City of IF

[Key]

The story so far: You are Lodevar, the leader of a rebellion of sheephead slaves against their masters, the Bullroar minotaurs. Your have an unusual form compared to most sheepheads, with a small head and no horns. You’ve formed an alliance with the merfolk by agreeing to marry the Merking’s daughter, the mermaid Lalomea. With the merfolk’s help, you and your people have raided the Bullroars’ coastal towns and villages from your island base. Now you’ve learned that the Bullroars are building a huge fleet on the coastal town of Dorax.

Last Decision: Spend more time with Lalomea and move up the wedding date if she's willing.

"Lalomea, wait for me here," you say. And to your sheephead captains you say, "Let’s finish our meeting."

You climb silently up to your headquarters, a stone building built on a rocky outcropping overlooking the sea. Your mind works quickly on the way up, and by the time you reach your destination, you know what to say.

"Our rebellion is succeeding," you tell your captains. "And the reward of our success is that we’ve attracted powerful enemies. The Bullroar King now knows that he can’t trick us into defeat, so he’s unleashing his full military might. The Emperor has taken notice of us and may be against us too. We don’t know for sure why the Bullroars are building a fleet in Dorax, but they must have a plan to use it.

"There will be a battle soon. I don’t mean a raid where we fight a few hundred Bullroars, I mean a battle for our survival, with every one of us against every one of them.

"To win, we need to be strong and determined. We need to put our heads down and act like rams, not sheep. There is more that needs to be done to prepare for this than I can do myself. I need to depend on you. I need each of you to be a leader.

"One thing we need is allies. We’ve sent messages to the Mistfolk Islanders via the merfolk, and got nothing back. But we haven’t gone there in person to ask for aid. Arix," you say, addressing one of your captains, "I want you to go there and plead our case. Convince them of the rightness of our cause, and ask for whatever they can give us."

Arix, a young captain, looks a bit dazzled to be singled out, but he nods. You know that he will do a good job. He’s slow with the sword, but, rare among your ex-slaves, educated and well-spoken.

"Drogas," you say, addressing your best strategist, "I’m putting you in charge of the defense of Freehome. Expect an invasion of a Bullroar fleet much larger than our army, and build enough defenses to make us safe. War machines, sea walls, sand traps - whatever you can think of. Take people away from building homes and the town if you have to."

Drogas smiles and nods his grizzled ram’s head. You can tell he already has some ideas.

You continue: "Philos, the most dangerous job is yours. I want you to lead a raid on Dorax. Take Beledirus and his archers up the hill toward the ships that they’re building. As soon as they’re in arrow range, fire flaming arrows at them. Set as many as you can alight. Do this at night, with as much stealth as you can. There are thousands of Bullroars there, many more than we could defeat in an open battle, but if we can set the ships alight and get out quickly, we’ll set back their plans."

Philos grins, always ready for action. You feel a twinge of guilt knowing the danger that you’re sending him into.

"Haman," you say. "Here’s your job: while the Bullroars gather at Dorax, their defenses along the coast have become light. We need to step up the attacks. Take eight hundred men, and capture a town along the coast. Hold it and use it as a base of operations."

"With only eight hundred?" asks Haman. You smile. It’s good that he questions you, you think. He’s your second-in-command and is as loyal as any of them, but he knows that eight hundred is no match even for the reduced Bullroar army.

"I’m only sending eight hundred because I want you to have enough ships in the harbor to get everyone out if things go bad. Hold the town as long as you can. Try to free slaves and raise the nearby towns against the Bullroar. But if the army comes after you more than you can handle, sail away. Even holding a town for a week will be a victory for us and will slow them down, as long as we get away intact. Whatever you do, don’t get cut off from the sea. That’s your lifeline."

Haman nods. You look around the room. You’ve just told them that they could all be killed in the next few weeks, but they’re strong and confident. They have their orders.

"And you’ll be coordinating all of this, right?" asks Philos.

"As much as I can," you say. "But I may need to leave for awhile."

They look up with fear in their eyes. "What?" asks Philos.

