by Matt Larkin
Seven Seas.
Seven mer kingdoms.
But Hiyoya lay within the Muian Sea. That’s what the Sundering was, wasn’t it? A civil war within Mu, one that had lasted for more than two thousand years.
Yes.
Opuhalakoa grinned, revealing her shark teeth and apparently all too aware of the inner struggle going on inside Namaka’s mind. “You have not yet gone to see Daucina.”
“I’ll meet him at the next moonrise. Surely he sleeps now.”
“You’d be surprised how late into the day he works. Go to our estate and meet him now.”
She swam toward the Ukupanipo Estate, which lay on the city’s southern reach, in caverns left by empty lava tubes. Above the caverns, a vibrant reef grew, teeming with a rainbow of fish, anemones, seahorses, and skates. And, Namaka thought, probably eels.
The Urchin had shown her something of the he‘e, but not enough to know what to offer them to intervene on Mu’s behalf.
Had it shown something more useful to Nyi Rara? She was still trying to piece together what she could of the creatures. She had seen a giant he‘e, that was sure.
Kanaloa? Their god-king.
Namaka had suspected as much.
There was another, a direct descendant of Kanaloa, who led them during the Rogo War. Rogo-tumu-here, called Rogo, led the he‘e in revolt against Dakuwaqa.
So Mu had enslaved the he‘e.
Long ago, after the Deluge, when we came from Avaiki into the Mortal Realm, we found them here. Spawn of Kanaloa, a threat to our supremacy. We turned the taniwha upon them until they bent to our will.
Spawn of Kanaloa. So the Ocean God had created the he‘e. And had he always existed?
Whatever the answer, it felt as though Nyi Rara had thrown up a wall in her mind, one behind which Namaka could have sworn she detected an undercurrent of fear. Kanaloa scared the mer, too, did he?
The god of the deep, Namaka had always thought of him.
Ukupanipo guards met them at the tube entrance, crossed tridents barring passage.
“I’m here to see Daucina,” Nyi Rara said with Namaka’s mouth. The princess didn’t bother introducing herself, perhaps trusting all of Mu would have heard of her return by now.
The mer guards slowly withdrew their tridents, and one of them guided Namaka through tunnels lit by wisp lights. They passed through numerous halls before coming to a massive cavern with the walls carved to resemble kelp and a vaulted ceiling that cast echoes from the prayers of numerous singing mer.
They were worshipping what Nyi Rara had called the Elder Deep. Some god back in Avaiki, she assumed.
Perhaps you may as well know. It is an Elder God. The Lord of Watery Abyss, Naunet. The Leviathan itself.
So now they were speaking to each other in truth once more? Regardless, Namaka still wasn’t quite certain she understood. No kahuna had really explained or even knew, so far as Namaka could tell, just what truly lay beyond Pō.
Pō, the Astral Realm, is just the beginning. Beyond it lies the Spirit Realm, of which Avaiki is one world. One from which come the mer, the first dragons, and countless other spawn of the Elder Deep.
Their guard guided them past the large cavern—a heiau, Namaka assumed—then on to a grotto carved yet deeper under the seafloor. A curtain of kelp blocked off the entrance, but the guard pushed it aside, ushering Namaka into the room.
Within rested a yellow-tailed, striped mer with slightly opalescent eyes and hair streaked with a few strands of gray. The merman rose, twirling his tail and bowing to Namaka. “Princess Nyi Rara, welcome, my friend, welcome.”
“Daucina,” Nyi Rara said.
The merman beamed, his smile seeming almost human while his shark teeth remained hidden. This was a priest?
More of a diplomat, though he is of Ukupanipo ‘Ohana.
“I’m so glad we have this opportunity to catch up. You’ve been long away, after all, and a great deal’s happened here in Mu. Come, come, come.” He waved her closer, waiting until Namaka settled onto the floor beside him. “Now, my dear, I’m sure you must be positively starved for news of all your friends and the gossip of the town. You have heard, I assume, that your dear sister even proposed seeking out Nanaue ‘Ohana.” He chuckled. “Can you even imagine the scandal? I rather expected my own cousin to vomit out her gills. That, or eat Princess Kuku Lau.” The mer’s face fell a little at Nyi Rara’s expression. “Ah, yes, that was in poor taste. I did hear the Hiyoyans tried something like that with you. My sincere apologies, princess.”
