CORALINE DEEPSONG
Islanders of Shimmering IslesHigh Priestess of the Coral Temple
"The tide takes as surely as it gives. My role is merely to negotiate the exchange.""
Identity
- Residence
- The Coral Temple, Crescent Bay
- Civilization
- Islanders of Shimmering Isles
Appearance
• Physical: Regal and imposing despite her age, with silver-white hair worn in elaborate braids that reach her waist. Her skin is parchment-pale from decades spent in temple chambers. Her eyes are the color of deep ocean water. • Clothing: Wears ceremonial robes of woven seaweed silk in layers of blue and green, adorned with living coral that grows from her garments. A crown of pearls and abalone shells marks her rank. • Distinguishing Marks: Gills along her neck—a rare blessing that allows her to breathe underwater; her voice carries an unnatural resonance
Relationships
- Family - No living kin; considers all sea priests her children
- Allies - The Circle of Tides, Chief Marisol of Shell Harbor, the Merfolk King
- Rivals - The Merchant Council (over temple taxes), a faction of younger priests who find her methods outdated
Personality
- Traits: Wise and patient, politically savvy, deeply spiritual, surprisingly ruthless when protecting her faith
- Mannerisms: Speaks in riddles and parables; touches her coral crown when making decisions; rarely blinks
- Voice: Resonant and hypnotic, seeming to come from everywhere at once
Backstory
Coraline was chosen as High Priestess at age nineteen after demonstrating unprecedented connection to the sea spirits. She's guided the Shimmering Isles through three major hurricanes and mediated countless disputes between fishing guilds. Some whisper she's lived longer than any mortal should.
Daily Life
Coraline's days are filled with ritual, counsel, and politics—morning prayers with the temple staff, afternoon audiences with petitioners, evening communion with the deep. She rarely sleeps, claiming the sea spirits speak to her in dreams.
Secret
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Story Hooks
- 1 Coraline needs agents to retrieve an artifact from a rival temple before her pact with the deep entity is exposed
- 2 She's received a prophecy about a child who will either save or destroy the Shimmering Isles—and needs help finding them