All know that, in a select group of people, almost always there is the introverted one. Quiet, always minding their own business, not caring about the warmth of others' friendship, this particular kind of being frets over very few things. In the carnival, it was no different. This being manifested itself in the form of Eikki Dreadlight. The Merfolk Magician and Aquarium Keeper. The day they arrived in the outskirts of the mortal town, Eikki was immersed in his thoughts. The last one of the caravan, he counducted his oxes with the precision of someone who had spent the last 85 years doing the same thing over and over. The boredom of setting up his stage had alrady sunk deep into his bones, to the point where he no longer minded it. And so, the merfolk chose his place, a little far away from the others, yet still with the privilege of being very visible to anyone who wandered the beauty of light and laughter that was De'Seil's Carnival. Without a moment's pause, the blonde man jumped off his cart and started building. First, the tent, large, made completely of algae, it could fit over 50 people inside. Most of his props he would build using his terraforming. Yet the only thing that he had not manufactured himself was his aquarium: a gift from his employer, Mr. Seil. A large cylinder of glass, unstained, unbroken, in perfect shape it stood for all the years Eikki had worked there. To mount the aquarium, he required the help of the gentle giant Grog, of whom he had the strange privilege of being friend, or so Grog always reminded him. After setting his tent and fish-house, the giant, knowing far too well how isolated from the others Eikki was, left the merfolk alone for a while, so he could get to work without being disturbed. Apart from being just a little bit stupid, there was a kindness in the giant that pleased everyone around him, including Eikki himself. Tent set, aquarium standing tall, he hung his lantern from the hook behind the entrance of the tent and lit it up. For the past 85 years he did that, and many times, his little trap had worked fine, with a little help from Eikki himself: a stone threw at the entree's stomach, a whistle, something to draw their attention and open their eyes, should they already have figured out Eikki's trick for not being disturbed. The lantern would hypnotize anyone who dared look at it, leaving them susceptible to Eikki's command. Of course, that didn't grant him the ability to make anyone punch themselves (oh, but he wished, sometimes, just sometimes, that it would...): as much as he liked to call it "hypnosis", it was more like forced suggestion. "Please, leave me be", and the victim would obediently get out of his tent, with a faint memory of what happened. "Kill yourself", and he would be showered with questions like "why the hell would i do that, fish-face? are you insane? geez!!" That was the extent of the lantern's power, and yet what a marvelous and useful trinket it was. All those years of not wanting anyone to disturb him changed the others attitude towards him: most viewed him as a bit of a lunatic, and simply left him alone Someone that tried to hypnotize anyone who entered his tent was not someone to be messed with, and Eikki was more than sure no one would want to fall prey to his trap. That behavior led him to become extremely lonely and isolated: not that it bothered him, but he suspected some of the crew didn't even know he existed. Almost nobody bothered, and he did not care about anybody else's business. Unfortunately, one of the only beings to always fall in this trap was Grog: rushing inside his tent, eyes wide open to see his friend, the hypnotic light always stopped him in his tracks, turning him into Eikki's puppet. That was his way of not being disturbed: having anyone who attempt to enter his tent to turn around and leave him be. It goes without saying that Mr. Seil could stare at it for days and days, and not for a single second, fall prey to its mesmerizing glow. The sheer willpower that man possessed was outstanding, Eikki thought. After terraforming his stage, high and made of blue and red coral, he brought in the rest of his equipment: a chair, a table, his bags with clothes and costumes, and his personal tools. And after all was done and put in the place, the merfolk began weaving his magic inside his own private little word, "The Infinite Depths". He started by filling his aquarium with life: that season, the bottom was coral, with anemones of different shapes and colors; bright fishes, some resembling sharks, some resembling trouts, shone brightly under the light of his lantern, filling the tent with a rainbow of colors. Lastly, the most exoctic forms of life: giant blue and green jellyfishes, small octopuses adorned with rings of various colors, and a big squid started swimming inside their glass prison, at Eikki's unwavering command. In front of the aquarium, a large patch of earth would be terraformed into a sinkhole, going several feet deep into the ground. There, resided the most wondrous of his beasts: a whale, different from any other anyone has ever seen, with big fins on it's back, shining brightly with green. The animal would pop out of the water after a thundering noise, surprising his crowd, who would applaud and cheer and scream at the mammal Eikki had brought to life using his biomantic skills. After turning the entire inside of his tent into something that resembled a small lagoon, the bearded merfolk man sat down in his coral chair, lit up a smoke and relaxed until