And Daucina’s own ‘ohana had done so with Nyi Rara’s father.
Was it an honest mistake, or did this Daucina want to see if he could provoke a response from Nyi Rara? Either way, the princess didn’t rise to it, though Namaka felt her chest tighten.
I don’t think Daucina makes mistakes.
“Think nothing of it,” Nyi Rara said. “Opuhalakoa asked me to aid you in searching for … something.”
“Ahhh, yes, my dear. Opu looks out for me, from time to time, at least.” Daucina waved her closer as if inviting her into some conspiracy. “You know of the Great Pearls, I trust.”
“The Chintamaniya.”
Wait, what now?
Daucina held up a webbed finger. “When I was young, I heard a tale that the Chintamaniya come from the Elder Deep itself, coalesced manifestations of its power with enough mana to warp reality or reshape a living being. This tale claims there were once a great many of these stones, but by the time of the Sundering, only a handful remained in Mu. We know that the he‘e stole some of these, and some believed they stole all of them when they rebelled. I, however, have a different theory. You see, King Dakuwaqa himself knew the end had drawn nigh, and I believe he secreted away at least one of the pearls before his fall to Rogo-tumu-here.” Daucina’s smile was so sweet it churned Namaka’s stomach. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about where your grandfather might have enshrined his cache, would you?”
Namaka could have sworn she felt Nyi Rara mentally wince, though the mermaid princess gave nothing away. A shame, because Namaka felt she had no fucking clue what the merman was even talking about. Great pearls? Stones of mana?
The Chintamaniya were flaming pearls. The prized treasures of Mu. They all vanished during the Sundering twenty-four centuries ago.
No, not all of them. Nyi Rara held something back didn’t she? She already knew something of what Daucina was saying. Did she know where her grandfather had hidden one?
It’s gone. Stolen by Hiyoya when they destroyed my previous host.
Huh. That made completing Daucina’s search rather … complex.
“Princess?” Daucina asked, after a moment.
“My grandfather’s cache has no Chintamani stone in it. In fact, little remains at all now, as we’ve spent much of that wealth in trade over the centuries.”
“Hmm, a shame, a shame.” Daucina shook his head while offering a knowing smile that made Namaka want to slap him. “Well then, we must search elsewhere, yes. A source of that much mana might well turn the tide of the war with Hiyoya. Where else should we look?”
“How do we know Rongomai ‘Ohana didn’t take any with them when they fled Mu?”
Daucina raised a finger. “A good point. We don’t know, exactly, but it stands to reason that we would have had some sign of such power in the unfolding centuries since they fled.”
A sign … hadn’t Hiyoya been winning the war? Wasn’t that a sign?
Probably. Daucina supposes they would use the Chintamani in some dramatic gesture, calling up taniwha or enslaving other behemoths to their will. But perhaps they found no taniwha to call anymore and thus have turned to more subtle uses of the pearl.
“We have more immediate concerns,” Nyi Rara said.
“Deeper concerns than the power to win the war?”
“Related, I should say. Perhaps the he‘e themselves hold one or more Chintamani stones.”
Daucina chuckled. “Tales that they fed them to t
heir god-king aside, perhaps they do. No overture for their return has ever produced anything other than a stalemate and recriminations of a past neither side is proud of. We cannot reclaim the stones from the he‘e short of outright war with the damn octopuses, and we have no resources for such a conflict.”
“Nor does Hiyoya.”
Daucina cocked his head. “You mean … Ah, my dear … You think you can persuade our own Ambassador Punga to intervene on our behalf? What, though, would you possibly offer to entice such an action from our enigmatic friend?”
“You’re the one with fins in every grotto across the city. Can you not tell me?”
