Shoshana

**Shoshana** was a female individual alive at the time of the Fracture. According to the holy texts of the Plume Church, she was the mortal daughter of the goddess Cheline, created to assist her mother in her battle against her twin brother, Cheth. Shoshana was revered as a prophetess, and after her death, was buried in the Graviary in the Coral Palace at the Saberfort. Cheline promised that Shoshana would eventually return to finish the healing of the cursed Candlelight Sea. Cheth, however, was shocked upon learning that Phaedra Philemon thought Shoshana was his niece, and claimed that the majority of the information about Shoshana was untrue.

## Biography

### A life of myth

Shoshana lived at the time of the Fracture, a divine conflict between the twin gods Cheth and Cheline. She was nicknamed "Shoshi" by Cheth, who seemed to be fond of her. Shoshana played a role in the Fracture which led to her causing harm that she never intended. Cheth was the loser in the Fracture, with his soul being ripped from his body. His bones were scattered across the islands and seafloor, while his essence was trapped underwater, unable to come on land. The souls of the dead were also trapped in the sea as seaghosts, requiring the living to take shelter beyond special lighthouses.

Cheline's servants, the Plume Church, deified Shoshana in the aftermath of the Fracture as the daughter of Cheline, who had supposedly been born at the Rookery out of a wisp of cloud and a feather from Cheline's crown. In this telling, Cheth had supposedly become wicked and committed numerous profane crimes, which meant he had to be stopped. Once her abilities had manifested, Shoshana and Cheline had gone to war against Cheth and his armies in a devastating battle in which thousands died. When Cheth had weakened, Cheline and Shoshana combined their power to deliver the finishing blow.

Many other stories were told of Shoshana's life. She supposedly discovered the first vein of phantomarine — a luminous mineral used to construct the lighthouse roads — in the western seawall near the Salabay Archipelago, leaving a mark that remained five thousand years after the Fracture. Shoshana was said to have hidden animals in the Quetzal Grottoes to protect them from the Fracture, and to have grown wings in the shrine behind the Evenfalls after reading from the holy texts. She also supposedly blessed the aquifers by touching them with her sacred trident Bonefeather, imbuing them with a fraction of her power and granting them healing qualities. The Candlelight Sea was scattered with sacred sites dedicated to Shoshana.

Shoshana eventually died, and was buried in the Graviary of Shoshana, an elaborate marble tomb in the tallest tower of the Coral Palace at the Saberfort. She was buried with an assortment of grave goods which predominantly included jewellery. Her trident was laid atop the tomb, which was marked with a headstone with her name written in the Gods' Tongue and surrounded by a lush garden filled with birds. Shoshana supposedly had no mortal relatives.

### A legacy of lies

Cheline promised the mortal residents of the Candlelight Sea that Shoshana would eventually return to heal the cursed sea for good, and cleanse the world of all of its evils, living and dead. Although all dead went to Cheth in the sea, it was believed that Shoshana was an exception and had gone to be with her mother. Statues of Shoshana were common within Plume Church facilities, and she was an object of devotion.

Princess Phaedra Philemon, a scion of the royal family of Saberfort, was particularly devoted to Shoshana. She wore her hair in the upside-down trident style Shoshana was depicted with, which gave her a very strong resemblance to the supposed prophetess. In 5000 AF, Phaedra and her friends were assassinated by the Fata Morgana, supposed servants of Cheth, while on vacation, although Phaedra was believed to have run away. Phaedra challenged Cheth for the chance to return to life, and won, but her request for her friends to also be restored to life left the group of five stuck in a state of undeath, as Cheth was not allowed to restore more than one life at a time. The princess accused him of cheating and shouted that Cheline would send Shoshana to save them all, a claim that Cheth took mockingly, laughing at the thought that Shoshana would return to "save" her. In general, Cheth held a very low opinion of the Shoshana that Phaedra worshipped.

Cheth did give Phaedra and her friends a chance to return to life, telling her of a sacred relic which had the power to resurrect them. He gave her four months to find it, until New Year's. When Phaedra's corpse was found on Fracture Day, two months later, High Priestess Halea Haumea brought up Cheline's promise of Shoshana's return on her radio broadcast announcing the discovery, asking the public not to forget it. However, later that same night, Halea — who had been murdered and her body possessed by Cheline herself — disparaged Dr. Vanna Morena's statement that the Lodestar Guild's efforts to heal the sea where what the prophetess would have wanted, insinuating that the group's attempts to assume what the prophetess would want were too bold, and implying that Shoshana had not been as kind as she was described. Vanna's son Pavel was forced to flee his home that night after a Fata Morgana attack, and was introduced to Phaedra and her ghostly crew due to the machinations of Cheth, who knew the *Mantaluna* crew needed a living volunteer to find the relic.

