Anchored to the Sea: Mermaid Magic Tales, Vol. 6: Mermaid Magic Tales

By R.S. Kellogg

The stories of the mermaids continue in Anchored to the Sea: Mermaid Magic Tales, Vol. 6.

 

The roots of the merfolk civilization go deep into the heart of the ocean.

Though many merfolk and mer families make up the culture, at its center sits the powerful king Bearded Jeziah.

Like a brook that holds the babble of many voices, his kingdom is filled with personalities.

Some of them follow him with obedient loyalty, helping boost his power and his directives. But others follow a will of their own . . . even when this clashes with the king.

 

In "The Sea King's Family Portrait," Bearded Jeziah contemplates his family and who he wants to hold in his good favor. (Deep ocean)

 

In "Beryl's Great Treasure," Jaire returns to visit his family's sea cave, at the insistent summons of his mother. (Deep ocean)

 

"Tagiba's Star Jewel" finds Tagiba on a quest to find out how far the power from her gift from the stars will go. (Agratica)

 

"Queen of Water" follows Leora's surprising call to witness a long-missing regal figure. (Cross-over story from Breadcove Bay to Agratica)

 

And in "Diamond of the Deep," the realm-holder of Grayfin Island realizes his role as a pawn in the power moves of merfolk royalty. (Agratica)

 

These short stories follow the continuing adventures, misadventures, triumphs, and challenges of the merfolk of Breadcove Bay and Agratica—and the people who share their realms.

 

If you love stories of mersong, merfolk and the humans who get tangled in their adventures, buy this book today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.S. Kellogg
• Release date: Jan 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215592502

R.S. Kellogg

 R.S. Kellogg writes in the fantasy Breadcove Bay series, as well as exploring other story worlds and non-fiction topics.

Book preview

Introduction

In Anchored to the Sea: Mermaid Magic Tales, Vol. 6 , we move a little past the typical domain of the short story format. Each story here is told from a different point of view, but all flow together to advance the story of an overarching narrative. This book is like a brook that holds the babble of many voices, flowing forward in a single whole.

In The Sea King’s Family Portrait, Bearded Jeziah contemplates his family and who he wants to hold in his good favor. (Deep ocean)

In Beryl’s Great Treasure, Jaire returns to visit his family’s sea cave, at the insistent summons of his mother. (Deep ocean)

Tagiba’s Star Jewel finds Tagiba, now voiceless, on a quest to find out how far the power from her gift from the stars will go. (Agratica)

Queen of Water follow’s Leora’s surprising call to witness a long-missing regal figure. (Cross-over story from Breadcove Bay to Agratica)

And in Diamond of the Deep, the realm-holder of Grayfin Island faces his role as a pawn in the power moves of merfolk royalty. (Agratica)

These short stories follow the continuing adventures, misadventures, triumphs, and challenges of the merfolk of Breadcove Bay and Agratica—and the people who share their realms.

Ready to dive in?

Enjoy the stories!

Cheers,

R.S. Kellogg

P.S. At the end of the book, please enjoy a sneak peek of the opening pages of Kuan Yin at the Cliffs, a new story by R.S. Kellogg.

List of Stories:

The Sea King’s Family Portrait

Beryl’s Great Treasure

Tagiba’s Star Jewel

Queen of Water

Diamond of the Deep

About the Author

Other Titles by R.S. Kellogg

The Sea King’s Family Portrait

by R.S. Kellogg

In the depths of the Great Agratican sea, far beyond the shorelines and the bright realms where sunlight soaked into the water, beneath currents and winds and choppy waves that carried heedless ships bearing oblivious sailors over vast glittering kingdoms of the depths, deep in a cold valley of the ocean, the palace of Bearded Jeziah rested like a great pearlescent sand castle tucked among massive rocks.

Above the palace glided schools of fish, and the occasional shadowy sea monster. Merfolk flitted around about the palace, some there on business or to petition the king, and others guarding the entrances against undesirables and sea predators, and others offering refreshments, directions, or support to merfolk who were guests.

