Legends of Belariath

Merfolk History

Our story begins eons ago, back before there were factions, back before they split into the Sarenheits and Angivos. They lived in a place called Firdaus, it was to them paradise, a perfect haven, where they had everything they could ever need or wish for.

They lived in the most beautiful cities made from coral and glass. The knowledge of applying extreme heat to the sand to create the glass had been known for as long as anyone could ever remember no one knew where the knowledge originated from, but all knew of it and many learned the skill....

The merfolk could have lived in this place forever, quite contentedly, but time and nature being what they were there came upon them a terrible disaster, the waters began to grow cold, a little at a time but it started to affect many things, available food and even procreation, there seemed to be no children born for a long time, too long. The water grew colder and colder and merfolk began to perish, but they had never known anything but Firdaus.

They called together a meeting of everyone, men women, children and spoke of the need to move on, those who had travelled out some from there home had discovered large floating masses of white that could not be touched for fear of cold death, and they seemed to be floating this way, the time to leave had come. Many in the crowd denied it but the denials fell from lips but for moments, it was obvious to one and all they had to leave immediately.

They decided they should depart that very day, bringing only what they thought they needed to survive, it was at this point that a problem began to arise, the folk were torn about which direction to go, they fought bitterly over it and in the end the only resolution that could be seen was the splitting of the race, and so resolved but devastated they set off in two very different directions.

The journey for both factions was exhaustive, they sought a place like home a few fell by the wayside, all hope lost they died of hopelessness. Now the journey of the Angivos led them far, the waters seemed warmer but nothing seemed right in the world, they moved to a landmass they discovered, relatively unexplored it seemed made of pure forest, the whole area untouched by man, they rested there a time.

Eskaia, one of the mermaids moved off a little from where the others rested her worry was great she was a sorceress, she had been who they had come to for childbirth, an ailments, she had the knowledge of foresight and still she didn't forgive herself for not foreseeing the coming of this, and not being able to see the outcome of their long and so far fruitless search, but it happened at times, she knew she saw what she was allowed to and for some reason destiny had chosen to keep this from her, she had no control but still she carried guilt. She fell asleep there isolated from the others tears in her eyes her last thought, her last murmured words as sleep claimed were of the desperate need for help, she begged and pleaded again and again for help as sleep claimed her.

She was visited in her dream by the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, this woman walked on two legs she had no tail, not like Eskaia and the others and with a start Eskaia realised that she walked with the woman, this was unheard of she was at first horrified at the loss of her tail and then she was strangely thrilled, she skipped and danced for a moment before the woman spoke, her voice was melodious, musical to Eskaia's ears and totally enraptured Eskaia was hanging on her every word.

She told Eskaia that her name was Gaea and explained that she was Mother Earth and that this was the embodiment of herself, she was a Goddess and held sway over everything of the earth, she protected and nurtured all life there, upon hearing this Eskaia begged pleaded with Gaea to take them under her wing, to offer them the nurturing love and protection that she offered all life on earth. With a slight look of sorrow she had to decline, she could not, broken Eskaia sank to the earth at her feet and wept, sobbing she knew her race was as good as gone from this world they would no longer be any more than a myth a memory if even that, Gaea lifted her back to her feet and brushed away her tears, that touch would change Eskaia's life forever she was yet to discover but the words she heard lifted her spirits beyond anything else.

There was a God and a Goddess of the sea, of the merfolk realm and she belonged in the arms of them, she belonged in their care and Gaea informed her that both Carain, Queen of the sea and her consort Giran who was the Sea God would welcome them and protect them as she did with all life on earth.

With a heart newly filled with a joy and purpose Gaea let images flood into Eskaia's mind that would allow her to lead folk unerringly to Carain and Giran, smiling softly Gaea turned to leave and once more Eskaia called out dropping to her knees she begged of Gaea, knowing she had been granted much already but also know that the jaded and hopeless merfolk had lost all hope in her foresight as they had time and again sought her answers only to be told she had none, she begged with Gaea to come speak with the others and with a soft nod of her head she promised she would appear to them the next day in a form that would prove she was who she said she was, all Eskaia had to do was convince them to wait in that place.

