August New Releases: We Have Quite a 'Tail' to Tell!

In case you missed it, Monday, August 4th, saw the release of a whole new line of images. If you haven't seen them yet, you are in for quite the 'tail'!

Once upon a time...in a land far, far away (at least for those of us living in North America anyway)...
There lived a small pod of merfolk in the Red Sea off the coast of Asia. You see, it has been said that the Red Sea, happens to have the warmest waters of all Earth's oceans so it is the perfect location for merfolk to live.

This story was passed on to me through an inquisitive sailor who once came across this pod of mystical creatures.  He had been lost at sea for over a week so no one believed his tall tale.  One of the merfolk that rescued him had just recently had an anniversary and so to pass the time as they helped guide the sailor to dry land, he told the sailor about his beautiful wife and family.  When the sailor was found, nary a person believed him.  Even though this merman had shared pictures of his family with the sailor, the mainland population all figured that he had just hallucinated the event and doctored up some pictures because of course, it is widely believed that mermaids and mermen do not exist.  However, I personally do believe in the magical unseen worlds that co-exist with us humans and I'd like to share this story with all of you. 

In the community of Havenpond, resides a pod of merfolk.  The leader of Havenpond happens to be the wonderfully joyful Merlin Tailby.   Merlin has been a resident of this small community since he was no bigger than a tadpole.  He grew up in Havenpond, found his great love there and raised his children there as well.  He is very proud of this community and is a natural born leader.  Today I am going to focus on the story of how he met his now wife Myrtle and introduce you to the family that they have raised together.  Now remember, I did hear this second hand from a man who had been lost at sea, so some of the details may be a bit fuzzy.

This story begins with with a young merman in his early twenties.  After graduating from the University of Gillcrest in the nearby community of Coral Cove, Merlin Tailby came back home to put his degree in Marine Biology to work.  When Merlin and some of the other graduates that year came back home, there was a party in the local community centre called Trident Hall to honour the group of graduates and their accomplishments.  Now as Merlin has always been a bit shy with the mermaids, he didn't have a date.  In fact, Merlin isn't alone in that trait.  It is a well known fact among the merfolk that men are much shyer than their female counterparts.  However, Merlin's brother Fineas, seemed to be fairing better with his shyness as he had shown up with a very beautiful mermaid named Myrtle.  Now shy or not, Merlin just couldn't keep his eyes off of Myrtle that evening.  Thankfully, Fineas and Myrtle were just friends because as it turns out, Myrtle was rather drawn to Merlin as well.  Once Merlin finally got up the nerve to approach her, they spent the remainder of that night in each other's company and every day after that for the next six months.  It was at that time that Merlin decided to propose to Myrtle and I am pleased to say that they have been happily married now for over 25 years.   They have been through thick and fin, oops I mean thin, but their love for each other has always stayed constant.  Recently they had portraits done for each other to commemorate their anniversary (Merlin very generously shared copies of these images plus more with the sailor, who of course passed them on to me). 

Merlin and Myrtle went on to have four beautiful daughters.  Two of them are rather outgoing and the other two are a bit shy and don't really like to have their pictures taken so we'll just have to do with the images that we were provided with.

The baby of the family is Marisol.  She is a lovely young girl about the age of 16.  She is definitely a little shy among strangers but like all youngest children, she is still babied by her parents and older siblings and will continue to be for the remainder of all time.   Marisol is rather charming when she wants to be and is well liked by her close circle of friends.  She is also very artistic and has an affinity for making jewellery.  Since baubles and accessories are prized items in the mermaid culture she will have a strong career ahead of her.  Once she graduates high school she is headed to the Laguna College of Art and Design.  She still has a year to go but she can't wait.

Oceane is the second youngest and is 18.  She is extremely confident and very social.  She tends to be the focus of any and all social situations.  Oceane's passion lies in hair and makeup and she is currently in her second year of cosmetology school.  She is attending Aphrodite Academy located in Conch Falls.  As this community is a few hours swim from home, she remains in the dormitory during the week and comes home on the weekends.  It is a good thing that she is a natural at the trade because when she is home, she is out swimming and hanging out with all of her friends.  Although she does make sure to spend a bit of time each of the days she is home with her family as well. 

Then there is Memory.  Memory is also pretty shy.  At the age of twenty, she has decided that looking after the youngest members in the community is where her true passion lies.  Therefore, she is currently working in the local hatchery tending to all the baby fish, crustaceans and other sea creatures that have recently been born.  She is also a bit of a day dreamer and spends long hours just sitting and staring out to sea.  She is avidly interested in the worlds beyond her own.  Thus, when her father told her the story of how he met up with the lost sailor, she listened intently to his words.  These days, she spends time looking for her own sailor to rescue.  Yes, she is definitely the dreamer of the family.

Finally, that brings us to Drema who is the oldest child at the age of 22.  Like all her sisters she is very beautiful.  She tends to be a bit of a perfectionist and is definitely a high achiever.  She is currently enrolled in Gillcrest and she plans on following in her father's footsteps by becoming a Marine Biologist as well.  She plans on staying in Havenpond.  Also like her father, being a contributing member to her community is very important to her.  In fact, she will be graduating in just a couple of weeks and as tradition dictates, will be honoured in a party at Trident Hall, just like her father was.  But you see, there is a secret that Drema has been keeping.  In her heart there is someone that she has been attracted to for some time now but has been too shy to meet him.  He will be attending the Trident Hall event and she is hoping that she'll finally get up enough nerve to approach him.

So, there you go. Four beautiful daughters and a lovely wife.  Merlin has a wonderful family indeed and he is very proud of each and every one of them.  He is always bragging about them to anyone who will listen so it is fortuitous that he was the one to find the sailor as it gave him one more opportunity to talk about his amazing family.

But our story doesn't stop there.  For you see there is another shy merman in this community who will also be graduating and honoured during the same graduating class as Drema.  His name is Marinus and he is rumoured to be a decendent of the Greek god Triton himself and thus there is no stronger lineage that he could have.  He will graduating with a combined degree in Marine Biology and Business and plans to be actively involved in the politics around town.  In fact, he has been apprenticing with Merlin for the last year and Merlin has become rather fond of him.   Marinus also has a secret.  He has been very taken with Drema for the past little while.  Of course he thinks it is a secret but anyone who sees him looking at Drema, knows instantly how he is feeling (which is why Merlin was able to include this in his discussion with the sailor).

Will the fates shine upon Marinus during the upcoming graduation party?  Will he finally get up the courage to ask Drema out?  Considering Drema's secret crush is on Marinus, the odds are good that these two are meant for each other.  Will their path together begin that night at the party, just like her parents did so long ago?  Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we!

It is up to you whether or not you believe this tail, oops I mean tale.  We are surrounded by an incredible world filled with beauty and mysticism and there are many areas yet to be discovered.  Who's to say that there aren't magical realms out there as well.  I believe in the possibilities, do you?

Let your imagination take you away to a new and interesting world.  Each of the images in this new collection would be suitable for a variety of occasions.  As always, you are only limited by your creative thinking.

Be sure to go and check all of the new merfolk related images available in the Fresh Brewed Designs store.  You can find them all in the Mermaids and Fairies section.  Clicking HERE will take you to that section.   Or, you can click on any one of the individual images to go directly to their spot in the store.

I'll leave you today with this final word:  Maluhia.  Among its definition are the words peace and serenity.  May your days always be filled with peace in your heart and serenity in your soul.

Maluhia everyone!

Until next time,