Writings of a Nereid Refugee

*Slightly Water Damaged*

It’s been a few weeks since our departure from The Brine. I miss our home oh-so much. The songs sung in the water as people living together, the stories told beside the glow of luminescent coral. The thousands of fish freely treading in the water, glittering the seas with a magical atmosphere. However, more than anything, I miss our friends and family members we had to leave behind. They meant so much to me… still do, of course.

It was so sudden when the Realmkeepers took over our village. They came in like greedy dogs hungry for land and gold. Each of us were taken in by their clutches, and quickly discarded us as trash. I ask what The Protector is doing amongst all of this. Truly he cannot see these actions as noble, or for the greater good? It seems even the mighty Mods fall to questionable morality. I sometimes wonder if our supposed ”protector” will ever pick a side, for it is clear that the Nereids are losing a great deal.

I suppose their excuse is they are doing this for “justice”, some sort of moral code that makes them act out against us. I don’t know what we’ve done to deserve this, Nereids have always been historically kinder than many of the other species in the Cornucopia. I have heard mutterings of the Realmkeepers mainly targeting us due to our large gold deposits in the waters of the Brine. That can’t possibly be true. Such self-righteous fools plundering The Brine for such a selfish reason? What hypocrites.

That is what makes the Dwellers who took us into the Underdark all the more admirable. Shortly after our homes were repurposed as Realmkeeper base camps, a group of Dweller saviors came to our aid. They call themselves “The Order of the Crystal Table'', and their main mission is to aid the many refugees and peoples of the dimension into a new home, a citadel for the lost. I have met so many wonderful people you wouldn’t even believe. Outlanders, Automechs, Humans, even a few Enderlings who lost their way. Never would I have ever imagined the day where I would meet a real Enderling! More than that, I met a few Realmkeepers who were legitimately kind people, and condemned the acts of their brethren who would threaten the lives of others for their version of “peace”. Not everything is as black and white as it seems.

I wanted to write all of this to let you know that The Brine isn’t the end, my friends. As much as I miss my home, there are worlds out there, places tucked away in the corners of The Cornucopia where acceptance is commonplace and home feels that much closer, even if it isn’t basking in the waters of kinship together. Kindness was never exclusive to Nereid-kin, but the whole of the Cornucopia. We must find it ourselves given the chance.