Maris of the Tides

Origins and Birth

Maris of the Tides was born from the collective desperation of the coastal peoples of The Tidelace Coasts during the Decade of Storms, a stretch of storms that Tidelace memory keeps without a firm date.

For ten years, the sea was a killer. Unpredictable gales sank boats, surges swallowed harbours, and the fish vanished. The coastal Humans of the far shore and the Gnome harbour towns of the Gaugeward Leagues did not pray for the sea to stop, for they knew they would starve without it; they prayed for calm and guidance. They begged for a "mother" who could soothe the waves, a "guide" who could lead them through the tempest, and a "healer" who could mend the wounds of the drowned.

Appearance and Presence

Maris appears as a figure of fluid beauty, her form shifting subtly to match the mood of the sea.

• Visuals: She is a tall, elegant woman with skin that shimmers with a pearlescent sheen, like the inside of an oyster.
• The Atmosphere: In places where she moves, the air becomes thick with humidity and the scent of salt.
• The Voice: Her voice sounds like the roar of a distant storm mixed with the gentle lapping of a tide.

Powers and Abilities

Maris does not just control water; she channels the life force of the ocean.

• The Calm: She can instantly still a raging storm or calm a panicked crowd.
• The Surge: She can summon a tidal wave or a flash flood to destroy an invading fleet or a corrupt harbour.
• The Healing Spring: She can create a pool of water that cures diseases and knits flesh.
• The Safe Passage: She can guide ships through dangerous currents, fog, or reefs.

Current Status: The Guardian

Maris is active and strong, but her power is tied to the health of the coast.

• The Balance: Two harbour towns are at blood-feud over fishing grounds, each praying to her for the other's ruin, their boats ramming each other's nets at sea; she is trying to calm the quarrel before it becomes a burning of harbours that would break the "flow" of the coast.
• The Threat: A fouling carried down by rivers from inland is poisoning the waters that feed the shore.
• The Dilemma: If she purifies the water too quickly, she might kill the marine life that has adapted to the change.

Relationships with Other Entities

• With Aqua Prime: Maris is a harmonious expression of Aqua's flow.
• With Serovan the River-King (Aqua): Maris holds the salt, Serovan the fresh.
• With Quennet the Clockmaker (Aion): Shrine-neighbours along the same harbours; see his page.

Legacy and Echoes

Maris is a living legend on the Tidelace Coasts.

• The Festival of the Tides: A yearly festival where the people offer flowers, shells, and stories to the sea.
• The Passage Story: In Gaugeward harbours, a pilot's account of a safe passage through fog, a hard approach, or a fight with sea-raiders is spoken aloud at her shrine on return, paying her price of story.
• The Legend of the "Drowned Bride": A folk tale tells of a bride who was swept away by a storm.
• The Sacred Springs: Several natural springs along the coast are said to be Maris's tears.
• The Wreckers' Beds: Wreckers who light false beacons on her headlands are said to drown in their beds, found at dawn with salt water in their mouths and dry blankets round them.
• The Sea-Raiders' Wave: The oldest passage story tells of a raider fleet that came on the coast in the last year of the Decade of Storms, and of the single wave that rose in a flat calm and took the raiders' ships and no other.