Misadventures: Letter 5

Dear Thaire,

I feel I may have uncovered something big. Something that, perhaps, many will object to, but an important discovery when tracking the Paper Demon Phenomenon. This may well change our world forever, if my research on this phenomenon is to get out and become well-known.

I was going about my day, just having sent you the last letter, when I felt the uncontrollable urge to go back and discover a new world. It has become addictive for me. So I looked through my books, choosing one blindly without even checking what its world was like. I was prepared to take any trial thrown at me in this world, even if I were to get injured during the process.

I awoke in the sea blue abyss. Nothing but water in any direction. Gasping, panting, struggling, I began stroking my arms, desperately trying to find which way was upwards in this great ocean. However, instead of going forward like I had tried, I felt what were supposed to be my own legs working against me, turning me to swim head-first into the sand.

My body gasped for air, out of reflex, and I felt salty brine filling my lungs and throat. I was sure that was the end. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t my end. After inhaling my fair share of the salty sea around me, I found that rather than being suffocated and drowning, I actually felt like I had just inhaled a breath of air, like a normal day on land.

Pushing myself off of the seafloor with a bit of force, I sat up, now knowing which way was up or down. I watched around for a moment, trying to contemplate everything going on around me. The waters became more clear, less murky, like the bright blue seas around a tropical island. I saw two ravines, one which was illuminated with iridescent teal and gold lights a ways away, and another that was much closer, albeit intimidating and littered with wooden wreckage.

I glanced down to check if I was okay. But that was when the real chaos started. I no longer had legs, but a mermaid’s tail under me, webbed fins on either side. It was a deep blood red, seemingly matching with the ribbon on my hat and the color of my veil. I froze, taking in this majestic and frightening new appearance.

After readjusting my hat and poncho, I tried to begin swimming with this new tail, though it was a struggle. I must’ve spent quite a while trying to get to the lit ravine (no, I cannot give an estimate, no matter how hard I try). And though there was one that was closer, I chose not to go in it due to the wreckage surrounding it.

A long time passed, and I became thoroughly exhausted from the constant motion of my tail back and forth. But eventually I finally reached it… the city in the ravine, which is formally known as the Borealis Enclave. I peered down, my hands resting on the rocky, jagged edges of the gaping canyon. A large road was visible even where I sat, creatures and people walking through it. On either side, houses in broken-off sections clumped together. It was beautiful, corals growing all over every surface. At once I dove into the ravine, able to swim down much more naturally than any other direction.

Just a short swim later, I arrived in that beautiful teal and gold city. Despite the other worlds being filled with various creatures and very diverse, everyone here seemed to share the same mermaid features as myself and any other natives, despite their top halves being much different. If you could imagine for just a moment, a lizard person or orc or any other mythical species with a bottom half as I described, you would find it rather amusing.

People were riding these creatures which I later came to know as Epiales, majestic creatures with long necks and webbed sections on either side of their heads, necks, and bodies. Their tails are like mighty whips going behind them, and their smooth skin is speckled black and white. When their mouths are open, it reveals teeth like a whale’s, used for inhaling water to collect tiny bits of food in the water. From what I gathered, they seemed to ride them for sport and entertainment, rather than actually getting from place to place- Epiales, while beautiful, tend to disobey orders quite frequently.

It took me quite a long time to become accustomed to this new region. Though it was easier in places on land, an underwater city obviously has entirely different customs and cultures. Some things I was commonly used to doing or saying were now seen as offensive, so I had to keep myself alert.

One night, I decided to attend a small gathering which I had heard about. They had called it “Mythology Night”, and I, being a writer as well, was intrigued by this. I entered a small hall to which I had been told to go, before entering. Many others crowded around a circular stage, a merman sitting on it and preparing to sing with an instrument of some kind in his hands. A bard.

I was immediately excited to hear him. And the bard, suddenly ready, launched out into a prelude- likely some history to the story to come. Food and drink were passed among the crowd, and I got some too, eating contentedly as I listened to this spell-binding history. No doubt I was meant to know all of this story to understand its meaning, though the bard explained it well and there were fewer gaps in the story or misunderstandings than I expected.

He paused, stringing his instrument before starting up again, having now finally reached the main part of the epic saga. I listened carefully to this bewitching story, the others around me just as hushed. A story of a man who had traveled the ocean and back, gone to the deepest recesses, talked with sirens, slayed massive beasts… no doubt a most incredible man! I wondered if he was real.

I listened nearly all night, barely touching the food I’d been given in favor of listening and soaking in everything I heard. The saga lasted several nights, in fact, because the story was simply that long. I wish I had a way for you to hear it- it was beautifully sung and spoken, so natural and captivating that I never wished for the story to end.

Though, soon, a month came around, and I felt as though I had to leave and return to land once again. So I did just that. I looked around the teal and gold city one more time, before going back the way I came. And just like that, I was back here, ready to write you another time.

So, that is my discovery about this phenomenon. Yes, I tell you that the world knows when a person is entering it who is not able to survive there normally, and it will automatically give you features that fit whatever you need to live there. A rather amazing thing, really. Though I don’t think it is something you can do on your own, this means that one could technically experience being anything in the world if they write about or go to the correct world. A fascinating revelation.

 

With Great Love,

Jordini