Prologue: Legend of the Sea King
Long ago, when the world was new, the Sea King ruled the oceans. His name has been forgotten, a moniker from a language of old, unpronounceable in the common tongues.
He was only “the Sea King.”
Seven seas there were, once upon a time, shared amongst the creatures of the waters.
Young and beautiful he was, a sight to behold, if he deemed one worthy. Through the years, he sired seven sons: one for each of the seven seas he ruled.
The oceans lived in peace for centuries, and the Sea King grew wise and powerful.
As his might grew, so did his stature, until he was as tall as mountains and his coils encircled islands.
But then, men came.
They invaded the waters, polluted the depths, and hunted his people. With righteous rage, the Sea King destroyed their ships, calling up hurricanes and tsunamis to warn them against coming back.
His terrible might became legend, and the humans hesitated before entering the water.
For a time, there was peace in the oceans again.
But men returned, with bigger, stronger boats and sneaky, silent machines that slipped through the water, unfazed by his storms and rage.
In desperation, the Sea King called upon Poseidon, god of the seas, to hide his people and save their kind. In exchange, he offered his youth and beauty and ability to traverse the sea.
Poseidon accepted the trade and granted him and his descendants the ability to practice god-like magic. The Sea King used his new power to hide the kingdom and the creatures residing within it from men’s machines.
The Sea King’s eyes lost their sight, his skin burned in warm waters, and he descended to cooler, darker depths, leaving the ruling of his kingdom to his seven sons.
For a while, the Sea King visited as long as he could stand the light. But the visits became fewer, until at last, the sons went to him in the deeper water, instead.
The Sea King’s might faded into legend, save for two lines written on human maps in warning.
“Here there be monsters.
Here there be dragons.”
