Cake of Qora

Lianne, a beautiful, young mermaid, was at the aqua-library, the main library of the kingdom of Ipera. She had heard of rumors from the seamen she had encountered, rumors of the most delicious, sweetest cake in all of the world! Baked by the legendary bakers at the city of Qora. Living underwater, mermaids and mermen don’t get to savor sweets, so to them, sweets offered by the sailors they encounter and help out are the most precious of treasures! 

Lianne was researching, searching through the Ipera’s library archives for information on the location of Qora, and how she could venture there to get a taste of the Qorian Cake! She drooled at the mere thought of it. She had been at it for three days now, researching and reading, taking notes, looking through maps. She had never ventured out more than a few nautical miles out of the capitol before, so to her, this was quite scary, but she wasn’t going to let her anxiety get in the way of her and the cake. 

Slamming the book down on the table and sighing, Lianne slouched back, floating, since this whole action is taking part underwater. She looked up at the ceiling where 1 of the library staff, a crab, was organizing bookshelves, about 5 floors above her. The library was shaped like a tower, with a large opening in the middle, since mermaids didn’t need stairs, they just swam up to whichever floor they needed. An efficient design. 

The crab worker lost his grip on the bookshelf, overweighted by the book he was carrying, he slipped and began slowly descending towards the main floor where Lianne was slouched back, watching it. An innocent smile stretched across her lips as she watched the little, hard-working crab, desperately trying to swim his way to 1 of the walls on the side so he wouldn’t have to walk up 5 floors again. She pushed herself off with her tail, swimming gracefully towards the crab in despair.

She met him at about 3rd floor height and gently caught him in her hands, smiling at the crab. The crab turned and faced her, with his eyes sticking out and wide open. The crab spoke in Ipera’s common language – “thank you, your grace.” Lianne chuckled – “Oh please! Such flattery! I’ll bring you back up!” The crab hunkered down, allowing the gorgeous mermaid to swim him back to the shelf he was on. 

As they reached the 5th floor and Lianne swam up to the shelf to place the crab back on it, she caught a glimpse of the book he was holding ‘The mermaid’s gift, a hidden talent and how to uncover it’. She stared at it for a moment- “Say, what is that book about?” The crab brought the book up to his eyes and then looked at her – “The legends of mermaids turning human for a limited time! Nobody had tried that in a long time though!” She tilted her head to the side

Her eyes focused on the book, her mind rushing through thoughts she never had before. Suddenly remembering about all the other human world wonders she had studied about in her classes, her expression turned dreamy as she reached for the book – “May I?” The crab turned and handed the book over to her – “by all means, your grace! Have a great day” She smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the back of his shell – “Thank you for all the hard work” she said as she swung herself around.

She swam back down to the table at which she was reading and put the book down, pushing to the side the other stack of books she had been reading through for the past three days in preparation for her trip. She flipped it open and began reading through it tirelessly and attentively, taking notes as she went. As the day met its end and the luminous corals illuminated the library, floors, walls, and the table at which she sat, she closed the book and smiled.

She had read it cover to cover and learned all there was to learn about the mermaid’s gift. She picked up her notebook and glanced over it. Vaguely sketched out maps, directions and navigation hints, landmarks, and a list of equipment necessary occupied the first 5 pages of it. Pages 6 and 7 were filled with the information on the gift. ‘Once a year under a full moon, for three days and three nights, a mermaid can walk the land of humans as a human.’ Was the first note on it. 

She smiled, picked up the stack of books, and unloaded them at the ‘drop off box’. Grabbing her notebook and swimming out of the library, she went back to her cave-home to catch up on some rest. Even though mermaids had similar efficiency to dolphins, and could go for weeks, or even months without sleep, by shutting down half of their brain and part of their cognitive or physical abilities, they still preferred to sleep and rest properly and sleep fully. 

Morning came and Lianne awoke. She read over her notes to make the necessary preparations. Turning into a human wasn’t as simple as ‘crawl out of the ocean onto moonlight and magically grow legs’. It was a transformation magics with some simple but important requirements, such as: sufficient calorie intake to assure the transformation doesn’t harm the user, a transmutation potion brewed by the alchemists, and a spell, which any mermaid could cast on herself since they all possessed at least the very basic magic control.

Lianne made a list of targets for her preparations. The first order of business was checking in with the alchemists to brew her the potion. Mermaid society, unlike human society, operated on mutual assistance rather than monetary value. Which meant that to make a request for something specific, one has to offer a favor in return, or work until the debt is paid, but common goods were freely available to all.

