks that you're ready that is." He said asking his wife.
She nodded, "fine with me, but you'd better bring him home in one piece. And you can't be gone longer than a day this time." She said and angrily guided the kids into the house.
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Ten years had gone by and now this same boy rode the boat by himself and wielded his fathers sword, the answerer, and cared for his fathers horse as well.
The horse now ran alongside the boat, running on the water as the boat cut through another wave, the horse leapt as if it were on dry land and its misty mane rippled like water as it landed again.
"Hey Finbar," he shouted to the horse, we're approaching the town, it's time for you to go home."
The horse bowed its head and looked disappointed as he turned around to head back to the island.
Next the boy grabbed onto his nets of fish and carried them effortlessly to the fish market where he would sell them. His white coat was wrapped around his neck like a cape and its small speckles of black dots caused it to look like it was shimmering in the sunlight.
The town was enormous, home to giants called fomoirians, creatures related distantly through the god Loki, but not really related enough to call their species cousins. These creatures resembled goats in many ways in their human forms, they still had horns and practiced magic. The mists in the air were mostly created by their queen Ériu and her two sisters, who protected the town from humans finding it, and even the werewolves nearby in the eastern fjord stayed away due to her reputation as a demon beast that could become mists and sweep their very souls out of their bodies. If angered she could also steal their wolf and they could never shift again unless they went to get it from the center of selkie territory and down into the vortex to the underworld. A place no werewolf or selkie or person returned.
The boy had learned to never go there.
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"Hey Ronan!" He said as he approached a fellow selkie, one who had lost his coat and could not shift. He instead lived on land and sold his fish for him.
The man waved at him and exclaimed, "You've got a good catch there today!"
"Thank you!" He said. And came over to sit on the table as the man unloaded the nets. "How did my catch yesterday sell?" He asked.
The man responded by tossing him a bag of money. "Pretty good. He said. "I wish I could go out there with you and ride the sea, put on my coat and swim with that horse of yars", he said which a slight Irish accent, but alas, my beautiful flaíthri would be sad to lose me. Flaíthri means a noblewoman." He added, "she likes me to call her that."
They both looked at his fomoire wife who was enormous and rugged and didn't particularly treat him well. Ronan laughed. "Don't give your coat to no woman, they'll just keep you out of the water." He nudged the boy and resumed putting the fish on the ice he prepared for it.
The boy smiled and waved goodbye, then turned around to head back to the WaveSweeper. He put his hands in his pockets and walked down the cobblestone pathway that led to the ocean when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
He turned to look just as a green sports car appeared out of nowhere in a flash of rainbow light and continued straight into the water maybe 20 meters away.
Without thinking, he ran down the rest of the pathway and leapt into the air, diving off of the rocky cliff and into the ocean. His coat wrapped itself around him in an instant and his body changed into a seal. He cut into the water and found the car at the bottom. There were three people inside of it, a girl and two boys.
He smashed open the window and attempted to help them out. The three of them panicking to get their seat belts off of them and running out of breath. He used his teeth to cut the seatbelt off of the boys and made his way to the girl.
She freaked out when she saw him coming and accidentally let out the air in her lungs. She tried to beat him away with her flailing arms as her seatbelt still wouldn't budge but he insisted on helping her.
She couldn't hold her breath anymore and passed out as he finally broke her free and pulled her out of the car.
When they reached the shore, he cast off his coat and shifted back into human form. Without hesitation, he began compressing firmly on her chest, determined to restore her breathing. He breathed life into her lungs, alternating with chest compressions, until she suddenly coughed, sputtering up the water she had inhaled and gasping desperately for air.
She looked around for Narfi and Vali and noticed they were exhaustedly resting on the patch of clover nearby. Vali gave her a reassuring thumbs up before he laid back down and rested some more.
Then she looked at her savior, a handsome man her age with stunning blue eyes like the ocean and wavy auburn red hair.
He had a full bearded face that was cut very short and wore a white furry cape around his shoulders. This man was way hot. She blushed hard and looked away.
"Thank you for saving me." She said sheepishly.
He helped her to her feet and looked her in the eyes and said, "My name is Lugh."
Maeve nearly melted off her feet hearing his Irish accent say a name that resembled Luan Dark's name. Never again would she have a crush on that anime character when this man was in front of her. She just stared at him daydreaming when he attempted again to introduce himself, "I'm Lugh, what is yer name?" He asked.