Mer

Mer in this story are large community based marine predators. They live in very large communities, and are rarely alone in their life time. They are indiscriminate eaters, and will eat most things. A large enough community can easily take down a human ship, in which case, they will certainly eat all of the humans on board. This has got them a rather violent reputation amongst humans in general, but they are not inherently violent creatures, simply indiscriminate eaters. In fact, particularly violent mer are often cast out of communities, and sometimes form rough packs with one another. As community based creatures, they have large brains proportional to their body size, are highly social, and have their own distinct language of which humans can speak only a few things. Of course, there have been few studies to try and figure out their language, or communicate in earnest. They are warm blooded, though they feel cool to the touch, and they have live births. They do not lay eggs. Young also drink milk for the first year of their lives, and are inseparable from their parents for that one year, because they are quite defenseless, though all mer are born with the ability to swim from birth. Young mer look and act rather different from their grown counter parts. Full grown mer have beautiful reflective scales, very sophisticated night vision, can have 3 to 5 rows of teeth, and cannot spend much time outside of the water. Young mer scales are dull, and generally muted colors, this is in direct contrast to full grown mer who's tails are beautifully reflective, and range a broad spectrum of colors. The reason is that while grown mer are predators, and aren't afraid of a whole lot of things in the ocean -especially since they are in large groups- young mer make for very easy meals. Thus their tales are not as pretty so that they do not attract as much attention. Their scales will start to fall off at around 15 years of age, and their glistening, beautiful scales will be beneath them. It's sort of a big todo to see which young will be which color. Colors have different connotations in their social groups, but these things are particular to each community, as are color preferences. Young mer are day creatures, this is in general contrast to grown mer which function just as well at night as they do during the day. Another reason for this, is because young mer need sunlight quite consistently to say healthy, and for growth. Without it, they don't grow properly, so the lack of night vision until about 18 is a direct evolutionary feature to encourage young mer to sleep during the evening, and be most active during the day, when they can optimize their sunshine intake. Young mer are born without teeth, and will grow their first set between 6 to 9 months of age. It is generally accepted that once a child has grown its first row of teeth, they do not drink much milk after, unless the mother is particularly indulgent. They start eating small fish not long after their first set of teeth come in. Their second row of teeth will come in between 6 to 8 years of age, third row will come between 16 and 18, when their intake of food drastically increases. Other rows of teeth can develop at any age. The oldest and strongest mer often have 5 rows. It's sort of a legend that some have 6, but it is exceptionally rare. Teeth will fall out, and be replaced, the whole of their life. Teeth replacement is much faster for young mer, since they have less teeth, and are growing a lot already. Replacing a tooth could take them 7 to 10 days where as an older mer might take 17 to 25 days to replace teeth, since they have a much larger amount of teeth, and are not actively growing. Perhaps one of the more interesting evolutionary differences between young mer and grown mer is that young mer can survive outside of water for almost an hour, where as adult mer can at most last about 10 to 15 minutes. There are various functions behind this, and as they grow, mer children will lose the ability to survive so long outside of the water. By nature, mer have their children in shallow waters. This is because large predators do not tend to stay in the shallows, and mer children are not quite strong enough to keep up with the large, roaming community that mer stay in. Once a year, the community will leave their deep water grounds, and travel to their designated nesting ground. Any expecting parents will stay behind in the nesting grounds to have their children, where young mer will remain until they are considered adults, at the age of twenty. For the first year, parents will raise their children at the nesting ground, but once the community returns, they will leave with it. From there, mer young are taken care of by the older members of nesting ground's inhabitant, so young are taken care of by 15 to 19 year old mer, before they head off to join the rest of the community at 20. This may seem like a horrible idea by human standards, but mer are responsible, caring, and attentive caregivers, even at young ages. In this way, young mer are socialized not only towards their parents, but towards the community as whole. Young mer sleep in nests, something their adult counterparts do not really do. Most young mer will have their nests made by the older mer at the nesting grounds, but at some point, they start making their own. If there is a blood sibling living at the nesting ground, it is very common for kin to sleep curled together in the same nest. If there is no blood siblings, or even blood kin at the nesting ground, the mer child may sleep alone, or with an older mer at the nesting ground, who has in affect 'adopted' that child. Adopt is a lose term in this sense, because it doesn't really imply ownership, but it implies an accepted closeness. All mer children will be cared for by the older mer at the nesting ground, but understandably, kin will take better care of kin, and 'adopted' mer, will be well cared for by their adoptee. Another interesting feature, is that should a mer child be in danger of a predator, their instinct is to go for land, where they can outlast an aquatic predator. Thus, it is not so strange to see young mer children lounging or hiding on beaches and land in general. They are generally safe there, unless there is a large or moderate human population in the area. If there IS a human population in the area 'baby-napping' as it has been coined, can and is very, very common. Young mer children are affectionate, and lack the aggression that their adult counterparts are known for, and they have an inherent weakness for human warmth, which reminds them of the sun, which they are dispositioned to want and need. This is obviously disastrous for a mer stand point, and any older mer witness to such a thing, will do everything in their power to prevent it. Obviously, perceptions of humans within mer societies are exceptionally low due to this phenomenon. In fact, in some sense of spite, nesting groups will nab young human children as a sort of retribution, and eat them. But 'baby-napping' is not necessarily a death sentence for young mer. Humans around coastal areas, are actually quite fond of mer as companions and a young mer can easily be socialized into a human life style, and have proven to be loyal, emotional, playful, and responsive members of human households, provided that their biological needs are provided for, and they are nurtured with love and attention. Domesticated mer, as they are sometimes called, are the greatest friends of sailors, and they are highly coveted thusly. A domesticated mer can swim alongside a ship, save anyone that falls overboard, divert travel around communities of mer, as well as other potential threats, help maintain general maintenance of ships, and for fishing vessels, can guarantee higher percentages of catching success. In the domestic spear, people who have houses by the ocean can trust that domesticated mer will keep a close eye on their children so that no aquatic life, other mer included, will harm them. They have proven to be very good, and loyal care takers. On the language side of things, Mer rarely learn how to speak much human language. Even mer that are constantly around humans do not have the speaking skills of even human toddlers. They do tend to learn key words (No, and Yes, and some basic words for things they find important), but even the most advanced spoken Mer have difficulty with human languages. This in no way means that they cannot learn to understand human language. They can, and they have shown surprising understanding of complex human speech. Give a Mer enough time, and it will learn how to understand human language with alarming clarity. They are also empathetic beings, couple this with their ability to understand human language, and you have a creature who perhaps can learn more about humans than other humans can. Many who work with them, find it interesting how intimately a mer can learn about a human, but how little it works the other way. In this way, human language is ironically both a con and a pro to interacting with Mer. Most humans that work closely with mer, tend not to call them pets, since their loyalty is not earned through domination or some sense of subservience, but instead through rewards and affection, and most acknowledge that they are dangerous creatures if they are handled as most humans would handle a traditional pet. Violence or mistreatment of a mer is often at the human's expense, if they feel they have truly been betrayed, they will not hesitate to retaliate.

