Diary of a Radical Mermaid (29 page)

But in other respects, Water Hyacinth is very much unique.

Introduced in the series’ blockbuster first installment, Hyacinth and the Mermaid’s Torch, twelve-year-old Hyacinth Meridian, who has never known her parents, lives a lonely, shy life at a drab orphanage in Victorian-era Boston, Massachusetts, until a magical pendant lures her to the harbor docks, where she’s benignly “kidnapped” by dolphins.

The dolphins take her to the fantastic undersea world of Finsters Academy, a school for elite mer children. The lovably irascible headmistress, Artemisia Coral, explains that Hyacinth is the lost princess of “a small sea kingdom” and that she was hidden for her own protection in the world of “dry people” as a baby, after her parents mysteriously disappeared in the sinister Disappearing Sea.

But now she’s been found, and it’s time for her to learn all the magic — and responsibilities — of a well-schooled Mer princess. Including the spoken charm that transforms scruffy, two-legged Hyacinth into a beautiful twelve-year-old mermaid (and back again, when she wants.)

Thus Hyacinth embarks on a fantastic adventure of discovery, making friends such as Barnabus T. Tradvorius, adopting a pet stingray she names Tickle, and yet also coming to realize that the dark forces behind her parents’ disappearance may also be lurking in the abyss, waiting to capture her.

The plots of the books that follow expand on the mystery of Hyacinth’s parents and put Hyacinth face-to-face with a growing list of villains and allies, some comical, some deadly serious. In the meantime, she solves mysteries, visits amazing places beneath the waters, and embarks on numerous escapades both at Finsters’ and back on dry land in Boston, where Hyacinth is determined to rescue friends she left behind at the orphanage.

A Brief Overview of the Mer Council System

The World Council was first established in its modern form in Venice, Italy, 1432. Prior to that the Algamedum, as it was known, consisted of a loose network of Mer clan patriarchs and/or matriarchs convening in tribal fashion during annual pilgrimmages to beacons — i.e., areas of enhanced energies scattered around the world, where it was believed that communication was bolstered by natural forces. from these ancient gathering spots the five major coalitions of clans ruled in democratic consensus on matters of importance to Mer society, worldwide.

When the Venetian council was established it codified lesser councils at the five beacon sites, giving them specific powers to rule on matters within their clan coalitions. Thus when a modern Mer speaks of the Council, he/she is usually referring to a sub-Council, not the supreme Council. When being specific, a Mer may say World Council, which indicates the worldwide body. In addition, Mers often designate the sub-Councils by their beacon sites. I.E. Impatha Council (India), Brittany Council (France), Pacific Council (Easter Island), Arctic Council (Greenland), and Atlantic Council (Georgia, USA).

Sub-Councils rule on all mundane controversies of Mer life: territorial disputes, personal grievances, and relations with local Landers. The World Council rules on far more serious and far-reaching issues, including war and murder.

Famous edicts of the World Council in modern times include the Call to Arms of 1940, which directed Mers to aid the Allies in WWII; and the UniWorld Edict of 2002, which condemned and ostracized the Mer leadership of the massive conglomerate on grounds of multiple assaults against Mers and extreme violations of the legendary Terra Firma Harmonium Edict of the founding Venetian Council in 1432. This edict established tolerance, goodwill, and respect as the cornerstones of Mer treatment of Landers, who were (and are) considered inferiors and thus deserving of noblesse oblige.

For more information on Mers, the WaterLilies series, and additional books by official Mer chronicler Deborah Smith, visit the following website:

www.bellebooks.com