Mo’ay’a
Mo’ay’a is a religious figure known amongst the seces people. Told as a cautionary tale to those who wish to set foot on land, stories of Mo’ay’a have become a staple amongst aquatic races.
She is the spirit of an undercave seces child who became lost in the I’rekan desert and passed away due to heat exhaustion and dehydration. It is said that she was so disorientated from her time in the desert she didn’t realise she was dead and rose back up to continue wandering the desert as a spirit. Many details of Mo’ay’a’s death have become muddied over the years, such as the exact time and location, but it is generally agreed upon that the girl’s death was in 405 AE due to the discovery of her death certificate in the Kuturian library’s archives.
After her death, Mo’ay’a is said to have gained the power to draw water from the air into her palms. Using this power, she created a magical, moving oasis that appears to those who become lost in I’reka and can’t find water. This oasis is said to only appear at night, disappearing before the first light of morning without a trace. Many travellers have attempted to meet Mo’ay’a, but even in the presence of her oasis, her spirit rarely appears for adults; instead, stories of seeing Mo’ay’a are told almost exclusively by children who claim to have played with her at night when all of the adults in their lost travelling party had fallen asleep.
Some land-dwellers believe that Mo’ay’a will only appear for seces, or that she will grow angry and punish anyone who takes too much water from her oasis. This is of great offence to the aquatic races, especially the seces people, who consider the implication disrespectful to all Mo’ay’a represents and argue she is a kindhearted child who uses her own curse as a blessing. Devout believers in Mo’ay’a say she will give all she can to any lost souls, regardless of their own beliefs, origins, or races.
Because of the immaterial nature of Mo’ay’a’s oasis, it is impossible to mark it on maps. It simply appears when needed, sometimes out of nowhere. Many people have claimed that the oasis simply appeared before them like a sink filling from a faucet. It then fades away in much the same manner come the sunrise.