My story begins much like any others; with birth. I was born in a tropical region of one of Neopia's vast seas. It was a truly beautiful place…and an exquisite environment for a young Merdrac, such as I, to grow up in. Each day brought forth new ideas, new opportunities and the expanding of the knowledge that I was starting to obtain. Granted, I wasn't always so industrious, as I am now with my studies. When I was young, my life was filled with adventures and the frolicking around with my pod mates; a continuous cycle of play and discovery around the outskirts of the area that was designed for nurturing the younger pups. My mother…A beautiful, kind and gentle Merdrac she was. My father, the leader of the pod at that time, was always too busy with keeping the family in check and the territory safe from any foreign attack to ever have time to play with me. So my mother took up that job. She was the very one that nurtured my in-depth love of learning. She too had an affinity for it, telling me of the ways of the past and all the different things that she encountered. She seemed almost a boundless field of wisdom from whom I could ask until the end of time, and yet never find out all there was to learn. I was lucky to have her…..

My life progressed on at a rapid pace, finally moving away from my birthing grounds to roam the ocean for my place in this world. I still stuck close to my mother, though I ventured from her much more often than in earlier years. She didn't seem to mind it all too much, thinking that it was a good learning experience for me….and that it was. On one of my trips away from my mother's side, I came upon the form of a young, female Merdrac….about the same age as I. Her name….was Meka…. She was the love of my life. Even though we were both young, any outsight wanderer could have easily spotted that we adored each other to no end. She, the boisterous, playful, caring individual that always readily listened to whatever I had to say, and I, the daunting, growing male of 15 years that would someday take over as leader of the pod. Life was sweet, the seas were calm, and my love for Meka only grew ever stronger with each passing rise and fall of the sun.

Then…It happened

The night was creeping in on us, the night of the dark moon. Though the shadows swam across the bottom of the ocean where the rest of the pod was settling down for sleep, including Meka, I, in my quest for knowledge, found myself wandering about the remote area of the sleeping field (as we called it). I was on the search for a rare form of plant that only grew during the full moon, the Lotus Spring. I knew that this would be the perfect gift to give to Meka as a sign of my affection. Little did I know that that small flora would be too much trouble for its worth. While wandering through the currents; I spotted the form of my father, head held high and eyes vigilant for any signs of danger that might be about. I smiled, going over to greet him, though not giving away my plans to retrieve the flower. Of course, he inquired as to why I was up and about at this hour, even though I was about a male of roughly 20 at the time. As I opened my mouth to answer, I was cut short by my father's stern, red eye glare up to the surface, a looming, dark shadow cascading down and falling over the both of us. He instructed me to stay where I was….to hide among the seaweed until he gave the signal that it was clear. Though much protesting, I finally agreed and swam back to the safety of the weeds to watch and wait.

My father started to make his way to the surface, swiftly surfacing and then diving back down below. "A ship…" he said it was. A large ship…..a whaling ship. Bounty hunters had come out in the middle of the night to catch unsuspecting Maraqueans that were forced to surface for breath periodically. Ours was an ancient and priceless race even at that time, so any head that belonged to us would have been worth a pretty penny on the black markets of the ports. My father knew this…and so found it in himself to act. I watched, breathlessly as he went up once more in an effort to lead the hunters away from us, paws clenched to the sand in anticipation and dread. My fears were correct…..the sea ran red with his blood that night…and the foul, impudent bounty hunters got their catch. I think that if I had not been in the area to see it happen; my father wouldn't have left on his own without telling the rest of the pod. His death….was my fault, a result of my quest for a single, rare flower.

Long had I awaited the chance to join my father in the ranks of leader to the pod…..but never like this. His life had been ended short, and so had mine. With his death, I was swiftly elevated into his position, though I was still far too young to be truly accepted as one. Many of the older males challenged the elder's authority in the matter, stating I was too inexperienced…that I was unworthy to take my father's place. Some of them even challenged me directly, though their size and elemental ability far surpassed my own. It was starting to become too much for me to handle. Right after the death of my role-model-like father, the onslaught of insults and hatred began. Yet, my mother, the wonderful being that she was, stood up for me and protected me as best she could. She insisted that She be my father's replacement until I was shown worthy and mature enough to take over. The elders, at first, declined this idea, but the need for a stable system within the pod was starting to become an immediate need. So, a few months later, my mother was appointed as the head of the pod and I was safe to live off the remainder of my days with my beloved Meka, who was still the same, supportive friend I had always known. Even still, my days were not as they were before….the pressures of life and the eventual role that I had to play were becoming increasingly heavy and weighing down on me greatly.

