Kalani

Kalani doesn't know when or how she came to be - she just is. At first, she was a consciousness drifting among the ocean waves, bringing prosperity and good will for all the creatures residing in her waters. Sometimes, she would take their form, joining them for fun beneath the waves to see their home the way they did. Under her watchful eye, all of her ocean was blessed with prosperity and great bounty. Her waters were clear, her creatures were healthy, and she was happy.

As time went on, her oceans began to suffer. Her ocean surrounded a colony of islands, and this colony housed many humans. Seeing as how they never overstayed their welcome in her waters, she never paid them much mind. However, as they advanced, they took more and more for granted, taking relentlessly from her bounty. While they'd never acknowledged her presence, they used to respect her ocean and the power she held. Now, though, they'd seemed to have lost that respect. She'd make them remember in due time.

It was only after the humans forced one of her creatures species into extinction that Kalani decided enough was enough. These humans did not fear her as they should, they did not respect the power she held. It was her effort of maintaining the ocean's bounty that nourished them and allowed them to prosper as they did. And instead of thanking her for it, they exploited their newfound prosperity into oblivion. As punishment, she thrust her ocean's waves forcefully upon the land, destroying much of their civilization in a terrible tsunami and an ensuing storm. After all, they should suffer the same losses as her beloved ocean, should they not? Her actions, though cruel, did alleviate the ocean's troubles. The humans now feared her power, and dared not set foot in her waters.

As the humans rebuilt after a disaster of their own making, Kalani began to pay careful attention to them. She knew little of them aside from their wrongdoing, and it would be a lie to say that she wasn't at least curious of how they lived. As she watched, she grew intrigued, noticing how their interactions were far more complicated than most she'd witnessed between her creatures and their counterparts. She even went so far as to assume a form similar to theirs in order to observe them more closely. In her many journeys to the shores and beyond, she learned much about the islanders, and she grew to care for them, if only mildly. She still cared for her ocean far more, but she developed a soft spot nonetheless. While observing them, she noticed small ornaments hung by their dwellings, and small monuments within their villages where they often gathered. Upon further research, she found that they were "praying". These monuments were places to congregate and offer tidings in exchange for bountiful harvest and safe travels upon the ocean's fierce waves, and they were offered to the goddess of the waters surrounding the island. As time went on, she was caught off guard when these gifts would be offered to her in the statue's stead when she visited. In truth, the humans were wiser of her than they'd initially let on. Due to her continued visitations throughout the centuries, the locals had put two and two together. Clearly, she was not one of them, as even though she looked the part, she hadn't aged a day from her first appearance. The legend of a woman, emerging from the ocean dressed in familiar garb, with hair and stockings that flowed with the beauty of the ocean's waters, had permeated throughout generations upon generations of islanders.

Over the years, the islanders once again learned how to live in harmony with the ocean. They took what they needed and nothing more, and respected the waters that gave them life. In return, Kalani did nothing to harm them. In fact, she ensured their bounty, gratefully accepting their offerings and bringing them prosperity in return. Unfortunately, as the decades turned to centuries, a new threat made its way into her waters... pollution threatens the health of her entire ecosystem, and now Kalani burns with vengeance. Her once beautiful visage is now one tainted by sludge and grime, as her desire for revenge taints both her appearance and the very core of her being. The islanders are not explicitly at fault for this pollution though - it comes from all over, making its way to her even through surrounding oceans over which she has no control. Her rage burns at mankind as a whole, and the only thing protecting the island from another catastrophe is that the islanders still respect her power greatly, and some even make efforts to rehabilitate her affected companions.