Divine Carp

I was commissioned to write a few articles for Drintera, a world building magazine focusing on cultural mythology. For this one, I chose to draw from my Korean heritage and design a species of flying koi, highlighting its mythical origin story, cultural relevance, and potential plot hooks for players. I was inspired by the female sea divers of Jeju Island, reimagining them as diving for medicinal bones in the murky waters of the graveness…

It is said that before the Age of Enkindling, the god Taecant had once encountered a dying carp while meditating atop a waterfall. Intrigued by the creature’s presence, he asked how a mere fish had managed to ascend to such impressive heights. The carp spoke thus:

“I heard tales of a delicious rice cake in the night sky. Though I have swam many rivers, none have ever brought me close to it. And so, with the last of my strength, I climbed the waterfall in search of it. Ah, to think that I will never taste it!”

Impressed by the carp’s discipline in the face of adversity, Taecant touched the carp and bestowed a blessing upon it. “Though you will never taste the moon, my friend, there are many more wonders this world has to offer. Go now, and graze upon the pine nuts of the conifers, the loquats of the trees, and the bamboo shoots of the forests. Eat, and you may call these mountains your home.”

Thus blessed, the carp began to float in the air, growing larger and larger, glowing bright white underneath the moon. And so the first Divine Carp was born. To this day, it’s said that any fish that successfully climbs Taecant's sacred waterfall will be reborn as a Divine Carp—although scholars disagree over which one that may be.

Nowadays, shoals of these massive fish can be found amongst the misty, arboreal peaks of the Windwhisper Mountains. They glide through the air with serene grace, their gemlike scales reflecting vibrant shades of red, orange, yellow, white, and black in the sun. At night they sleep belly-side up, basking in the light of the moon. They are strictly herbivores, known for grazing on the plants and shrubbery that dot the mountainside.

Despite their voracious appetites, the carp are gentle giants that rarely venture from the mountains down to the foothills. To see one is considered a wonderful omen; to harm one, the most wicked of sins. As they were created by Taecant, hunting them is forbidden throughout Mor Thia. Yet this prohibition has failed to stop the greedy or desperate from trying—the bones of the Divine Carp are wondrous panacea when ground and used in medicine, and shed scales are considered to be powerful luck talismans.

While hunting them is illegal, no such prohibitions exist for harvesting the bones or scales from an already-deceased carp. Divine Carp typically travel to the sea to die, their sunk bodies providing nutrients to the creatures of the ocean floor. The reasons why they undertake this end-of-life migration are unknown, but the end result is that their carcasses remain difficult for mortals to access. The towns nearest to these “graveseas” are known for families of “bone-divers,” whose descendants train from a young age to swim at crushing depths to harvest these skeletons. Bone-diver families are highly respected, as they guarantee the provenance of the bones and allow medicine makers to sell their Divine Carp pellets authenticated with a special seal of approval.

Unfortunately, the desirability of Divine Carp pellets makes them a lucrative opportunity for bad actors. Black market sellers are known to peddle stolen or counterfeit goods. Sometimes, a “discount” Divine Carp pellet contains nothing but powdered cattle ivory and pungent herbs stamped with a forged bone-diver family seal. Other black market dealers sell authentic carp bones—but how they’re harvested is anyone’s guess. Possession of bones whose chain of authenticity can't be corroborated is enough to be charged for sacrilegious treason by the government of Mor Thia, but taking a risk on underground goods has been known to pay off incredibly well for the bold.

Rumors abound that Divine Carp possess a preternatural level of empathy, able to sense ill-intent from those that would harm them. This could explain why poachers struggle to locate the beasts. There are unsubstantiated claims of Divine Carp occasionally descending to villages, curing sick elders or children. 

Even though the Divine Carp typically avoid interactions with mortals, there exist monasteries dedicated to their worship and preservation. These groups venerate the carp as children of Taecant and do their best to keep the populations healthy. Monks track the Divine Carp's sky-migrations, monitor the health of individual fish, and do their best to direct wayward travelers away from the fish's feeding grounds. They also tend to the various plants of the mountainside, gently herding the carp so that overgrazed areas may recover in the next season. On occasion, the monks directly intervene by healing injured carp or defending migrating schools from poachers.