My only escape: learning. When I went away to get any new discovery…that is when I would immerse myself in it and escape from the world that wanted me to be so much…when I could offer so little. Each new idea intrigued me every more, expanding my feelings and knowledge on important matters that I would later need as a leader. I studied up on old languages, feeling an immediate attraction to that field whenever I spotted something I could not understand. All the while, I was starting to ignore other members of the pod….even my mother was being banished from my thoughts as I strove to learn more, wanting nothing to be able to surprise me and no one's knowledge to surpass my own. Even though all of this, my family and friends were still supportive…waiting until the age of 40, when I was deemed ready to take under full ownership of the clan. My knowledge in the field had also greatly improved, it seemed, for those that had scorned me so long ago now praised my decisions and efforts to lead the pod in what I felt was right. ……And what became of Meka, you ask? She was now my happy mate…and I was uncertain whether or not she would perhaps one day mate with me to carry on the lineage of my father.

My mother, though not longer monarchess, was still there as my main advisor. She is the only one, to date, that I have found to know more about life then me. I still believe to this day that I will never catch up to her.

Life was wonderful and grand in my leadership for another 10 years…..Though the utopian-like lifestyle was never meant to last. Another night of the dark moon…much like the night of my father's death. I was out on a hunting expedition, another pass-time I enjoy greatly, leaving the pod under the instruction of my mate. I was starting to return home when the seas began to churn with the ferocity of a storm that brewed just above the surface. My head lifted to the surface, not able to see any thing but the white cracks and snaps of the lighting as it struck every so often. The only thing that I could tell now was that it would only grow worse as time went by. I had to get home…I had to help protect the pod!

I dropped my meal, swimming with all of my might back to the spot, but was only met with sudden resistance from an underwater whirlpool, sweeping me off of my course. I tried my best to right myself, only to fall back down in vain and loose track of the portion that I had just swam through. It was nearly 30 minutes until I was able to find where the pod was resting, though they were not scattering in a panic about the place, Meka and my mother doing their best to calm the rest of the pod down. I called out to them over the roar of the waves…..but they heard nothing of it. Yet, as I started to swim closer, hoping to correct the disorderly actions of my peers; I was knocked to the side by another underwater tornado that was summoned directly in my position, knocking me out cold and sweeping me away with the waves.

When I awoke, hours later, I found myself I the shallows of a beach…the white sand rubbing up against my damp scales as the tide went in and out periodically. I arose, holding my paw to my head as I felt a throbbing sensation from the force of the blow. Yet, despite the pain, I managed to drag myself out of the murky water and swim back to the ocean, following the trail I knew so well back to the area where the pod should have been situated…..They were not there. I arrived to a landmass of nothing, a deserted bed of sand that had been stirred by the waves during the night. The pod was gone, and I had no way of contacting them again. I wailed, sending out echolocation signals into the sea as I started to search frantically through the bottom of the ocean, my paws skimming through the sand for any clues that might be left about where they could have gone during this time. The only thing that I managed to find was a single written word…though it was in a language that I was unable to read.

My mother…she must have been the one to write this. It was a clue, a word that gave away some sense of the area that she and the others had fled to. Yet, not knowing or understanding it infuriated me….how could she have played such a foul trick, disguising where they could be…if they were alright!? …But I had no time to argue then. I began my search, gaining ever more knowledge on the many languages that are abound in this earth…in these very seas. I kept the memory of the symbol etched within my mind, never to forget it as I quested, learning new and interesting things along the way that feed the loneliness that plagues me deeply. For 20 years I have searched….but to no avail. It seems that my thirst for knowledge and my innate curiosity for things has kept me for pursing them as fast as I wish…

but I will always continue to search. Even if I do eventually join a new pod; they will always be in my thoughts and my hopes will be that they are alright…My love...my life, my family.