"Right now, our safety depends on the alliance with the merfolk. I need to make sure that they can be trusted. I may need to see the merking again."

"At a time like this?" asks Drogas.

"This is the most important thing we can do to prepare for the coming battle," you say. "And only I can do it. Don’t worry; I’ll be back in time."

There’s a pause, and then Haman says, "All right. We have our orders, let’s go," and, with a quick bow of their heads, the sheephead captains march out, ready to to do what you’ve told them to. Haman gives you a look like he hopes you know what you’re doing.

Alone, you climb down to the beach where you left Lalomea. She’s still there, her upper half stretched out on a rock, her fish tail dangling idly in the water. The waves gently wash around the rock. You wade in to talk to her.

"Lalomea," you begin awkwardly. "I’m sorry that I haven’t spent much time with you lately."

She looks away. "I understand. You are busy."

"Yes. But I’ve just given orders to my captains, and now I have some time. I want to spend it with you."

She looks up. "All right."

You climb up onto the rocks next to her. "I’m worried about Leviathan," you say. "I’m worried that the Bullroar ships will come while your people are fighting the serpent."

She sighs. "Well, Petrosian told you the truth. We’ve fought him before, and beat him."

"Who summoned him the last time he came?"

"Summoned? I know nothing about that. He comes at times of change. He is a, how do you say, a sign of history?"

"I don’t know if we have a word for that. But Petrosian said he wouldn’t come this far in unless he was summoned."

"Yes, maybe. He lives far from here, in the Wild Ocean."

"When did he come last?"

"Thirty-two years ago, at the birth of, uh, of one of the merking’s sons."

"Who? Petrosian?" He would be about the right age.

"No, no. It doesn’t matter. He- he died. But Leviathan attacked Ulderea, our oldest city. People were very afraid. They say the currents ran red with blood. But my father held us together. He killed the Serpent."

"And now it’s back, if my prophet is to be believed."

"It always comes back. Everyone calls my father sea-king but the sea can’t really be ruled."

"What do you mean?"

"It’s too big, too deep. There is always some part that doesn’t do what it’s told. All you can do is kill it, and that’s not much of a rule, is it?"

"What are you saying? Is there some resistance to your father’s rule?"

Lalomea laughs. "Oh, you poor land-dwelling sheep. So shallow, so single-minded. You come to spend time with your fiancee, and what do you say? Do you tell her how beautiful the kelp floats in the current? Do you ask how the Emerald Caves reflect the Earthlight? Do you say to watch the sunset? No, you talk of war and politics. You want information. Anything else I say, you think is war and politics. You’re like the rest. You care nothing for me."

"I do care for you!" you say. "And I’m not just a sheephead, I’m part merfolk too."

She looks at you blankly. "Yes, I suppose you are. Another merman."

"Tell me what you want, Lalomea. I don’t know why you’re always so upset, but tell me what I can do to help you, and if it’s in my power, I’ll do it."

"What I want…what I want…." She looks out to sea, into the distance. "I…I want us to be wed as soon as possible," she says without looking at you.

"All right. Let’s do it."

"Good. Then it will soon be over with," she says, and dives into the ocean without looking back. You shake your head, confused.

Later, the other merfolk tell you that the merking is arranging another trip under the sea for you and Lalomea to be wed, but you don’t see much of her anymore. She seems to be avoiding you. It’s frustrating that she’s so hard to understand, but you’ve got enough other things to worry about.

You dispatch Arix and a small team of sheepheads on his embassy to the Mistfolk, you get daily reports from Drogas on the build of the defenses, and you see off Haman and Philos on their missions.

Haman’s attempt to hold a town on the coast doesn’t go well. He and his force take a medium-sized town without incident, but within a day they’re attacked by a force of five hundred Bullroars. The sheepheads outnumber them, but the Bullroars are better-trained and better-equipped. After a day of bloody fighting, with much loss of life on both sides, the Bullroars are driven back. But two days later they come back with reinforcements. Haman has to flee the town in a hurry, and in the confusion some ships and supplies taken from the town are left behind. He comes back with seventy-five dead and a hundred and ten wounded, and nothing to show for the effort. You’re disappointed that he wasn’t more effective as a commander, though you’re sure he did his best.

