Sea fae

*'We must be like nothing, to you,’ Mosk said, feeling stupid. ‘You have all of that.’ Churielle beamed at him, and she didn’t disagree.'*

## Introduction

Sea fae include a wide variety of fae species as vast as land fae, who dwell in saltwater.

## Abilities

In the canon, various sea fae have demonstrated a variety of abilities, including being able to control buoyancy, encourage the growth of coral reefs, and control of the weather. They can also provide some aid to their freshwater cousins, as seahorse shifters provided Augus Each Uisge and Ash Glashtyn some relief from the saltiness of the air while aboard the Mantissa.

## Characteristics (culture, habits)

Sea fae have a long history of not getting along with land fae, as land fae often ignore their needs, and only go to them when the land fae need something. Sea fae seem to get along with bird fae, though.

Enerdias is an important merkhanwe city of the House of Atros, itself a powerful faction of Unseelie sea fae, led by a merkhanwe royal family.

The politics of the sea fae is very complicated. They usually reside in inter-alignment areas, such as the Mantissa, and the Markets, and possibly Enerdias. Albion was King of the Atlantic, but when he left to serve as King of the Seelie, the Unseelie factions felt spurned, and his greater absence created a power vacuum, with the bigger groups - such as the House of Atros - pushing for more control. Other monarchs have been identified, such as Oura Selich, Queen of the Selkies and finfolk seal-shifters, or Alysia mer Malakhy, Queen-in-Waiting to the merfolk, or even Ondine, who holds great power as Captain of the Mantissa, but it's unclear how much sway they have over the greater politics of the ocean. Different factions often require tolls to pass through their territory, which can come in the form of money or favors.

## Known Species

* Conchiol
* Coralspeakers
* Dolphin shifters
* Finfolk
* Giant squid shifters
* Jellyfish shifters
* Lionfish shifters
* Mari morgan
* Mer-fae
* Merkhanwe
* Merrows
* Sea Trows
* Seahorse shifters
* Selkies
* Sirens
* Water elementals (possibly only saltwater elementals)
* Whale shifters

## Sea fae of Unknown Species

* Albion (possibly some kind of kraken)
* Awan
* Erewen
* Cymothoe
* Hai-Hong
* Tanadem
* Thricksten
* Uhina

## Quotations

* Stertes: 'The sea fae have a long history of being neglected by monarchs who like to conveniently claim they rule us in times of war, but want our weapons and bodies without offering anything other than neglect.'
* Gulvi Dubna Vajat: 'I believe you once said that land-fae were the fat, farm-bred versions of fae, too sedentary and leisure-focused to be anything more than long-living mulch for the land that sustains us.'
* Awan: 'I think we have proof once and for all that land fae don’t care about sea fae matters.'

## Trivia

* Mosk saw 'giant squid shifters that had come up from the depths' during the battle on the beach.
* Seahorse shifters 'have a special magic to protect land-realm items from salt erosion. Especially useful for trading for sky-bound items, but it's possible to use this on fae too. Just rarely necessary.'
* Lionfish shifters are venomous to most fae. Albion had at least one serve as a guard at the Seelie Court while Albion was King. They had 'giant spines growing from their back in neat red-and-white array'.
* Whale shifters are 'large, kindly, almost impossible to understand.'
* The Raven Prince found *'the jellyfish shifters fascinating.’*

## Folklore/Mythology

As humans have lived alongside bodies of water for all our history, and traveled greatly on seas, folklore concerning supernatural sea creatures abound, and many appear in *Fae Tales*.

## Image Gallery

Fanart of Stertes by inkyrobotsparks https://twitter.com/inkyrobotsparksFanart of Ondine by djingin https://djingin.tumblr.com/post/50453089868/ondine-djinngindeviantartcom-character-of
## References

1. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*, Chapter 24: Bound Together. Accessed 17 March 2021.
2. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire*, Chapter 32: Somewhere Safe. Accessed 17 May 2021.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*, Chapter 17: Just Like You. Accessed 29 April 2021.
4. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*, Chapter 15: Own Yourself. Accessed 29 April 2021.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*, Chapter 29: Fury Unleashed. Accessed 14 March 2021.
6. ↑ *The Court of Five Thrones*, Chapter 4: Suspicions. Accessed 12 April 2021.
7. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*, Chapter 4: Damaged Instincts. Accessed 04 May 2021.
8. ↑ *Game Theory*, Chapter 39: Alone. Accessed 12 April 2021.
9. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire*, Chapter 31: The Sky is Falling. Accessed 05 November 2021.
10. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire*, Chapter 32: Somewhere Safe. Accessed 15 May 2021.
11. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*, Chapter 23: The Sea of Sculptures. Accessed 19 May 2021.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 *The Court of Five Thrones*, Chapter 2: Orphan. Accessed 15 October 2021.
13. ↑ *The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*, Chapter 14: Too Far. Accessed 29 April 2021.
14. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 25 November 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/88041001. Chapter 20: A Magical World.