the time came to open the carnival. Never anxious, he waited paciently for when came the time to work, both for the carnival and Mr. Seil. A simple touch from his hand was enough to brand the souls he wanted, and he did not have any trouble in branding several souls at a time. At the end of his show, many would shake hands with him as he conducted everyone out of his tent, congratulating the magician on his wonderful performance. Their emotions in cloud nine, almost like a beacon in the darkness, leaving them vulnerable. And, just like that, theirs souls belonged to someone else entirely. --- The day of the meeting, Eikki was inside his tent, as always. Reading a book about diseases that afflicted human beings. It was always useful knowledge to know of things that were potentialy harmful to his immortal physiology, though he had not found anything that could pose a threat yet. Word was medicine was making advances, but so were viruses, constantly mutating. Since around him things tend to make a turn for the unfortunate, the one who was in charge of letting him know there would be a meeting was, obviously, Grog. The lovely troll was not able to utter a singe word: as soon as he entered Eikki's tent, rushing in in happiness, the dreadful lure caught him and he stood still, mezmerized by the glow. To him, Eikki's voice sounded distant, yet strangely powerful. [b]"Hello Grog, friend of Fishface Eikki. What brings you to my domain in such a lovely afternoon?"[/b] the merfolk asked. [b]"Grooog...wanteeed...to let Fish-friend know...meeting...3..."[/b] the giant replied, his eyes fixed on the glow of the lure-light. A meeting. Mr Seil, no doubt. However, Eikki was not in the slightest mood of attending. Boring meetings on how to proceed during the carnival had grown on him, he was so tired of those. Besides, no one, apart from his boss, who never lost those he held in contract, would notice his absence. Of course, Eikki knew it would be met with punishment, however hid did not think it was such a big deal: he had over 80 years of servitude behind him to remind of how to proceed, the do-and-do-not of it all was engraved deep within his tired brain. And so, with gentle words, he sent the peaceful monster away with a gift. [b]"Ah, Grog...i do not feel very well this afternoon...please, forgive me, i will remain here and rest. If Boss asks you anything, tell him i do not feel well. I will talk to him later, i promise."[/b] he said. Waving his hand in the air, a beautiful seashell, colored with all the colors of the rainbow, was formed from a chunk of coral that laid nearby. [b]"Please, my dearest...take this with you. A gift. Now go on ahead, big guy. I'm sure you have many other people to warn."[/b] [b]"Yeess...fishfriend...Grog likes the shell very very much..."[/b] he said, and walked out of the tent. As soon as the afternoon air hit him, he felt a bit confused. [b]"Did Grog say about meeting to fishfriend?"[/b] he asked himself, scratching his head. Deciding that yes, he definetely had...he thought...the gentle Grog went about his other tasks. ----- Roll up, roll up, cherries and all! Welcome, welcome to De’ Seil Carnival! Where you’ll see tricks, magnificent tricks none have seen before You will partake in games and promise we do, that they are not rigged. You’ll kiss a princess – and a true princess she is You’ll be told the future and indeed it is precise You may even have you inner most desired wish granted by our Wish Master And if you’re very lucky, you may even see a true, living, breathing, dancing angel from the heavens. So come, come, come in and play with us For all are welcome at De’ Seil Carnival. ---- The carnival had started, and Eikki was ready to open up his tent, "The infinite Depths", to the crowd. One thought was swirling around in his head: he definitely would have to talk to Boss later about his absence in his meeting. It was nothing, he was sure, just standart precedures, but something was bothering. He knew not what, but it definitely was there, that little bug biting him. Nevertheless, he wanted to start his show early, for he had other wonders to witness. He, too, longed for a bit of cheering up, and he liked to finish his show early to go about the other features of the carnival. Not wasting anymore time, he moved his lantern to the corner of his tent and covered it with a thick algae cloth; just enough light to keep everybody calm and cheerful. The merfolk was dressed in a stylish outfit: Vest, shirt, pants and shoes, all covered by a coat made of algae and colorful coral chunks. A tophat, adorned with shells and fish spines was the icing on the cake. His clothing were all tailored by him, though it did not look like it. He had been thinking about tailoring some new outifts, but was far to lazy for that: one nice looking one was more than enough. The magician mage stepped out of his tent, and, at full voice, yelled out to those around in a melodic, alluring tone. [b]"Come, come all and behold! Worry not, for you shall not acquire any debts! Come witness mysterious waters, thousands of years old! See wild dreams come true, at The Infinite Depths!![/b] He was unable to count how many people, with cheerful smiles and surprised looks, were heading towards his tent; more than 30, that was for sure. Cordially, he lifted the entrance cloth to his tent open and greeted each and everyone that passed him by with a soft nod and a smile. As soon as he realized there would not be anymore space inside, yet many people still wanted in, he turned to those in waiting outside, with a playful pout on his lips: [b]"Oh, i'm sorry my dearests...but that's all i can manage to fit in inside the Infinite Depths...ironic, isn't it? hahaha...however, one of you shall not leave here with empty hands...hmmm.you, there, sir!!"