Philos’s raid on Dorax also doesn’t go as planned. He and his archers sneak onto the hill in the dead of night, but as they advance up it, the alarm is sounded, and Bullroars are all around them. Expecting an attack, the Bullroars had dug caves in the hill and hidden their soldiers inside them. The sheepheads are surrounded and have to fight their way back to the ships to escape; none of the archers even get off a shot.

But there is a silver lining. The sheepheads fight well on the sloping ground and hold the Bullroars off long enough for a few sheephead slaves from the Bullroars’ camp to break away and join the escape. What they tell Philos, and he passes on to you, is worth their weight in gold.

"The ships being built at Dorax," Philos says, "have metal-plated hulls. They’re designed to withstand the merfolk’s trident attacks. When they’re built, the Bullroars will be able to sail their whole army safe and sound across the water right into our harbor."

You’re stunned. So this is the Bullroars’ plan. You and the other sheephead captains go to Petrosian immediately and tell him the news.

He reacts coolly, as always. "Clever bulls," he says. "But don’t be concerned. We have heavier, sharper tridents than they know of, and other tricks as well. The sea is our domain. From the moment they enter it, they’ll be at our mercy."

"You don’t seem to take this very seriously," you say to him. "You don’t know how thick their hulls are, or how many ships they have, or what other weaponry. How can you be so certain of victory?"

He laughs. "If you could see our army, you wouldn’t worry. Even now, tens of thousands are mobilizing under the sea."

"Then show them to me. I’d like to be as confident as you."

He raises an eyebrow. "All right. Tomorrow you’re going under the sea to Ulderea, to wed my sister Lalomea. I’ll come with you, and show you what we’re preparing for the Bullroars, if they dare to defy our blockade. And Leviathan, too, if he comes."

You nod and Petrosian dives under the sea. Once you and the sheephead captains are alone, Haman says, "You’re going under the sea?"

Drogas says: "To get married?"

Philos adds: "You can’t leave now! The escaped slaves told us that the Bullroars could attack within a week!"

"I’ll be back in three days, maybe less," you say. "The wedding will cement the alliance. And I want to inspect the merfolk army and talk to the King. There are still unresolved questions about these people. We need to know whether we can trust them."

"And what if we can’t?" asks Haman. "If we’d made an all-out invasion of the coast, we might have stood a chance by ourselves, but now it’s too late. We stayed here and put our faith in the merfolk. If they turn against us now, we’re dead."

"That’s true," says Drogas. "Our defenses can’t stop the whole Bullroar army. Our only hope is that the merfolk sink most of their ships."

"That’s why I need to go. To make sure that will happen."

"Is that the real reason?" asks Haman. "Or is it the mermaid?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Everyone’s noticed how you’ve been following after her, looking for her on the rocks, and how she slips away when you come. They say that a mermaid can lure a man to his death if she wants to. Has she entranced you?"

"Get out!" you blaze at them. "Get out of my sight, all of you!" You raise your hands to strike at them, and they scatter quickly, leaving behind the bitter taste of anger, and the uncomfortable weight of their questions.

You probably couldn’t have planned a worse way to bid farewell to your fellow sheepheads, but you leave early the next day for Ulderea, the undersea city, and you don’t see them before you go. As before, the merfolk give you a necklace of pearls that allows you to breathe water and survive under the sea. This time, you take only one companion: the prophet Nelectitus.

Nelectitus has been barely coherent since his latest prophecy about Leviathan; he’s now in a state of constant agitation, his eyes darting back and forth at unseen enemies, starting at the slightest sound and mumbling constantly about finding "a way out." But he spoke a prophecy the last time you visited the merfolk, and if he has anything else to say this time, you want to hear it. He looks suddenly panicked when you ask him to go under the sea with you, but that’s not unusual these days, so you don’t think anything of it.

As before, you travel to Ulderea in a sea-chariot made of coral and pulled by a team of sailfish, huge long fish with narrow fins and ridges that cut through the water at a tremendous speed. As before, you’re seated with Lalomea, your bride-to-be. You’re happy at the arrangement; for the next six hours, she’ll be in your company, and you can finally talk to her.

