Voipina

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Thank you Araqael!

Voiceless Cries,
Wingless Flutters,
Toothless Bites,
Mouthless Mutters


Deep in the oceans, there are forms of life that many will live their lives blissfully unaware of. Even those who sail the tides across Sornieth mostly have no idea what sorts of creatures - and fates - lie fathoms below. While stories have been spread, the truth is obscured by the weight of the water that hides some of the most frightening life forms in the world.
Zuyam remembers some of his time under the waves until he died. But most of his memories are of the time just before and just after. And, in each of them, Nareena figures prominently.
He had been sailing somewhere. That part is fuzzy. But Zuyam does know that his life was mostly spent on ships. Though he was mute from very early in his life, the imperial's size - and his ability to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of ships - made him a very valuable sailor to have. In stormy seas, captains learned to watch for the large dragon's waving tail and the signs he used; he would let them know the instant he felt something about the ship was in trouble.
On a particularly boring journey, Zuyam remembers the song. It started out simply, and he almost shrugged it off as the natural sounds of something he just couldn't see. But slowly it grew in intensity. Feeling fidgety, the mute sailor stalked around the ship trying to figure out where it was coming from and what it meant. He didn't even realize how much he was wrapped up in it until he felt the water hit his body and he realized he had jumped overboard.
The tiny creature under the water didn't appear too different from the other fae he had seen on land, but Zuyam knew something was very wrong in a fundamental way. With Nareena staring at him, he could not look away and didn't even really want to. Her expression had started out triumphant, as if his presence was a prize she had fought hard for but then it changed into one of regret and reluctance mixed with exhausted determination.
After that, he knew nothing until he felt his body begin to twitch and move on its own. Nareena was once again the center of his focus, as he realized that he was somehow alive again - in a way. It wasn't until the little siren led him back up to the surface and a deserted island that the imperial realized he could move and think, but his body was still somehow dead.
While Zuyam had never been vain, he was somewhat taken aback by his appearance. But even that didn't confound him as much as the fact that this small creature who had been his downfall and his resurrection was now pledged to be his lifelong companion. It took some time for him to wrestle with all the new ideas (and discard some old ones that now no longer fit his life)... but eventually Zuyam came to an equilibrium.
Now, he and Nareena have worked out a form of communication that is a combination of song and sign. She keeps asking him what he wants to do with his life, and he's never quite sure what to tell her. Before he changed, he hadn't had any set plans to begin with. Someday, perhaps, he'll have a goal; for now, though, learning to live again is all he can do.

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