Biography

Albeit packed with danger, life inside the sea had always been a synonymous concept to freedom to the merman. Growing up, he spent the majority of his time under the surface, discovering all that the ocean had to offer, hidden away in the dark seabeds that most other humanoid creatures had little access to. The nightmarish, luminescent creatures in the deep depths did not frighten him more than the strange vessels he'd occasionally see on the horizon, the ones who'd leave behind toxic fluids and items that did not belong there, the nets extending from the imposing vessels and taking with them countless sea creatures.

Ezume knew why the creatures were being captured, but it had always seemed so... greedy. A few fish could keep him sated for an entire day, why did these vessels always have to steal them in such large quantities? Clearly, they had larger stomachs than him.

At the tender age of nine he saw the first human up close, and was shocked to find that they were similar in many ways; The dangly, separated tails at the lower half of the boy's body weren't efficient, and he quickly came to realise that it could not breathe underwater either, when he nearly killed it in an attempt to save its life by taking it to his mother. The human boy was transported to shore instead, and left by some rocks to hopefully be rescued by someone of its own kind; Ezume did not attempt to exit the water.

The identity crisis occurred when the story was retold to his mother, and she revealed that their kind was capable of adopting that very form. He did not believe her until a couple of years later, when he dared exit the sea for the first time, and witnessed his tale morphing into a pair of legs, just like that human boy's. Terrified that they might not revert, he crawled back into the water before the transformation could be completed.

He never set foot on shore again. At least not by his own will.

It seemed for his unwillingness to discover his body's capabilities, fate had a cruel lesson in store for him; A few months after entering the second decade of life, he was entangled in one of those very nets he'd made sure to steer clear of for as long as he could remember. Despite his desperate attempts to escape, he was captured, and sold off to a man that viewed him as nothing more than one of his most prized possessions; Not for Ezume's soul, but for the tail he was only allowed to use during displays from there on.

The man was cruel, and took pleasure in witnessing other creatures' agony. During Ezume's involuntary stay with him, he learned the true meaning of pain and fear; His breath began to hitch every time he'd hear a door creak open, or his name being used, and he learned to keep his mouth shut when insults and derogatory terms were hurled his way. He was one of the many specimens the man had accumulated over the years, and he was treated as such; Nothing special, only there to appease his master's whims, when and where the man pleased.

During his stay with the man, however, he also got to witness the world, and all the different creatures that inhabited it. Monsters and mystical creatures alike; He would only get to see them during public events his master would arrange, displays he always looked forward to for two reasons:

The first was the allowance to be in his natural form.

The second was the glimpses of the world outside his prison, and the conversations he'd get to have with creatures suffering the same fate as himself.

The man was cruel, and not all of his slaves were as tolerant as Ezume; A riot took place three years before he'd reach the third decade of his life, and the master was killed by his own slaves; By default, Ezume was freed as well, and after months of trying to survive in a world he was entirely unfamiliar with, he eventually managed to find his way back to the sea.

He'd almost forgotten how to use his tail by then, but muscle memory is a powerful thing; He got accustomed to it in no time, and at the same time, still remembered how to use his legs, if need be. Sometimes he would supply fish to locals in moderation when he was in need of lux, other times he'd simply disappear beneath the surface for months.

But at last, he was free.