The night afterwards, Phaedra had an informal audience with Pavel in her cabin aboard the schooner, and the two came to discuss Shoshana. Noticing the resemblance between Phaedra and the common depiction of Shoshana due to a statuette in the room, Pavel asked if they were related. Phaedra denied it, but said it would have been an honour. The two discussed some Shoshana-related locations around the Salabay Archipelago, where Pavel was from, and Phaedra was surprised that Pavel, as the child of a Lodestar, knew so much of the prophetess. Cheth, eavesdropping on the conversation, grew increasingly annoyed.

Cheth eventually entered the conversation properly, using his two favourite bodies, a man and woman who strongly resembled twins. While another of his forms, a plesiosaur, talked to Pavel on the roof of Phaedra's cabin, the "twins" dealt with Phaedra. Claiming that it was what the woman would have wanted in life, Cheth broke off the head of the Shoshana statuette, which enraged Phaedra. Following a request from Pavel, Cheth attempted to talk with the princess, eventually informing her that the Candlelight Sea would never be healed if the relic was not found and used by New Year's. Phaedra, confused, stated that only Shoshana was supposed to be able to heal the sea, leading Cheth to lose his temper and tell her that the individual she knew as Shoshana was dead and not coming back, buried in a mausoleum she did not deserve.

Phaedra lost her temper and demanded that Cheth show proof of his claims by producing Shoshana's seaghost. Cheth was strangely alarmed by the demand, and Phaedra assumed she had caught him in a lie. When the princess began to get smug, Cheth got angry at her again, particularly after Phaedra accused the god of wasting her time. After yelling that in fact the situation was the reverse, Cheth, wearing the woman's body, broke down and cried about Shoshana possibly not returning, before coldly telling Phaedra that she was too loyal to the lies she had been taught. Bringing Pavel back into the room, Cheth told Phaedra that the boy would be serving as her navigator. After Phaedra, somewhat cowed, agreed to find the relic, Cheth departed the *Mantaluna*, setting the boat free from where it had been marooned.

Alone underwater, Cheth shouted between themselves over having to depend upon a brainwashed zealot, before mourning Shoshana again. Cheth decided to avoid mentioning her to Phaedra in the future, as it tended to rile her up.

### Desecration of the dead

"Halea" arrived at the Saberfort with Phaedra's corpse one week after Fracture Day. The princess' funeral was held that same night, but the corpse of a Fata Morgana who resembled the princess in body was substituted for her cremation, as Cheline had plans for the corpse. After the funeral, the High Priestess visited the Graviary of Shoshana. Once she was alone with her co-conspirator Silas Silenus, after some maintenance of the sutures that kept Halea's head attached to her neck, Cheline ordered Silas to open Shoshana's sarcophagus for the first time in a long time. Silas was awed by the sight of the skeletal remains, which were still wrapped in the tattered remains of robes and still had Shoshana's iconic hairstyle intact. When he asked what she had been like, Cheline told Silas that the prophetess had been aggravating, naïve and childish, but most importantly, useful to her.

Cheline then stated that Shoshana had long since outlived her usefulness before incinerating the corpse with her fire magic. Silas was horrified by the desecration, but Cheline dismissed his concerns by stating that not every priceless relic of the old world had worth. She ordered him to sweep up Shoshana's ashes after the embers had died out.

## Personality and traits

Shoshana was popularly depicted as kind and caring, with blonde hair worn with three locks at the front which resembled the prongs of her trident. Her eyes were always shown closed. Cheth implied that this depiction was a lie, and the real Shoshana had looked different. Cheline considered Shoshana to have been entertaining, describing her as spoiled, naïve, childish, and relentlessly aggravating. The goddess, however, considered Shoshana's most important property to have been her usefulness to her. Both gods referred to Shoshana as a "canary".

## Appearances

* "Prologue" (Mentioned only)
* "Chapter 1: King of the Red Tide" (Mentioned only)
* "Chapter 2: The Horizon Child" (As a statue)
* "Chapter 3: The Fata Morgana" (As a statue)
* "Chapter 4: Schooner of the Moon" (Mentioned only)
* "Chapter 5: The Manta Princess" (As a statue)
* "Chapter 6: The False Prophetess" (Corpse only)

## Sources

* "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Fracture"
* "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Fata Morgana"
* "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Saberfort"
* *The Pineapple Notes*
* *Ask Phantomarine*

## References

1. ↑ Cast page
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 "Chapter 5: The Manta Princess"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Fracture"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "Chapter 6: The False Prophetess"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Chapter 1: King of the Red Tide"
6. ↑ "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: Cheth"
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Chapter 3: The Fata Morgana"
8. ↑ "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Saberfort"
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Chapter 2: The Horizon Child"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Prologue"
11. ↑ "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Fata Morgana"
12. ↑ "Chapter 4: Schooner of the Moon"
13. ↑ *The Pineapple Notes*