Prologue
Water. It was an essential necessity for all forms of life on the planet Earth. It was a vital resource, a resource that the world had yet to fully understand or utilize. To the untrained eye it was nothing more than just a salty body of water that covered most of the natural world, but to those who relied on it for daily life, it was a marvelous wonder to behold. The sea itself was home to two extraordinary worlds: its surface, which lapped and roared with mighty passion. And its mysterious depths. Below the crescent waves, an entire world of wonder existed, a world far beyond the imagination of those who dwelt upon the surface. Beneath the murky depths, thousands of unique and exotic lifeforms roamed and reigned. Each species, sentient and non-sentient, was as exotic and as unique as the next. While some of the non-sentient races made their homes amongst the fields of kelp and reefs of coral, the others more advanced species thrived in underwater utopias, nomadic colonies, as well as in small undersea townships.
But amongst the various forms of aquatic life, big and small, civil and corrupt, none could ever compare to that of the sea's most legendary and most famous species of all. They were known by many different names both above and below the sea, but were often called “merpeople”. Ranging from different nationalities, skin color, shell bra-type, and tail structures, the mermaids of the merfolk race were exceptionally beautiful. Referred by sailors as flawless angels, they were praised for their natural beauty. Like the goddess of ancient Greece, or even their rivals of Rome, they each possessed a curvaceous but well-toned figure that would have left many in a pause of lust and admiration. But unlike their goddess counterparts, or even the humans that walked the Earth, not a single mermaid wore a draping robe or hand-sewn tunic. Instead, they wore a more aquatic attire, a specific wardrobe that had been passed down from mother to daughter. Covering their bosoms, the mermaids of the sea wore hand crafted bras of symmetrical seashells. Each bra as different as the next. Some were wrapped in twine from an abandoned fisherman’s net, the knots tied in extreme likeness to the ones their mothers had taught them years ago: weave in, knot together, wrap around and tighten. Other shell brassieres were stranded and strung together by glossy pearls that wrapped around the torso and clasped together into a single clip to keep their shells from slipping.
Compared to other walks of life, the merpeople of the seven seas were an honorable race, filled with rich heritage and tradition. Over the course of several centuries, the merpeople had become well-respected throughout the entire vastness of the ocean depths. In breathtaking utopias and nomadic colonies across the wild and life teeming floor of the sea, thousands of gorgeous mermaids and handsome mermen lived peacefully beneath the surface. Taught from childhood to live their lives in peace, they couldn't help but adore the vast beauty of their aquatic homes and their neighboring races they shared the sea with. Not a single one of them knew of war, nor of corruption, or of greed. Selfless, they served their fellow denizen of the deep like their allies, the Whalorians. Sovereign, their reign and influence spread far. From sea to sea, and from island to island. Plentiful throughout the sea, they thrived in vast abundance that is until their world had fallen under siege from not one, but two opposing forces that sought to rid the merpeople of their God-given freedom.
Deep within the fallen empire of Atlantis, a sinister presence lurked amongst the shadows of the desolate utopia that once stood as a shining example for all denizens of the mighty deep. No longer the center of aquatic life nor the reigning power; the empire of Atlantis had all but withered away. Barren, and left in ruins by greed and corruption, tainted by the lust of conquest and power, the once bountiful kingdom had become nothing more than a barren undersea wasteland of toppled structures, crushed ideals, and damaged hopes. Ever since the day of Atlantians tragic fall, a fall created from their own internal struggles, the surviving monarchy had begun their vicious campaign. Fueled by their greed, and their unyielding quest to see Atlantis restored to former glory, the Atlantians struck with a vengeance. By muster their remaining funds and forces, they attacked all who lived within their sea, taking over every bit of the Atlantian Sea as best they could. One by one, civilizations of all sorts, ranging from the great Crustacean Empire, all the way to the vast nomadic colonies of merpeople, fell before their might. For all of those denizens of the deep that dared to stand up against the wrath of the Atlantians, they were met with certain death. For those that couldn't defend themselves, like the exotic mermaid colonies and vast utopias that filled the sea, they were forever enslaved. Throughout the course of their villainous reign over the Atlantia Sea, the Atlantian race had become particularly fond of having other merpeople like themselves as their personal slaves.
Not only were the diverse inhabitants of the seven seas preyed upon by the threat of slavery and extinction from the Atlantians, but also by a dangerous threat that had emerged from the sinful lust of mankind. A lust so powerful, it radically changed the fate of the sea. Spreading like wildfire, the adopted Sharkainian idea for one to possess a mermaid for one's personal gain quickly caught on. Not only did the human race become transfixed, but so did the other sentient beings of the sea who had grown tired of seeing merpeople live freely about without a care in the world. Like the evil Sharkainians that threatened to lay claim to every sea and kingdom, they too sought to see the merpeople race fall underneath the heel of oppression. This movement, this ideal, birthed a strong demand that began to spread around the sea ports, encouraging sailors and pirates alike to stop wasting their time on scurvy wenches and instead turn their gaze at the sea. For they knew that out there, beyond ports and harbors, lay a treasure trove of gorgeous mermaids waiting to be plundered and brought under the rule of tyrants. After festering for quite some time, the idea began to grow along with the desire to feel a mermaid's flesh, to touch their seashell bras, and to experience the exotic sensation of feeling a mermaid's tail against their bare flesh. And thus begun the creation of the Mermaid Slave Trades...