[/b] he said, poiting at a man in the small crowd that had formed outside the tent. Even though it was not his job, he loved to play jester sometimes. The man, in his mid-40's, looked at him with excitement, and held out a hand, greedifuly waiting for his promised present. Eikki grinned and said: [b]"Here! Have a fish!!![/b], and a huge dead eel slipped from the sleeve of his coat, falling into the man's hand as he almost threw up, and everybody around him busted out in laughter. [b]"I'm so, so sorry...i can't contain myself sometimes, my good sir...yet, come back tomorrow! All of you! There's always a tomorrow in the Infinite Depths."[/b] he said, with a huge smile that barely fit his face, bowed and entered the tent. If one could see his face as he turned around and walked amongst his crowd, waiting anxiously for his performance to begin, one would see a change of expression like that of a hot summer day: from bright blue with a radiant sun, to cloudy with a very high chance of storms. All along, he had been faking, after all, it was not of his nature to be cheerful. However, it was his [i]job[/i], and he conducted it with unwavering professionalism. And so, Eikki made his way and climbed up his stage, bowing to everyone before starting his show ------ [b]"Welcome, welcome, ladies and gentlemen...all of you standing on the shores of the Infinite Depths...this lagoon, in the middle of my humble, humble tent, is home to a behemoth, a creature never seen before, hailing from the depths of deepest hole of the deepest ocean. Yet, now is not the time for that. Let us start with a bit...of magic!"[/b] he said, and snapped his fingers, sending sparks of arcane energy through the air. The dim light of his lantern, hid in a corner, would make sure none of them realized how odd and unusual that man's show was. Opening the courtains to the back of his stage, he revealed his aquarium. Eyes widened in awe to that almost alien sight. A girl could be heard in a corner:"Look, mommy! That octopus has rings on him!!". In the other corner, a man could be heard as well "Oh my...this is beautiful...". Every single one of them, with the help of his lantern, was completely mesmerized by the sight they were seeing. [b]"Witness, ladies and gentlemen...specimens hailing from the depths of the ocean. Their bright colors, although beautiful, are a dreadful warning: poision. Nature has its ways of letting predators know they should not be messing with these little guys. Now, i remember i promised you some magic, aye? well, my little friend mr. Blue Ringed Octopus here...oh...where is he??"[/b] the tiny animal was, apparently, nowhere to be seen. Eikki, in full control of the beings inside the aquarium, waved his hand, and the tiny animal swam away from the big squid's tentacles, amongst which he had been hiding. Soft laughs could be heard here and there, as the crowd observed the magician's frustration and then, joy in finding his lost octopus. [b]"Aaah, there you are, you little creepy eight-legged baby! Come here, come here...lets show our friends something..."[/b] he said, using a coral-made ladder to get all the way up to the opening of his aquarium. Reaching out with his hand, he waited for the octopus to come, and the animal amenably jumped to his hand. [url=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mldZdJn3nXo/Til1XIPGfSI/AAAAAAAAAfc/vQEbxyqxpWg/s1600/HLfemalesmoothdisplaymed.jpg]Blue Ringed Octopus[/url] Climbing down, he adressed his crowd once more[b]"Lets start with a very, very old trick...some of you probably already figured out the secrets of this one, is used by many magicians...but very few of them with an animal that can kill you with a single bite"[/b] he said. Lifting his hand, while the octopus remained still on it, he slowly opened his palm and the small animal started to float above his fingers. Using his control over the arcane, he could employ telekinesis to lift light-to-medium weight loads. The crowd was hypnotized by his performance, he knew, specialy when the animal, so docile floating above his hand, started spinning around, his tentacles helplessly flaying about. Suddenly, the little octopus fell fast, hitting Eikki's hand and wrapping its tentacles around it. Everyone gasped, wondering if the animal had bitten their beloved magician. [b]"Fret not, my dearests...i have full control over our little friend, using my hypnotic powers...."[/b] he tranquilized them. As if the little animal was nothing, Eikki threw it up in the air, back into the aquarium. The crowd cheered and claped, and the magician bowed to them. [b]"Next...i'll use my mind-reading powers in one of you. I understand many have been wondering what lies inside this sinkhole...what kind of behemoth could be waiting here. One of you already knows the answer, and i shall find out who."[/b] he said, stepping down from his stage, contouring the shore of his lagoon and walking amongst his crowd. In a deep, low voice, he said: [b]"Come, my dearies, think...what kind of rabbit will pop out of that tophat?"[/b]. He said, taking out his tophat and poiting to the sinkhole. As he walked amongst them, he spotted a little girl. She would be his assistant for that trick. Children were much more affected by the light of his lantern, with their naive and pure minds, and it would not be hard to influence her. [b]"You, my sweet. You already know."