But Lalomea seems unutterably sad, more so than you’ve ever seen her before. She doesn’t respond to your attempts at conversation, barely even looking in your direction. You only have one brief exchange with her, which starts when she asks you: "Lodevar? What is it like to die on land?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do your people believe? What happens to you when you die?"

"Well, if you’re good, your soul goes up to the Makers on Earth. Why? What do your people believe?"

"That when you die, you become joined with the sea. Part of you goes into every fish and animal and plant in the ocean."

"Oh. Well, that’s nice."

"No, I like yours better," she says. "I like that you go someplace different. For us, there’s no escape. Even in death, the sea rules you."

"Lalomea? Why do you ask me this? What are you thinking about?"

She ignores your question. "I like the land. It’s different. When I was a little mermaid, I used to go to the Aliviari Islands. I would ride the waves in and wriggle up onto the beach as far as I could go. The sand was harsh and dry, but it made me feel alive." She smiled faintly. "My brothers were always angry with me, and they would call to me to come back. I always did, of course. If I’d dried out, I would have died."

You say, "Well, I guess we’re well-matched, then, since I’m a land-dweller. You can come up on land as often as you want." But she gives no sign of having heard you, and says nothing more for the rest of the trip.

As your trip nears an end, the sailfish slow and descend in wide circles to Ulderea, the city at the bottom of the sea. The city is grown of reefs and mazelike coral tunnels, spreading out over the ocean floor and rising above it in high towers. Huge pale blue and green lights spread out in rings from its center, swaying gently. As before, you’re amazed by the multitude of life in the city: merfolk with their brightly colored tails, fish of all sizes, octopi large and small, sea-turtles, sea-plants from small kelp to huge sea-trees, all manner of sea life, swaying or swimming peacefully in the deep sea current.

You expect the sea-chariot to takes you to one of the high coral towers above the city, where you were before. But instead it keeps descending, until it enters a huge cleft in the floor of the sea itself. And into the sides of that deep ravine is carved a beautiful palace of smoothly shaped stone. Your chariot glides to a stop along a sleek shelf, and over a hundred mermen and mermaids swim out to greet you.

Lalomea is guided away by one of them; the only thing you have a chance to say to her is "See you at the wedding." She turns and says absently, "Yes, yes. The wedding," and then she’s taken away. She’s probably just nervous before the wedding, you think. She’ll feel better once we’re married.

You ask one of the merfolk where your room is, and with the difficulties of translation, it takes you awhile before you understand that the entire cliff face is your personal castle, and all the merfolk here are your servants. Dozens of them swim alongside you at all times, just waiting to fulfill whatever whim crosses your mind. It’s a pleasant feeling to be royalty, you think.

But you get right to work. Tomorrow you have an audience with the King, followed by your wedding. Today Petrosian has promised to take you to see the merfolk army and weaponry, and you waste no time in taking him up on his offer.

You’re impressed with what you see. Tens of thousands of merfolk are already guarding the sea around Freehome, he tells you, but he shows you another ten thousand who are mobilizing this week. In addition to their light tridents, they carry heavy harpoons used in the battles against Leviathan. "These were made to pierce through the hide of the sea serpent," he tells you. "They’ll easily cut through any ship’s hull." And seeing the thick metal, so heavy it takes three merfolk to carry one, it is easy to believe him. He also shows you schools of trained swordfish, their noses razor sharp, and killer whales whose tails could smash a ship in a single swipe. He even shows you huge rusty anchors dropped from ships long ago. "Any metal ship will ride low in the water," he says. "Filled with armored soldiers, they’ll ride even lower. A little extra weight attached hooked to their hulls…" he smiles. "Down they go." Of course, you haven’t seen the Bullroars’ armament, but having all this on your side makes you feel more secure.

