Visit with the Selkie
Mairwen squinted into the lake. Many more heads were bobbing in the water.
"You are all here!" The princess squealed delightedly at the sight of so many Selkies.
Phoca tossed her head. "As if we would separate. We are not mermaids who make multiple pods whenever the mood strikes us. We are a one group."
"Of course. I meant I am excited that you are back in the Great Lake. We were just talking about how we hoped for this exact thing!" Mairwen's eyes opened wide. "Oh! But you said we were in your spot! Do we need to move?"
"No need. I assume it is only for one night. Now that we are sure it is safe, we can move up the beach." Calling to her sisters, Phoca made a mix of human and animalistic sounds.
They responded in kind before swimming away to scout out another spot. Phoca, however, remained.
"Have any of you had the pleasure of hearing a selkie sing?" The lady's deep black eyes searched the faces of those in the firelight.
"Only your humming when you are around General Nurlan," Mairwen answered when the rest remained silent. Hanna had simply nodded, figuring her response was obvious.
Phoca blushed. "He does tend to bring out my more musical side. But that isn't real singing. You are in for a treat!"
"We look forward to it," Alaron answered politely.
"Wait...don't selkies sing in a...special way in the moonlight?" Renat suddenly became very uncomfortable. Was he thinking of the right creatures?
"No need to worry about that. We've been trapped in our aquatic form for some time now. I cannot shed my skin even if I want to," the Selkie said apologetically.
"I gather you know that the magic is dying," Hanna sighed.
"The elves at the gate told us all they knew, including the state of the magic. We examined the spot where the battle occurred. Quite a nasty business!" Phoca's whiskers twitched.
"It was," the four humans agreed.
"I was not there," Hanna admitted to the Selkie, "If I had been, perhaps things might have gone differently."
"No use harping on the past. I am assuming you all are here to fix it?" Tilting her head to one side, Phoca resembled an earless dog as she asked her question.
"That's the plan," Mairwen was hesitant to say more. Renewing the magic was the ultimate goal; the princess saw no reason to bog down Phoca with the details.
"Then we are most elated by your arrival. Please enjoy the music. We will try not to keep you up too late, but traditions must be observed, even if not fully." Phoca smiled at them.
Tonight she would not find out who was a gentleman or not.
The moon rose swiftly over the horizon and the small waves hitting the shore began to mix with a haunting tune.
"Will you join them?" Mairwen asked Phoca, who had been watching the firelight with great interest.
"I can if you wish to be rid of me," the Selkie answered evenly.
"That is not what I meant! We would not want to force you to stay here if you felt the pull to be with your sisters," Mairwen dipped her head apologetically. The Selkies were very blunt creatures, and her polite question had been easily misconstrued.
Phoca nodded her understanding. "I thought you might like to have someone to explain the songs. Unless Hanna would prefer to be your translator."
"As I only have access to my own memories at present, I could only give the translation and not the rich heritage behind it. Not to mention," Hanna gave a small smile, " I have already done my fair share of storytelling today."
The Selkie scooted close enough to the fire to be clearly seen, but enough away so that her delicate sealskin did not suffer from the heat.
She shut her eyes and hummed along for a moment, letting the music take her to a faraway place.
"This is one of my favorite songs. It is about a time before the division between the Gifted and Common. Harmony and peace reigned and the world knew no different. It tells of the Maker blessing each race with their deepest desire. The fairies got flight, the Fates got wisdom, the gnomes got strength, the Selkies got to travel--both on land and sea-- and the humans..."
"They were gifted with love?" Mairwen looked up fondly at her husband, who had pulled her to lean against his chest when the song began. Unable to resist, Renat gently kissed her forehead.
"Yes, they were gifted love," Phoca finished her thought. "The world was so perfect in that moment that the sky shimmered. On the right night, you can still see remnants of that age. The sky will light with pinks and greens and purples...though only on very rare occasions."
The last part was clearly not part of the song, merely information Phoca thought would add to the mood.
"It is lovely when the sky paints itself," Hanna agreed. "Not even the Fates know exactly what causes it. But most of us have our own theories."
"It is very strange to think that the Fates are not all-knowing." Mairwen had grown up thinking they were invincible and omniscient.
"You should have seen us at the foundation of the world. So much learning had to occur. And yet, still, we are learning." Hanna looked exhausted just thinking about it. "And just now, I would like to learn when and how the Selkies returned as well as about their travels."
Phoca wrinkled her nose and went into the water, before returning with a new layer of water on her skin. Meanwhile, the singing took a pause.
"I do not have many exciting things to say on that front," Phoca paused to think. "Hideous creatures arrived on our shores and began to swim in the waters. Not common or gifted. They were just...wrong."
"We call them Abominations." Mairwen nodded.
Phoca snorted. "A fitting name! They invaded like the thieves they were, and there was nothing we could do. When one of our sisters was taken and killed, we decided enough was enough and left for open waters. We followed the path of the merfolk into the open water of the sea, guiding many of the other marine life with us as we went.
"When we reached the crashing waves, the fish and others all headed in different directions in search of food. With that large of a space, we did not convene again. My sisters and I kept close to the shore but far from the sailors. It was not an easy task. I don't know how the merfolk manage. We met one pod, but they easily avoided the trappings of the ships without issue. Perhaps they took lessons from the dolphins.
Phoca realized she was getting somewhat off track. What would humans know of communicating with dolphins! "Anyway, we did our best to find islands for our singing, but it was hard to find ones that were uninhabited. Then one day a couple of months ago, we had extra difficulty taking off our sealskins and even more getting them back on. After that, they would not come off at all.
"We thought maybe that there was not enough magic in the ocean to sustain us, even though we have never had that issue before. So we began the long journey home and arrived to find the monsters gone. That was a welcome change, but we still could not make our bodies change as they were designed. So although we are glad to be home, we are eager to return to our former glory."
The Selkie dipped back in the water again before emerging. Droplets ran down her skin, protecting it from the fire.
"We will do our best to help," Alaron assured Phoca. "You'll be back to singing in the moonlight in your full...glory if we have anything to say about it."
Mairwen and Eira both shot the Guardian a warning look.
"What? I didn't mean it like that!" Alaron felt his ears burn.
"Would you say he is a gentleman?" Phoca queried the princess and her personal guard.
Maiwen chuckled. "Mostly. At least when he isn't trying to take over the world..."
The Guardian scoffed. "That was one time!"
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The next morning, the group headed out around the massive lake. The closer they got, the more they began to realize something was very wrong. The towering heights of the ice seemed to be far less impressive.
The jagged peaks that made the barrier extra treacherous were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the top of the circular glacier was smooth with only an occasional bump in its profile.
By the time they came to the elves' gate, there was no denying it.
The ice barrier was melting.