Shrine of the Coral Tomb
Sea of Thieves
1. Seashell Earring
Sunken Journal from Bel, a Mystery of the Shrine of the Coral Tomb. I've come across many strange and interesting items in my time, but none stranger and more interesting than the seashell earring. I found what I took to be a run-of-the-mill seashell in rockpool that turned out to be an earring. How odd, I mused out loud, as I inspected it more closely. The sound of my voice triggered the earring and I heard the song of the merfolk, telling me to meet them. Which I did. They explained everything to me, and my eyes were opened to the world of possibilities that awaited me, deep beneath the ocean waves.2. A Hidden Kingdom
Sunken Journal from Bel, a Mystery of the Shrine of the Coral Tomb. I knew of the merfolk, what pirate doesn't? But I knew nothing of their history or their culture. The earring gave me a glimpse into that world, and I wanted to see more. So I started to explore. I discovered Shrines and an entire underwater kingdom filled with a type of merfolk I had never seen before, who all seemed to be sleeping. Something about their kingdom told me I was glad they were asleep and as I went deeper, I started to discover the story of how they came to be. Although this new race of merfolk were created by the strength of one couple's love, this tale did not have a happy ending.3. The Sea Queen and her Warrior
Sunken Journal from Bel, a Mystery of the Shrine of the Coral Tomb. There was once an ancient Warrior who fell in love with a Sea Queen of the merfolk. Their love was all-consuming and neither could imagine life without the other. As time went by, they began to search for a way to bridge the gap between their two worlds. The Warrior met resistance from his people, but the merfolk possessed stones that could hold powerful magic and the Sea Queen believed it was these that would bring them together. The merfolk elders warned her that their kind were forbidden to use magic to turn humans into merfolk. But the Warrior and the Sea Queen believed their love was strong enough to survive the consequences for breaking the sacred rules of her people. So she used a Mermaid Gem to turn him.4. The Whispering Plague
Sunken Journal from Bel, a Mystery of the Shrine of the Coral Tomb. Though the transformation was successful, it came at a terrible cost... it unleashed a curse that robbed the Queen and her court of their song. Now, a merfolk's song is so much more than a pretty tune. It is part of who they are, their soul and their collective memory. Without their song these merfolk became something else, something twisted and dark; the sleeping merfolk I had seen on my adventures. This new branch became known as the Sirens. The curse that tore their song from them became known as the Whispering Plague, robbing them of who they were and leaving only darkness.5. The Sunken Kingdom
Sunken Journal from Bel, a Mystery of the Shrine of the Coral Tomb. As I've explored further into 'The Sunken Kingdom' (it's a great name, isn't it? I'm pretty please with myself, not going to lie) I've discovered more about the Sirens. Take this place, for example. I'm pretty sure it's some sort of tomb. The Sirens seem to have taken death, and honouring the dead, very seriously. The pool in the centre contains offerings to those who have passed, and there seem to have been a fair few of them. The sirens were at war with everyone, the Ancients and the merfolk. The rage of the Queen filled all her kind, and they took every opportunity to inflict pain on others. Creating a kingdom from the ruins of anything they could drag down from the world above.
