Chapter 3966

The Songsters used Lith’s spell on each other first, assessing how the different merfolk songs travelled through the air and how to adjust them so that their unique melodies would retain the right inflection from short and medium distances.

Once the main problem was solved, however, another one emerged. It was no less serious, and its solution far more complex.

“This is unacceptable!” Akhar the Songster said. “The rules of crafting a Sea Heart date back to our forefathers, when the first merfolk escaped the unforgiving gaze of the sun and returned to the soothing embrace of the ocean.

“Every merfolk Songster after them has followed in their footsteps and built upon their teachings. There is no village, not one, that dared disregard the wisdom of our ancestors while crafting their Sea Heart, no matter the challenges it presented.

“I can understand a surface dweller like Verhen coming up with that abomination in the name of practicality, but such behavior is unacceptable from you, Rem.” Akhar pointed at the flower-shaped Desert Heart, and the other Songsters nodded.

“Verhen is not one of us. He knows nothing of our traditions and doesn’t understand their importance. He was just a human with a job. You, however, were supposed to know better. You are the representative of our tribe in the Desert, Rem.

“You are supposed to make compromises to enact the will of the tribe, not yours! What you presented us is no solution to our Sea Heart problem. It’s a desecration of everything our ancestors’ legacy stands for.