Supreme Magus novel Chapter 3966

Chapter 3966: The Right Direction (Part 1)

The Songsters used Lith’s spell on each other first, assessing how the different merfolk songs travelled through the air and how to adjust them so that their unique melodies would retain the right inflection from short and medium distances.

Once the main problem was solved, however, another one emerged. It was no less serious, and its solution far more complex.

"This is unacceptable!" Akhar the Songster said. "The rules of crafting a Sea Heart date back to our forefathers, when the first merfolk escaped the unforgiving gaze of the sun and returned to the soothing embrace of the ocean.

"Every merfolk Songster after them has followed in their footsteps and built upon their teachings. There is no village, not one, that dared disregard the wisdom of our ancestors while crafting their Sea Heart, no matter the challenges it presented.

"I can understand a surface dweller like Verhen coming up with that abomination in the name of practicality, but such behavior is unacceptable from you, Rem." Akhar pointed at the flower-shaped Desert Heart, and the other Songsters nodded.

"Verhen is not one of us. He knows nothing of our traditions and doesn’t understand their importance. He was just a human with a job. You, however, were supposed to know better. You are the representative of our tribe in the Desert, Rem.

"You are supposed to make compromises to enact the will of the tribe, not yours! What you presented us is no solution to our Sea Heart problem. It’s a desecration of everything our ancestors’ legacy stands for.

"Even entertaining the idea of following Verhen’s suggestion would require us to turn our backs on millennia of merfolk history.

"What in the sea gods’ names made you think that we would follow you on the path of oblivion and disrespect our most sacred rituals in favor of the ignorant ideas of a surface dweller?"

"Lith Verhen is no mere surface dweller, nor is he a human." Rem was outraged, but she kept her tone polite. "He’s a hero and a friend to our people. He is the reason our homeland, Zhen, is now free from the threat of Kolga.

"It’s thanks to him that, after millennia of fear and isolation, we could take our first steps on the surface without fear of being exploited or enslaved by the treacherous humans. He’s the reason Overlord Salaark took us under her benevolent wing.

"Verhen gave us the opportunity to make up for our past mistakes, yet you are eager to throw his goodwill back in his face." Rem destroyed the keystone of her opponent’s argument before addressing the rest of the merfolk.

"Esteemed Songsters, what Akhar forgot to mention in his self-righteous anger is that our progenitors never abandoned the surface. Since the birth of the merfolk race, we have always kept one foot in the ocean and one on dry land. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Each one of our ancient underwater settlements had its twin on the surface, where we could practice all elements, exchange knowledge and information with our neighbors, and trade goods.

"Our forefathers never meant for us to live in the darkness of the ocean trenches. We ended up like this only because our ancestors made a stupid decision during the War of the Races.

"They foolishly joined the side of the arrogant elves against the humans, and were forced to follow the knife ears in exile upon their defeat. We cowardly ran away to avoid facing the retribution of those we wronged and to escape our punishment.

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