Mother Marrin, Queen of the Flow

No one really knows how old Mother Marrin truly is. Some say she's been gliding along the River Glanwyn since before the rivers split from the land. Others swear they shared a drink with her last spring, and woke up two months later with a tattoo, a debt, and a strong suspicion they'd been kissed. What is agreed, universally, and without contest is this: Mother Marrin has a LOT of children. Some are biological, born in every port between Aberston and Pensan to lovers, allies and one night flings. Others were adopted or claimed, orphans taken in during river storms, sickly crew who survived under her care, war-widows who never left her boat. It is said that if you can sail, steal, or smile well under pressure, you might be one of hers. Her Barge, The Low Tide, drifts up and down the twin rivers, loaded with spices, secrets and the occassional stolen heirloom. Marrin herself is ageless, dark-eyed, wrapped in river silks and smelling of colve, tobacco, and honey-mead. She speaks twelve dialects and sings in at least four. She is fiercely loved by the Riverfolk who refer to her as Mother Queen, or That Old Witch. In times of trouble, they say you can leave a coin and a flower on a bridgepost, and if she favours you, the tide will turn in your favour. Her children, literal and otherwise, now hold positions in every corner of Belerion: politicians, smugglers, healers, raiders, priests, and boatwrights. Marrin says little about them save this: "Some came from between my thighs. Others from between storms. But they're mine. And gods help anyone who forgets that".