The Gem of the Perpetual Sea
Summary
Long, long ago, the Marodeen were not the desert-dwelling nomads they are today. They were the world's greatest mariners, and although they had only a few islands to call their own, for centuries they dominated global trade. From the decks of thousands of ships that each functioned as floating villages, they maintained a vast mercantile thalassocracy across the mid-world Marodeen Sea. The flagship, The Infinite Horizon, was essentially its own city, and the word of its captain, the Mistress of Ships, was law across the fleet. Although certainly the trading prowess of the Master of Blades and the traders under him was an important factor, the true key to their success was an item mounted at the helm of The Infinite Horizon: a magical, shining gem that ensured there would always be sea beneath them, leading the Marodeen to prosperity.
Ultimately, however, the Gem of the Perpetual Sea was lost -- stolen from The Infinite Horizon not by piracy, but by treachery. A Master of Blades himself, after half a lifetime at the left hand of his Mistress of Ships, betrayed his wife, stole the Gem, and absconded in the night with no trace. Without their guiding jewel's sustenance, the Marodeen's sea dried up, leaving them as masters of nothing but a blinding-white, desiccating "sea" of salt.
According to the legend, when the final Mistress of Ships was forced to leave The Infinite Horizon high and dry, surrounded by her clan with all their possessions on their backs, she proclaimed to them, "The Perpetual Sea, stolen from under us. Our future traded to our past for a price of salt. One will return before he has left. Marodeen, cry out for him to rediscover our path! Shed your tears and replenish the sea!" And immediately after, she dropped dead.
Date of Setting
Third to first centuries BCE
Related Locations
Comments