The merman quirked a smile. “Hmmm. We know they’ve wanted Red Coral Reef for some time. It was the original reason Punga came here. The queen refused, of course. Red Coral Reef teems with food, besides providing a strategic location from which to protect our borders.”
“But things grow more desperate now than ever.”
“Indeed. Which is why the heart of the matter seems to bring us back to finding a Chintamani.”
He knew.
What?
Namaka was more than half certain that Daucina knew Nyi Rara had possessed a pearl and lost it to Hiyoya. The merman was toying with her, luring her into making a mistake and revealing too much.
How would he know?
Namaka couldn’t even guess, but this mer clearly knew a lot more than he was saying, of that she was certain.
He’s got his tail wrapped around every ‘ohana in Mu. He always knows more than he says. It does not mean he knows about the Chintamani.
But Namaka could hear the doubt in Nyi Rara’s voice. “That’s out of our reach for now. I’ll help you search as I agreed, but you have to give me somewhere to start. Until then, I have to see about allying ourselves with the he‘e.”
“If you keep losing battles you won’t have any borders to protect.”
The queen glowered at Namaka. She should have probably chosen more diplomatic words. Then again, Nyi Rara had used up all Namaka’s patience for the mer and then some. In selfish pride and fear she had lashed out against Namaka in a way she wasn’t sure she could ever forgive.
Aiaru sighed, then twirled water around her fingers a moment. “If you are so very convinced of that, then so be it, princess. Tell Ambassador Punga we will grant him Red Coral Reef in exchange for aid in defeating Hiyoya. And not a league more than that of my sea. We cannot allow concerns with Hiyoya to weaken us to the point where Ryūgō-jō or Lemuria try to claim our sea. Empress Benzaiten has already sent us overtures of a so-called alliance.” Aiaru’s glower showed what she thought of that. “Go, bring us these allies you seem so certain are going to save us all.”
The queen waved her hand at the archway and a none-too-gentle current ushered Namaka from the throne room. She really had to learn to choose her words with more care, especially down here, talking to a spirit who was probably old as the sea itself. It didn’t help that Dakuwaqa ‘Ohana had thought Namaka was the one who was going to save them all. That her power would help end this.
Well then, she would.
Even after …? Now, the mermaid sounded almost timid in her mind.
Nyi Rara could go to Lua-o-Milu. But Namaka would still try to save the rest of Mu.
Namaka swam back to the hallway where she had last seen Punga, but found no sign of him. “Ambassador?”
“He’s in his grotto for the day,” a mermaid guard said.
He‘e also prefer the night.
Of course they did.
“Show me the way. Please.”
The mermaid bowed and led her around several twists of the palace, finally gesturing toward a circular chamber. Sand from the seafloor dusted the ground and algae grew along the walls. Unlike most of the other chambers, no glowing orb of light illuminated the room, leaving it in such darkness she could barely see, even with mer eyes.
“Ambassador?”
Something shifted in the shadows. “Come in, princess.”
Actually, Namaka would have preferred he come out of his creepy little grotto, but she had probably offended enough people today. She swam in—a few feet—then scanned the room, still uncertain where the he‘e was.
“What can I do for you?” The voice sounded from the back of the room, somewhere on the floor. The he‘e must have better night vision than even a mermaid. Maybe they liked the dark. He wasn’t trying to be creepy, just comfortable. Or at least it was easier to tell herself that.
“I bring an offer from Queen Aiaru for a new treaty. One in which you agree to offer military aid against Hiyoya.”
“To join the losing side in war offers one little benefit to outweigh the prodigious risk. To entwine one’s arms in a mer battle leaves one in treacherous waters. What could prompt one to such a decision, one must wonder.”
“Mu will cede you Red Coral Reef.”
The he‘e hesitated, or squirmed at least. If she could see his face—if he had a damn face—maybe she could make out what he was thinking. “One wonders what now prompts Queen Aiaru to overcome recalcitrance that so bound her in years before.”
Namaka frowned, trying to untangle the he‘e’s words. “We are very serious about building a strong relationship with your people.”
“A weighty commitment is asked, but with half a heart …”
Namaka sighed, not really in the mood for these games. “You know you want the reef. And you said you hate seeing our people suffer. Do the right thing and help us.”
