The Legend of Merkind and the Harpies

picture via DollDivine.com

The Legend of Merkind and the Harpies

by Rebecca Fyfe

Long ago, mermaids could be found in all corners of the ocean. There were different races of mermaids: the dark haired sirens who sang sailors to their deaths, the copper-haired mermaids who watched over the sea and all of its creatures, and the golden-haired sea nymphs who were fascinated with mankind and most often shed their tails in favor of legs and living amongst the humans.

Today, mermaids are so scarce that few believe they ever existed. It's because of the Harpies. Harpies were much larger and stronger than mermaids, but they were very beautiful. Though they had wings to carry them high into the sky and all across the land, they were sea carnivores, preferring to feast on fish and dolphins and other creatures from the sea.

One day, the Queen of the Harpies fell upon a mer-princess, one of the dark-haired sirens and carried her off, feasting on her later that night. The siren's final song, sung in place of her death cries, layed a curse on all Harpies, making them forever hideous and misshapen, with beaks in place of their nose and mouth and claws for their fingers. Their feet became those of a bird of prey.

The Harpies blamed all merkind for this tragedy and their Queen commanded that all of merkind be hunted down and killed. They killed every mermaid, siren or sea nymph that they found, even the children. The few sirens, mermaids and sea nymphs who were left banded together and hid themselves down in the deepest part of the ocean, where the Harpies could not reach them. They are so rarely seen now, that humankind has stopped believing they exist.

But the legend claims that they have lived in a city under the sea, building up their numbers for centuries now, training for battle. And one day, they will rise again and have their revenge on the Queen of the Harpies and her descendants. The legend foretells that mankind will be caught in the middle and will suffer until the chosen human, one with the power of a siren's song, the power over water that the mermaid's possess and a sea nymph's ability to shed or gain a tail, rises to save them all.

Mermaid Magic

I am only sharing an excerpt of this story. It was written on December 31st, 2013, but it was written for an anthology that will be published later this year. I retain the rights to this story, so I will come back and post it in full at a later date, several months after it first comes out in the "Keepsakes" anthology. The "Keepsakes" anthology will be published in May 2014 through  Prince Charming Books (edited by Sally Ogden.) Here's an excerpt of the story. If you don't want to wait until later in the year to read the story in full, purchase the "Keepsakes" anthology when it comes out!

Mermaid Magic (excerpt)
by Rebecca Fyfe

Sienna found herself at the cove again, only it was dark out. Moonlight filtered through wispy clouds above her. She couldn’t remember leaving the house or swimming out here. I must be dreaming, she thought.

A splash drew her eyes to the water. In the dark, she couldn’t see the bottom of the pool, but something near the surface slid past her, gliding smoothly beneath the water. She knelt down to look more closely and noticed a large fin, like the tail of a very large fish. A dolphin maybe? Or a small whale? Maybe even a shark? But how did it get here, in this tide pool that iss so far from the ocean’s waves?

Sienna couldn’t resist reaching her hand out toward the water. It was as if it was calling to her. Just as her fingertips felt the wetness of the pool’s water, a jolt shot through her, like a bolt of electricity, singing through her flesh.

She spasmed with the pain and felt herself falling into the water.  Her muscles weren’t working right, and the water closed over her head. Instinctively, she called out for help and water filled her mouth, pouring into her lungs. Unable to breathe, her chest hurt and her vision grew dark.