A Father's Diary
[This is a worn and much-handled journal in which Ulder Ravengard recorded his favourite memories of his beloved son Wyll. A typical entry follows] 15 Flamerule - Spent the afternoon with Wyll on the docks down by the Water Queen's House, relaxing on the planks though the harbour fog swallowed the sun as usual. Wyll asked if the temple waveservants were real mermaids, and I told him they certainly looked the part, but real mermaids could breathe underwater and rarely showed their faces above it. 'Then I'm going to swim down and catch one!' he shouted, and dove off the end of the dock. He kept trying to hold his breath and stay under the surface, but eventually he got exhausted and I had to haul him out - minus his new shoes, alas. But I'll never forget his smile as he said, 'I saw one, father - I saw a mermaid, a real mermaid!' Then his eyes grew misty and he added, 'She was beautiful.'