[/b] He said, and crouched in front of the little girl. The entirety of his crowd was now around him, the ones closer to the stage trying to get a glimpse of what Eikki was doing, behind everybody else. There, right in the middle of all those people, crouching playfully in front of his little guinea pig, his voice low and pleasing, he continued. [b]"I bet you think it is very big, yes? but you wonder...something that big...must need to breathe. Unless it is a shark, but come on folks, i would not be that crazy, would i?"[/b]. His words followed by giggles, and each of his questions to the girl followed by a soft nod from her. Her mother, standing right beside her, had a soft, warm smile on her face. Eikki got up, smirking, and made his way back to the shore of his personal lagoon. Waving his hand over it, he called forth the giant mammal he had created, hiding deep inside the sinkhole. [b]"Behold, ladies and gentlemen...Backfin, the whale!"[/b]. His words followed by a deep rumbling. From the surface of the lagoon, a huge head appeared, the shape that of a blue whale, except smaller. Black eyes stared at the crowd, as they gasped in awe of that big whale hiding in a tiny lagoon (at least, tiny comparing to the size of that thing: 35 feet in lenght, almost a ton in weight - Eikki had spent almost ten hours bringing that thing to life). The head submerged, giving way to its back, adorned by a huge, green and shiny fin. Of course, as it is typical on shows with that sort of animal the whale blew out, showering everyone with a soft, cold drizzle. In wonder, the crowd saw the fin giving way to the big tail as the animal submerged back to the depths it came from. Under the sound of frenzied clapping and cheering, the magician climbed back to his stage. "[b] Never forget, ladies and gentlemen. The depths hold much more than we know. This, is the wonder of the deep seas. The wonder of the depths!"[/b] he said, and bowed. Attached to the back of his, head, there he was: the small blue-ringed octupus. The crowd started laughing, and Eikki pretende to be surprised. [b]"Wha...hey!! What are you doing here, little fella?"[/b] He asked, taking the octopus from his head and holding him in his hand, with a warm smile, bowing once more, as everyone applauded him. -------- After many tiresome compliments about his show, and even several brandings, Eikki closed the entrance to his tent and found himself alone once more. Even though no more than 50, 60 people could fit inside that place, it felt enormous and lonely to Eikki at that moment. The merfolk sat down on the edge of his stage, as he saw the whale he had created emerge its big head to greet him. Since all the life inside that tent was connected to him, they could feel his feelings. He felt alone. Desperately alone. It took 85 years for him to realize his isolation turned his heart into an empty room. For the first time in a long while, he truly longed for someone to talk to. Such a sudden feeling, to get together with someone. Weird, it was. Just when he thought his feelings had completely turned to stone, there it goes, his brain playing tricks on him. And so, without thinking much and as fast as he could, the blonde-haired man made his way to Ty's tent, in hopes of still catching her show. That creature somehow soothed Eikki whenever she directed a word at him, which was fairly rare in its own accord. Her voice was soft and polite, her behavior was almost always that of a lady (or, at least, a merfolk lady...it bothered him that he remembered small things such as those, but oh well...his memory loved to fuck with him every once in a while), and she seemed to be gentle when around him. However, that did not mean at all that Eikki had a friend in her. The merfolk mage was so introspective, he had not yet given himself the luxury of friends. Leaving his coat and tophat behind, he left the tent, lighting up a cigarette, wondering why, oh why did that feeling hit him so hard after almost a century of isolation around those people. Why did he long for contact, for conversation, now, after so much time spent only with himself. Something was changing inside of him, he knew not what. Maybe he longed for his family? his parents? his lost love? but why now? what had changed that only now he could see those people as potential friends? (apart from Grog...the not-so-bright giant had taken him for a friend since they knew each other...even though Eikki did not value it as much as he should.). He had no idea. After swimming in this turmoiled sea of thoughts, he finaly found himself in front of Ty's tent. The show, unfortunately, had already ended. He took the liberty of stepping inside and calling out for the blue eyed beauty. [b]"Ty? are you there? it's Eikki..."[/b] he said. [i]"I think she will say to herself: Eikki? who da heck is Eikki? new guy?"[/i] he thought to himself. He waited for an answer, though half his body was outside it, ready to take his leave. He hoped she would not take long: he still needed to talk to Mr. Seil about his absence in the earlier meeting. Mentaly reciting a short prayer to his godess, Ea, for good luck, he hoped his punishment would not be so severe. When he thought of it, it actualy had not been such a good idea to skip the meeting. The bug that bit him earlier was back. There could have been more to it than just instructions. Hopefuly, Ty could clarify some of it to him.