Family: Mermaid
Type: Giant
Habitat: Oceans, far reaches of the continental shelf
Disposition: Calm, stoic, hospitable, modest
Diet: Omnivorous, Spirit energy
Ägir (EH-jeer) are giants of the sea and protectors of the oceanic realm of Michiko. Sporting a humanoid torso and a fish tail, the average ägir is well above three meters long and has skin of a blue or greenish tint.
Tasked by Michiko with the safety of her realm, from the coastlines to the outer reaches, many ägir spend long stretches of time in solitude with at least one ägir assigned to a quadrant of the continental shelf at any one time. Though ägir stoically accept this lonesome duty they will gladly take an opportunity to interact with others. They may invite passengers of passing ships or seaborne mamono that have strayed nearby into their halls. An ägir’s hospitality is well renowned, and being given such an invitation is both considered a great honor and seen as a sign of good fortune by seafarers. Many seafarers and Michikona maintain a tradition of gifting a small trinket, such as a sea-shell necklace, to an ägir they encounter, which will be returned to their home temple upon completion of her assignment. Sometimes an ägir will also invite another mamono to join her as she undertakes her duty to lessen her loneliness.
While encounters with ägir are considered good fortune by most seafarers, they are the bane of Michiko’s enemies and those who would render harm upon her subjects. Mermaid poachers especially do well to fear their wrath as they are sure to be destroyed with utmost prejudice if discovered. When encountering particularly grave threats, ägir are able to assume a true giant form that can range anywhere from 15 to 50 meters in height, inspiring awe and fear in all those who behold her. In this form, she wields powerful magic to control the oceans around her. As this feat consumes enormous amounts of energy, such transformations are rarely heard of however and require long periods of recuperation after use. Assignments to a particular quadrant of the ocean typically last for a full year at least.
The largest concentration of ägir can be found in the Sanctuary of Resplendent Vigilance, a giant temple complex found beneath the waves, due west of the Isle of Blue Glass. This temple is separated into nine enormous sections or halls, and which hall an ägir lives in indicates to which area of Michiko’s domain her assignments will usually lead her. This place is also where most new ägir are born. Due to the often solitary nature of their assignments everywhere on the continental shelf, many ägir face even lower than average odds of chance encounters with men than the average Michikona. Because of this Michiko occasionally supplies the temple with human men, usually volunteers, to bolster the spirits and numbers of her loyal servants. To be offered this chance is considered a great honor among such men as are born and raised in Michiko’s underwater realm. Even among mamono, ägir suffer from a particularly low chance of conceiving a child and so anytime one of them is born is cause for great celebration in the temple. Perhaps to make up for that fact an ägir’s average lifespan far eclipses that of their smaller mermaid cousins.
Ägir are almost never observed on dry land, as their power is greatly diminished there, and even an invitation by a cherished friend will often be declined. Seeing one of them on land is a special occasion indeed, and it is considered a great honor by those she visits. Such a visit is sure to awaken the baser desires of opportunists however, as an ägir’s blood, similar to that of a mermaid, is a potent medicine and magical ingredient. Though unlike the blood of a mermaid, its potency is far greater and will never fade. Other than their husbands, few indeed ever get to experience the bolstering effects of their blood.
Most encounters between ägir and men occur in the Sanctuary of Resplendent Vigilance, where men will typically be married to three to five women belonging to the same hall, no more than half of which will ever be on assignment at a time. Most men who come to live in the temple in this way spend the remainder of their lives there, never straying far from their loving wives. However, if an ägir should chance across a man while not in the temple she will pursue him for herself and only herself. If such a union is made she will ensure that the bond between the two is forged from unbreakable links and she will henceforth prefer to never let him out of her sight. The man will enjoy her renowned hospitality every day and accompany her on her assignments.
An ägir with a husband of her own is also much more likely to spend her time not on assignments in other populated areas of Michiko’s realm to give her man the chance to experience all that the world underwater has to offer. Other mamono would do well not to flirt with an ägir’s husband, as they may find her calm and gentle demeanor to be replaced with stern anger at such an affront.