Nelectitus is a bit of an embarrassment, and you’re beginning to regret bringing him along. He’s progressed from constant agitation to near-panic, and only once does he say anything coherent. That’s when you’re swimming back from surveying the armies, and you see a small octopus being chased by a shark. The octopus squirts out a spray of dark ink as a decoy. The shark is tricked and attacks the ink, while the octopus gets away safely.

"See? See?" says Nelectitus to you, excited.

"Yes, yes, I remember your prophecy," you say, annoyed. "’Beware the ink of the octopus.’ But what does it mean? Who’s the octopus? What’s the ink? It doesn’t do me any good unless I know what it means."

Nelectitus scowls and mutters something about "many meanings," then goes back mumbling about a "way out."

Despite his warning, you sleep soundly on your bed of kelp that night. Tomorrow is your wedding day, and you hope to go back to Freehome at the end of it, with a solid alliance and a bride in tow. You were probably too tough on your captains, but as long as you win the coming battle, all will be forgiven.

You spend the next morning getting dressed and prepared for the festivities, then the merfolk take you to the King’s throne room, where you last saw him. Once again, the hall is filled wall to wall and floor to ceiling with merfolk, and the King Under the Sea is seated on his high white throne carved into the wall. He’s an old merman with a multi-colored tail, a long white beard, and white hair braided in back and reaching to his waist. He wears a crown of silver and emeralds and carries a sceptre made of whalebone and decorated with pearls.

The merfolk cheer as you enter, and the King calls out: "Welcome! Welcome Prince Lodevar, my beloved son!" There is the sound of seashell horn trumpets and the merfolk throw sea-flower petals, which slowly float through the hall before settling on you and the sea floor around you.

The King’s voice booms out again: "This is a great day, the wedding day of my son. We will eat and drink and make merry in celebration. But first, because this is also a serious time, I will speak of serious things.

"Lodevar, yesterday your brother Petrosian showed you the armies that are being mobilized to protect you and your adopted people. Are you satisfied with them? Do you find them strong in warcraft? Are you convinced that they will bring you victory on the seas?"

"No one can be sure of victory," you say. "But the merfolk armies are indeed strong."

"Excellent. Then as a gift to you on this day, a wedding present if you will, let me grant you an authority, an extension of my power. I give you the command of all the merfolk armies defending Freehome. It is my desire that in this coming battle, you swim at the head of our people.

"Now by that I do not mean for you to be put in harm’s way. Should the unthinkable happen and Leviathan return, your soldiers will fight him. But certainly you can command the armies and also serve the defense of your island against any Bullroar ships that touch the sea."

You didn’t expect this. Petrosian led the merfolk armies. "What about Petrosian?"

"Your brother Prince Petrosian is an able commander. He will serve under you."

You’re not sure what to make of this. If you were in command of the merfolk armies, that would guarantee their loyalty, wouldn’t it? But you’d always expected to fight on land, with the sheepheads. You still think of them as your people more than the merfolk, despite the merfolk’s hospitality and generosity.

The King continues: "Now, on to the celebration. As I’ve said, this is a great day for you, my beloved son. It’s my wish that today you wed a beautiful and enchanting mermaid, whose face shines like the pearl, whose voice is as sweet as cloudfish honey, whose limbs…" As the King goes on singing your fiancee’s praises, ten beautiful mermaids swim out and set a giant clam before you. As the King speaks, it slowly opens to reveal another mermaid even more beautiful than the others, with yellow-green hair, beautiful golden scales, and deep blue eyes. She smiles sweetly at you. You’ve never seen her before. The King finishes: "Behold your bride, the mermaid Siala!"

Siala? "Wait a minute! What happened to Lalomea?"

"Ah, yes," says the King. "Unfortunately, your previous betrothed is unavailable. But I assure you that Siala is every bit as lovely as Lalomea, that her voice sings as sweetly-"

"What do you mean, unavailable? Where is she?"

The hall falls silent and the King looks at you in surprise. You get the feeling that it’s been a long time since anyone interrupted him.

"She’s gone," he says. "She has left Ulderea."

"Why did she leave? Where did she go?"

