Maka-Honua

"What is that thing, and why is it watching us?!" - a common reaction to the appearance of a Maka-Honua.

Of the many odd things found in the waters of the Southern Region, the Maka-Honua may be the strangest. It is an enormous eye embedded in a bulbous body that looks like it was assembled from parts of various sea creatures. The Maka-Honua will float along aimlessly until something attracts its attention, such as a passing ship. Once this happens, it begins to follow whatever it has focused on, subjecting it to its endless scrutiny.

Don't Meet Its Gaze

Sailors who have heard of the Maka-Honua always share the same advice - do not make eye contact with the Maka-Honua. It may seem harmless at first, but those who have locked gazes with this creature are never free of it. Wherever they go, they will feel that they are being watched. This feeling will become more intense with each passing day, causing anxiety and dread in the victim. They often grow paranoid, attempting to catch whoever is watching, but never catch a glimpse of the creature in the physical realm - only in their dreams.

Dream Stalker

The Maka-Honua haunts the dreams of their victims, always in the background and staring. Attempts to hurt or drive off the creature fail, and the afflicted will often wake up angry and terrified by the encounter. These dreams do not fade with wakefulness - every Dream encounter with the Maka-Honua is seared into the victim's mind, and they often find themselves replaying them in their waking hours, obsessing over every detail. They often report a sensation of being judged by the monster, a feeling which carries over into their waking life. Every aspect of their existence is constantly being observed and cataloged, and the afflicted is helpless to do anything about it.

Escaping the Eye

Some people will tell you there is no way to break the connection between the Maka-Honua and its victim. But according to sailor lore, it is possible - if you can forget you ever saw it in the first place. The connection between the monster and its victim is primarily forged inside the Dream, and reinforced by the tendency of the afflicted to ruminate over the dreams and the sensation of being watched. Forgetting all they know of the Maka-Honua can break that bond, and set them free.

Of course, forgetting is easier said than done. It typically requires magic of some sort to wipe the memory of the monster from memory, and not all magic is equally effective. Some methods will obliterate all memories completely, which others can only affect the last few hours or days, which may be insufficient. The most precise method is to use a custom formula brewed by the alchemist and inventor Zaman al-Razaz. This formula must be tailored to each individual, but will selectively remove the memories of the Maka-Honua, while leaving anything untainted by it untouched. Only a few people know of this possibility. Those that approach al-Razaz for this cure will usually receive it, but only with a promise to do the inventor a favor of his choosing at a later date.

Not To Be Confused With

The Maka-Honua is not the only giant floating eye spoken of in the Great Ring. Among the Unughuit and Tuniit people, there are stories of the god Suqtuq, who appears as a great eye in the sky that watches all that passes on the land and water. Suqtuq is an enforcer of societal norms, and is strongly associated with the sky and winds above the island of Umingmak. As far as anyone can determine, there is no connection between Suqtuq and the Maka-Honua yet, but the similarity in appearance is likely to forge links between them in The Dream.

Dream Avoidance

Many people who are haunted by the Maka-Honua attempt to avoid sleep in order to evade encounters with the creature. This is a method that is ultimately doomed to failure - eventually everyone will sleep no matter what they do. Additionally, avoiding sleep in the world of the Million Islands can have other consequences, as laid out in Insomnia. These can allow for the dream version of the Maka-Honua to appear even when awake, and sometimes it can even be seen by others. You can read more about how lack of sleep impacts you here.