The Maren

WIP - Summer Camp 2023

The Maren were a merfolk civilisation that had a sprawling empire in the Sinien Ocean just over two thousand years ago. The empire officially shattered in 3184 EA, following several years of unseasonally cold waters, famine, a plague, and a devastating invasion. Many of the merfolk in the Sinien Ocean today can trace their ancestry back to the Mareni Empire.
At their peak, the Maren inhabited ninety percent of the Sinien Ocean, with several large cities and hundreds of smaller settlements. Many ruins and tombs are still being uncovered today, buried under the sand on the sea floor. Three of the ancient Mareni cities are still occupied today, though different cultures have expanded and adapted them to suit their own needs.
Maren architecture and art is characterised by sweeping curves and generous usage of dots and holes. This is true of their homes, community buildings, and their large extravagant tombs where they interred their rulers.
Many dishes served in the Sinien Ocean today have their origins in Maren cuisine.
Many of the languages spoken in the Sinien Ocean have their roots in Mareni. Mareni itself has no native speakers today, though a small group of people have learnt it for the purposes of translation. Mareni is rather unique amongst merfolk languages in that it had a written component that was used extensively. Many of the Sinien Ocean languages have more developed written languages than other oceans due to this.
The Maren were ruled by a triton, their equivalent of an emperor. In the thousand years that the empire existed, it did not once have a female ruler. Maren society was hierarchical, with rigid class lines that were extremely hard to cross. Generally, the social class that one was born into was where one stayed for the rest of their life.