Snippet #2459428

Aranhil Lothlorien

Aranhil had a long day of gathering materials for crafting jewelry. He swam in the sea carrying a satchel of beautiful shells, pearls, and other items. He swam through the Atlantia market place which was bustling with activity. The merpeople were keepers of beautiful treasures and trinkets that would be the envy of most mortals. Lucky for them they were under the sea and thus protected from greedy human merchants.

Aranhil reached his atelier and sat at his work desk. After a few moments of working a visitor arrived at his door. Aranhil turned around toward the atelier doorway. A soldier of the king was there, much to Aranhil surprise. Aranhil was a little apprehensive about a soldier being at his door. By the looks of his serious expression, he wasn’t here as a customer Aran figured. “Um… Hello there sir. How may I be of service?” Aran said with a nervous smile.

The soldier swam a little more into the atelier. “Aranhil Lothlorien, on behalf of the royal guard I am requesting your aide in the search of her Highness Princess Aleiia. Her highness has gone missing and the king as expended some of his valuable man power to search for her however I have a feeling she may be have ventured to the surface again and met with trouble.” The soldier spoke with a heavy and militant voice.

Aranhil was very confused. “With all due respect sir, why are you asking for my help to find the princess? I’m a craftsman, not a member of the royal guard. What makes you think that I would be any better at finding her than the kings men?” Aran replied with a slight hint of sass in his voice. He wasn’t a big fan of soldiers of any kind, as he was somewhat considered a misfit due to his odd powers and reputation.

The royal guard glared a bit at Aranhil. “You are Aranhil the bewitcher, are you not? Your reputation for magical illusions, craftiness and your business with the surface world precedes you. I need you to search the surface world for the princess. She likes to explore the surface and I feel she may be there. You’re just the merman to find her. Our soldiers are trained to be their best in the ocean and waterways, not on Surface dweller… legs…” The soldier place heavy and negative emphasis on the words surface dweller.

Aran smirked, “Ahh… so you mean to say your soldiers are cut out for placing a fin to the sand huh? Well what do you know… hahaha!” Aranhil chuckled snidely. He was loving every minute of the soldier’s desperation for his help. Aran then folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. “So what would you do if I refuse? I’m a very busy merman and I haven’t got all day to go running about the surface world for a girl. You see this list? It’s all the commission projects I’m working on. These need to be completed a soon as possible. My business has a reputation for speed and quality. I can’t have you ruining that because some curious girl got turned around on the surface.”Aranhil replied in a dismissive manner.

The soldier’s glare intensified. “My using the word ‘request’ was merely a formality. Let me be frank, really frank with you from here on out, BEWITCHER. If you do not search for the princess and find her, lest she returns or is found by another, I will personally see to it that you have no business, no atelier, or a home to return to in Atlantia. You think people fear your reputation now? I will make sure people avoid you like the plague, no one will house you, no one will have you, and that you are forced to take refuge in another ocean for that matter. Then you could perhaps end up as a lagoon merman. HAHAHAHA!” The soldier threatened Aranhil and belted out in laughter.

Aranhil’s eyes widened, as he was in shock. He was being strong armed by the royal military. Aran wondered if the king was in support of this soldier’s actions. He was pretty sure that he had no chance in reporting his actions. It seemed that Aranhil had no choice. Aran glared back at the soldier. “Fine… It looks as if you’ve got this all sorted out. I guess I’m going to find the princess then. What happens to me in the event that I cannot find her or, moon forbid, that she is dead? Will I lose everything even still? I’m but an artist trying to life quietly. Must I suffer because of the princess’ trouble?” Aran pleaded.

“Nothing shall happen to you should you return with proof of such ill happenings. You should leave as soon as possible. Good luck bewitcher.” The soldier said and promptly left.

Aran was shocked, He didn’t know what to do. After sitting down for a moment to collect himself, he began to write a message to post on his doorway, informing customers that he would be away on official business and must postpone all commissions until further notice. After posting the note, he gathered his things. He brought plenty of supplies and after a few moments he was bidding farewell to his home. He made way for the surface and once he reached it he stared out at the shoreline. “Here we go…” Aran said.

After swimming a bit through several of the lands waterways and channels he reached the Kingdom Elvae. He had ventured here once before but it was a quite some time ago. He wasn’t quite sure how the elves would receive a merman in their midst. He found a nice place on land and sat in an attempt to dry off and convert his tail and fins to legs and feet. Hopefully he wouldn’t encounter trouble.