A few months before...
"You idiot! Why have the murlocs still not attacked the pirate's land—Tareth Island?!"
The voice of a furious queen echoed through the cavern, reverberating through the coral-studded walls of the deep sea cave. Her body shimmered green, her voluptuous figure illuminated by the glow of bioluminescent algae. Her long, serpentine tail slammed against the water's surface with a resounding crash, sending waves throughout the chamber. The sharp fins on her forearms flared with rage.
"Y-Your Highness… Q-Queen Maelith… I don't know," stammered a male naga, his head bowed low, long spines on his back trembling. "I specifically instructed the murloc warchief what to do, but—"
"But nothing!" Queen Maelith roared. "I gave a direct order. They were supposed to attack Tareth Island. Burn their damned huts, spill their cursed blood! And yet they sit there… scavenging like bottom feeders!"
Her voice surged with magical fury, her emerald eyes glowing with hatred. She turned to the others present.
"Search for them. I want every murloc camp checked. Find out why they defied me. Kill them if you must. Let them taste the fear of betrayal. Let them know what happens when they forget who commands the tides!"
At her command, several naga slithered out of the chamber, their eyes wide and terrified.
From a side ledge, another voice rose, softer but firm. "Mother… why not send the Naga Guardians instead?" It was a younger female naga—slender, yet proud. Her scales shimmered with a lighter shade of jade, and her tail was smoother, more elegant in shape. "Why should it be us who act indirectly through those swamp dwellers?"
Queen Maelith turned slowly to her daughter. Her gaze softened for a moment.
"My beloved… because if we send the Guardians ourselves, the mongrel humans will know we're alive. They'll know the naga still dwell in these waters. And if that happens…"
She paused, her tone turning venomous.
"…then the other continents will start searching. The orb will be lost forever. No, we remain hidden. The murlocs are our pawns. If they attack, the humans will think it's another tribal war. And by the time they start investigating…"
She raised a clawed finger, her long nail glowing with sea magic.
"…we will already have taken back what was stolen from us."
Her daughter's eyes narrowed. "The orb."
Queen Maelith's face twisted with rage. She clenched her webbed hand into a fist and smashed it into the coral beside her. The stone cracked and crumbled under her strength.
"That cursed red orb… our legacy. Our strength. Stolen by him."
Her eyes darkened further, and she spoke a name with such venom it was as if the water around her boiled.
"Maxis."
Three years ago…
They were celebrating near the reef of Glimmerdeep, dancing through currents, celebrating the season of tides. The orb was displayed upon an obsidian altar, glowing faintly with crimson light. They had never known its name—only its power. Its glow made them stronger. Faster. It had enhanced the queen's strength for years, allowing her to reign unchallenged beneath the waves.
Then, amidst the celebration, the orb vanished.
In the confusion, in the chaos, the only thing the guards saw was a blur—slender, fast, and shaped like one of their own. But he was not truly naga. He had legs like a human, moved like one, breathed their air. Only when submerged did his gills open… a cursed hybrid.
Maxis.
Born of a human mother and naga father, Maxis was a mistake. His presence had been hidden, his lineage scrubbed. But now he had stolen from them.
The queen had ordered his capture.
Guards chased him through whirlpools and shipwrecks, their tridents flashing, but Maxis had been smart. He fled to the nearest surface settlement—Tareth Island, haven of pirates, scum, and outcasts. The one place the naga dared not openly strike.
They watched.
They waited.
They patrolled the island's borders in secret, sinking ships that left and attacking small boats under the cover of storms.
But Maxis never came out.
The queen clenched her jaw, fangs showing. "He's still there… somewhere."
And when she realized he had vanished from under their watch, she ordered another decree.
"Kill all the mixed breeds. Leave no trace of his kind behind."
And so the naga did.
The war that followed was short and bloody. The half-breeds tried to flee, but there were few places for them to go. Some begged. Some fought. None survived.
The sea turned red with the blood of their own cousins. And hatred toward Maxis burned hotter than ever in the hearts of those forced to kill their own kin.
Queen Maelith stood in silence as the memories flooded back. Her hand touched the empty pedestal where the red orb once rested.
The chamber was quiet now. Her followers had gone to follow her command. Only her daughter remained behind.
"Do you think he still has it, Mother?" the young naga asked.
"I know he does," Queen Maelith said. "He's hiding it. Perhaps he doesn't even understand what it truly is. But he will. And when he does…"
She turned, her serpentine body coiling with resolve.
"…we'll rip it from his dying hands."
Back in the present…
Four red lights glowed on Vanthelis's system map.
And he knows it means trouble.