The Highland Sea Shaman

The Maidens of the Sea

Duncan has always feared the water. I looked at the salty depths from the port side of the ship and he whispered as if maddened by the sounds of crashing waves. He kept raving about singing. I didn't hear any singing. His cries of panic and paranoia grew worse to the point of endangering himself. He ran for one end of the ship to the other and screamed as the realization of being surrounded by the ocean hit him. It was a mercy to sedate him. I thought he was suffering from some strange psychological breakdown. He always feared the water, and after venturing to the fjords of the Mhirrian highlands myself, I do too. We chased the Mhirrian horde back to the Fjords, unaware of the trap they were leading us into. They fought like fire. The Berzerkers raged through our lines often taking several soldiers to kill just one. I was engaged with the very source of my new fear, and by all the gods, she was stunning. Her pale skin on the dark sky, her hair black as night with streaks of blue highlighting random dreadlock braids. Her thin clothed gown was so loose I'm surprised it stayed on. A form of distraction no doubt. She emerged from the ocean itself and stood before me singing that damn song.

It was hard to think and I saw my men drowning in water pulled from their very bodies by the heathen witches. They smiled, their songs never ceasing as they held their victims until their passing. The one before me was trying to do the same. It's such a strange feeling, like something burrowing through the skin from the inside. I swung at her and missed, the sudden pain causing my body to convulse. She then waved her hands in circular patterns and a ball of water formed hovering over her head collecting the rain and pulling water from the ocean below. She forced a palm forward and I was pushed back by a wall of water. I reeled back to the edge of the cliff. I scrambled for my sword only to find that it had been taken by the wave. I gasped for air and before I could react, I looked up and saw her smile once more before she kicked me off the edge. I held on for dear life on the edge of that cliff, desperate to find my footing. The woman looked down at me, pacing as if debating whether to stomp on my fingers or wait for my strength to give out and watch me fall to the ocean depths...

A sea shaman often called a sea witch or siren is an elite member of the Circle of Salt who relies on a spiritual connection to the sea to accomplish many magical feats. The sirens are notorious for many reasons and are a sight many pray not to see on the field of battle. Tales recount their brutality as well as their beauty. The sirens have been around for many years even before Ozlith's fall taking their traditions from the sea witch who made the The Legion of the Deep famous.

The Way of the Siren

The sirens take their name from strange creatures that existed in Ozlith. Said to resemble women until you see them beneath the water, the creature would often lure and seduce sailors only to drown them in the end.
The sirens do not waste time in towers or circles. They practice in the sea. They learn to manipulate the waves both within and without. They see everything as an ebb and flow of tides. Learning this form of shamanism requires a deep connection to water meaning one must relate to it on a deeply spiritual level as well as the ability to channel arcane energy.

No Druids

A druid uses magic to achieve balance. Unlike shaman, they are neutral and remain so unless that balance is threatened. Erzhabell is the only area of the nation that has a sprawling city for this reason as the druids see invading natural space as tipping that balance. This focus on balance is precisely why The Sirens refuse to allow druids in their ranks. The shaman, on the other hand, is impulsive and oftentimes unstable. Their connections with the metaphysical plane make them eccentric at best. This is what The Sirens desire.

Training and Initiation

Members usually start out as a shaman of the circle of salt. To be inducted an individual must go through a series of trials that each directly involve the ocean. The sirens make their sanctuary in a grotto by the The Weir Ocean in the eastern fjords of The Highlands. Most sirens come from the Finnich tribe as they fish in these waters and know exactly where the grotto is.

In order to join an individual must be female, already skilled in the ways of the shaman, and have an affiliation with nautical spirits. The trials usually involve a series of tasks the initiate must complete within the Weir Ocean such as traveling to the underwater shrine where The Hurricane is said to meet the sirens for binding.
The initiation ritual involves a baptism of sorts. Seawater is poured over the siren as they commune with The Hurricane, a spirit of ocean storms who all sirens have bound to them. If the spirit deems them worthy, they will travel once again to the underwater shrine and attempt to bind the spirit.

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by the0phrastus

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Perceptions

Most of the tribes consider the sirens to be unhinged in a way that paints them to be more like loose cannons than any kind of actual asset. Their impulsive behavior and sudden changes in desires are seen as dangerous.
Those in the highlands know better. After seeing how valuable The Highland Berzerkers can be, the sirens were welcomed with open arms by the highland tribes. Few people in other nations have ever even heard of the sirens much less seen them. In other regions of Mhirriah, they are considered a menace. They attack ships seemingly at random and show little mercy even to their own countrymen. They are often confused with merfolk, and vice versa. Mhirrian sailors nearly hunted the merfolk tribes to extinction before realizing they were a separate race, rather than sea witches using their transformative powers.

