Lars leant on the rail. He hadn't sailed this far south before, and the heat made him sleepy, especially during the late night shifts. He gazed out over the moonlit water - all was peaceful and calm. Glancing down, he noticed something odd, and called to his shipmate. "Hans! Look at this - the moon is reflected twice in the water! Have you ever seen that before?" He turned back to the rail and peered down at the strange doubled reflection. There was something about the reflection... Hans stepped to the rail next to him, looking down into the water and then recoiled away. "Lars - that's no moon-" He broke off as Lars hurled himself over the rail and into the water. At the splash, one of the other sailors cried out "Man overboard!"
Several men rushed to the rail, looking for the lost Lars, who was swimming determinedly for the glowing orb in the water below. Hans yelled for them not to look, to get away from the rail, but several more dove into the ocean before he got them away from the side. In all, they lost five men to the Marama Tawhiti that night. - a record of an encounter with the Marama Tawhiti
The Marama Tawhiti, also known as the 'Moon of the Deep' is a hazard that appears occasionally in the equatorial waters near
Atu Motu and
Koa'ki. It appears as a glowing orb deep in the water, and exerts a strange pull on those who gaze at it too long. They are drawn toward it and dive into the water, swimming as hard as they can for the false moon. Some drown on the way, but those that touch the surface of the globe are pulled inside, never to be seen again intact.
In the days and weeks after an encounter with the Marama Tawhiti, strange fish will appear in the region near where it is spotted. These creatures bear characteristics of both fish and human anatomy, such as human teeth within a fish's mouth, or fingers growing in a row where a dorsal fin should be. The
Tāngata and the
Kaikai both agree that these creatures are born of the Marama Tawhiti, and must be destroyed whenever they are found. They are taken from the water and killed, then dried and burned to ash. These ashes are buried as far from the ocean as is possible.
Some say that the skull-snails were born of the Marama Tawhiti, but were never caught until it was too late and they had established a breeding population. These strange snails have shells that resemble diminutive human skulls, and they draw strange, disturbing patterns with slime upon the rocks. The contemplation of
Skull-Snail patterns is said to cause madness, and rocks bearing them are best shattered - the slime etches the pattern into the rock, and it cannot be cleaned away. There may be other creations of the Marama Tawhiti in the southern waters of the Great Ring, still undiscovered or unrecognized.
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