The Birthplace of Naiads

Sonni: Mimi, you've been given leave for a few weeks. Go home and recuperate with your family and friends. I'm sure they've been missing you and would love to hear all about the amazing feats you have done. For the things you have not yet accomplished, you can continue when you come back after your leave. I am talking to the upper echelons of the Council KLO structure, and figuring out the options for you working with the Search and Rescue Department. Take a break, refresh yourself and when you come back, write a report about the Birthplace of Naiads. You still have a few observational logs to complete before you can be promoted to a Level 2 Knowledge Liaison Officers Liasion Officer. 

Observation Log of KLO Mimi Lakes: The Birthplace

Toilmonth the 33rd, Year 53 of the Century of the Nymphs, 26th Cycle
Through the Great Forest passes the River Tam. The river continues through to the Ocean. Somewhere in the middle of the Great Forest is 'The Birthplace' - a layered rockpool that is the source of the water's flow. 

Origins of Naiads

The first generation of Naiads is known to have been born from the rockpools of The Birthplace. There is a small variety of plants within the rockpools, so there has always been a variety of plants represented by Naiads. They grew from the first few layers of rockpools, and as more Naiad generations were born, the river was deepened to accommodate the living spaces of the Naiads, except for at the Birthplace. When the later generations of Naiads were born, they were born at various points along the Tam River. 

The Birthplace is said to be the most magical place in the River Tam. As it is the source of the flow of waters to the west that travel into the river Rhea, as well as the waters that flow east into the Ocean. 

Magical Prowess

The powers of a Naiad seem to be more powerful the closer they are born to The Birthplace. This isn't set in stone for all Naiads, I'm told. I wasn't born in the Birthplace, either. But neither do I have super special powers. However, I do have some extra powers. I am half-Mermaid, so that's where my extra comes from. 

I've also been told, and this has been passed down from generation to generation, that the early generations had (on average) the most magical prowess of any Naiads that ever lived. Some say that this is because all of them were born in The Birthplace, whereas generations afterwards were either born elsewhere in the River Tam, or had ancestors born elsewhere in the River Tam. There is even a set of Naiads that especially seed their children and further descendants in The Birthplace that shows how strongly this reasoning resonates with many Naiads. There are a few Naiads who believe that the lessening of our magical prowess is because of things that have been Forbidden. There are about a hundred stories I heard over the last few weeks that are related to this, though I'm pretty sure there are only actually five incidents that these stories come from. Still, each incident had many perspectives so it is imperative we keep them all.

Taegrin: Extra? That's what you're calling it?
Mimi: Well, I don't know otherwise...
Taegrin: Don't stress over it. For now, at least.

Mimi: These are the stories I emailed last week. I'm pretty sure my notes made sense.
Sonni: Some of them did. I'll have a meeting with you later and we can attach a couple of the stories, at least.

 

Power Source

Much like a Source Tree of a Fairy, the Birthplace is considered the source of a Naiads magical power. I swam to the bottom of the rockpools, and as water, went as far as I could easily go. There are some barriers below the lowest rockpool. As it took some time to get through the first pair, I didn't bother going any further. Still, the lowest point I could see was flickering with the colours of each of the race's magic condensed. As it reminded me of what I saw at the bottom of the Ocean, I set off to go have a look underneath Turien. 

Except, I got distracted on the way and didn't go under the top seabed. I did find out where Turtle Island is though. 

Conclusion

The Birthplace is a place where Naiads have been born over the generations, since the first generation of Naiads. Naiads used to be more powerful and this is thought to do with the higher number of Naiads born in the Birthplace in the past, although Forbidings may also have something to do with it. I wasn't born in The Birthplace, but I am still just as much a Naiad as any who were born there. 

Supervisor Sonni Feedback

I would have liked to hear more about what the rockpools look like and other descriptions of the place. You could have also added more on the sacredness of the area. However, this can be placed in the history section, so there is no need to rewrite the whole thing - just the 'Power Source' section. For example, we don't need to know about your criminal exploits, nor about you finding Turtle Island when distracted.

Please try and stay safe as you complete your reports, Mimi. There are a number of us who worry about you.

Council Notes

Another mention of the undersea colours (See Turien's Ocean). Shall we really get someone to look at this? It could be more than a Naiads fancy... However, the Naiad Council Member is pretty mad that Mimi broke barriers at the Birthplace. Mimi has been instructed to go with both Naiad and Mermaid Council members to fix it.