The Ocean's rule
Aetheris, the only island that fears the ocean. The siren myths are the main reason children fear swimming and adults fear fishing. The ocean's merciless nature swallows everything and doesn't return back to the owner, it becomes one. People from other islands think that the inhabitants's warnings are made up and a lie. Ordinary people on Aetheris live in fear, worrying if the ocean is going to take them. But nobody actually knows why is the ocean so merciless and why the siren myths exist. Old sailor's warnings are to not bring valuable things with us near the ocean and aslo not communicate. If you even whisper near the ocean, be ready for the ocean to take something from you. You also can't do fishing in the ocean because something dangerous will happen if you try to catch the animal of the merciless ocean. The night is when the osean's hunting is most active. Obviously, it's dark and you can barely see where are you going because there is no electricity on the island, so the only lights remaining are the moon and stars. The myth says if walking in the sand during night, you're most likely end up in the big waves that swallow everything. There are also strane tides in the ocean and the people don't know how is that happening even after centuries of investigation. But even with no swimming in the ocean, Aetheris is actually one of the most beautiful islands of Oceania. There are many non-poisonous fruits since you can't do fishing. The inhabitants are optimistic and friendly without a doubt. Their culture is unique and colorful and houses are built of wood from coconut trees. the most interesting fact about Aetheris is that the inhabitants there never stepped in the ocean, not even the day the island was discovered. The reason for that are siren myths that have been spread around the world since forever and all of them are based on Aetheris, which is weird. The ocean's rule was never broken and no one ever thought that the Ocean will ever break its own rule. Many settlers that live on Aetheris and are from other islands said that they never saw a nation this scared of "salty water". They tried to explain to inhabitants that there is nothing terrifying in the ocean such as sirens and similar mythical creatures, but inhabitants refused to ever step close to the ocean because they know that settlers don't know about the siren that lives there. People actually never met that siren or know anything about her because those siren myths are stopping their curiosity. Inhabitants believe that there are more sirens living close to Aetheris but have no prooof of it, which makes them look foolish in front of other nations and people visiting their island. Even teachers at schools learn kids about myths and how dangerous ocean is, they think that learning about it keeps kids safe from the ocean and mythical creatures.
Kailani of the shore
Kailani is a sixteen year old child that loves learning about the ocean and her own island Aetheris. She is an ordinary kind and lovely child with lots od positivity in her life. But no matter how much positivity and happiness she has in her life, there are moments of grief every day. The reason for that is death of her brother Zephyros that lost his life in the ocean, testing it, what are the concequences if he ever steps in it. He is the firs and the last person that has ever stepped in the ocean. His story made the inhabitants more afraid of the ocean and its merciless nature. Kailani was also more scared of ever stepping in the ocean. It's unfortunate that she thinks that it's her fault of her brother's death even though it's not. Sadly, she doesn't have any kind of memorial thing from him, the ocean took everything it could, except the statues all over the island. Kailani was not just terrified of the ocean, she was mad and confused. The confusion relies on the facts that ocean is mad at humans for no reason and hides mythical creatures but also carries millions of siren myths no one knows if are true or not. And no matter how much does Kailani love learning about the ocean, it doesn't mean she isn't scared of it just like other inhabitants. Her parents are also optimistic but still feel the grief because Zephyros's unfortunate death. He was always curious about everything but no one thought that his curiosity would lead him to the end of his life. However, Zephyros was seen as a brave and smart child of the Aetheris and even a symbol of it. There are many statues around the island of him and many memorial books, songs, stories... Kailani was proud of her nation that her borther's death wasn't forgotten, in fact it was a symbol of bravery and the whole island. Even after all of this, Kailani still chose to be optimistic and not live her life feeling guilty of something she isn't. Kailani goes to school but also sells fruits and jewelry. She had a big income and her family was finally to live normally. She was born poor but that didn't stop her from helping her family to earn money by selling fruits and jewelry. Kailani also loved expressing herself through art and creativity. She loved doing bracelets. Her dream was to travel around the world and meet new people. Kailani is actually really talented. The inhabitants love her because she loves hanging out with everyone there and accepts everyone no matter of their looks, religion, interests, opinions, etc. Her favourite season of the year is summer and is always impatient when it comes to waiting for the summer break. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, read a book about the ocean, learn and help anyone in need. She loves trying new food and other hobbies. And the reason whyKailani is called "Kailani of the shore" is because everyone on Aetheris would love to spend time with her. One more thing Kailani also loves doing in free time is styling her hair and nails. She has long wavy hair and it's practical for trying new hairstyles. She also does her nails on her own and like to be creative in it.
