Coralbright was spawned as the third tadpole to King Wellescale and his wife, Queen Perle. Coming later in the King and Queen's lives, Coralbright was a beloved and doted on tadpole, often found roaming the palace and playing at the foot of her parents thrones.
Her sisters, Sirena and Ripleigh, both having Chosen, loved their sibling, but found little in common. They resented the frequency that they would be called upon to look after Coralbright.
She especially loved the stories that a young Merrowcourtier, Kelanni would spin about the great tales of the time before Arvandor sunk beneath the waves, of great battles with the human kingdoms.
When the time came, Coralbright Chose, and became Neried, Princess of Arvandor. Then, tragedy struck. On an outing with her family, they encountered a shiver of sharks, driven into a feeding frenzy by the humans above, attacked the royal family. Only due to the bravery of Kelanni, did Neried escape.
In the aftermath, despite a chorus of voices raised against it, Neried was crowned queen.
During the days that followed, the grieving queen floundered, no longer beloved or cosseted. She found herself trying to rein in an angry populace. She began to slip away from her guards and advisors, desperate to have a moment's peace.
She found herself swimming past small atoll one day, when movement caught her eye. A human, badly beaten and near death, laid on the atoll.
Fear warred with curiosity, but the desire to see one of the creatures from the stories Kelanni used to tell won out.
When she came close, she could see its long sun streaked hair, tumbling from confinement to frame surprisingly delicate features and a throat that was a red ruin.
Blue eyes fluttered open and fixed upon her. Its eyes fluttered closed, and his face went slack.
Neried reached out to touch his cheek, and made a decision she could never explain. She lifted the figure, and quickly sent a tendril of magic to surround him, then dove.
The outcry was swift and fierce. How dare she bring a human to their midst? She was unfit to rule! The spirits of her family were surely angered by her betrayal.
Through it, Neried remained resolute. This human was not responsible for the sins of all of the surface beings. Surely, they should be judged on the strength of their character, the same as those of Arvandor
It was a fight worthy of a Queen, and in it Neried found her footing. By the time the human healed enough to scrawl his name on a sheet of vellum, the tides of public opinion had shifted.
Despite fighting for him, Neried did not trust Aldmer, and it was cycles before she warmed to him. But eventually, the merrow fell deeply in love, and they were wed. Twins soon followed, and their lives were idyllic.
The seasons changed, but as the children grew, there grew a distance between the two. Aldmer withdrew, and the two no longer shared a chamber.
As the twins reached their Choice, Neried began to consider that the children might like to learn more of their other heritage. And so she made plans, and on the day of the twins' choice, Arvandor rose amidst the waves to join the world once more.