Elio is a proud and hard-working mason from the Builders Guild of the underwater kingdom of Poseidon. He is a master in his craft, and has also some carpenting and sculpting skills for when he needs it. He comes in touch with every part of society, even as high up as the royal family, though he's barely "seen". Often he says to people about his work "if people don't notice me while I'm working and when I'm done, that means I'm doing a good job, because you'd certainly notice it when it goes wrong," often saying it with a laugh. In his free time, however, he likes to explore the sea and even the shores, curious to find artifacts from the surface world or other small treasures.

On one of his journeys he finds a beautiful cave at the coast where the full moon shines into it. He was relaxing in here, gazing at the stars, when he heard someone crying; he was not alone here, and it was probably a land dweller. His first instinct was to make it out of there, because land dwellers are not supposed to know the merpeople exist, but his curiosity got the better of him. He stayed, and watched around the corner, where he saw a beautiful lady in a chic dress, crying on the rocks, saying to herself she had ruined it. Not wanting to see her suffer like that, he spoke up from behind the rocks, saying he would be here to listen and comfort her. The lady was startled at first, but she was also intrigued by the mysterious friendly voice. The two started to talk without seeing each other. She introduced herself as Luna, and it quickly came out that she got herself involved in such a large scandal, her arranged marriage to another high society family was cancelled, and her fiancé told her he never wanted to see him again. She’s worried that the next arranged marriage would be to someone far less friendly than he first fiancé was. Elio told her he wanted to see if there's anything he could do for her. Luna was too interesting to Elio to leave her to her fate. The two made a deal to meet again in this cave at the next full moon.

The next full moon came, and they did meet again. But this time, they shared things about their lives. Elio tried his best not to spill that he lived under the sea. Luna's life was ruled by protocol and tradition, and her family was looking for another partner for her, which given the scandal she had been involved in was difficult. When Elio told about his job as a mason and his work together with other labourers of the Builders Guild made Luna for that simpler life, away from protocol. It sounded like freedom to her. They said they’d meet every full moon from now on.

Their third meeting started a bit strained, as hiding the fact Elio was a mer was getting harder and harder, while his feelings for Luna had been growing. He had grown to care for her, and he was convinced he actually loved her. But the wall of stone between them was getting in his way to grow further. Elio had to come clean to Luna and show his true self. He peeked around the corner, first showing his face to her, and looked her in the eye for the first time. She approached him, saying he was looking beautiful, but wondered why he looked so wet. When she was within arm’s reach, she finally saw his tail, and was spooked. She couldn’t believe she stood face to face with a real merman, and suddenly, everything about him fell into place in her mind. He was a creature of legend, and yet, he felt more real than anything else in her life. Luna asked him if it’s dangerous to reveal himself like this, and Elio told her that no one else knows about these meetings, and he’s risking it all for her. The two embraced each other for the first time, and he seemed to open up something in her she had never experienced. The next few meetings they would be near one another staring at the moon, while Elio shared stories about life beneath the waves, while comforting Luna by distracting her from her problems of her life. They grew more intimate, so much that during one of these meetings, they couldn't resist making love in the cave.

However, they’d soon find out this moment would have dire consequences. Two months later, she found out she was pregnant of him, and there was a child on the way. Elio panicked. As far as he knew, the child would be half-mer, looking like a normal land dweller until touching sea water would reveal their true nature. It would put his world at risk. The only ones who could help him out was the Siren Guild, a group that had the magic of songs that could turn land dwellers into mers, but he was terrified about the consequences by admitting his mistake to the Guild. The lady wasn’t ready to leave her life behind just yet, still too attached to her world and people and places she held dear, as turning into a mer was irreversible. They had several months left to figure out a solution.

But a pregnancy could never be hidden. She became the center of another scandal, having had sex outside of marriage, bringing shame to her auristocratic family, who started to restrict her more and more. Her life was falling apart around her that even the friends she had dissociated from her. Elio had considered to tell the Guild anyway, but when he was going to share his decision in the next meeting with Luna, she wasn’t there. He realised her family had been locking her up, something they both had feared deeply. In his panic, he was at his wit’s end, he finally gathered his courage and begged the Siren Guild to help. Although they were displeased by the sheer recklessness he had shown in taking on this dangerous secret relationship, they agreed to help, though he would be reprimanded later. Right now, they had to save Luna’s life.

A storm came, and Luna figured this was her only chance to escape her trapped and miserable life for good. Death or living on as a mermaid, either option would be better than this. She broke out of her house, stole a row boat, and rowed onto a wild sea with an unwavering conviction. The Sirens had been watching and noticed her desperate escape. A large wave flipped over her boat, and she ended up under water. The Sirens were in time to save her and the unborn child, turning her into a mer. When they came back to Poseidon, Elio swam into her arms, swearing never to leave her side again.

Elio would be published by being restricted to stay within the Kingdom's borders and to stay loyal to his new partner. But both agreed to seal the deal with marriage, one that wasn't arranged, but out of love. Luna would join the Siren guild, the one who saved her life, and her only connection to the surface world, hoping that one day she too would save someone from a situation like hers.

When their son Nemo was born, Elio made the most out of his "house arrest" and took a lot of responsibility for the child, being the best dad he could be, even with a second child on the way. Nemo would turn out to be just as curious as his dad, and despite his mother having transformed into a mer, they were still a half-mer, able to transform they tail to a pair of legs on land, out of the salt water of the sea. They would have to ask their mother about the ins and outs of life on land so that he wouldn't be spotted immediately. They would go and explore the land many times in the future, and get in touch with Luna's family (though without revealing he's Luna's son). But that's a story for another time...
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So this guy is part of  masterofwolves99's "Fathoms Below" universe, to whom I'm thankful he's letting me have a character in that universe, with a bit of brainstorming how to make it all fit. Maybe he'll feature in some way in their story!

I'm very happy how the drawing itself turned out. The shading made a massive difference, perhaps one of the best works I've delivered so far! It was a joy to work on this!
Of course, I drew his partner Luna as well!

Draw in Inkscape
Shaded in Affinity Designer