Slaine

With basic information about Mer at hand, it is easy to see that Slaine was intentionally abused and tormented from the start. He was pulled out of the ocean by a net, not taken from land. His first impressions of humans were as violent creatures, that enjoyed tormenting him, and hurting him. This is compounded by Mer beliefs, which are more anti-human than human beliefs about mer. He is intentionally kept from sunlight, which he needs, predisposing him to crave warmth of any kind even more than usual. Without outside knowledge of the actual mechanics of mer within this story, it is easy to assume that he was simply being handled as a dangerous pet, where as in actuality, Slaine's treatment is deliberate, and intentional abuse that is almost never perpetrated by those that know better. Slaine's inherent phobias of humans that he has gotten from his upbringing -despite his father's like of humans- is thus compounded. Slaine's treatment gets better when he is handed to Asseylum, but isolation is also a sure fire way to make a mer mean and unhappy. Had her distance remained, and Inaho not stepped in, Slaine would have likely grown bitter and resentful at the isolation he was suffering. Mer in this story are community based animals, they are not meant to be alone. Slaine himself reiterates this many times, and though his tone is sad, and upset, it is not too far to assume resentment would become a natural progression. So why this intentional abuse? What purpose could this serve? It was in essence like giving an 8 year old Asseylum, a loaded gun, and not telling her it was loaded, or how to properly use it.