Lianne was not a skilled smith, nor was she a cook! What Lianne could do, however, was sing, so beautifully that all creatures of the depth would gather around her to hear her sing. In addition to that, she was quick to get along with creatures of the seas and could communicate with even those that didn’t speak the Ipera’s common language. She swam to the alchemists and through the open, circular hatch to the main desk. 

“How may the alchemists be of assistance, your grace?” said the mermaid wearing a robe of sorts, half covering her face. Lianne smiled warmly and explained “I seek to savor the world’s sweetest, most delicious cake, and for that, I wish to walk the lands as a human! I seek the potion of transmutation.” The mermaid at the front desk pondered for a moment and nodded -”Right, yes, we can craft you one! But in turn…” she thought for a moment 

Her gaze darted back and forth between 2 hatches leading to east and west. She tilted her head in thought – “hmm, the brewing will take 3 days and we’re missing some ingredients for it too. We’ll request you gather the necessary ingredients for us, and some additional, commonly used ingredients. ” Lianne nodded understandingly and eagerly – “Anything for you”. The front desk mermaid smiled – “please wait while I put together a list for you then, your grace” 

A few minutes later she returned, carrying a list with a variety of items on it. She handed the list over to Lianne and smiled – “here’s what we would request as payment for the potion”. Lianne looked over the list. Majority of ingredients were simple – sea kelp, moss, red algae, purple algae, sea cucumbers. However, one ingredient caught her attention: ‘the red eye of depth’. It is a pearl that can be found in the ‘abyssal crack’.

Said pearl can only be found inside of a predatory clam that lures creatures in with the magnificent, mesmerizing glow of the pearl, and then, like a venus fly trap, snaps shut and releases powerful venom which paralyzes and eventually dissolves the unfortunate victim. It is one of the most dangerous things in the depths, and all mermaids learn to stay away from the abyssal crack, and especially from anything that glows in those depths. She gulped and looked at the other mermaid.

The mermaid smiled slyly at her – “yes your grace?”. Lianne shook her head – “no, it’s… nothing, I will deliver the requested ingredients within a few days.” She swam out of the building and glanced over the list again. Creatures of the seas would help her gather the basic ingredients within days but who, or what, would help her with the red eye of depth? She pondered over it as she swam back to her cave to grab a bag to collect the common ingredients.

After a quick stop at home, she was well on her way to the outskirts of the city to begin collecting the requested ingredients. She swam out a nautical mile to the west, where most plant life she needed existed. Setting her bag down, she hummed. Her gentle, angelic voice swiftly grabbed the  attention of all sea life in the area. Dolphins swam circles around her. Schools of fish swarmed all around her! Crabs and other crawlers were quick to gather in a circle around her. 

She hummed and sang, swaying gently with her melody. After her song, the creatures stayed and she spoke to them “friends of the depth, help me gather the following and bring it to me” She told them the list and the crowd quickly dissipated. Within 30 minutes, while she herself was gathering sea cucumbers, the creatures returned carrying a variety of items, all of which she needed. She packed her bag full to the brim and still had much left to carry in her hands. 

She decided to drop off the gathered ingredients at the alchemist’s before setting out to the abyssal crack in search of the red eye of depth. It was a quick swim, for the most part, she was accompanied by a school of fish and a pack of dolphins on her way back. A company she really enjoyed.  After dropping the ingredients off, the dolphins still accompanied her to the crack, but refused to venture inside. 

She floated, with dolphins, just above the crack, a ravine, extending down so deep that aside from an occasional flash at the bottom or along the wall of it, it was pitch black. As if abyss itself. The longer she stared at it, the more terrified she got, but that wasn’t enough to stop her. She hesitated before turning around and patting her dolphin company on the noses “Thank you friends, may your journey be safe! I’ll be on my way”. The dolphins wished her a safe journey and watched as she dove down. 

Each swing of her tail accelerated and propelled her down into the darkness, faster and faster. She swam, her senses focused, her skin crawled from fear, her mind raced through all the possible causes of death in the abyss, but her expression remained stern and focused. She swam, deeper and deeper, until all the light faded. She could no longer see and had to rely entirely on sound for location. Similar to dolphins, mermaids were capable of location and navigating through sound. 

She could hear creaks, squeaks, snaps, and cracks. The crack was a dangerous, mysterious location that mermaids and mermen tended to avoid. Although on the bright side, the majority of creatures never dared to lay their fins or tentacles on the mermaids, they were the kings and queens of oceans. They were most agile and nimble, fastest and strongest, so she feared not being attacked, but the environmental hazards remained a threat nonetheless. 

