Sharks to defend the seas

All through history, fishing has been a big part of living on the Oryuh Archipelago. Fish and sea food are at the heart of the nutritional habits, and products from the sea are used for everything, from construction to art.

But as long as humans and elves have entered the sea, creatures from the deep have attacked them. Among all the creatures that can attack from the water, the octopus is the fiercest adversary. After countless fishermen’s deaths, a few Aquators, Mages with links to the sea, decided to fight water with water.

Trials and errors

There have been quite a few trials before they finally decided on a solution for this important problem.
First, they tried to equip the fisherman with armours, shields, or protection equipment to help them be safe. But all of these were hindering their ability to move and therefore fish. The fisherman soon said they would rather be in danger than be unable to take fish home.
Then they tried inventing spells to cast protections on the boats and the men on it. But for a spell to work on sea, a Mage had to accompany each boat. Not only this was highly difficult because there were a lot more boats than there were Mages, but even the Aquators are not sailors. And after a few losses between the Mages, the experiment on that front stopped.

Success and change of heart

Finally, they turned to another solution, which was to tame some sea creatures and train them to defend the boats. That experiment took years to complete. The Aquators had to try quite a few species before finding two that could complete the task at end. First, the whales, and then the sharks.
The whales were great allies but ultimately, the Aquators discovered they hated the violence of the fight. So the Mages decided to let them live in peace, releasing them. Nowadays, only the sharks remain as fishing companions. They don’t seem to dislike killing a few sea monsters, especially octopuses.

Taming process

To tame a shark, and be able to ride it into battle, with special undersea equipment, a sailor has to be present at his birth and be linked with it by an Aquators then. Not all sailors want to be Sea Defenders, and the few who do take that charge very seriously. They sometimes wait a week or so in the Aquator’s center to get paired.
Once the pairing is complete, they develop the bond, with the help of the Aquators. They learn signals, learn to trust each other, and teach the young shark who is the enemy.

After a year, the shark is normally fully bonded and trained, and so is its rider, and they are both able to start accompany ships into the sea.