Leviathan's Lament

Daios, a formidable undine, is adrift in the ocean's depths, tormented by memories of leading his people to ruin. Once a protector, now marked by a missing arm and survivor's guilt, he's tasked with infiltrating the human city of Alpha to find the General's daughter. The ocean's currents, once his allies, now reject him, and his only solace is the hope of redemption. As he approaches Alpha, he's both predator and outcast, determined to prove his worth, even as the ghosts of his past threaten to pull him under.

Golden Songbird's Cage

Anya, the General's daughter, lives in gilded isolation within Alpha. Deaf after a childhood accident, she relies on her droid, Bitsy, to interpret the world. Her father's control is suffocating, dictating every aspect of her life. At a lavish party, Anya's discomfort grows as she's paraded for political gain. She yearns for freedom, for agency, and for a life beyond the city's golden walls. Her secret communications with a rebel contact, Ace, hint at a brewing rebellion, but her father's shadow looms large.

Into the City's Heart

Daios, using patience and cunning, finds a way through Alpha's deadly defenses. He slips into the city's underbelly, navigating pipes and filtration systems, driven by the mission to find Anya. The city's opulence and security are a stark contrast to the suffering outside. Daios is both awed and enraged by the humans' hoarded wealth. His journey is perilous, marked by pain and the ever-present threat of discovery, but he presses on, determined to fulfill his purpose.

Unlikely Encounter

Anya, seeking solace in her private pool, is unaware of the danger lurking beneath. Daios, drawn by curiosity and a strange compulsion, observes her. Their first encounter is charged with tension—Anya senses a presence but cannot hear it, while Daios is fascinated by her vulnerability and resilience. A stolen hair clip, a brush of fingers, and a shared moment of fear and wonder set the stage for an unlikely connection between monster and songbird.

Touched by Monsters

Anya, shaken by her encounter, is compelled to return to the pool. She confronts her fear, diving into the water to retrieve her mother's lost hair clip. There, she comes face to face with Daios. Instead of violence, there is a tentative, electric touch—human hand to undine claw. The moment is intimate, charged with possibility and danger. Daios, too, is changed by the contact, his rage momentarily soothed by Anya's courage and gentleness.

The Language of Touch

Daios and Anya meet again, this time with intention. Anya's curiosity and defiance draw Daios from the shadows. They discover a strange form of communication—her voice, usually lost to her, can hear his deep, resonant tones. Their differences become bridges: sign language, touch, and the shared experience of being outsiders. Daios is captivated by Anya's spirit, while Anya is drawn to the monster who sees her not as a symbol, but as a person.

Breathing for Two

As Alpha's security tightens, Anya and Daios are forced to act. Anya, desperate for escape, places her trust in Daios. He, in turn, risks everything to save her, using his own body to help her breathe underwater. Their flight through the city's pipes is harrowing, marked by close calls and the ever-present threat of death. In the darkness, they rely on each other—Daios as shield, Anya as guide. Their bond deepens, forged in fear and necessity.

Mapping the Maze

Safe for the moment in an abandoned research facility, Anya and Daios begin to understand each other. Anya hacks the city's systems, aided by Bitsy and her contact Ace, while Daios maps the city's labyrinthine tunnels. Their partnership is practical and intimate—sharing food, warmth, and stories. Daios brings Anya gifts from the sea, and she teaches him sign language. Together, they plot not just survival, but rebellion.

Crabs and Codes

As Alpha's search for Anya intensifies, Daios uses clever signals—crabs marked with secret symbols—to guide her through the city's dangers. Anya, resourceful and determined, follows the trail, evading her father's guards. Their escape is a dance of trust and timing, each relying on the other's strengths. The city's defenses are formidable, but their combined ingenuity allows them to slip through the cracks, always one step ahead of pursuit.

Escape in the Dark

The final escape from Alpha is a desperate, breathless flight. Daios, wounded but relentless, carries Anya through deadly coral and open sea, pursued by human ships. Anya, terrified of the dark and the unknown, finds comfort in Daios's presence and the rhythm of his bioluminescent lights. Their journey is a test of endurance and faith, culminating in a narrow escape to the safety of the undines' hidden sanctuary.

Coral and Blood

In the aftermath, both are battered—physically and emotionally. Daios's body bears new scars, while Anya's spirit is shaken by the violence and loss. In the sanctuary, they find moments of peace: Daios brushes Anya's hair, and she soothes his wounded pride. Their intimacy grows, not just in touch but in understanding. They share names, stories, and the pain of being marked by their pasts. The sanctuary becomes a place of healing and transformation.

