Deep One

Revision as of 05:28, 8 June 2016

Creation Story

…When it was Dagon’s turn to throw his stone to determine where his race would live, his stone hit the ocean. The other gods mocked him for this. Upon leaving the festivities he went to work, settling into a trench to begin creating his new people. First, he took the blackest mud from the sea floor and shaped it to his liking. He then filleted a whale and placed the bones of the great beast inside the mud. Next, he skinned a shark and fitted the skin to the mud. Finally, he took his creation to his trench and in the deepest part of the sea, above the hottest hydro-thermal geyser, he used the power of the sea to give life to the first Deep One. He repeated this process six times, placing each of his seven creations in one of the seven seas. He then said to them, “Mate with the creatures of the sea to bring forth more kin in my name.” And so they did. As their populations grew, Dagon grew more and more pleased with their progress. He called to the seven original Deep Ones once more and said, “The land is our adversary, and the cur which walk the land are our enemies. The strongest among you, my children, may make a pilgrimage to my trench to receive my blessing. This blessing will allow you to breathe the air of the land, so that you may wage war upon those who walk it!” The seven Deep Ones, now collectively called the Deep Ones, returned to their homes and preached the word of Dagon. And thus The Order of Dagon was formed.

General

Deep Ones, though being able to walk on land prefer the dark depths of the oceans from which their creator Dagon rules. Deep Ones reproduce by placing polyps, also known as polyping. They do this by pressing their polyp organs against a host. The polyp then grows over the next two days, after which it pops off and grows into an adult Deep One over the course of 16 months. Deep Ones place polyps by stabbing any organism with their tongue, the main polyp organ, or by pressing their palm on an organism, which also inserts polyps into the host. Deep Ones cannot reproduce with other Deep Ones. That being said, Deep Ones will not shake hands with other Deep Ones, nor will Deep Ones hold hands with one another. Deep Ones greet each other with giant hugs, as it is considered impolite to try and shake a Deep One’s hand or give one a high five. Deep Ones are very disdainful and always seem to be annoyed, grumpy, and complaining. Most even seem angry all the time, unless they’re planning the destruction of a land dweller. Deep Ones are similar to amphibians in that they are born with gills. Unlike amphibians however, they retain their gills once their lungs develop, thus being able to breathe both on land and in water. For obvious reasons Deep Ones are very strong swimmers and sailors. One day when there was a particularly violent storm Paddie the carpenter was repairing one of the logs that contributed to the boardwalk that led from the market to the Northern houses. Out of nowhere a wave lifted the loose board that Paddie was standing on away from the boardwalk. And like that surfing was invented.

Deep Ones on Land

A Deep One may walk on land only if they have the mark of Dagon. There are exceptions, however. Deep Ones have been seen walking on beaches and small islands. Deep Ones without the mark of Dagon are sometimes even able to walk far enough inland to raid costal settlements. There is the story of Gill the Deep One who failed to get the mark of Dagon several times. He wanted very much to see what it was like on land, so he gathered all his friends who had the mark of Dagon and convinced them to carry him on land. However, a family of giants was at the beach that day and as Gill and his friends were walking across the giants’ picnic blanket, they were mistaken for ants and squished.

Settlements

Deep Ones live in large coral and wooden villages in the ocean. The above water villages are made almost entirely out of wood and look a lot like Pacifidlog Town from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. The undersea settlements are an extension right below the wooden villages. However, deep-sea underwater-only settlements are extremely common. The undersea settlements are carved into deep-sea mountains and large coral reefs.

Clothing

Clothing, weapons, and the skin color of the Deep One are all reliant on the location of the Deep One’s settlement. This being said almost all of them have blue skin. The near-surface dwelling Deep Ones use much more fabric materials in their clothing and usually have skin colors of varying shades of blue. Deep Deep Ones use much more kelp and seaweed based clothing as well as a lot of shellfish and fish skin clothing. Deep sea Deep Ones are usually dark orange and red colors. Deep Ones that live in coral reefs have clothing that is a mixture of the Deep Sea and near-surface Deep One clothing. Deep Ones that live in coral reefs have much more variation in color; they range from neon oranges, pinks, yellows, and blues to more tame grays, blacks, browns, and reds. Near-surface Deep Ones use weapons and armor made primarily out of wood, metal, scale, and bone. Deep Deep Ones use weapons and armor made primarily out of stone, scale, bone, crustacean, and coral. Deep Ones that reside in coral reefs use weapons and armor made primarily out of coral, algae, lichen, bone, scale, crustacean, and turtle.

Spirituality

Deep Ones are highly religious and reverent of nature. Worshiping Dagon exclusively, Deep Ones gather to worship Dagon around the hydrothermal heat vents that line the ocean floor. Deep Ones from Caribbean region have cultivated a strain of seaweed similar to the marijuana plant found on land. They smoke it as part of their religious ceremonies although how they smoke it underwater is a mystery lost to the ages. Deep Ones believe that when they die they become one with Dagon and the greater life force of the sea. In times of great distress and in the testing of the Deep Ones Dagon brings back the most powerful souls as great sea monsters! Esoteres form the Order of Dagon. Esoteres are the teachers, healers, and religious leaders of the Deep Ones. Deep Ones hold Dagon, the sea, and sea life in high esteem and they do everything to revere, respect, and protect their native home. They hold sea life in such high esteem that they may only eat a sea animal if it has been killed in a respectful way, similar to kosher Jewish meat and halal Muslim meat. The reverence to sea creatures goes so far as to make sure that every part of the animal is used and nothing goes to waste. This coincides with the fact that Deep Ones also recycle everything. In order to protect their ocean home they use everything that other races would consider trash to make clothing, weapons, armor, buildings, furniture, and baubles. Deep Ones love shinnies, trinkets, and accessories! However, any and all items made from a sea creature are considered to be more of a talisman than an accessory.

In Battle

Deep Ones are known to be marvelous fighters. They are the most menacing creature that can attack a ship at sea. Not only are they dangerous at sea, but once they have received the mark of Dagon they are a force to be reckoned with on land as well. They are relentless, unyielding creatures that don’t know the meaning of surrender. While they may not be the strongest or fastest creatures on land, they are famed for their stealth and tactical strategy. Deep Ones are excellent at sneak attacks and surprise attacks both on land and at sea. This is mostly because when they lay down they look like refuse piles, easily overlooked by other races. Deep Ones ride the giant estuary otters into battle on both land and sea.

Known Deep Ones

Xar Finn