Asseylum

In this story, I fashioned Asseylum as a well meaning, innocent, ignorant princess. She has never seen the ocean, has never been out of her palace, and has no friends. Despite these things, she is cheerful, kind, and well meaning. She had no intention of mistreating Slaine, who was simply one part of her birthday present. The whole garden was her present, and hers alone. Slaine was just one part of it, but he quickly became her favorite part. When she was told that he was dangerous, and that she should never approach him, she took that as the authority of those older and wiser around her, and did not question it, and in an attempt to prevent any accidents, she closed off the garden from outside visitors, so that Slaine wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. She dutifully visited him, because he was hers, and because he was the closest thing she had to a friend. She grew horribly fond of him in that span of time, and viewed her visits to him as the only times that she could truly be herself. It is sad to think that Slaine never once understood the depth of her devotion to him. When she was told that Slaine had attempted to drown one of the children servants, she was distraught. When told that removing Slaine's teeth would make him less aggressive, and would leave no lasting damage, she consented to it. She did not want anyone else to be hurt, but she couldn't allow for Slaine to injure, or kill people in her castle, even if they were venturing into places that they should not be. Inaho's ability to get Slaine to eat the narcotics plant, encouraged her to place him in charge of Slaine's care. This was something Inaho himself proposed, and she agreed to. Inaho's familiarity with Slaine was something Asseylum had not anticipated. When she realized how fond Slaine was of Inaho, it was not fear that made her hesitate, but shame. She was ashamed that she had been so distant, when there was evidence staring her in the face that she had been so horribly wrong about what Slaine needed. Shortly after the event, she brings Klancain with her to see Slaine, with the intent that she is going to socialize him more freely with other people, as Inaho suggests. This meeting does not go well. Slaine's hesitancy to even really come out of the water, shows that her attempts are probably too little, and far too late. Again, Slaine mischaracterizes her emotions as disappointment in him. This is not true, Asseylum is highly distressed. The moment when Slaine accepts the Bluebell flowers from Asseylum, is the moment where she accepts her wrong doing, and reassures her commitment to do what is best for him. Slaine mischaracterizes her intent as fear, but chooses to give her the benefit of the doubt, and accepts the flowers despite his reservations. This moment is most important for Asseylum. It is a recommitment of her vows to take care of him as best she is able, her committing to also learn what she needs to know to care for him, and his acceptance of the bluebells, is proof to her, that he does not resent her for the neglect she feels she has perpetrated. This moment is important for Asseylum. It is understandably less important to Slaine, who continues to mischaracterize her, and is suddenly shocked and awed when he realizes later on that she is entirely genuine in her affections. In my mind, Asseylum never once feared Slaine. In fact, the opposite is true. She adored him, and was under false assumptions that this distance was safest, and it was what he needed. She makes changes when she realizes that she was wrong.

