#51. Mako

Lore

The Shark

“Of all the children of Poseidon and The Sea, the largest is Kraken, the strongest is Maelstrom, but the most feared is Mako.” 

– Aristophanes


“Your parents were a viking and a bear? That’s nothing, try a lunatic and the sea.” 

– Mako to Bödvar after too much rum

As the story goes...

Atlantis wasn’t always at the bottom of the sea. That was Mako’s fault. In the Great War of Atlantis at the end of the age of legend, the gods battled for control of the fabled city. Zeus struck down Poseidon with a lightning bolt. In rage, Poseidon’s young daughter Mako led an attack on Atlantis so terrible that the sorcerers of the city chose to sink it beneath the waves to escape her wrath, robbing Zeus of his prize. Then for good measure she bit off his foot.

Poseidon fell to earth, his memory gone, doomed to wander the seas as a madman. But Mako became the queen of the now undersea city – much to the relief of the Atlanteans. Her terrifying presence won many battles on fear alone. The Phoenician navy fled when it saw her teeth. She scared the sea monster Cetus so badly it fled to Scotland and is still hiding. She was less interested in governing than fighting, and invented democracy because she was tired of subjects asking her questions.

In Valhalla, Mako is a ferocious competitor and a great 2v2 partner, though be careful is she calls you ‘chum’ – it’s not a term of endearment.

Connections

• (No mentions of Mako in other legends' lore pages has yet been found)

Context

Mako gets her name from the mako shark. In that context, mako is a Māori word for "man eater," which is pretty fitting for a shark. Before her lore came out, I thought Mako would be from the Polynesian region of the world, but references to Atlantis and Greek mythology make it clear she is from the Mediterranean area (more generally, Thera in Brawlhalla lore). 

Greek mythology has several references to sharks. The most noteworthy ones are Akheilos, Lamia, and Cetus (if you count the latter as a "shark"). Akheilos was the son of Zeus and Lamia, cursed by Aphrodite for claiming he was more beautiful than she was. Lamia was a daughter of Poseidon, and is sometimes depicted as a shark-like being. She became a monster when her children were taken from her. Cetus was a monster sent by Poseidon to destroy a princess. 

Yeah, Greek sharks do not mess around!

Greatsword and katars may not be obvious for a mythical shark person, but it seems other weapons are being fitted into these molds. The end of tridents for the katars, and perhaps a harpoon-looking thing for the greatsword?