A tailless merman returns to the merfolk kingdom to find his family, questioning their hostility. Princess Elena recounts meeting him, causing her father, the King, to panic over an old prophecy warning that such a being brings doom. Confronted by the King, the merman reveals a family tear-crystal. The Queen recognizes him as her lost son, Valen, but the King orders him expelled, citing the curse. As political enemies surround them, the Queen secretly gives her son a potion to disguise himself, urging him to flee undetected.