Author's Preface
The rest of the half hour passed mostly quietly. Étaoin spent a lot of time staring through her glass prism, hoping to find landmarks of any kind. Despite the fact that her eyes were accustomed to the ever shifting cycles of Tir na Nog, they never properly adapted to the warped darkness of the deep ocean. She wondered if this was a property of every ocean or something unique to the Silver-Echo Sea. She'd likely never find out, not that she really cared beyond the curiosity that kept her entertained throughout the trip.
Eventually the two entered a small grotto hidden on the ocean floor by seaweed. Were her glass case not magical, the sprite was confident it would shatter into a million pieces followed by her being crushed into a splatter of blood and entrails. Even still, there were plenty of other ways Cecaelya could kill her pretty easily in such a secluded spot. Cecaelya was familiar with the place too, considering how easily she navigated around the area.
Squinting her eyes, Étaoin could see inscriptions on the walls. Shell shaped containers lining the walls, a large stone slab at about table height. This was clearly some kind of lair of hers, or maybe an acquaintance of hers.
The witch placed the glass case on the table, allowing the sprite to notice the remains of a magic circle drawn on the surface.
“What is this place?” she couldn't help but ask.
“Somewhere we won't be disturbed. I can cast my spell in peace and you can be on your way without immediately being gobbled up or what have you.” As Cecaelya spoke, she moved to collect one of the containers, taking off the lid to reveal some kind of red goo. Dipping in a claw, she was quick to draw arcane patterns on the surface of the table around Étaoin.
The sprite wondered what the red goo was made of to be able to act so paint-like underwater. In spite of the many months she has spent in this underwater world she still knew so little about it. “How does it work like that?”
“It's a copper oil mixture. Now cease the pointless questions.”
Étaoin sighed. She knew she wasn't exactly on friendly terms with Cecaelya, she didn't want to be, but there wasn't any harm in her wanting to know what was happening.
As she took a seat to wait for the monstrous mermaid to be done, a few items were dropped into her container without a word. One was an orange rock, almost salt-like or sugar-like. A quick inspection revealed it to be some kind of tree sap. Another was a few drops of a metallic liquid. Mercury. She stayed away from that and shot an annoyed look at Cecaelya for dropping the maddening metal into the jar without as much as a warning. Lastly there was a vial and what looked to be a tinderbox. The vial was revealed to contain an oil of some kind.
“C’mon bug, light it up. I need some smoke for the ritual. The jar should be able to generate air faster than a small fire burns through it.”
Étaoin rolled her eyes as she obliged.
“Bug, be happy that I gave you that precious oil,” Cecaelya intoned with an exaggerated, toothy smile.
She and Dagon truly were cut from the same cloth. Making the fire only took a few moments, the smoke rising only to bubble through the seal and continue rising through the water in small bubbles before disappearing out of sight.
Seeing the wisps of smoke caused the sea witch’s grin to become a genuine one, before she took on a serious expression to start the ritual. The corners of her lips couldn't help but curl upwards as she spoke the arcane incantations, however.
Étaoin felt the magic wash over her. She wasn't sure how exactly it was changing her, but she did feel the presence of a spell on her.
Several minutes passed of Cecaelya droning on some kind of magical incantation, moving her hands and fingers in tune with the words while the ciphers around the arcane circles lit up one by one. On a high note, the fire went out and the glow faded. The spell was finished.
Eager to be rid of her many prisons, Étaoin immediately reached for the gel separating her from the water and carefully pushed out a toe. The water pressure didn't even bother her. Her foot followed. It was fine.
Cecaelya spoke up as the sprite slid out of her containment. “You know, Bug, I've always-”
The sea witch was cut off by a scream.
Pain coursed through Étaoin's body like lightning. What was worse was that the pain didn't come from the water. She wasn't being crushed. It came from within.
Hazy eyes could barely register the monstrous mermaid speaking words her ears could not hear before abandoning her there.
Étaoin's body shook, her clothes suddenly feeling like they were suffocating her. She reached out to rip them off and succeeded with ease. Her skin felt like it was being torn, only to find spikes on her arms trying to poke through the skin. Her fingers had been replaced by hookish claws, and she could see her skin ripping away in favor of some kind of greenish chitin.
Her back spasmed as she felt her shoulders splinter and move. There was the snapping of new bones forming and springing into place, both erupting from under her arms to create an extra set as well adding to her wings even if she didn't know in what way. Every moment of growth pushed her skin and muscle until it ripped and tore to be replaced with ones suiting her new anatomy. This wasn't to mention her lower back seemingly growing some kind of appendage, skin giving away for the rapid expansion of flesh that was way too large and bulbous while simultaneously stiff to be a tail.
Those sensations were nothing compared to the splitting headache she experienced, however. Reaching up to touch her head she could see her hair entangling with her fingers and staying there. Horns were pushing out of her forehead, while the base of her head hurt similarly though on a much larger surface area. Her cheekbones hurt like they were being split open, followed by an expansion of her vision. Painstakingly she had to endure it happening three times.
It took hours. Each snap a scream. Each tear an agonizing wail. Each sound a quiver on the surface of the always still Silver-Echo Sea.