The exterior of the Shrine of Hungering is a stone spire with a surrounding collection of reefs. The Shrine is entered via a tunnel to the North, made to resemble the jaws of a Megalodon. Swimming through the rig cage of a gigantic sea monster will bring you into a Shark-infested cave, which traversing, will take pirates into the main puzzle area of the Shrine.
Here, crews must complete 2 sets of Siren Statue puzzles, causing the water level to rise and allowing them to make their way further up through the single main chamber. Soon enough, crews will have made their way to the top of the chamber where a number of Coral Treasure pieces can be found, but not before taking on a wave of Coral Skeletons part way up. The final room, accessed via a Siren Window, is completely underwater as 3-4 sharks guard the final stash of Coral Treasure as well as the Breath of the Sea pedestal.
Journals
There are 5 journals scattered throughout the Shrine, written by Mercia.
1. Shrine of Hungering
(In the hand of a skeleton on the ground as you swim through the entrance cave.)
As I sit here writing these words, I still can't quite believe I'm here. And, if I'm totally honest, I still don't fully understand why. I heard the song of the merfolk from the earring they had gifted me. They said they had important information they wanted to entrust to me. Information I was to share with 'my kind'. They seemed concerned that if this tale remained untold, then one day, a great evil would be released back into the Sea of Thieves. So I set off by myself, following the bearing the merfolk gave me, and now here I am, in the Shrine of Hungering.
2. The Warrior
(In a broken rowboat on the second platform after the water has risen.)
As I've travelled from island to island, I've seen images of a warrior holding a spear. He's mostly shown vanquishing animals and sometimes with a bird. I've often wondered if he was a real person or, a folktale designed to instil virtues into those who saw or heard it. It was the merfolk who revealed the truth to me: he was an Ancient. An Ancient who fell in love with the Sea Queen, no less! Not only that, but she returned his love.
3. The Warrior - Unmasked
(By some planks on the top platform with a geyser.)
This Warrior is not the hero I first took him for! His love for the Sea Queen was so all-consuming that he was willing to try anything to be by her side. The Ancients believed that it was paramount to live in harmony with the powerful forces of the Sea of Thieves. Yet the Warrior was attempting to harness them for his own selfish ends. It looks like the ruler of the Ancients began to fear the forces he was dabbling with, and took measures to put a stop to his rituals for good.
4. The High Priest
(To the left of a Merfolk Statue after jumping across the second set of bones at the top of the chamber.)
The Ancients lived in harmony with the powerful forces of the Sea of Thieves. Any member of their society who threatened this harmony had to be removed. So the ruler called upon the High Priest, a man learned in the art of potion and poison brewing. He created a draught that altered his voice to mimic that of the Sea Queen. With this he lured the Warrior to a remote island. He hid himself out of sight on a cliff overlooking the sea and, catching the Warrior off-guard, shot him with a poisoned dart.
5. A Great Evil
(Just below the Siren Window as you enter the final water-filled chamber of the Shrine.)
The Warrior was strong, though did not fall. On discovering who shot him, he killed the High Priest and flung him from the cliff top where he had been hiding. This story seems so familiar to me. But I am at a loss, why did the merfolk want me to come here? What great evil do they fear? It can't be related to sharks; they seemed to revere them rather than fear them. Did the Warrior become a merman and somehow upset the balance of the Sea of Thieves? Or did the Ancients manage to restrain him and the Queen, and it's their return to the Sea of Thieves that the merfolk fear?
To save pirates from needing to take their new-found treasure all the way back up the surface, up to 20 loot pieces can be stored in friendly Mermaid Statues found along the way. Any Coral Treasure Chests filled with three loot items count as a single loot item, saving up space for the other Treasure items to be stored in the statues. Any Treasure left with the statues can be redeemed back on the surface from a friendly mermaid with a shell, emitting purple smoke. When interacted with, any treasure collected will float up to the surface and the mermaid departs.
Trivia
The Sirens revere the creatures of the deep such as the Kraken, which lead some to believe that the Shrine of Hungering relates to this in some way.