A strange rumble echoed through the room, like a miniature undersea quake. Was the creature laughing? “The right thing? Right and wrong are perceptions, perspectives, reflections, defined by the speaker. Shall our kind do the right thing? We always do right by the ends we need. And for you, this very night King Kanaloa shall receive word of your plight. If one ends a war, one expects ample gratitude toward Aupuni, above and beyond the terms of mere politics.”
The thought of actually seeing Kanaloa, whom she had long venerated, sacrificed to, and feared, left a knot in Namaka’s stomach.
“Mahalo, Ambassador.”
Namaka swam from his chamber and back to the grotto they had granted her in the Dakuwaqa Estate, relishing the intricate designs on the walls and the flicker of light through the water. It was beautiful down here, and part of her truly wanted to stay in this life.
But in trying to save Mu …
You finally remember you have mortals you care for.
Yes. She had left something behind. In her grief, she had convinced herself nothing remained for her, but … There was Upoho and Leapua, at least, and Milolii, of course. Always Milolii. Besides, hearing of Kanaloa served as a reminder of Namaka’s vow to sacrifice Pele to the god. Would the he‘e god-king know of her vow? Would he hold her to it?
We don’t know how much power Kanaloa truly has. He did not show himself during the Rogo War, but since then, the he‘e have spoken as if he lives among them.
If she helped solve Mu’s problem, would Nyi Rara let her return to Sawaiki?
I still need a body.
Couldn’t they share?
You were not keen on my sharing it earlier.
That wasn’t sharing! Nyi Rara had taken something to prove she could. But, before that … Nyi Rara had … completed her in a way she had always been lacking.
I …
But she still had to fix it all, to protect her ‘ohana.
And to do that, she would have to return to the surface.
Namaka had just settled down for what was left of the daylight when Ake entered her grotto. Looking at him was a reminder of Nyi Rara’s betrayal, no matter how many times Namaka told herself Ake had no idea about the war inside her.
All she wanted to do was shut her eyes and dive back into the dream the Urchin had showed her.
“Commander.”
“Princess Nyi Rara.”
“It’s Namaka.”
Without warning, Namaka’s insides constricted and she felt herself forc
ed down, control taken from her.
He wishes to speak to me, mortal.
Namaka glowered inside herself. Had they not just agreed to a partnership?
“I’m here, Ake.”
The merman swam a little closer. Close enough Namaka could see the twitching reached his eyes, too. “Why are you doing this?”
“Allowing the human some freedom?”
“Yes, why?”
Namaka felt her body sigh—unnerving given the subtle gesture had not originated in her own mind. “At first this woman simply intrigued me. After that … the Urchin showed me things.”
Yes. It had told her to make Namaka a partner. And Nyi Rara had responded by treating Namaka like …
Be still. Be silent.
At Nyi Rara’s words, Ake’s face had creased, the nictitating membrane over his eyes fluttering rapidly. “Are you certain you know what you’re doing?”
Nyi Rara made no immediate answer. Oh. She wasn’t certain at all.
A flush of irritation struck her, but Nyi Rara made no other answer.
“You were missed, Princess. Now you’re finally back … I just hope you’re not making a mistake with this human. The people would not understand.”
Nyi Rara nodded. “Mahalo, Commander. I should rest.”
As soon as he left, Nyi Rara released her, and Namaka regained control. “What was that?”
Even if I agree to this partnership you have asked for, there will be times when one or the other of us must present dominance. I have granted you great leeway already.
Because Nyi Rara didn’t have the strength to maintain control all of the time.
Insolent—
“Oh, give it over. We both know it’s true. You wronged me.”
I …
“You’ve never in your life apologized, have you?”
I …
A sudden thought hit Namaka. Never apologized … not for anything that really mattered. Never admitted the transgressions of her pride. Oh, Lua-o-Milu.
Are we so much alike, then?
Namaka shuddered. Could she let it all go? Could she forgive Nyi Rara? Pele? Herself? “Do we have an accord?” Her voice trembled.