Inaho

Inaho is the most malleable element in this story. His intentions, methods, station, and temperament have consistently surprised me within this stories context. Of all the characters, he had the most varied potentials, and often took matters into his own hands. Inaho is 8 years old in this story, and he is a relatively new servant in the palace. As we see in the first scene with him, he is a likely target for bullies. Why doesn't he fight back, you might ask. The answer is rather simple, his sister needs the job she has. They have traveled from place to place, trying to find somewhere, where he will not be tormented, or harshly punished for retaliating. This is a good place, and Inaho is acutely aware that his own temperament has caused his sister trouble in the past. Yuki of course does not blame him, and only wants to find a place where both of them can be happy, but Inaho blames himself. This sort of hazing that we see in the first chapter he appears in, is the first incident of its kind in his new setting, giving you an idea of just how new Inaho is. Do these episodes continue? I'm not sure. I tend to think Inaho would figure out how to handle them rationally, without there being repercussions, but I doubt it would lead to any sort of friendship between he and the other child servants. Inaho cannot swim, this whole event is a deliberate attempt on the part of the others, to get a reaction out of him. I don't think these children intended to kill him, simply to torment him. They were also unaware that Slaine was a factor at all. Only a week or so before, the garden had been rather public, and Asseylum made no mention of a man eating mer residing there. The children snuck in with obviously ill intention, not murder on mind. Of course they are rightfully horrified at Slaine, and run for their lives. Inaho sees a small, isolated creature, attempting to be scarier than it is. Inaho pays his debts, and his initial returns are towards that end. He brings snacks, and presents, since Slaine cannot tell him what he would like in return. This morphs over time into friendship encouraged by curiosity. Inaho actually sneaks into the palace library, and steals books about mer. He has never seen one before, and he is interested. Thus, any inherent hesitation towards touch on Inaho's side, is repressed. It is reiterated in books, that he cannot mess that up, as long as there is physical contact. This is an intentional difference from Asseylum who is gifted the resources to find out what Slaine needs, but instead assumes that she has been properly informed. Again, this compounds her shame when she realizes she was wrong. Inaho and Slaine take to each other exceptionally quickly. Slaine is less guarded than humans, wears his emotions on his sleeve, and doesn't use words, but body language to express himself. These are all things that Inaho observes closely, and learns to interpret. Inaho's interest turned companionship is also easy for him to rationalize, because he has come to understand it is something Slaine desperately needs. This is both liberating, and binding. Slaine needs him, and is not at all disturbed at his personality. He cannot say the wrong thing. This also leaves Inaho with a sense of insecurity. If even he can become so close to Slaine, simply by knowing what he needs, and providing for those needs, is Slaine really loyal to him or is he simply lacking the care and attention that someone else could more easily provide. At such a revelation, Inaho is intent that he will maintain this relationship, no matter what. Even if someone else comes along, his personal feelings will not change. Slaine quickly becomes one of the most important people in Inaho's life, and it becomes glaringly obvious to Yuki as well, who does not realize his new best friend is not human. His confidence when interacting with Slaine is the culmination of his own growth, which is largely introspective, culminating in Inaho's realization, that his own needs, and Slaine's needs, are actually not very different at all. For Slaine, Inaho is stability and warmth, and this is the person Inaho has decided he wants to be for Slaine. I think, constantly in this fic, Inaho is thinking 'What would Yuki do if I acted like Slaine', and instead of not knowing the implications of his actions, or worrying about them, he simply acts. He will know instantly if he has done something wrong with Slaine. I hope I have well portrayed this rather gradual shift in Inaho's sustained interest, gradual acceptance of physical reassurance -both received and given- and developing attachment to Slaine. Inaho takes a lot of initiative on his own to see to Slaine's emotional needs, while also fulfilling his own, but he could not consistently commit, because he was not granted access to the garden. He had to sneak in, or create diversions to allow himself entrance. The incident where Slaine pulls him into the water is a direct miscalculation on Inaho's part, and thus Inaho feels entirely responsible. At this point, Inaho asserts himself towards Asseylum, who is troubled about what she should do about Slaine trying to drown a servant (him). Despite nay saying, Inaho plainly explains the situation as it is, but this does little to reassure Asseylum, or those in charge of her care, who think she should just get rid of the animal. Inaho assures her that Slaine (he learns that Slaine's name is Slaine at this point in the story. You will observe that before this point, Slaine never mentions Inaho 'calling' him, because Inaho did not have a name for him.)is not dangerous, but suggests that if she is truly worried about his aggression, that removing his teeth is a way of making sure he shows less aggression, and will provide little to no lasting damage since the teeth will grow back. This is to placate those in charge of Asseylum's care (Mostly Cruhteo) without disposing of or seriously disfiguring Slaine in the process. Asseylum consents, and Inaho takes personal responsibility of the proceedings. His abilities to relate to Slaine, and his knowledge, encourage Asseylum to put him in charge of Slaine's care. With that in mind, Inaho must convince Slaine that he is still trustworthy. Inaho obviously takes a calculated risk in this endeavor, but as Slaine does time and time again, we see Inaho giving Slaine the benefit of any doubt. The two come together surprisingly fast, and under Inaho's watch, Slaine's treatment and general well being increases tenfold. He is even able to convince Asseylum that Slaine's needs are far different than what she had originally thought.

Saazbaum

In light of the intentions behind gifting Slaine to Asseylum, it becomes quite obvious who exactly would have gifted him to her. Would Saazbaum be this cold? It's a good question. I am working under the assumption that everyone but Inaho and Asseylum see Slaine as a pet. I'm not sure if Saazbaum also believes this. I tend to think he knows more about Mer than anyone else in the canon. I do not believe that would stop him from using Slaine, or allowing someone else to abuse him. His debt to Slaine's father didn't stop him from letting Cruhteo take Slaine in the anime, and it didn't stop him from allowing Cruhteo to torture him either. I actually believe it was that moment, while Cruhteo was torturing Slaine, that he really saw what Slaine was capable of, what he could handle, and his loyalty. Slaine acted admirably in that scene within the anime, and I think alternatively, in this fic, I tried to subtly convey, that despite the abuse and neglect, that Slaine remained inherently good, and did not fall into the cycle of abuse that dictated he would become the abuser. I can see Saazbaum reacting to this with surprise, and a sort of admiration when Slaine defied the situation. Especially since it was one Saazbaum personally orchestrated.