The King sighs and opens his hands. "My son, I’m the King Under the Sea. Every creature in the ocean is under my command. I do my best to keep things in harmony, to keep every school of fish together, every merchild with its family. But every once in a while, there’s a fish that for whatever reason, doesn’t do what it’s supposed to, that won’t swim with its school. It’s determined to go out into dangerous waters, or, in her case, flop itself on land and die. No one knows why these little fishies do what they do; I try my best to keep them in line, but, sadly, I’m not all-powerful."

"She went to throw herself on land? To kill herself? Why?" Her words in the chariot come back to you: What’s it like to die on land?

"Who knows? Once they’ve got that idea in their heads, it’s impossible to stop them. But it doesn’t matter. She’s gone, and I understand that it’s sad for you. But cheer up, my son! There are plenty of fish in the sea, as they say, and I think you’ll find that one is very much like the next. Except that a few of them are crazy, of course, but I promise that Siala isn’t one of those."

"Where did she go?"

The King frowns. "She’s gone," he says firmly. "Now I am giving you two gifts today: the command of an army and a beautiful mermaid to wed. Be an obedient son and take them both. You can go back to the sheepheads with your head high and we’ll be assured of victory together. What do you say?"

What do you do?

Read the posts below, and click "Post Reply" to post a suggestion for the Lodevar’s next action. Anyone is welcome to post. You can suggest what he would do based on his personality, what you think he should do based on what would be best, or just in general what seems like a good idea to you. Feel free to comment on other’s suggestions, but please be courteous.

You're also welcome to ask questions about Lodevar's background or about the world of the Wheel.

[Smee]

Another excellent chapter :D

I live for the day I spot a spelling error but once again you let me down. :wink:

Fantastic way of including everything, but a shame about the limited success. Least we got the intel.

Not sure how metal tridents, however big and sharp, could be given enough speed to pierce through a metal reinforced hull, however the extra weight from the anchors (given the heavily laden ships anyway) is a good idea.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that these 2 'wedding gifts', given by the merking, are the ink that Nelectitus is rambling about. Something designed to cloud the real issue. I'm probably wrong, it could be something coming later but I'm going to be persistant and therefore say that Lodevar needs to avoid this trick and go after Lalomea.

Giving Lodevar command of his armies may seem like a gift - but Lodevar is completely ignorant of how to command 'Mer-armies' - complacency, given the size of the army, could therefore mean the destruction of any chance the sheepheads have of victory. Refuse the gift, or at the very least use your new command to give command back to Petrosian - a skilled and experienced commander. This would maybe cement a solid relationship with Petrosian as well.

As for Lalomea; the king seems more than reluctant to say where she has gone, but maybe an appeal to his heart: "I love her; your daughter, like no other, I must find her" etc. will get through to him. No matter what he says, finding, saving and then marrying Lalomea could surely only make him happy.

What's escaping me though is why the king is so unconcerned that his daughter has gone? And why would the king betray Lodevar? Maybe Lalomea knows that it is the Merking who has called Leviathan back - maybe he has more control of the sea, and it's creatures than she was letting on before.

Lots of thought provoking ideas in this chapter; it will be interesting to see what other people think. :)

[Mordok]

You have outdone yourself with this one Keavney. This chapter is the perfect example of what an interactive story should be. You used many of the readers suggestions, creating a very exciting chapter, and you did it while still following the results of the poll. After we are settled into the story and things are going smoothly, WHAM, you hit us with a monkey wrench. Very well done.

Lodevar may have to take one for the team this time. Love is great and all but, would you lose your peoples freedom for it? I would still try to save Lalomea from drying on the beach but, I would not want to anger the Mer-King. Smee's suggestion of pleading the case of love may work, but if not, we will have to be a true leader and make a sacrifice (no pun intended) to save our people.

As for leading the mer-troops, Smee also nailed my thoughts with taking control but, giving actual control back to Petrosian. Do it now. Praising Petrosians leadership publicly could only make him respect you more and make him want to help.

You sure make this hard Keavney.