Name That Mamono: Ingrid
At 36 years old Ingrid is the youngest member of the hall of Hevring. Since turning 30 she has twice been assigned to watch over a quadrant of ocean close to the northwestern Kiokan coast. There she was able to form a few friendships thanks to a few smaller settlements located within her assigned quadrant. Ingrid has skin of light-greenish tint and long dark hair. At a length of 3.3 meters she is considered of average length for her kind, though she secretly wishes she was a bit smaller.
Encouraged perhaps by the youth of its protector, an enterprising pirate recently formed plans to threaten and extort a small community of mermaids living within Ingrid’s quadrant. In the ensuing confrontation Ingrid transformed into her true giant form and sank the small pirate flotilla in a storm of gales and waves. This act earned her a measure of fame among Michikona and infamy among the pirate freebooters and bought her an early release from her assignment. She received a commendation from Michiko herself and has been granted an extended leave of 10 years to recoup the expended energy.
After having returned the mermaids’ gifts to the hall of Hevring Ingrid has taken to traveling the most densely populated regions of Michiko’s realm in search of new friends and experiences. She has also taken a keen interest in watching from afar the goings-on in the various port cities she has come across. Secretly she also hopes to meet that special someone to whom she can give her all. Though she would never admit it she is self-conscious about her size considering that men tend to be significantly smaller than herself.
Leprechauns are a type of succubus that are always found wearing heavily green-themed articles of clothing, which typically includes suits, dresses, hats, and even shoes. They normally have bright ginger hair and are usually of short stature. A leprechaun is never seen far away from a large iron pot or cauldron filled to the brim with gold coins. They are famous for using their wealth to playfully tempt men into partaking in games, bets, or contests with the promise of sharing some of their gold as a reward. Leprechauns take great pleasure in coming up with ridiculous challenges.
Since their physical and sensory abilities aren't much greater than those of the average human man they avoid being overpowered and having their gold simply stolen through their ability to phase both themselves and their collection of gold in and out of reality at will; effectively being able to teleport short distances in rapid succession lets them avoid any would-be thieves. To facilitate the games and bets they challenge men to they can temporarily turn gold coins in their collections into almost any kind of non-magical items they want and simply turn them back when the game is done. They are also skilled with illusion magic.
When a leprechaun sees a man who strikes her fancy she places herself in his path and waits for him to “accidentally” happen upon her. She might create the illusion of a rainbow to help guide him if the man happens to miss her. When the man sees her she will usually sit waiting for him atop her pot of gold. Once their eyes meet she'll playfully invite him over, and soon after start trying to cheerfully tempt him into playing a game or making a bet with the prize for winning usually being some of her gold and the cost of losing normally being agreeing to indulge her carnal desires. The contests are innocent if bizarre at first, but as they continue the challenges gradually become more perverse. The leprechaun’s succubus nature slowly leaks through, both parties getting more aroused with each passing game or bet, until finally the man loses from lack of ability… or lack of effort. The contest ends with the pair surging in on each other to drown one another in ecstasy.
Name That Mamono: Allie
Allie sports wavy blonde hair instead of the more typical ginger curls. She's fond of wearing a green leather coat over a silk green dress with a green hat with optional green underwear (if she's cold). Allie also makes the effort of using her illusion magic to make her pot look green whenever she converses with someone.
An atypical passion of hers is absorbing as much popular fictional media as she can. Allie greatly enjoys spending her free time either reading novels or using teleportation magic to sneak into theatres to secretly watch popular plays. She makes a habit of speaking in quotes to the men she meets; she delights in their confusion when they don't understand what she's doing but adores it when they do understand and join in. Another hobby she loves to partake in is learning and singing different shanties from travelers and sailors from across the world -- she turns her gold coins into different instruments to help in her performance of said songs.
When she meets a man that strikes her fancy she'll often test him by quoting her favourite books and plays. If he knows where the quotes came from she'll invite him to a night together and gladly use her coins to make their time together more comfortable. This can be anything from turning her gold coins into instruments to aid in her singing for him to turning them into a tent to shield them from the elements and even turning them into a mattress, blanket, and pillows for when the time comes to indulge each other in carnal pleasure.
