Following the accidental death of her sister Parthenos during a botched hunt, the young Hemithea chose to abandon the coast and seek her fortunes elsewhere. She wandered for months before finding her way to the Teekon Wilds and misses her old lifestyle dearly; at the same time, she is nervous that someone will discover her secret and blame her for the tragedy of her sister's death.

When the Nereides dispersed from the Wilds, Hemithea did her best to survive on her own but she felt utterly abandoned by the sea, and threw herself off of a cliff. Not long after that, the girl washed ashore upon Wheeling Gull Isle and smashed her head against a boulder in the process. Memories of herself, her beginnings, and of everything, were promptly lost. The only thing that came to her upon waking was the name Parthenos, which she takes for herself.

A couple of weeks later, having survived on limited resources on her own upon the island, a great storm sweeps through the area and deposits a myriad of strangers across the shore. In her desperation for company Parthenos tends to these foreigners. They eventually form a group called Undersea but she keeps to herself, only venturing near them when she is starved for attention or in need of a meal. One day she comes upon their lands and finds it empty, and this drives her over the edge.

Parthenos chose to throw herself from the island — eager to end her lonely life — but washes ashore upon the mainland instead.