Mercury/Stories
Quotes
Dragon Story Episodes
The Prince of Fishes
Dragons have ruled the seas since
the dawn of time. Scared of beasts
like Poseidon and Leviathan, humans
long shirked the open ocean.
The construction of Saint Lotier upon
the waves broke that taboo. Though
the process was arduous, it became
a floating metropolis.
However, it was founded in a region
originally ruled by the Waterwyrm,
and the dragon often attacked in
retaliation for the city's rampant
pollution of the waters.
Over time, the fighting intensified.
A faction of hard-liners emerged
who wished to destroy the dragon
in order to save the city.
A prince, charged by royal decree to
oversee Saint Lotier's development,
despaired at the conflict, and came
to a decision.
Accompanied by only his closest
confidants, the prince went to the
shore and called the Waterwyrm
forth from the waves.
"What do you want?" asked the
dragon. "The time for parley is past."
"The time for parley is now," replied
the prince. "We must make peace!"
"Land and sea, leg and fin...
Where we live, what we eat...
Our differences make us unfamiliar
with each other."
The flames of war are not easily
quenched, but the prince knew the
dragon took no joy in killing.
The bloodshed needed to end.
Resolute, he faced the Waterwyrm
and continued to speak. He was
ready to give his own life for peace,
if that is what it would take.
The prince and the Waterwyrm spoke
on the beach for some time. Should
they fail to come to an accord, the
fighting would start anew, and the
waters would run red with blood.
"Our ways of life are too different,"
said the prince, "and I fear we will
not reach an understanding soon."
Then he put forth a proposal.
"Both our peoples need guardians
they can trust not to harm them.
Those guardians cannot be anyone
but the two of us: the lord of the land
and the lord of the sea."
"From this day forward, I shall live
beneath the waves. In return,
Waterwyrm, you will live upon the
land and watch over my people."
"Impossible," snorted the Waterwyrm.
"I am a dragon, and there is nowhere
in this world I cannot go; but you, a
mere human, cannot live beneath
the waves."
At that, the prince produced a small
cup. "That is why I had the royal
magician prepare this potion.
Drinking it will give me scales and
fins. What say you?"
The Waterwyrm's breath hitched in her
throat. "I feel the mana radiating
from that cup... The draught will work
as you claim, but you will be bound
to the sea forever if you drink it."
"If this is what it takes to earn your
trust," said the prince, "then I am
ready to accept the consequences."
The prince then drained the cup and
was transformed into a giant fish.
As the prince's astonished advisors
looked on, the fish wriggled and
bounced into the ocean. It cast its
wordless gaze upon the Waterwyrm,
who seemed to understand.
"The oath is made," said the dragon.
Her scales glowed bright, her fins
became four legs upon which to
tread the earth, and she stepped out
onto the sand.
"Humans and fish, heed my words!
Until the day the prince's soul returns
to land, I shall not return to the sea!
I am now a guest upon this land!"
"Humankind is indeed worthy of
mutual understanding. Let us forgive
past mistakes and amend our ways
so we may walk this path together!"
Thus was friendship forged between
land and sea, and thus did Saint
Lotier flourish.