As she reached the bottom, she made sure to swim fast but cautiously, avoid any unnecessary contact with the creatures in this region. She searched for hours for the pearl but her efforts were in vain. She found herself facing the entrance to a cave. From what she could sense, it is quite a complicated cave system, a maze. She pondered for a while ‘is it worth the risk venturing in there in search of the clam?’  What does the audience think??? Should she keep searching? Or enter the caves? 

*****Audience Input*****

Kallen Vermillion: She should search for a lamp marimo!

Kallen Vermillion.: So she can actually see where the clam is…

Pan Acea.: of course she should return home, but that doesn’t make for a gripping story. off to the cave!

Pan Acea.: for a clam thats using its shine to lure in prey its awfully well hidden..

Sasoru SoruLich: Hmm…maybe ask a native creature?

Neiri KuzaragiZodiark nods to Sasoru SoruLich.

Mimi ValenOdin: I think, if she wants something enough she’ll do whatever it takes.

Mimi ValenOdin: To the cave!

Mimi ValenOdin: *^*/

Leona Lucifra: I say she takes the risk

You beam with delight.

Atheris Hispida: Risking what is almost certain death for cake? Naturally she would.

Mimi Valen: Sounds good to me..

Mimi Valen laughs.

Lunamana Zhongxin: Oh no, underwater caves are very dangerous…

Leona Lucifra: I mean depends on how drained she is? If she has been searching for hours and deeming the maze to take even longer.. might be a good idea to rest before it.

Leona Lucifra: But if she is that strong.. uh.. go for it, I say

Kallen Vermillion: Well I let the beautiful, sweet lady with the eyepatch next to me decide! off to the caves then. blind. ready to be eaten raw

**********

She nodded confidently and propelled herself into the caves. Despite it being a maze, she didn’t struggle to navigate through it much. Her memory was excellent so she remembered every turn she took and swam onwards with confidence. After about 10 minutes of exploration, she sensed a large open room, with a couple of entryways and a few calm-like objects inside it. She swam in that direction and found herself floating in a large open room, with 3 clams occupying varying parts of the room.

2 of the clams were wide open, and inside them, a beautiful, captivating, neon red glow, coming off of the pearl she is searching for. She looked around as she carefully approached 1 of the pearls. Its truly mesmerizing and beautiful glow made it difficult for her to focus on anything else. She admired it for a while before finally snapping back to reality, focusing on the clam rather than the treasure inside. In her mind, she went through spells she knew.

Although she wasn’t exceptionally talented in that regard, she could think of a few potential spells that could be of use. ‘Water hand’  was a simple spell that allowed the creation of a phantom water hand and reaching/interacting with objects. A ‘swift wave’ a simple current push spell, she thought she could push the pearl out before the clam would shut close. Or lastly, she thought a ‘swim speed’ spell would allow her to quickly swim through the clam and grab the pearl herself. 

Which shall it be??

*****Audience Input*****

Silas Amaran: I would say go with water hand its all about the mussel memory

Orlena Frex: nope works, you can look again, added an extra smug potat one :3

Ventus Leonhart: current seems most likely to succeed.

Leona Lucifra: Just clamber into it

Ventus Leonhart: she has 2 chances here as well

Nagisa Shokushu: Also I totally didn’t think anything wrong vik said “Abyssal crack”

Nagisa Shokushu: I’ll do

Pan Acea: hmm swift wave sounds like the safest option. the clam wont release its pearl without a fight

Mimi Valen: nods to Ventus LeonhartOdin.

Pan Acea: she has to be quick

Neiri Kuzaragi: Swift wave, obviously!

Leona Lucifra: But I would go for the water hand as well, that sounds exciting!

Kallen Vermillion: I agree with mister Pan

Linesi Zeksrath: i say go for swim speed… gotta risk it for the biscuit

Linesi Zeksrath: err, cake

Lunamana Zhongxin: Swift wave, but let’s hope the pearl doesn’t fly off to somewhere else that’s dangerous, should check her surroundings >.<

Mimi Valen: That is quite true..

**********

She took a moment to remember the spell and pointed her hand at the pearl, mumbling out a spell, she smirked and focused her vision on the glowing pearl. She released a powerful, focused burst of current which, upon impact with the pearl, threw it out of the clam before the clam had a chance to shut itself. The pearl impacted the wall, bounced off of it and flew back towards Lianne. She quickly swam up and grabbed it. It was roughly the size of her head, quite large, and shone just as beautifully as it did before.

