The dusk breeze whipped the scent of the palace gardens and the lakeside, dusting it gently across the young student’s hair. Her golden locks swayed gracefully as she looked down at the necklace.
“But why do I need magical protection?” she inquired.
Her tutor, only a decade older but with eyes that spoke several more decades’ experience, gripped the student in a firm gaze, “there are plenty who do not desire the peace that we currently enjoy. Should you find yourself in danger, wear the jewelry and walk into the water”. She beckoned to the lake, “the Lazuli are not legend. They are very real…”
“Merpeople?” the student questioned, unbelieving. The Lazuli were frequent characters in nursery rhymes, fiction.
“Yes, merpeople. The Lazuli are a kind, if untrusting race. Your family acquired this necklace centuries ago, and the Lazuli would like it back, very much. If it touches their water, they will sense it, recover it and, hopefully, they’ll take you with it warmly”.
A sadness brushed across her tutor’s face. The student was used to her being serious, but not despairing.
“There’s a war coming, isn’t there,” she piped up, “I’ve heard father talking in hushed tones in his study about it.”
“I shan’t sugarcoat this child: yes, there is war. A great war. But the Eyes of Lazuli will keep you safe”.
The dusk breeze dropped a coldness on the pair.
A necklace with matching earrings and ring in silver mirror, set with clear crystals, sapphire crystals and sapphire tiger-eye cabochons. Pendant is detachable.