The song in the waves
One day, while Kailani was walking around the beach, she heard siren's incomplete song. The siren itself was wounded and trapped but Kailani was too scared to look at it. For the first time in her life, the ocean seems alive but at the same time uncertain. Kailani wanted to follow the song despite the fear but she was scared that something bas ig goung to happen to her. She didn't want to end up similar like her brother for the same reason. Kailani wanted to first check if she was hallucinating or if it was real. From far from the ocean, she saw a trapped siren that needed help. She wanted to help the siren but didn't know if it was a trick. Kailani had no trust in the ocean but seeing a trapped siren, singing as a sign of help made her think the best idea was to help. But still, she was terrified to do anything at the moment. She never saw a siren and it was a complicated moment for her mind to think wisely. Kailani was overthinking in what kind of situation she could end up if helping the siren. There were no wise ideas in her mind, it was predictable that she would call somebody to see this but she didn't. Kailani actually did the most wise thing even without realizing. She was calm and didn't panic which was a great move to get the siren's trust. Kailani actually realized that she stayed calm to see what will happen. Maybe the siren will actually free herself from the trap. Kailani was observing every moment silently.
Breaking the rule
Kailani came up to an idea. She is going to risk and save the siren, even knowing possible consequences. Kailani freed the siren and helped her. For a strange reason, the ocean let it happen...it just allowed for a human to free the siren. It's like everything changed in a subtle, irreversible moment where the rule is broken. It felt impossible that the ocean broke its own rule and let the unexpected happen like it's nothing. It felt like a symbolic language of nature telling us that the tide is holding back while light reflecting off scale in a quiet awe way. Kailani was surprised that the ocean didn't deny her wish of helping the siren. The real side of the ocean was revealed at that moment and Kailani realized that the ocean wasn't that bad as the inhabitants described. It was interesting to see the trust between a human and a mythical creature. And actually, if Kailani wasn't calm the moment before, she would have to face the bad consequences as she expected to happen. Kailani actually proved to herself that all that learning about the ocean was never useless and also realized that she is more braver than she ever imagined. No one on this island would ever step in the ocean while Kailani helped the trapped siren. The ocean was revealed as oeaceful nature, not merciless one. Every single myth of the ocean an in evil lore are proved a lie, and those as in peaceful lore are true. The ocean was never evil, it was just the humans' fear that made them see and hear all those lies. Sometimes people just don't want to overcome their fear because they hear the wrong facts about it that make them believe it's the most terrifying thing in the world without a doubt.
The tide remembered
After the siren was saved, she swam away but there is something she left behing her. It was Zephyros pendant. How is it possible that the ocean returned something that is not its? Kailani immediately picked the pendant and realized that the ocean's rule doesn't exist anymore. After she picked the pendant up, the tides calmed and the lying myths stopped exsisting anymore. At the moment, Kailani's grief turned into wonder and hope for the first time ever in the ocean's transformation. Kailani stepped into the ocean and started collecting seashells from it. She saw many different fish and coral reefs. Kailani realized that the ocean is such a beautiful part of nature and that it is not merciless. Kailani wanted to learn swimming or maybe even learn how to do rowing. Many hobbies came up in her mind as she spent more time in the ocean. While sitting in the ocean, she was making a necklace of beautiful flowers and enjoyed her there. This was a sign of the new beginning and revealing of the real side of the ocean. Kailani was never this proud of herself and wanted to learn about sirens too.
The day the tide turned back
The final mythic weight of Kailani's story is that day of her helping a siren becoming a quiet legend. Kailani became Aetheris's hero of overcoming everyone's rears and was even more cherished. People started swimming, exploring and doing water sports thanks to Kailani. Her parents couldn't be more proud of their daughter, it couldn't be described with words. At the end of the day, Kailani was remembered as the bravest inhabitant of the Aetheris and a loving child. Many statues, drawings, songs, dances and similar stuff were made for her as a thanking for overcoming the biggest fear of every inhabitant.