[Ravenwing]

Absolutely wonderful, Keavney. I loved the plot twist near the end. I think Lodevar really does love Lalomea. Like Smee said, I definitely see Lodevar saying, "I love her,...." to persuade the merking that he really does love Lalomea, and is willing to chase after her. I may have missed it, but do we really know the reason why Lalomea is upset. I mean we can assume she thinks Lodevar really does not like her, but we're not certain of the real reason.

Secondly, I have to agree with Smee and Mordok about Lodevar asking the king that he leave the commanding of the mer-army to Petrosian. Not only would he gain more respect, I think it would keep the jealously from escalating. I definitely see Petrosian being disobedient and outright rude to Lodevar if Lodevar was head.

[Key]

Lalomea hasn't said why she is upset. You're free to speculate on that.

:)

[D-Lotus]

Well, the attack on the city was kind of succesful, at least we delayed them, but did all have to go wrong???? Oh Well. Hmmmmm, personally, I would just marry the new girl and leave. They say she's prettier, too, so why not, Lodevar never really cared, he's too concentrated with his people. But of course that would make the story crappy, non- sentimental (although kind of original), and it would make it without a love story, would be only about gaining power, war, some minor strategy, and a rams problems....etc... I think it's more convenient to take the gifts and go, but for Keavney's sake,and for the editorial this story will be in, I'll go with the search for Lalomea...maybe Leviathan captured her! Maybe we should also consider disciplining and armoring our troops. I bet we are just a bunch of rabble, sheepheads running in disorder, relying on brute strength and wil power to win a battle...not going to work. That's ll for now

[Mother Goose]

I think Lalomea was supposed to betray Lodevar in some way once they were married, and when she got to know him she began to think of disobeying her father and not doing it. That is why she was replaced - with a more compliant sister who will do what she's told! Lodevar should not marry the new mermaid, but try to save Lalomea if he can, and in any case don't trust the merking. If he can make a friend of Petrosian it might be helpful, but I'm sure Petrosian is also loyal to his king.

[bherman]

Keavney is incredible. These twists are killing me. I am really impressed with your story telling.

I think Lodevar should explain to the king that it is not customary to trade one bride for annother. That he is willing to wait to see if Lalome will change her mind one day. He is grateful for the gift of leading his army; but, compliment Petrosian profusely in words only Keavney can create, and insist that Petrosian lead the army in victory over the Bullroars and the Serpent. Focus on fighting to win.

Lalome will hopefully return one day. But I agree. She probably feared having to betray Lodevar.

[D-Lotus]

Yeah, tell him that maybe to him all his daughters are the same, but to Lodevar, Lalomea is life! Oh, by the way, check out the new chapter in the Bushido forum, it has cool pics in it too!!! :D

[Reiso]

Man . . . I feel like I'm forming an anti-merfolk club here. Every time I post on this story, I have yet another reason to point out how suspicious their behavior is. Especially the King.

Lalomea is his daughter for crying out loud! If he is that ambivilant and flippant about her death, then how can Lodevar believe that his own life (not to mention the lives of his people), has any greater value to the King?

I. Just. Don't. Like it.

(Take that Smee - four incomplete sentences in a row!)

As to the ever evident and inescapable sorrow of Lalomea herself . . . well, to be honest I thought it was simply that she wanted to marry for love (or some such thing), and was dipleased about being a tool for her people. It is such a common and well fitting theme for the situation that I didn't think twice about it. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out otherwise though, especially after this last chapter.

I think he should go after her. To hell with politics, she is his betrothed. And what could his men possibly think of him if he just sits around waiting to find out she is dead? He risks his reputation in either scenario, so he might as well try to save a life. Who knows how important Lalomea may be to his life in the future? Or his destiny.

Keavney - I hope your book is a major success so you can hurry up and get this one published too.

[D-Lotus]

Actually, I personaly thought that she wasn't marrying for love, and only because her father commanded her to marry. Maybe that's why she killed herself, she didn't like Lodevar. But then, why would she want to die on earth? It wouldn't make sense. And when she said that thing about when you die, you can't escape the sea, it might prove some theories of other people, that she was being used as a tool to betray Lodevar, but Keavney, one question...How are a mermaid (lives in water) and a sheephead(lives in land) supposed to live with each other. It's kind of difficult. And how would they mate/???