Trillram

In finding an optimal boogie man, who better fit the role than Trillram? Dumb, abusive, used Trillram. He is not so different from Slaine in situation. He is another pawn in Saazbaum's plan, but Slaine and he are put at odds from the start. Slaine's success, his dedication to understanding, trusting, and respecting Asseylum despite her neglect, is Trillram's failure. He did not torment, abuse, or disfigure Slaine enough to lash out. Of course, Trillram does not consider that Slaine is simply a stronger being than he anticipated. Trillram thinks of Slaine as a thing til the very end, something I reflected in Slaine's own narrative, as he is killing Trillram. This use of 'it' is important because Slaine also lowers Trillram to that level. Does he deserve that, or not? That's not my place to say. Trillram is understandably unhappy after witnessing the display of Slaine's trust at the party. He had hoped Slaine would do the dirty work on his own. With that no longer an option, he had to step up his own game, and did exactly that. After that first evening, it was Trillram that came forth, and claimed that while he visited the gardens the night before, Slaine had attempted to drown him. (Something Slaine in his right mind might have honestly done) He then apologized if any damage was done to Asseylum's property, but his testimony was plenty to persuade Cruhteo that it was a bad idea to keep Slaine at all. Inaho of course spoke up in Slaine's defense, and Asseylum certainly believed him, but the words of a servant who's job depended on Slaine's temperament, was hardly a reliable source. Not to mention that Trillram is a knight, and Inaho is a servant. Asseylum put her faith behind Inaho, and took part in his plans, unaware that she was Trillram's real target.

Cruhteo

The whole 'garden party' was to convince Cruhteo that Slaine was not dangerous, would not be dangerous, and could learn to interact with a wider range of people without danger. Ironically, this also resulted in the gardens being guarded less, which alternatively meant that when Slaine screamed the next night, no one was there to hear it. Cruhteo was against keeping Slaine from the start, and when Saazbaum told Asseylum not to get anywhere close, Cruhteo mirrored these beliefs. When Inaho broke into the scene (in a literal sense) and Cruhteo learned that he was encouraging Asseylum to interact with Slaine physically, he was adamantly opposed. Inaho knew the 'garden party' would be a strain on Slaine, but also was confident that Slaine could, and would handle it well. Inaho was right in both respects. Cruhteo was hesitant to get rid of Slaine after the display, but of course he refrained from outright justice, and did not want Asseylum visiting Slaine without Inaho present. Slaine's abrupt face in demeanor according to Trillram's story, reverted his opinions back to the original stand point. In this, he is an authority figure of sorts, and I think Asseylum hesitates to outright disobey him, but in a physical sense, she has the final word. Despite this, he is in charge of her care, and he is justified in acting towards that end, even if it is against her will.

Ending

Is Asseylum alive? Is she dead? It's a very good question. Certainly if she was able, she would have visited Slaine. Something is keeping her away, which is very obvious. Without her input, Inaho is only a servant, and the servant responsible for her injuries. He convinced her of this plan, he is the one in charge of Slaine. Without a doubt his allegiances would have been in question. Trilliam had claimed the Slaine wanted him dead the day before, the next day, he was dead. Asseylum's fate will remain a mystery, believe what you'd like. As for Inaho, do you trust him? The chips are down, does he have any option? The answer is not so simple, but Inaho has always found his way out of situations. If you do believe in Inaho, I think it is easy to see that there are possibilities. He didn't give Slaine the same kind of plant that he gave him before, but that could mean a number of things. It could be because Slaine is so physically unstable, it could be something of a stronger, or lower caliber than the first plant. Inaho's hesitancy, could be an obvious indicator of loss, but that does not necessarily mean death. No matter how you look at this scene, my biggest intent was that this was a parting. Be it death, or something else that separates these two is up to the reader. We know very clearly what Slaine expects, but he has been very wrong in the past as well. Even if Inaho returned Slaine to the ocean, who is to say he would be better off? Slaine is malnourished, refusing food, and highly depressed at this stage. He needs the care and attention of someone who cares about him. This whole scene could easily indicated that Inaho cannot do that, and that he is worried for his friend's future, one that he is not going to be a part of. As the person in charge of Slaine's care, Inaho would feel responsible that Slaine has ended up as badly as he has. This is a good bye scene. How you interpret that good bye, is entirely up to you. These two are parting, one way or another. How, is the question.