The Kelp Sanctuary

Alone together, Daios and Anya surrender to their feelings. Their love is fierce, physical, and healing—a union of two broken souls finding wholeness in each other. They explore the boundaries of trust and pleasure, learning each other's bodies and hearts. The kelp forest becomes their haven, a place where the world's expectations and cruelties cannot reach them. For a moment, they are simply themselves—monster and songbird, lovers in the deep.

Names and Meanings

Daios shares the meaning of his name—enemy—and the burden it carries. Anya reveals her own scars, both physical and emotional. They confront the reality of their differences and the dangers ahead. The undines' society, the threat of the depthstriders, and the looming war with Alpha all press in. Yet, in naming each other—kalon, beauty—they claim a new identity, one forged in love and defiance.

The Depthstrider's Warning

Daios is summoned by the enigmatic depthstriders, who show him visions of undines tortured and killed by humans. The warning is clear: Alpha's experiments threaten all of their kind. Daios returns, haunted and determined, knowing that the only way forward is through confrontation. The depthstriders' prophecy hangs over them all—a future of blood and fire unless the cycle is broken.

The Plan Unravels

Anya, Mira, and the undines plot the destruction of Alpha. Anya's knowledge of the city's secrets becomes their greatest weapon. As they prepare, old wounds and new fears surface. Daios is torn between his love for Anya and his duty to his people. The plan is risky, requiring Anya to return to Alpha and place herself in mortal danger. Each must decide what they are willing to sacrifice for freedom.

The General's Daughter

Anya returns to Alpha, using her wits and courage to infiltrate the city. She faces her father, the General, in a final confrontation—unmasking his cruelty and the city's complicity. The truth of her parentage, her mother's fate, and her own strength come to light. Anya sets the stage for Alpha's destruction, knowing she may not survive. Her act is one of defiance and love—a final song for the city that caged her.

The Fall of Alpha

The bombs detonate, shattering Alpha's golden dome. Water floods the city, chaos erupts, and the old order is swept away. Daios, racing against time, fights his way through the ruins to find Anya. The city's collapse is both an ending and a beginning—a reckoning for past sins and a chance for something new. In the aftermath, Daios finds Anya alive but wounded, and together they escape the wreckage.

Home in the Abyss

In the wake of Alpha's fall, Anya and Daios build a new life among the undines. The survivors forge uneasy alliances, and the future is uncertain. Anya, scarred but unbroken, finds purpose and belonging in the abyss. Daios, once enemy and outcast, is transformed by love. Together, they create a home not of gold or power, but of trust, freedom, and the promise of a world remade.

Characters

Daios

Daios is a powerful undine, marked by loss and survivor's guilt. Once a protector, now an outcast, he is driven by a need to atone for leading his people to disaster. His missing arm is both a physical and psychological wound, symbolizing his failure and isolation. Daios is fierce, stubborn, and slow to trust, but beneath his monstrous exterior lies a deep capacity for tenderness and loyalty. His relationship with Anya transforms him, awakening a longing for connection and a willingness to fight for love rather than just survival. Daios's journey is one of self-forgiveness, learning that he can be more than a weapon—he can be a partner, a lover, and a home.

Anya

Anya is the deaf daughter of Alpha's General, living under the weight of expectation and control. Intelligent, resourceful, and quietly rebellious, she navigates a world that often treats her as fragile or broken. Her reliance on her droid, Bitsy, is both a tool and a symbol of her resilience. Anya's trauma—her hearing loss, her mother's absence, her father's manipulation—shapes her, but does not define her. She is brave, compassionate, and fiercely determined to claim her own destiny. Her relationship with Daios is transformative, allowing her to experience agency, desire, and true partnership. Anya's arc is one of self-actualization, breaking free from her cage to become the architect of her own fate.

Bitsy

Bitsy is more than a tool—she is Anya's confidante, interpreter, and companion. Programmed for translation and communication, Bitsy's quirky personality and unwavering support provide Anya with both practical assistance and emotional comfort. Bitsy's presence highlights themes of accessibility, adaptation, and the importance of chosen family. Her eventual damage and partial loss are deeply felt, symbolizing both the cost of rebellion and the hope of renewal.

The General

The General is Alpha's ruthless leader, obsessed with control, image, and legacy. His relationship with Anya is transactional—she is a symbol, a tool, never truly a daughter. His cruelty is both personal and systemic, extending from emotional manipulation to complicity in horrific experiments on the undines. The General's downfall is a reckoning for his sins, and his death at Daios's hands is both justice and tragedy—a necessary end to a cycle of abuse.

Mira

Mira, a human from Beta, is a survivor of trauma and a bridge between worlds. Her relationship with Arges, an undine, mirrors and contrasts with Anya and Daios's. Mira is practical, sharp-tongued, and deeply loyal. She provides Anya with friendship, mentorship, and a model of resilience. Mira's engineering skills and leadership are crucial to the rebellion, and her presence underscores themes of found family and the power of women's solidarity.

