Morskoi

**Morskoi** (Russian: Морской), also known as **Tsar Morskoi**, is the Slavic god of the sea.

## History

Morskoi has many mermaid daughters, numbering at around nine hundred. Among these daughters include the river goddess Chernava.

During Christian times, superstitious Russians used to throw crosses into the rivers to avoid being drowned by his daughters, the rusalka.

## Appearance

Morskoi is usually depicted as an elderly merman, wearing a suit of armour made of gold or coral. His weapon is either a spear or a trident.

## In the Rabydosverse

### Bujanski God of the Sea

Morskoi is one of several popular deities in the kingdom of Bujan, as Bujan itself is an archipelago surrounded by water. He is worshipped by travellers, sailors, fisherfolk (such as Paxoti and her family), and naval soldiers and officers. People pray at his shrines before boarding ships and boats for his protection.

He is depicted as living in a splendid palace of coral and precious gems. His warriors are the vodjanoi and rusalki, the wights of the rivers and waters: in some temples of Morskoi, his statue is accompanied by two vodjanoi clad in golden armour. Unlike their portrayal in Slavic folklore, vodjanoi in Slavonian religion are usually depicted as handsome, virile mermen clad in armour. His nine hundred daughters are now venerated in other Slavonian countries as goddesses of sacred rivers in Darros.

### Worship

In Bujan, Morskoi is honoured with two festivals: Morskoi Day on July 2, and Nilachaum of August 12. Morskoi Day is celebrated with prayers at shrines or temples of Morskoi, and Nilachaum is celebrated with food offerings to the sea.

According to Bujanski folklore, Morskoi's subjects are the vodjanoi and the rusalki. The vodjanoi are all water spirits in general, while the rusalki are the specific spirits of bodies of water and their families. Both of them look like male and female merpeople, but the vodjanoi are muscular, while the rusalki are more slender. In Morskoi's kingdom, the vodjanoi tend to be commoners, while the rusalki are more like warriors.

Morskoi is also served by the ascended spirits of ancient Wonao kings, who were raised as gods to protect the island and its people.

Morskoi is Paxoti's patron god.

### Morskoi as an aspect of Stribog

In other Slavic and Rodnover nations, Morskoi is usually not worshipped, but more specific to the Slavic peoples southeast of Pogimmel. In fact, instead of Morskoi, the sea there god is usually either Perun or Stribog. In Rukania and Sevraeja, two nations at the western coast of the continent of Darros, Stribog is worshipped as the sea god, and Morskoi is considered as an aspect of Stribog. So, while Stribog is not as popular as he is in those lands, the peoples of the two nations regard all Bujanski prayers to Morskoi as prayers to Stribog or (depending on the ceremony) to various divine aspects of Perun as the Lord of All Weather.

The Bujanski word for Saturday, "Vetraedan", means "Day of Wind", referring to its patron deity Stribog, the wind god. In these two Slavic nations, Saturday is also associated with the sea, as Morskoi is considered as the same person as Stribog, as one of his aspects. Bujanski people also made a pun, "Maeutredan", "Cat Saturday", leading to other nations depicting cats flying kites for Saturdays.

## Trivia

* The depiction of Morskoi in the Rabydosverse may be inspired by the veneration of Poseidon, Varuna, Ao Guang the Dragon King, and Owatatsumi (Ryujin).
* Morskoi was not worshipped by the ancient Slavs or their Rodnover descendants. The Morskoi of the Rinnarverse was based on Tsar Morskoi, a character from Russian folklore.

## See also

* Perun and Mokosh
* Svetovid
* Makravalas and Vrinxal
* Seirenii