She made it back out of the cave and darted upwards to escape the darkness of the abyss as fast as she could. A creature appeared behind her, she could sense it reaching for her fin with its tentacles. She quickly cast a swim speed spell and doubled her speed. With ease, escaping the pursuer of the darkness. Returning to the realm of light, she slowed herself down and swam gracefully back to the city, no longer feeling threatened, she smiled at the pearl as she admired its beauty. 

A small ding where it impacted the wall hardly made it any less gorgeous. She safely returned to the alchemist’s shop and presented the pearl to the mermaid at the front desk. To say the mermaid was shocked would be an understatement. She was completely and utterly awestruck at the young, innocent-looking mermaid before her, who went to such lengths for a mere cake… She accepted the pearl and informed Lianne that the transmutation potion will be ready in 3 days. 

In the next three days, Lianne made preparations for the rest of her trip. She visited the merchants to uncover the human trade ship and human buffet schedules. She needed to consume sufficient calories for the transformation to go smoothly. A floating cross species buffet opens every 2 weeks where human merchants come to a designated port and set up floating tables for the people of the seas. Merchants from both species exchange foods and the meal is truly grand for all attending. 

Usually over 5000 guests attend the buffet over the course of the day! Savoring the foods they otherwise wouldn’t get to sample. Even human and sea people’s royalty attend this grand event. The buffet was happening in 2 days, perfect timing! ‘The stars are truly aligning for me’ thought Lianne to herself as she made her plans to attend the buffet, the next day after she’d have her potion and could set out on her journey to the Qora to taste the best cake in the world.

The day of the buffet was upon her, she along with hundreds of others swam to the port where the buffet was being set up. It was her first time attending, she usually chose to avoid such public events, but a spectacle it was! A truly unforgettable experience! Hundreds of human ships, thousands of tables on land and at sea alike. Humans at the tables with mermaids, mermaids sitting on the land with humans. A truly spectacular sight, an unforgettable experience.

A true show that differences mattered not for the common goal, a delicious meal. Both sea and land creatures need food and this was an incredible opportunity for the species to unite and show each other that they weren’t so different after all. The day had come to an end and lots of delicious food had been consumed that day! Lianna awoke the next morning and got a hold of her potion without issues! At last, it was time for her to set out on her grand journey! 

She didn’t require much for her trip. Mermaids didn’t need to drink, they lived underwater! The food was all around them, kelp, algae, and coral were everywhere, it was quite easy to find human ships and they would always share a meal with the people of the seas! She followed her hand-drawn maps and set out right away after obtaining her potion. 

Full moon was in a week, but her journey, per her estimate, would take approximately 4-5 days. She had a couple of days spare in case she went off course or got distracted. She stayed true to her goal and her course throughout her journey. On day 3 she caught a ride with a pirate crew of the Black Lagoon. They dropped anchor to admire her beautiful singing while passing by. 

They fed her chicken and rice. And although the meals were oversalted, for some reason, she still very much enjoyed the food. The captain Levi, a large Hrothgar, something was odd about him, but he was a kind and welcoming man, a true gentleman. His companion, Lorei, a vampire, gladly joined in, drunkenly singing along to her songs the entire night. She enjoyed the company of pirates, they were always entertaining. 

The black lagoon tried to keep her on board long as they could, and she, enjoying their company, remained with them the entire night and half of the next day. When she told them of her plan, however, Levi grunted “Eh, it wasn’t that good” he remarked in regards to the ‘legendary cake’. “But then, I.. kinda grew fond of salt lately” he chuckled. 

The black lagoon changed its course as they parted ways with the mermaid. Now she had made friends with the mightiest pirates in the region. The most influential, they promised to bring her salt in a couple of months when they’ll be making their trade runs the next time, which gave her something exciting to look forward to. 

Her journey came to an end as she could now see the port city of Qora in the distance. Full moon was in a day, so she decided to make acquaintances with the port workers before then and ask about the city. They were taken aback a little. She was, apparently, the first of the sea civilization to have visited them in over a year, but they were still quite welcoming and kind. She rested the night at the bottom in a field of kelp and spent the day cleaning up the port’s waters from trash and debris. 

The evening came and the sun began to set. She was excited, albeit nervous. She consumed the potion and spoke the spell. At first, nothing, she floated at the surface, watching the moon, slowly clear up from behind the clouds, and as the moon light caressed her skin, she suddenly got dizzy and nauseous. She stabilized herself in the water to help with the motion sickness that was apparently hitting her. “You’re fine Lianna… breathe! You’re fine” she attempted to calm herself down.

Next, her tail itched, as if skin after a sunburn! She scratched at her scales, and with each itch, the scales fell off of her, shedding them like young mermaid, she panicked. Before she had a chance to realize it, she passed out. Waking up few hours later, she found herself floating on her back. As she attempted to straighten and stabilize herself, with her tail, she realized she had 2 tails, each moving independently. She looked down at her body in confusion, just to see fully human body, with 2 legs. 