Arges

Arges is Daios's clutch brother and a respected leader among the undines. Calm, strategic, and compassionate, he balances Daios's volatility with wisdom and patience. His relationship with Mira is a testament to the possibility of love across boundaries. Arges's guidance and support are instrumental in both the rebellion and Daios's personal growth. He embodies the hope of reconciliation and the strength of chosen kinship.

Maketes

Maketes, Daios's yellow-finned brother, is a source of levity and cunning. Smaller and quicker than Daios, he is a master of signals, codes, and misdirection. Maketes's loyalty is unwavering, and his humor masks a deep understanding of pain and loss. He is both a foil and a complement to Daios, providing support, challenge, and the occasional necessary push. Maketes's journey is one of finding his own place in a changing world.

Ace

Ace is Anya's secret contact, a voice of rebellion and hope from outside Alpha. Resourceful, brave, and fiercely committed to justice, Ace provides Anya with information, encouragement, and a sense of belonging to something larger. Ace's unseen presence is a reminder of the power of networks, the importance of trust, and the necessity of collective action. Their eventual emergence as a key player in the new world hints at the ongoing struggle for freedom.

Fortis

Fortis is a depthstrider, a mysterious and powerful undine with the ability to see visions and influence fate. His warnings and interventions shape the course of the rebellion, forcing Daios and the others to confront uncomfortable truths. Fortis is both guide and judge, embodying the ocean's ancient wisdom and its capacity for both mercy and destruction. His personal stake in the conflict—his son's captivity—adds depth and urgency to his role.

The Depthstriders

The depthstriders are a secretive, enigmatic group of undines who dwell in the ocean's abyss. Their visions and interventions are both a blessing and a curse, forcing the other characters to confront the consequences of their actions. The depthstriders represent the ocean's memory, its wounds, and its hope for healing. Their presence underscores the story's themes of fate, responsibility, and the interconnectedness of all life.

Plot Devices

Dual Perspectives and Mirrored Trauma

The narrative alternates between Daios and Anya, each grappling with trauma, isolation, and the longing for connection. Their mirrored experiences—Daios's guilt and rage, Anya's captivity and yearning—create a powerful emotional resonance. The use of dual perspectives allows for deep psychological exploration, highlighting the ways in which love, trust, and vulnerability can transform even the most wounded souls.

Communication Barriers and Accessibility

Anya's deafness and Daios's alien nature create profound communication challenges. The story uses sign language, touch, and technology (Bitsy) as plot devices to explore themes of accessibility, adaptation, and the power of nonverbal connection. These barriers become opportunities for intimacy and understanding, subverting the trope of "lost in translation" and celebrating the creativity of human (and undine) connection.

Foreshadowing and Prophecy

The depthstriders' warnings, Daios's haunted memories, and the ever-present threat of Alpha's collapse create a sense of inevitability and tension. Prophecy is used not as a fixed fate, but as a call to action—a challenge to break cycles of violence and create new possibilities. The story's structure, with its recurring motifs of cages, song, and the abyss, foreshadows both destruction and rebirth.

Found Family and Chosen Kin

The characters' relationships—Anya and Daios, Mira and Arges, Maketes and Ace—are built on choice, not blood. The story uses the motif of found family to challenge traditional hierarchies and celebrate the power of solidarity. These bonds are tested by betrayal, loss, and the demands of revolution, but ultimately endure, offering hope for a new world.

Sacrifice and Transformation

The fall of Alpha is both an act of vengeance and a necessary sacrifice. Anya's willingness to risk everything, Daios's struggle to let go, and the undines' decision to spare survivors all speak to the story's central theme: true freedom requires the courage to destroy what cages us, even at great personal cost. The transformation of both characters—from weapon and songbird to partners and builders—embodies the story's message of hope and renewal.

Analysis

Song of the Abyss is a lush, emotionally charged reimagining of the monster romance and dystopian rebellion genres, distinguished by its focus on disability, communication, and the redemptive power of love. At its core, the novel is a meditation on what it means to be seen, to be vulnerable, and to choose one's own fate in a world determined to define you by your wounds. Anya's deafness is not a mere plot device, but a lens through which the story interrogates power, agency, and the limitations of language. Daios's journey from self-loathing weapon to devoted partner is a testament to the possibility of healing through connection. The book's use of dual perspectives, mirrored trauma, and accessible communication devices creates a narrative that is both intimate and epic. The destruction of Alpha is not just a political act, but a personal one—a breaking of chains, a song of defiance, and a promise that even in the abyss, there can be light, love, and home. The story's lessons are clear: true freedom is found not in isolation or domination, but in the courage to trust, to change, and to build something new together.

Last updated: October 6, 2025