Gaea had appeared in the form of a mermaid but with one very big difference, she had wings, and so awed by this vision and the pure melody of her voice the listened enraptured as she told them of Carain and Giran and that they should follow Eskaia for she had all the knowledge they needed and one and all they agreed with hope in their hearts once more to allow Eskaia to lead them knowing now that the journey had a purpose, a path, an end. Satisfied Gaea turned to leave, but before she could go Eskaia approached her and offered her heartfelt thanks, informing Gaea that in her teaching all merfolk would worship Gaea and protect what they could of her realm, not defiling it in any way, with a soft nod Gaea showed her appreciation. Eskaia had one more question though, the legs had they been just in the dream or could they be real, smiling Gaea leant in and whispered the secret of change to Eskaia and made her promise to share the knowledge, with that she was simply gone from their midst.

A bubble of excitement rose as they once again set off to travel, they had far to go, but with hope the days passed quickly and they came to the realm of the God and Goddess, awed worried they approached the area cautiously only to find that they knew in their hearts and in their minds an acceptance that far surpassed anything they could ever imagine, they were faced with the inspiring beauty of their God and Goddess who lead them to a haven to a place that was in ways like Firdaus but far surpassed its beauty and there they settled and they have been in that place ever since naming it Kaimana.

Eskaia discovered as they years turned into decades and the decades to centuries with never a change in her she knew then that she had been granted immortality to spread the words of Gaea, to be the keeper of knowledge, the one who remembered the past, their roots Firdaus, to tell all and remind all why they truly had to be thankful of all they had, and to impart to the merfolk upon reaching a certain age the knowledge of how to form legs and walk upon mother earth.

We must not forget the Sarnheits for they too suffered in the move away from Firdaus, they however did not have a visit from Gaea, to set them right and straight to send them to Carain and Giran, they instead had a visit from Akakios, a soulless and people less god who thrived in chaos, destruction, evil at first they turned him away but again and again did he come back to them offering them more and more, until at last they gave up for by this time they were all beginning to die, and so they struck a deal with Akakios. He gave them a safe haven, food to survive, all they needed but the price for this was higher than they could ever even begin to imagine.

One by one slowly he changed them, taking from them memories of all that was right and true, memories of Firdaus and being benign and beautiful creatures, they became twisted misshapen, and their body's mirrors for the benevolence that burned in their souls. For a long time Akakios was happy with this, he lived and thrived on the suffering that removing the memories caused, but in time as the decades passed they became 'used up' they no longer had pain and suffering for him and he began to scheme on how to fix that.

Delighted with himself for his ingenuity he made the Sarnheits a new offer, he offered back to them the ability to once more be beautiful, and twisted as they were they accepted no longer caring about the cost or the price they were almost as soulless as their God, finding pleasure as he did in suffering.

And so it became that , only in the darkened waters is their true self visible on land, or above water the image they portrayed was one of their own choosing. With such beauty and the siren song they began to call to men and women alike, to sailors enthralling them bringing about the destruction of many ships and holding the men to their bosom.

Now Akakios had gifted his Sarnheits with the ability to pass breathing touch to these souls, giving them the ability to survive under water for 12 full hours, and so the Sarnheits captured the men and began to bring them to the depths, to their homes and caves the deeper they swam the more the illusion faded until at last their true misshapen form was visible to the victim, the fear the men had at that point sent Akakios into a frenzy, he thrived, his power grew with each victim.

The sarnheit thrived as well using the men and women in twisted sadistic sexual rituals the pleasure they received for that drove them on to commit this vile act again and again and when the 12 hours ended and the poor souls finally died their violent death the sarnheit discarded the corpses fed them to their pets, the sharks, poison fish and many others.

This continued for a long time and continues still, but Akakios become even more psychotic as his power grew he began to dream of his people walking the earth drawing souls from there and not just those that braved the see, for surely the pickings should be better, and so he gathered to him his people and moved them closer to the home of the Angivos.

Contending with Carain and Giran again and again he was thrown back each time and developed a grudge that he passed to his people and so if ever an Angivo was caught they became slaves to the Sarnheit, their longevity allowed them to be tortured in extreme ways that far surpassed anything their other victims could withstand, and so we find them now always in contention, the Sarnheits purely evil in direct contrast to the Angivos who are good and pure.