• Long ago, before the seas were created, the sun and the moon had a baby girl, who they named Soluna. Soluna was given golden hair and perfectly darkened skin by the sun and her stunning blue eyes and the grace of a million ballet dancers by the moon. One day, the moon gave her a special gift, not to be shared by any other human being.

    "I give you the power to control water. But before I do, Soluna, you must promise your father and I to never show this gift. This power was made for you, and you alone. Do you promise to keep this secret?" the moon demanded of her daughter.

    "Yes, mother. I swear to you that I shall never break this promise." Soluna replied, solemn but confident.

    One day, Soluna came to planet earth, where she flaunted her powers and amazed everyone. She was accused of witchcraft and illusional trickery, but she was never caught. The sun had seen this and told the moon, "our daughter has broken the promise! You must punish her!"

    The moon readily agreed and summoned Soluna back to her celestial home. "Soluna, have you broken the promise we made when I gave you your powers?"

    "No, I have not, mother. I would never do such a thing." Soluna denied the accusation like she really was innocent.

    The sun, astounded by the dishonesty, cried the seas into existence. The moon was not convinced, however.

    "First you betray us by breaking the promise, now you lie to us?" The moon bellowed. "Your punishment will not be easy!"

    "But I have not done anything!" Soluna cried.

    "From this fornight until you die, you shall be condemned to the ocean, forever cursed as half fish, half human! You will never touch air again and no one will ever see your face!" After Soluna was sentenced, the sun was so upset with the moon that he left her.

    Soluna decided to play trickery, and planned a fake death. One day, she found a rope rotting on the ocean floor and feigned hanging herself. The moon was very dissapointed that her daughter had been so evil. But the moon did not know that Soluna was still alive.

    Some days and years later, Soluna perched on a rock above sea level and spotted a handsome young man. She called him over and he ook her wih him back to his home. The man's name was Derek, and later became Soluna's husband. They had wo sets of twins, each having one male and one female. Of course, the moon could not know about this, so Soluna and Derek decided to give them away.

    Soluna eventually died a successful widow and author, writing about her life with the sun and the moon three years after Derek's boat sank. The moon, enraged by this new revelation that her daughter did not hang herself, cursed all her children and their descendants: "Every single one of Soluna's lineage will be forever cursed. Each will inherit Soluna's half-human half-fish traits, and none of them will know about each other until they find the Waterbreather. Then, and only then, shall they know the truth about their kind."

    And no one ever did. Soluna's family tree never knew about each other and were challenged to keep their half-human half-fish genetics secret from the rest of the world. Although some ran into each other sometimes, they never realized they were kin or half-mer.

    The curse still has its hold on Soluna's descendants. But soon, one of them will unravel the mystery and lift the curse. She shall bring peace to the merpeople once and for all.