Mythical Monsters: Origins

Mermaids

Many years ago, before the brothers drew straws for their kingdoms, a goddess emerged from the sea. Born of the sea foam, Aphrodite began her reign as the Goddess of love and beauty. She had a strong desire to love and to be loved, and with that she took many lovers, both gods and mortals. Early one morning, she dawdled in bed with a lover and was discovered by her husband, Hephaestus the god of fire and the art of sculpting. Poseidon, god of the water, came to her rescue and struck a deal with Hephaestus to take Aphrodite as his own bride. The deal fell through, and Poseidon, being the jealous god that he was, flew into a rage. He sat in his castle sending storm after storm out across the seas causing chaos and destruction to anything they came across. Aphrodite, who by this time had fled to an island, saw the toll the storms were taking on the mortals. If Poseidon didn't ease the storms, the mortals would be in danger of ceasing to exist. So, Aphrodite went back to the waters that she loved so dearly, and attempted to help. When she extended the river Oceanus to the ocean Tethys, the waters produced 3000 daughters to guard the waters. One daughter, by the name of Doris wed an ancient sea god, Nereus, the son of the sea and the earth. Together they became the parents of the Nereids, the first mermaids. The Nereids were friendly and protective of the sailors crossing the seas and would swim to the surface to warn them of storms coming. These warnings saved many sailors lives, but not every death could be avoided. Men, women, and sometimes even children would fall overboard. When that happened the mermaids would catch them and with help from the guardians of the sea, the fallen mortals would become mermaids themselves and continue the duty of protecting the sailors.

Even as Poseidon calmed and the years passed by, the merpeople continued to warn sailors of storms, and catching those who didn't make it. As time moved on, there grew a number of mermaids who became restless, unhappy with the slow rate that their numbers grew. These mermaids began luring men off of their boats and into the water where they would drag them under until they became one of them. These acts of selfishness angered Doris, whose entire existence was to help, not harm. She banished this group to the freshwaters, with the hope that there would be fewer mortals to cross paths with. The banished group became known as the Naiads. To this day, they sulk around the lakes and streams, attempting to seduce any mortal they encounter, while their sisters still guard the saltwaters, protecting those who cross.