Heralded by great wingbeats and dark ripples across the surface of the lagoon, the Lake Majesty is the ruler of still water. Most large bodies of water across the continent have a resident pairing of these great birds, watching over the glistening waters from the comfort of their enormous regal nests. Two majesties will mate for life, one breeding pair claiming a lake as their “kingdom” and ruling over it across their long lifespan nearing a century. Despite local folklore around these birds usually referring to historical pairs as “The Lord and Lady of the lake”, the lake majesty is a hermaphroditic species, with each individual bearing both sexual organs necessary to reproduce.
During springtime, lakeside adventurers may stumble across the great spawning pools dug by these beasts, a shallow pond that holds the ruling pair’s clutch of nearly a thousand eggs. When the eggs hatch, the young princeling cygpoles have a tough start to life ahead of them. Within the spawning pools it is eat or be eaten, as the half tadpole, half cygnets establish a brutal pecking order beneath the warm waters. When they reach the age that they grow their rear legs, only about four to six princelings will remain. This upbringing leads to a very territorial mindset, and while the young will remain in their parents' kingdoms as they mature, the moment their bright white flight plumage grows in the new majesties will take to the air, looking for a lake to call their own.
The size and power of these beasts, as well as their territorial claim to large bodies of water, has led to a rich folklore from local fisherman and waterside residences. Most who wish to fish within their waters or travel safely by its edge will bring tribute to the ruling majesties. From offerings of food, decorative gifts, to tending to small wounds or repairing the royal nest, local peoples make it known to the majesties that they are a helpful and docile resident of their kingdom. Those who do not bring tribute..? Well, I have yet to hear a firsthand account of a traveller foolish enough to do so, and perhaps that is for good reason.
With how far the young will travel to locate new waters, majesty kingdoms can be found across each corner of the continent, and for each comes its own set of tradition, ritual, and story. There are many notable pairs known that currently reign across our world. The Lord and Lady of Green Crater, the Frozen Queens of the Plateaus, The Darksand Oasis Lovers. A peculiar case is that of the Six Kings of Marrun, six rival kingdoms that have been warring for control of a great crimson lake within the depths of living Marrun, that land that is as much flesh and blood as any other creature. The kings clash on the red waters, white wings flecked with blood, beaks full of teeth, and the night air filled with hisses.
So whenever you next find yourself at the lake’s edge, remember to bring tax to those that rule from a distance. You are a visitor to their land, and while you swim their waters, you are bound to their laws.
