The Sea King's Treasure

In the year 360 ASE, the then king of the Shúnar, Eithel Kellemin, took as his mate the leader of the Southern Shúnar, Marié Watospal. This was controversial, as the Anaris generally avoid making political statements or manoeuvres with their romantic and sexual ties. However, it soon became clear that the couple were deeply in love and while their other partners came and went, neither ever showed the slightest signs of wanting to be parted from the other. Marié showed great interest in the flotsam and jetsam thrown up by the tides and wherever she and her mate travelled, she collected the gifts the sea sent her. So at one with the ocean was she, that it was said the currents whispered to her of the treasures borne upon them and that she could find the remnants of a ship wrecked 400 miles away and a hundred years before. Whatever the truth of the matter, she certainly amassed a collection far beyond the capabilities of most beachcombers. Among these items were a gold bar she had found on the sea bed, pebbles of green glass polished bright by the sand and sea, and sparkling quartz and emeralds that had been lifted from a sandbar during a storm. In 368 ASE, Eithel commissioned a goldsmith to craft these items into a necklace for Marié, so that might always wear her treasures around her neck. It is said that the first goldsmith he tried refused to use sea glass, claiming that such an ordinary thing was not suitable for the neck of Marié. Eithel turned to another goldsmith, who again tried to suggest jewels he felt were more appropriate. The third goldsmith agreed to do precisely as the king asked, and fashioned the most exquisite necklace any of the Shúnar had ever seen. At Midwinter, the king presented his mate with the necklace and so moved was she by the beauty of his gift, that tears flowed freely down her face.    Three years later, the couple travelled to the coasts of the Southern Shúnar to attend to their subjects there and to continue diplomatic relations with Lethenmar, a small kingdom immediately on their borders. At this time, however, Lethenmar had designs on the coastal trading paths run by the Shúnar, as well as on its other neighbours, and a Lethenmar ambassador claimed to recognise the emeralds in Marié's necklace as coming from a trove bought by Lethenmar merchant and carried on a Shúnar ship. Marié of course denied the claim and told them of how she had found them after a storm. The ambassador, with the support of his colleagues, insisted that the emeralds be returned and that due recompense be paid for the theft of the ship's cargo. If this were not granted, they warned, Lethenmar would cut all trade links with the Shúnar, who clearly could not be trusted to carry others' cargo.   Other countries who used Shúnar shipping, worried by these claims, showed signs of supporting Lethenmar, but King Eithel refused to bend to Lethenmar's will. He asked for the merchant who had owned the cargo to come forward and for as many of his ships' captains to gather as could be found. He called for the documents involved in the arranging of the transaction, for bills of sale and lading, for the sea whisperers to be consulted to confirm which ships had been lost and who the survivors had been. His insistence of a full investigation alarmed Lethenmar, who were not able to produce the required information. Instead, they sent a decoy to the king, with a party of soldiers, intending to engineer a border skirmish they could then exploit. However, the soldiers themselves had heard of the emeralds and determined that they should be the heroes to bring the stolen treasure home. Marié was killed in the bitter fighting and the necklace was stripped from her corpse. Eithel, maddened by grief, chased the mounted soldiers down on foot and slew all but one before he was dragged away by his own warriors.   The only survivor was badly wounded by the Shúnar king, but survived long enough to pass the necklace to his captain, who took it to the ambassadors as a prize. Although they were alarmed by just how far the soldiers had gone, they took advantage of the king's indisposition to claim that their merchant's party had been attacked and Marié's death was a merely an unfortunate accident. Although they now had the emeralds they had originally asked for, they still claimed they were owed for the theft of the jewels and now the slaughter of their soldiers and the king's rampage into their territory had to be answered for. At this point, the king's heir is said to have brandished a knife at the envoys, bared his wrists and asked them if they would prefer their next payment in blood as well. Fortunately for the Shúnar, the kingdoms that had been considering allying with Lethenmar found Marié's death to be far too suspicious and instead pushed that both sides let the matter go. Although Lethenmar later became a true danger to the Shúnar, at this point they were too small to antagonise so many of their neighbours at once and were obliged to agree. The necklace was passed to the royal family of Lethenmar and became known as the Sea King's Treasure. Several kings and queens since that time who were hostile to the Shúnar have been known to wear the piece during state visits. Several attempts have been made by unknown parties to steal the necklace, but it is still currently sitting in the treasure house in King's Keep.