From the moment they opened their eyes, color unknown, they had been surrounded by death. Or rather, not so much death as a lack of life. The merfae who was chosen to nurture them upon their birth had turned to stone as soon as they made eye contact; their earliest memory was of the merfae's eyes turning grey as the stone spread from the point of infection, exploding outward and consuming them. As the newly spawned merfae floated, suspended in the ocean, they watched as the statue drifted down, down, down, embraced by the depths.Soot has come a long way since then, but the one constant has been their loneliness. After a chance encounter with a color blind pirate, that all changes. What starts out as a friendly meeting turns into a kidnapping and Soot soon learns that where they see their affliction as a curse, the pirates see it as a biological weapon to wield against their enemies. Amidst the killing and the anguish and guilt, Soot is confronted with something entirely new: friendship.
