Known as "The Quill of the Tide," Caeles Laevius was the Poet Laureate who transformed Veloria’s history from scattered oral tradition into divine identity. He was commissioned by a Mariner prince from long ago, before Veloria was a theocracy, to write The Mareid, the epic that codified the legend of Prince Aelion. Laevius argued that Veloria was a kingdom of destiny chosen by Stella Maris herself. His verses are etched into the marble of the capital, and reciting his opening stanza is a mandatory rite of passage for all naval officers. The poem bridges ancient Alendrian history with Veloria's later foundation.
Author: Caeles Laevius
Subject: The Exile of Prince Aelion and the Founding of Stella Maris
Aelion looks back at his burning Alendrian home and turns his prow toward the unknown.
Of salt and the sovereign I sing, and the man fled from fire, Who, cast from Alendrian cliffs by the wrath of the pyre, Was tossed on the feverish foam. Though the earth had denied him, The stars were his map and the deep currents conspired to guide him.
“O Earth,” cried the Prince to the smoke that devoured his kin, “Your dust is for the dead! Let the Age of the Ocean begin! No more shall we plow the hard soil with the sweat of the ox, But reap the cold harvest that blooms on the tide-beaten rocks.”
Near death, Aelion sees Stella Maris rise from the waves to claim his loyalty.
Then silence descended, a hush on the heart of the gale, And light, like the moon through a shroud, turned the dark waters pale. She rose not as terror, but Grace, with a crown made of coral, Her eyes holding depths that could swallow the grief of a mortal.
The sea-foam her mantle, the white-capping breakers her hem, She spoke with the voice of the storm, yet she whispered to them: “You wander, lost children of clay, seeking solid ground’s peace, But I offer a kingdom of waves that will never cease. Give Me your anchors, your fear, and your breath-holding lungs, And I shall give voice to your prayers in the Tide’s many tongues.”
The moment of the Covenant. Aelion drives his oar into the reef, transforming it into the city.
Then Aelion stood at the prow, and he held high his oar, A blade meant for rowing, now destined to open a door. “I strike this new covenant deep!” And he drove the wood down, It pierced the soft reef like a jewel in a sovereign’s crown.
No timber remained, but behold! It turned silver and stone, A spire of marble arose where the sea-wood was sown. The reef became rampart, the lagoon became harbor and street, And the Ocean, once widow, now danced at the Prince’s wet feet.
“Here stands Stella Maris,” he sang to the wind and the spray, “The City of salt-hardened souls who have learned to obey.”
Heard in taverns and on board ships
(Verse 1) (Soloist) The Prince beheld the bounding Main, (Crew - HEAVE!) BY WAVE AND WELKIN! (Soloist) Forsook the dust, forsook the grain, To wander near and far!
(Chorus) (All together) So thrust the Sweep into the Deep, A Covenant the Waves shall keep! The Lady built a Water-Throne, And Oaken Wood became the Stone! HO!
(Verse 2) (Soloist) He raised the Timber to the Sky, (Crew - HEAVE!) BY WAVE AND WELKIN! (Soloist) "Here let the Silver City lie, Where none but Sailors die!"
(Chorus) So thrust the Sweep into the Deep, A Covenant the Waves shall keep! The Lady built a Water-Throne, And Oaken Wood became the Stone! HO!