Heart of the Ocean

One of the Hearts of the World. Found in The Tower of Ocean and Sky. Udu holds current ownership.

History
The first mention of the Heart of the Ocean in local records is that it was used in the battle against the Dark Lord by a halfling hero. Though it is not mentioned much more than this, the true history of the Heart of the Ocean remains disturbingly relavent to society on the island to this day.

Using the power of the Heart, the halfling hero called the ocean to break the region off from the mainland, and drag it far out to sea, where it eventually settled on the side of the Eastern Supercontinent opposite of which it origionally resided. This extreme measure had twofold benefits. Firstly, it was orchestrated with the pre-Raqueterian government and other surrounding agencies to act as an additional buffer to the seal of the Dark Lord, allowing the self-contained island to act as an additional barrier to those who wished to unleash Yuan and to the forces of darkness in the event of their release. Secondly, the new location of the island allowed the ever-expanding Ne'Arkhosian empire to better settle the region, allowing them to form the strategic naval colony Austragoth.

The Heart of the Ocean also has a very mentionable impact on halfling society and religion. The halfling hero, before he obtained the heart, was said to have been a prophit, and actually lead the halflings into the shelter of the swamplands. Their new home protected them from blood-sacrifice under the authority of Yuan and to protect them from hoards of undead, who are largely mindless and find navigating swamps difficult. However, after the hero obtained the Heart of the Ocean, his religious and spiritual views shifted drammatically, turning from a benevolent leader to one almost as tyranical as the Darklord, often demanding human[oid] sacrifices to appease the will of the sea; in the words of a halfling elder who was a young adult at the time, "It was as though in finding and using [The Heart of the Ocean], that the Ocean had eaten his heart, and replaced it with something sinister and bloodthristy." A rebellion against the hero drove him into the depths of the swamps, where he was presumed by the haflings to have died.

From here, the Heart of the Ocean fades once again in obscurity until it is found in the Tower of the Sea and Sky by the new heroes of the hearts. How the tower came to be, and how it was so magically charged with the energies found it the Hearts of the Ocean and Sky, are ultimately unknown. However, two major theories have been put forward. One states that halfling hero survived the swamps, and created the tower as one last legendary act to promote the veneration of the sea. The other theory suggests that the Hearts of the Ocean and Sky, which are bound to fate and destiny, would presumably have some powers over precognition, and independent of mortal command created the tower and rested there for reasons of their own.

Powers & Influence
The Heart of the Ocean, much as its name suggests, has power over water. A mortal who holds the heart will have nothing to fear from water itself, and will be able to swim and breathe in water just was well as if he or she were born there. However, the Heart does not protect people from creatures that live within the water. In fact, the Heart's other jurisdiction pertains to that very idea - the idea of deep-lurking hunger. The Heart of the Ocean believes that, just as all land creatures came from the sea, all life above the waves is fated to return to its source. For this reason, the Heart of the Ocean also governs the domain of Fate, which ultimately limits mortal potential.

Spiritual Significance
The Heart of the Ocean coerces its weilder and those who follow him or her to venerate the ocean. This veneration has been discribed by many, rather, as fanatical devotion. Where the Heart goes, humanoid sacrifices are made to "appease the sea." Scholars aware of this phenomina have ocasionally researched the topic, only to go missing during their research expedition. Reading their notes indicates that they conjectured that the Heart of the Ocean promoted cults worshiping the sea-demon Dagon, and their disappearence near sea-side villages does not disconfirm their theory.