With the successful hatching of a future Triton, the Naiad clan once more had a bright and stable future. Celebrations lasted for a week after Prince Bastian came into the world.

Food and nectar flowed through the city like underwater rivers and soon word had spread even beyond Nereus, carried by traders and travelers and the ocean itself. 

A king is born!

While the people celebrated their new Prince, Melodia struggled with a problem. Traditionally, care of a hatchling would fall to the father of said hatchling, who would carry the child in his pouch while it was too young to defend itself. After all, the ocean was a big and dangerous place, even here in a large settlement of mercreatures.

Bastian had no father to take on this role.

He was not the first hatchling to be without a father due to war or sickness, and the alternative was usually a family relative that stepped up and offered their pouch.

Melodia's problem was that the only relative in Nereus that Bastian had was his uncle Arsenius, and she had very specific feelings on the thought of him being in charge of Bastian's well being.

Violent feelings.

Prince Arsenius came to Melodia a day after Bastian's hatching and offered the use of his pouch for the young prince in a very formal show of family loyalty.

In response, Melodia gave him a literal cold shoulder and banished him from her sight. Arsenius was shaking frost off his tail for weeks after.

In his stead, Melodia gave care of her hatchling to the ever loyal Militum.

It was the talk of the settlement, being such an unusual arrangement, but the choice was ultimately Melodia's to make so no one could say anything against it. And no one wanted to say anything once they saw how seriously the merman took his role.

Militum could often be heard talking to his charge, though it would be some time before Bastian could respond to him, about various things in the world around them. He read to Bastian from books of every topic and showed Bastian nothing but affection and tenderness. With all the love given to him by his Carrier and his Mother, Bastian grew quickly.

The sweets that Militum snuck into the pouch for him certainly helped his growth as well.

Bastian's first sign of magic manifested early, before he was ready to even leave the pouch. While Militum lounged on a library resting cushion, and read to him of the lineage of the Tritons, Bastian's curious eyes traveled to the section about other lands.

This section of the library was small, and a bit moldy and was shoved quite unceremoniously into a dark corner. The shelves that held those scrolls were not polished as brightly as the others. Naiads had little use for books on the subject of other lands when they rarely left their home, and almost never left for a new or unknown place.

Traders knew their paths to the other clans' settlements by heart, and apprentices learned the path by traveling them. What use was learning from a book about something you could do yourself?

As young Bastian looked at the old scrolls with their cracked vellum, a strong curiosity took over him. He reached one small arm out of Militum's pouch and grasped at the water around the travel scrolls. Slowly, the water around the largest scroll shimmered with a soft golden glow, a candle in the darkness.

Militum read on, oblivious to his charge's actions as he proudly listed off Bastian's heritage all the way to the original golden tailed merman: Triton himself.

As Bastian grasped at the scroll, it slowly slid off the shelf and floated through the water towards him. Once or twice, it faltered and dipped low in the water, but it recovered until it finally floated into reach.

Bastian gripped it in his small hands and lifted it up quite suddenly, smacking Militum in the arm with the sharp end of the scroll.

"Ow!" Militum rubbed at his tender skin, looking down to see his charge giggling. "Bastian, what the...where did you get this?"

Bastian cooed at him and lifted the scroll again, insistent in his motions. Militum furrowed his brow and set aside the scroll he'd been reading to pick up the new one and look it over.

He grimaced at the condition of it and carefully unrolled it. Or tried to carefully unroll it. Bastian's small hands were tugging the scroll down so he could see it for himself.

The scroll was long, and revealed a carefully illustrated map to the pair of mermen. A human land from far away, neatly titled as 'Amaryn'. Rolling green ink showed the rise and fall of the land, surrounded by a dark red smudge of ink labeled 'the Wall'.

Bastian ran his short, chubby fingers over the landscape and the pretty lettering, loitering over the depiction of the gilded sun that was painted over the whole map.

"Muh." His voice was full of awe and Militum watched him with interest. "Muh!" Bastian grinned widely and suddenly the water was full of golden light.

Scrolls came flying from the travel section, pelting Militum as he instinctively shielded the prince from them. "Bastian!" He called out, alarmed.

Bastian laughed and the sound was like bells chiming in the distance. A sound of carefree exuberance.

Militum let out an exasperated noise as the scrolls floated gently to the floor all around them. "You're not even nine hands long yet." He muttered.

But he was betrayed by the pride shining in his eyes as he ruffled Bastian's dark hair. "No more throwing things at me, young Prince. I got the message loud and clear." He leaned down and picked up another of the travel scrolls, unraveling it and showing it to his charge.

"This place is called the Citadel of the Sky. It is a home to the Vampyre race, on the tip of a peninsula known as the Siren's pass. That's near where your mother grew up, young Prince."

Bastian listened raptly, full of wonder and curiosity.

"Maybe one day you will go to see it for yourself. Tritons often journey north to seek a bride. Sirens are talented and quite pretty."

At the thought of Bastian being grown enough to wed, Militum wrinkled his nose. "But that's a ways off yet, little one."

The time came sooner than Militum was ready for.

Children grow so fast.