The captain and crew of a vessel-for-hire cautiously agree to help a banished merman prince find his hidden realm in exchange for a lavish undersea treasure. Genre: Mythology

Excerpt:"What did he look like, Captain?" someone asked. "Did he have long sharp teeth, like a pike fish?" "No, I've heard they're more like a shark's or piranha's." "Either way, there are rows of them, so—" "Let the captain tell us! Was he handsome, Captain?" "Set aside all your fantasies and your wild guesses. In the end, it comes to this, do you want to make a bargain with a merman?"

The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen spokes. Eight are the themes from previous seasons. One is "Turn Again." One is a wild card. And three are covered in question marks and will be revealed when the wheel lands on them. See a story trailer and a (satisfying) video of the wheel turning here: The Brittle Star This episode landed on CREATURES. I based the story on a "creature" I'd drawn for an art challenge. Find more stories and episodes inspired by challenges here: Year of Creatures.

MERCH!Interested in merch, like mugs and notebooks, featuring my artwork?Please visit my Store page for info on where you can buy: STORYFEATHER STORE

NEWSLETTERSStoryfeather Gazette (if you'd like to keep up with the fiction I create) Fictioneer's Field Guide (if you'd like writing tips and guidance from me) Choose what you want. (Either way, you're choosing high jinks.)

FICTION-WRITING ARTICLES & RESOURCES (New)Come and explore the Fictioneer's Field Station.

MY FIRST BOOK (yay)Ever wonder how I've gotten all these hundreds of stories written? I have a method. You can learn it in my book called Fictioneer's Field Guide: A Game Plan for Writing Short Stories. It's now available from Amazon as an eBook, paperback, and hardcover. You can also get there from my Store page: STORYFEATHER STORE

CREDITSStory: "The Brittle Star" Copyright © 2022 by Nila L. PatelNarration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel

Music:"Call of the wild" by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Intro)"In the shadows" by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Outro)"Abstract Vision #5" by ANDREW SITKOV (Outro)

Music by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Dark Fantasy Studio)"Captain's tribute""A last prayer""A story of gold""Don't move""Call of the wild""Adventure""Pirate attack!""In the shadows""The ocean takes it all""Dark lord""Leviathan""Dragon rider""What is hidden"

All tracks are part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market. Music by Nicholas Jeudy and Andrew Sitkov is licensed from GameDev MarketSound effects from AudioJungle, GameDevMarketChanges made to the musical tracks? Just cropping of some to align with my narration.

Find more music by Nicholas Jeudy and Andrew Sitkov at gamedevmarket.net Find more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com

Episode Art Description:Digital drawing. A merman, his top half human and his bottom half a fish, facing forward perched on flat earth. He is bare-chested and his tail curves up behind him to the left (his right). He wears a belt of gold around his waist, and in the center is a symbol: three upside down triangles, overlapping and growing smaller from bottom to top. He wears gold cuffs or vambraces. His right hand is curled in a fist by his side. In his left hand, he holds a golden trident, simple save that the symbol of three triangles is worked into the lines connecting the prongs of the trident. Waves splash behind him. Watermark of "Storyfeather" along outside of his upper left arm.