Adaro
Sea spiritMelanesianHostileMermanFishing loreStorm omen
Lore
Adaro is a hostile sea spirit often described in fisherfolk accounts as a slick, merman-like predator: streamlined shoulders that slip into the swell, a face half-human, half-fish, and glints of bone or fin where a tail should be. Smell: the air tightens with brine and a faint, oily fish-scent rimmed by the metallic tang of salt. Sound: distant, metallic splashes and a high, childlike keening carried across the water — not quite a whale, not quite a gull. Temperature: the water around it runs noticeably colder, a shock of deep-current chill that raises gooseflesh. Field notes record that sightings come with an uncanny hush on the sea, followed by small currents that pull at lines and an oily sheen on the surface.
Origin: Solomon Islands • Melanesia (South Pacific)
Classification: Sea Spirit / Hostile Monster
Field Notes
Observations
- A sudden, localized drop in temperature, a ring of oily bubbles on the surface, and the faint clink of metal against water — often followed by missing bait or bitten lines.
Encounter Advice
- avoidance: Do not travel alone or fish at dusk and dawn near reefs. Stay within sight of shore and experienced boatmen; avoid calling or whistling toward open water. Keep fires bright on the beach and avoid leaving clothing or hair unguarded near the tide line.
- defense: Maintain groups and steady movement — keep oars between occupants and the water. Traditional protections include salt lines across small craft, ancestral names spoken aloud, and worn shell or shark-tooth amulets kept close to the body. If attacked, move toward land and make noise; do not thrash or dive under the surface.
- offering: A small portion of the first catch placed on the shore or a simple salt-wrapped fish left at the waterline is recorded in some communities as a way to placate the waters and discourage attention.
Abilities
- Flying Fish BarrageCommands shoals of enchanted flying fish that launch like barbed, poisoned arrows to strike sailors and rigging at range.
- Waterspout TransitSummons and rides waterspouts to appear or vanish suddenly above sea or deck, bypassing obstacles and striking from unexpected angles.
- Barbed Harpoon LashStrikes with a hooked, barbed appendage or summoned harpoon that can snag, tear sails, or impale and drag victims into the deep.
Weaknesses
- Proper Land BurialA drowned person's retrieval and formal land burial severs the Adaro's claim and weakens its connection to the living world.
- Freshwater SanctificationStrong freshwater purification rites (washing with river water) repel or disorient Adaro, disrupting their ability to command sea creatures.