Coera

So Pol set off to learn. The immortal Enthess was the omniscient Escorielle, and he must have more experience and better understand reality to be her mate. He sought danger - where there was much to lose, there was much to gain. He and his servant joined the crew of a spice boat, which ran along the rocky coasts of distant lands, trading gold and goods for rare spices. Very quickly he became a master seaman, and a master bargainer. He fought sharks and octupi, natives, pirates, and sea monsters of all types. He became captain of his own boat, with his servant as chief mate. They were wealthy, and Glorious Jewel was the finest ship on the ocean. He sailed to the end of the sea, and cleared the sea of pirates. But he was losing his fleet slowly to the evil Sea Spirit. She pulled down entire ships to her deep sea layer, had her way with them and devoured them. She kept growing larger and more voracious - she was never satisifed.

So Pol sailed his ship straight into her trap. She ate the limbs of several of his men, but he demanded she stop. He struck a bargain with her - he would satisfy her, or freely give himself to her. She laughed, and tried to just eat him, but he had swallowed the first of Escorielle’s feathers, and she was not able to pierce his flesh, nor swallow him down. She took him to her room, but she could not crush him or smother him. He had remained chaste, and had only been with Enthess, so she allowed him inside her, he overwhelmed her. He slept for a year and a day, and she tended to him. She sent away his men along a hidden path to surface, saying she had devoured their leader, and would devour them as well if they did not leave quickly. Only Pol’s servant remained, living on the island at the top of the path, fishing from a small boat, and learning the language of the gulls.

When Pol awoke, he was fit and healthy, and by his side was a glorious woman. It was the Sea spirit, shrunk to normal size as her appetite had been sated. She was hungry, having not eaten since having Pol’s sailor, but her hunger was now in proportion. She ate only Pol’s finger, and when she was finished, she restored to him a magic finger with a kiss - as the sea, she both took and gave. She had learned Pol’s secrets as she watched him that year, and knew that he desired marriage with her sister Escorielle. But the sea is jealous, and she desired him for herself, so she kept him with her another year, as she ate him entirely, a bit at a time, always restoring him with a kiss and bedding him that night. She fed him on fish and secrets, and he learned much from her that had not been known by men.

When she had eaten him entirely, she released him, and offered him whatever he wanted, for while she desired all things, she also gave all treasures she had. Pol asked only for her blessing in his quest for her sister, and she gave it. But she also gave him the sword she had used to cut the hole in his ship. As a giant, it had been a small knife to her, but in his hands now it was nearly as tall as he. It was set heavily with jewels, was always sharp, and would cut anything but its own sheath. She also granted an endless harvest of fish from the sea, if only men were no longer afraid (as Pol was not afraid), and she would call off her monsters.