[Ravenwing]

Lalomea may not love Lodevar, but I would say that Lodevar is certainly smitten by her.

[saxon215]

wow man a twisted beauty of a chapter, absolutely wonderful great job
lalomea either ran away or was taken away because she would not betray Lodevar
there are some scientific priciples involved with fighting underwater, such as evern harpoons are reaosanbly slow underwater, if perhaps a large blowfish were to be caught and exploded in the harpoon laumcher to propell it that would be good.
once agaiun another beautiful piece of litirature you are the King, Keavney

[Key]

D-Lotus wrote: Keavney, one question...How are a mermaid (lives in water) and a sheephead(lives in land) supposed to live with each other. It's kind of difficult. And how would they mate/???

Good question. The Merking probably doesn't care in this case, since it's an arranged marriage for political purposes. But it might be something for Lodevar to think about. The subject hasn't come up between Lodevar and Lalomea, nor does he even know how the merfolk mate among themselves.

[Key]

Great posts everyone. Thanks for all the compliments. I've said before and I'll say again that the more involved in the story you all are and the more creative your suggestions, the better the stories turn out to be. I had a lot of great material to work with last time, and it looks like I will again.

There seems to be a consensus to reject the command of the Merking's armies, or at least to hand that off to Petrosian publicly. In terms of how to react to the change in brides, I've heard three options so far:

1) Protest to the Merking that you love Lalomea, but if that doesn't get through to him, agree to marry Siala.
2) Refuse to marry Siala, then go back to your people to prepare for the battle.
3) Refuse to marry Siala, then try to find and save Lalomea.

Any other thoughts or options?

[Mordok]

Mother Goose wrote: I think Lalomea was supposed to betray Lodevar in some way once they were married, and when she got to know him she began to think of disobeying her father and not doing it. That is why she was replaced - with a more compliant sister who will do what she's told! Lodevar should not marry the new mermaid, but try to save Lalomea if he can, and in any case don't trust the merking. If he can make a friend of Petrosian it might be helpful, but I'm sure Petrosian is also loyal to his king.

While I still say that Lodevar has bigger fish to fry (pardon the pun) than worrying about his love life, Mother Goose makes a great point. I still say Lodevar would be more interested in cementing his relations with his allies than with his girlfriend, but talking to Lalomea couldn't hurt.

[saxon215]

although i must say i like this Drogas character

[Random]

Another great chapter Keavney!

This one was tough, I had to actually think about it overnight. I would say that Lodevar should go after Lalomea. Setting love aside for a moment, this could be a test by the king and the merpeople. A test of Lodevar's character. Who's to say that if Lodevar agreed to marry Siala the King would not become enraged that Lodevar was not true to Lalomea?

Lodevar should go after Lalomea. While the King doesn't seem to care much about her, I'm thinking it could be a ruse. Just a thought.

[saxon215]

wow i didnt think of that, good one

[D-Lotus]

Well, Everybody agrees on Lodevar going after Lalomea. Couldn't Lodevar say that he needs to suspend everything, the war and the shock of Lalomeas dissapearance is too much for him, he needs to rest awhile, and therefore, he will hand command to Petrosian until the final batle or more...but will shortly come back.

[Key]

D-Lotus wrote: Well, Everybody agrees on Lodevar going after Lalomea. Couldn't Lodevar say that he needs to suspend everything, the war and the shock of Lalomeas dissapearance is too much for him, he needs to rest awhile, and therefore, he will hand command to Petrosian until the final batle or more...but will shortly come back.


OK, so it looks like we have four options:

1) Protest to the Merking that you love Lalomea, but if that doesn't get through to him, agree to marry Siala.
2) Refuse to marry Siala, then go back to your people to prepare for the battle.
3) Refuse to marry Siala, then tell the merking that you must find and save Lalomea
4) Refuse to marry Siala, then try to find and save Lalomea secretly

The voting is now up. To vote, go to the next chapter and make your choice. Remember that you must be logged in to vote. Feel free to continue the discussion there. The different options won't change, but you might be able to sway people to choose one or another.