The space around the castle smelled like phytoplankton, and the wet sand and dirt of the sea bed, of salt, and of hopes and ideas and fears. For the merfolk could smell and sense emotions and weigh the relative powers of wills for those who swam among this valley and passed near the castle’s depth.

Amidst the activities of the merfolk, Bearded Jeziah’s great castle rested like a carved and polished rock on the sea floor, undisturbed and unchanged by most of what went on around it, above it, and through it. It was well built, heavy, and cold. Most of its surfaces were smooth to the touch—handy, when the long tails of the old-bloods brushed against the castle’s floors—and the whole building glowed faintly. The castle rested patiently like a steady giant, offering peace and walls of safety to merfolk—creatures who always must keep an ear out for predators in the open waters. They could find rest and safety here.

At least on a physical level.

On a political level, making a visit to this castle and its king could have a far-ranging effect on the fortunes and standing of merfolk of all stripes, but especially for members of the royal family.

The king of this castle was believed to have a larger impact on the sea all around him than what it had on him.

But truth be told he felt himself to be more vulnerable than his castle.

Bearded Jeziah had a beard that warranted his name—it was brown and lustrous and full, and extended over his collarbones. He cared for this beard with specially crafted oil and kept the center of it braided up in three small braids, decorated at the ends with little sea stars and throughout the braids with the metallic tokens of his political favorites.

Today, he touched a sea star at the bottom of his right braid reflexively. He could feel the roughness of the little arms of the little ornament and he took a great sigh, letting his shoulders relax.

The water in the hall where he swam alone was cool and smelled of hints of all the guests that had poured through the palace over the past few days. It had been crowded in the great hall earlier, but now he was alone, and pensive.

He needed to sort out his thoughts.

He had sent the members of his large family away; he would deal with them later.

A few of the older sons had sunk into an attitude which he didn’t like: posturing to him.

He knew what they were after. Today was the day of the lunar month in which he evaluated his favorites, and made any adjustments as needed.

They all wanted to go up in power. And none of them wanted to lose ground.

When this semi-dark hall was full, merfolk sensed each other via more senses than sight. He could almost taste the acrid eagerness of the echo of his sons’ desires to please him.

In the dull light emanating from the walls, Jeziah could see the edge of his own formidable tail, could even make out how the edges of his tail fins were thin enough that the light could shine through, showing the ridges of his tail in stark relief to shadows. The royal oil which he had applied to his tail gave his lines a striking sheen.

He wore a light bracelet as an emblem of his office, reserving his circlet for days when he held full court or needed to ascend to the surface and engage with humans, who gave great credence to things like crowns, which they could see, as opposed to the merfolk who gave greater credence to things they could sense and smell.

Any merfolk who came across Jeziah knew instantly that he was a sea king. They didn’t need to see him wearing a crown in order to know this and honor him. His presence carried the memories of all of the honors that he had received in his life, the rituals he had overseen, the palpable sense of the respect of his people. The blessings which he had received from his family and his court rested around him like a numinous aura.

The only ornamentation which he currently wore besides the bracelet were the small trinkets which he had woven into the braids of his beard: The sea stars at the bottom, a few lovely silver pieces representing his current favorite wives, and golden tokens from his most important lords and sons.

His beard was a topic of legends, and he knew it was a topic of fascination. Any time he ascended into the light others would visually check his beard, inventorying it to get a sense of what the power dynamics were like at the palace just then.

Beneath the water in his palace, however, the finely tuned senses of the royal family meant that if any of them came into his presence, they could sense in a few moments whose tokens he wore, as they would also be aware of the layers of emotions and scents he carried, even under the water.

Some of Jeziah’s brothers thought him fussy and overly given to ornamentation and pomp—take his brother Jakkier for instance. Jakkier had mumbled something about Jeziah being as pretty as a mermaid when they’d last entertained each other, at a gathering of the great sea kings, out at a beach on the Gulf of Agratica near the southern end of the continent.

Jeziah had bristled for a moment at the apparent insult, but had dismissed it rapidly, as Jakkier’s own tastes in accessories were suspect. Jakkier’s attempt