She smiled excitedly – “It! It worked!” she shouted, in the empty waters, in middle of the night! Excitedly splashing around. She took a few hours to get used to swimming with her new body. It surprisingly was quite intuitive, albeit, unlike her tail, she found that she lost a lot of agility and all the speed. She splashed her way to the pier and to the stairs. She excitedly took her first step onto the stairs.

As she exited the water walking up the wet stairs from the pier, her excitement was interrupted by a sound of breaking bottle and a raggedy speech – “m…mi…misssy… you uhh… uhh… are you a…. Goddess of the seas or s..somthing?” a drunk man said, staring at her at the top of the stairs. She looked at him, raising her eyebrow – “Hmm?? No.. i’m just a maiden?”

The drunk man smiled excitedly – “Sure don’t see m…many maidens casually taking a skinny dip in the middle of the night. He paused as he attempted to focus his gaze at the naked, gorgeous, wet woman stepping out of the water, and down the stairs. Her silhouette well visible in the full moon’s light. 

She looked down her body, realizing why the man was talking that was, shrieking loudly she jumped right back in the water – “AAAA!!!” followed by a splash. After a moment of silence, she spoke embarrassed – “Uhmm.. w…would you mind… fetching me something to wear?” The drunk man grinned- “Oh no need to missy! you  uhh… l..looked great as you were!” In that time, having heard a splash, couple of port workers came to check out what had fallen in the water. 

After observing the situation for a few moments and listening to her explanations, they cleaned up the glass, led the drunk man away and provided a blanket for Lianne. They took her to the nearest tavern, and offered her drinks and a hot meal, a set of basic clothes was provided by the tavern owner. 

The morning came, and Lianne excitedly awaited the opening of the bakery where the legendary cakes were made. She was the first in line, escorted by a couple of city’s guards as a privileged guest, a visitor from the Ipera! She headed inside excitedly, beaming, practically sparkling! 

And she was greeted by a rather unexcited baker. He smiled at her and welcomed her. She looked around the shop “Legendary cake of Qora please! 1 slice! No wait! Whole cake!”. The baker shook his head – “ah… I’m afraid I had bad news for you, lass” he said as he sighed. 

Her eyes widened as her heart fluttered – “W..what?? What is it??” She looked as if she was about to cry – “the cake…?? I..” the baker interrupted her – “The sugar deliveries are late, we used up remains of our sugars at the festival last week. Last cake wa…” he paused for a moment as he lifted his finger up – “wait here”

Lianne turned to face 1 of the guards, her eyes welling up as she gritted her teeth and pouted at them, like a child whose candy was stolen from them. She felt crushed, disappointed! She put in so much effort into coming here! She wanted to taste the cake, walk the city and get the experience of ordering the cake as a human and yet…

The guards glared at each other, not knowing what to do with an upset guest from the deep. A brief moment later, the baker returned, carrying a covered plate. He set it on the table and sighed, his cold, focused gaze meeting Lianne’s. “Sugar supplies were used up and deliveries are late, however, the mayor’s daughter’s wedding had been made last night for today’s wedding. They allowed to provide a slice of the cake for our special guest.” He smiled broadly at her.

As he lifted off the cover to reveal a slice of cake to her. A small, accurately cut-off, perfect-looking, mouth-watering piece of cake. Perfectly fluffy. Dough made of several layers. Chocolate and vanilla, alternating. It looked like the most perfect piece of cake imaginable. A tear rolled down Lianne’s cheek as she smiled- “may…i? May I really, taste this?”  The baker placed a fork on the counter beside the plate and smiled- “Have at it lass”

She enjoyed the cake, every bite was a bliss! A perfect blend of flavors and ingredients! A hint of lime here and there, nuts embedded into the dough. It was a rainbow of flavors and she enjoyed every single 1 of them thoroughly. As she finished the cake she smiled and nodded excitedly- “TRULY IS LEGENDARY!” The baker chuckled – “But of course! We have the finest bakers and finest ingredients!” 

After enjoying the legendary cake, she spent the next 2 days in the city of Qora enjoying sightseeing and human food before returning to the ocean. She returned home and sang songs of the legendary cake. This increased the traffic of sea people to that city, and led to the establishment of strong trade bonds between them. 

The pirates of the black lagoon led by Levi, became protectors of the Qora and suppliers of sugar and spices for them. Always on time to deliver the finest ingredients for them to make the finest cakes. And thus… the tale ends.