Samabaj [...] is founded in the wake of siren and changeling states signing treaties of peace shortly ago, which is a period most strongly defined by strong cultural revisionism regarding the six siren sovereigns losing their crowns to the queen of tides, an event which seems to be dividing, even traumatic, to their culture.
An important aspect of this is [...] the number of them [sirens from diverse backgrounds] that begin, in the last decades, questioning the siren queens and welcoming [the queen of tides] back into mainstream culture as a valid, moral actor. In this view of history, the queens' actions are no longer seen as inherently moral -which is by itself, a part of sirens questioning their isolationist culture as a result of the brief changeling immigration1- and are instead deeply questioned, even going as far as to doubt the divine nature of the six queens, past and present.
The mythos of crowns and queens plays heavily in this;
The six queens of the corners met around, and for the first time parleyed. And their words became song of mirth and union and hope so alive that with it six gems were crafted by changeling and siren artisans.
The first gem did not truly shine for mere light did not suffice, so it was attached to the queen of the second corner so that it'd never be alone. The second was sang to by the first corner, and the third was told a secret, and the fourth was gifted from the queen of five to a lowly servant, for it'd be so much more beautiful on her, and this queen did not need to wear her crown for a long time.
The fifth gem was first forgotten, for the queen of three was greatly distracted because taint beasts were set upon their town, and she joined in to defend it. But when it was remembered and found several days later, it shone maybe brightest of all.2
The sixth gem only shone only after all the others did, for the queen of six truly thought that they had no hope before seeing all their lights. Yet upon seeing the other gems all shine so bright, her hearth shone so bright with song of hope(?) that her gem too shone
This supposedly happens while taint beasts are beginning to attack their civilization, and on the time that follows the queens use their six crowns time and time again to defend their kind. Their kingdoms turn into a unified empire that conquers all other peoples over time however, as the crowns give them unflinching power against taint.
As modern revisionism has began perceiving, the siren queens betray themselves3 with this unbeatable power, and their rule upsets traditional values with their magnanimous attitudes. Yet the crucial point is when -there isn't any exact date or reference to a particular, dated event to point when exactly did this happen- the jewels on their crowns begin fading. As 'Several generations' of their dominion pass, the gems blacken and crack, which sirens at this time perceive it as the queens casting this external power aside now that they no longer need it4 to stand by themselves.
As scholars are perceiving it now, this is a mark of the queens having set both their personal integrity and traditional values aside to the point that the jewels no longer consider them worthy or even redeemable, nor willing to be. They keep their crowns however, maybe having learned to forcibly extract power from them after wielding them for so long.
It's in this stage that the queen of tides appears as a redeemer of sirendom, without a family or creed backing her up nor any hero journey; She simply appears first in the city of Tolmeka which the queens are too far from to defend and, among other things, races circles so fast than a whirlpool to the surface forms. Her strength is a return to form to traditional siren folklore, being a simple, trained skill without the assistance of magic that is used to great effect.
She appears time and time again, never giving a name, and over time the moniker of Queen of Tides appears. Her last display of power is in attacking the queens head-on -which may point to this being her objective all along- and taking the crowns away from them. Following this she swims away so fast that "She escaped from the world to the heavens", the meaning of which has been long disputed and is a subject for another book. Regardless, it leads to the siren empire collapsing into itself as they are forced to cooperate with others until taint beasts are back under control, after which their culture retreats back into itself.
In the current atmosphere, the founding of Sabamaj[sic] Samabaj is a message from six siren sovereigns towards their populance, forming a city that not only isn't personally ruled by any of them -A vasal queen, who is a politician known to question them, was elected instead- but also features one of the biggest architectural feats in the world, a tower that has foundations on the bottom of the sea and, on calm weather, can be entered from the surface. It was explicitly announced in the opening ceremony, which I had the pleasure to atend, as a show of good faith and desire to have more open relationships with other races.
-Ser Lemon Pie.
Kindness/Loyalty, Laugher, Honesty, Generosity and Kindness/Loyalty? Is the last somehow Magic?
The most important part of the mythos, and a consistent element in early siren lore, is the element of elegant simplicity, that is, wit used not in complicated riddles or characters, but in simple designs, and tests of character not being grandiose and even explicitly mocking the notion that it should be. Each of the sirens that does something to prove herself to a jewel does so with a small gesture or with only a feeling, and the only siren that does something grand, the queen of three, does so completely disregarding the test of character that was supposed to take place.
To be more suscintsuccinct, siren traditionalism from the time detests the theatrical and opts instead for optimistic realism/nihilism, casting doubt on anyone who feels the need to be grandiose.
Which, at the risk of inserting personal opinions in history, I assume is a notion the queens themselves would've helped creating.
As a note I am adding several decades because Pai would've wanted as much, the more recent plague among changelings seems to have only furthered their feelings. Sirens still dislike changelings as much as ever, but even that seems to succumb to seeing them die by the dozen.