"Mama," Skystar asked her mother, Queen Novo, as she laid her to bed, "tell me a story."
Novo smiled as she rested her tail fin next to her daughter, "Which one?"
"Home."
The queen mermaid sighed, "Are you sure? I've told you a hundred times."
"Please, Mama."
The sight of her daughter's saucer-shaped eyes and pointed lips added onto the fact she wouldn't go to sleep unless she told her a story caused Novo to give in.
"Okay," she told her daughter, "but after the story's done, it's straight to Dreamland, young lady. You need to be wide awake when you visit Manda tomorrow."
Skystar let out a squee as she tucked herself in, watching her mother pull out the pearl lent to her by Manda as a token of good will. She waved her hand over its surface, summoning swirling streams from its iridescent surface as she began her story.
"Long ago, Novo started as swirling magic took the form of humanoids with expansive, bird-like wings on their backs, our people, the Aerosians, lived on the peaks of Mount Eris. Safe from the blood lust and cruelties of humankind. Spending our days soaring among the clouds, the wind among our wings, and the skies our playgrounds. We lived isolated from the horrors of humanity and the destruction they brought with them and upon themselves."
As Novo spoke, the images of the winged Aerosians danced and played, bathing the barely illuminated waters of Skystar's room with rainbow glitter. However, Novo's voice turned dark as the images began to take on a look of fear. "However, like all things, it was not to last. For one day, our sanctuary fell under attack by a monster." As she spoke, jagged streams of magic came together in the shape of a thundercloud which would illuminate, revealing a winged, monstrous visage which filled the room.
"We called him the Storm King," Novo continued, "for wherever he went, the sky would split open into a massive storm just from his mere presence alone and speaking aloud his true name risked invoking his wrath. He held nothing but contempt to all living things, therefore, upon seeing our shining kingdom, his hatred and rage shook the Earth and the Skies. His wrath proved too great for us as we were forced to flee to the waters below."
Upon saying this, the silhouette within the storm lashed out at her with a malevolent, shrieking, cackle, causing Skystar to scream and duck under her covers. As she peeked out, Novo had taken a gentler look to her face. "Thankfully, our plight was not unseen by much kinder folk." The swirls merged together to take on a familiar, serpentine shape. That of Skystar's teacher, Lady Manda.
"Out of the kindness of her heart, the dragon, Manda, took sympathy towards us and offered us a home in the form of a kingdom she failed to save a millennia ago called Mu, but at a cost. In order to live in the depths, our people had to give up their greatest treasure of all; their wings. Our hearts, still full with the terror the Storm King bequeathed upon us, we had no choice."
The images showed the Aerosians standing before Manda as she held the pearl she gave her mother in her talons. From the pearl, waves of magic erupted from it, transforming the Aerosians. Their legs fused into a single finned tail while their wings dissolved from their backs.
"And so, our people now live beneath the waves in hiding, waiting for the day the Storm King is finally destroyed and we can finally return home. But even then, it'll be a miracle to say the least."
With that, Novo capped her hand onto the pearl and began to swim off.
"Hey, Mama?" Skystar asked.
Novo turned her head to her daughter.
"Has anyone tried stopping the Storm King before?"
Novo gave a sad smile, "Maybe, Skystar. Maybe. Now, time to get some sleep."
She swam over to her daughter and planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead as she closed off the light, leaving the mermaid princess to ponder before she closed her eyes.