The Black Maiden and the sea tides

According to old legends, the tides are due to the breathing of the Black Maiden, a mythical creature with a body so long that it covers the bottom of all the seas of the world. Her movements would also create the currents, although some say that there are several representatives of this legendary specie which would explain, at least in their point of view, why counter currents exists.

by Anna Stein Bauer

Legend has it that one day, to appease the spirits of the drowned, a mad king chained a virgin, often deemed to be his own daughter, to a rock above the waves. He would then have made the poor martyr swallow a Coral worm.
Instead of devouring her from the inside, the worm would then have made a symbiosis with her and transformed her into a gigantic sea monster. However, it is often heard that the Black Maiden is in fact the offspring of the sacrificed virgin and the worm.
In any case it is a dreaded monster and before each sea voyage the sailors make offerings to the monster. In the northern regions of Erythenia or Lodorin they'd burn little effigies of boats with goat meet on them and launch them into the see while in the southern regions of the island like Warmbay or Madral, they'd throw a piece of meat and a coin into the sea. It is said that those who do not do so never return to port.

Some have even tried to bring maidens onboard so the monster would spare them, alas other curses lurk under the waves.

by Six More Vodka

A few sailors, greedy for bounty, desperately seek the monster's head, where she would jealously guard her treasure. They surely hope to steal some shiny coin or trophy. Of all of them, the Mainden's tooth is surely one of the most coveted along with her eye. It would give the fortune to whoever would appropriate it.
Most of them never returned or stopped after years of pointless hunt for something they even started to doubt ever existed. After all, the sea is full of other monsters and legends that are waiting to be killed. Only two crews are still known to hunt the beast, both coming from Arus Fall actually.




It is also said that Tadia has a very strong relationship with the Black Maiden. Sometimes at night she would come down from the heavens to find the monster. We would then see the stars converge towards the horizon, carried away by the goddess taking the veil of night with her. It is said that the Moon would then be visible in the water, below the horizon. For some, the two entities would be lovers.
One thing is certain, Iena and her son hate the Black Maiden and do everything to make her life harder. That's why some days seem to be endless on the sea and why sun rays seem so bright, burning the calm waves with its gaze as it was trying to burn the monster through the ocean's depth.
Ever since, the young women that were sacrificed to the see strangely disappeared, not letting even a trace of their corpses and the fishermen of the villages that were doing the ceremonies never returned to the shore. As if the waves were taking revenge. Hence people stopped killing maidens to appease the sea and prefer now to make food offerings as they seem to work better.

"When waves calm down and wind stands still
Stay ashore, stay ashore
As the stars disappear to blaze in the sea
Sail fast, sail fast
When the masts bend down as if they weep
Pray now, pray now
Though its voice beckons forth, the cracking hull calls out
Too late, too late"

— child song from the Warmbay region

As I prepared for another night of peaceful sleep rocked by the waves crashing against the hull like an incessant breath, a noisy commotion forced me to go out on the deck to find out what it was all about. There, nothing, not a wave, not a bird, only the light of the lanterns and the murmurs of terrorised men. I also felt a sense of immediate danger, my hairs pulled together for no apparent reason. The sky seemed overcast, no stars could be seen and the breeze had gone down. It was only as I approached the railings that I understood: the sea was shining with a thousand celestial lights that had left the sky. The Moon seemed to be watching us from the sea.
Barely had I regained my wits that everyone was getting busy in a panic that I did not understand in order to turn back towards the coast as quickly as possible.
We were able to return home safely but the rest of the journey was greatly affected as the sailors refused to get back on board a ship they now considered cursed."

— extract from The tome and the parrot written by Gredore Kurt.