Perception

Purpose

The group exists as a primary magical force and assists the naval efforts of Mhirriah when it suits them. Generally, they are reclusive and often not seen or heard from in most engagements. They also serve as support for the Circle of Salt.

Powers

Sirens possess the ability to manipulate bodies of water no matter how small or big. While no one siren can cause a tsunami a large group of them can certainly cause a tidal wave that can cover the entire Shore if they were close enough to the ocean. The sirens also possess a unique quality that many bards covet. Sirens often sing when engaging enemies in combat. The song is remarkably beautiful, like a lullaby that pacifies enemies to the point to where many who are unable to resist find themselves falling asleep on the battlefield.
The sirens have also been known to strip the water from the bodies their opponents, oftentimes while they're still alive. While the opponent must be pacified by the song for them to do this, it is still a painful experience despite the smile their victims have when the sirens are done with them. Some of the more brutal tactics used by the sirens involve manipulating water into a stream and forcing the stream into the enemies mouth, slowly drowning their victims as the water forces its way into the lungs. The sirens can also summon forth water spirits that they have bound including The Hurricane if enough sirens are present. Other abilities include breathing under water, shapeshifting, either fully or a specific part of their body to that of a feature or form of an aquatic creature, and Necromancy focusing on the resurrection of dead sea life and even people who have drowned. The natural form of this type of undead is referred to as a draugr and the sirens can call and command them if they are nearby.

The Rage of Inner Oceans

When One binds The Hurricane in their initiation, The Hurricane speaks to them and shows them the rage of the ocean storms he represents. They feel the anger, this raw energy stored to be unleashed on the unsuspecting people of the land. This rage they feel carves mountains and forces the land aside to form rivers. The Hurricane teaches those who bind it to harness the same rage within themselves. The rage of the inner ocean is a form of Mediumship that allows the sea witch to enter a Mhirrian Rage and increases the potency of her powers. The rage literally works through her and, when channeled, those In the way are met with gruesome ends.

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by Rachel Bess

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Alternative Names

Sea which, Siren

Type

Arcane

Outfitting and Aesthetics

The sirens require very little in the way of equipment. They can easily survive in bodies of water without needing provisions due to their powers and knowledge of these habitats. Generally, they are often seen wearing thin cloth gowns. They often anoint themselves with salt harvested from the ocean that can be seen clinging to their clothing and skin. When on land, especially if some distance from a body of water, this salt actually pulls moisture from the air, ensuring they have a water source as they are not capable of producing water, only manipulating it.
They often wear amulets that have been enchanted or serve as an anchor for their bound entities. These talismans can be seashells, fish bones, the teeth of nautical predators, pearls, or anything that relates to the ocean or water. These talismans are used in jewelry, tied to strings made of fish nets and left to dangle from their clothing, or even tied into their hair.

by julijanam

...Then she did something I hadn't expected. She knelt tenderly and reached out her hand, grasping mine and proceeded to lift me to safety. I stood before her, exhausted, unarmed and without hope and she brushed my cheek with her slender fingers and gently pushed the side of my face. She directed my attention to a group of rocky islands, each less than 25 yards in diameter. At first, her message wasn't clear. I squinted trying to see whatever it was she wanted me to see. Once I did I found that falling to my death was preferable. She stepped around me and knelt down, whispering into my ear.
"Witness your folly, man of the North. Bring our message to your people."
Figures came into view on the rocky islands. They were women, each dressed in the same garments as the one who spared me. They were drenched, the gowns clinging to their bodies. They were sirens like her and there must have been fifty or so. They began to sing as I spoke in wondrous fear.
"All of them?" I felt the woman smile and she nodded.
"We have a gift for you all, and a message that comes with it."
The singing grew louder, carried on the ocean wind. It was glorious and the fighting around me stopped as the soldiers on both sides stopped to listen. It was a different kind of song than before, less a lullaby and more like a dirge. The storm above grew more violent as the tide pulled back. The sirens held hands in a circle and the singing was overshadowed by a deafening roar as the water level dropped suddenly.
Off in the distance, I saw a massive wave heading for the fjords. Lighting struck the water and illuminated it. The light penetrated the surface and I saw a silhouette. It looked like some massive tentacled mass beneath the surface moving with the wave...no, not moving it...guiding it. Just before the wave hit, she whispered again in a sultry voice.
"You cannot win a war with the sea."

I was the only one who survived. The woman held me close, tightly, almost passionately as the wave struck the fjords. The force alone killed several, those who survived drowned, unable to keep their heads above the surface due to broken bones and battle fatigue. There were monsters in the water. Clouds of blood spewed forth as smaller shadows sped through the waves. The water receded and when I opened my eyes the armies were gone. Only I remained. The woman was still holding me tightly and the maidens of the sea stood around us, observing our embrace.
My king, If we are to win this war, heed their message: you can't win a war with the sea.

— The Mhirrian Campaigns by Freedom Gates