Deep One
From BelegarthWiki
Contents |
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 Esoteres, returned to their homes and preached the word of Dagon. And thus The Order of Dagon was formed.
General
Deep Ones are fish-people that fill the seas and are scattered among the beaches. They are usually of a medium frame and various shades of blue. They have both lungs and gills. On their necks they wear scarves and neck covers to help hide and protect their gills. In addition to this they often seem uncoordinated as they are not used to being on land. Deep Ones are known across the world as pirates, merchants, raiders, fishermen, and sailors. Though they are agreeable enough with other monsters they are feared by pinkies for their gills and blue skin. For some strange reason Deep Ones have a particular dislike of Dwarves and for some reason Bugbears. Deep Ones reproduce by polyping. They place a polyp on another organism by stabbing other creatures with a xenomorphic like tongue. For some reason polyps will not form on a Deep One if itself or another Deep One attempts to polyp them. For three days the polyp matures, feeding off the host, and upon the first presence of water emerges as a larval Deep One. In this phase, Deep Ones are the size of a clownfish and only have gills. In this phase they are extremely vulnerable and can easily be killed. Over three months they grow into an adolescent Deep One which is about the 3rd of the size of an adult Deep One. The adolescent Deep One then grows to adult size over the course of 16 years. After 100 years Deep Ones begin to petrify into coral like masses. During this process the Deep One records all knowledge and memories onto scrolls. Upon the finishing of the storing of this knowledge the Deep One completely petrifies. In this petrified state the Deep One goes into a deep trance. Petrified deep ones are extremely vulnerable and if they are broken during this state they die. The petrification falls away after some unknown time and the Deep One awakens with a new body and minimal memories.
Markings
Deep Ones are blue but have a wide variety of facial markings that help classify them. Deep Ones that come from fish have stripes going down their cheeks. Deep Ones that spawned from sharks have distinctive jagged lines across their bodies. Cephalopod spawned Deep Ones have large dots or spirals. Mammal spawned Deep Ones carry no facial markings and are looked upon poorly. Crustacean Spawn usually have rigid lines marking them. Finally there are the amphibian/reptile spawned have lines on their forehead that meet on the bridge of the Deep One’s nose forming an arrow that points down the nose, in addition they have two line coming down from the corners of the mouth to the jawline. Deep Ones take many characteristics from the host creature from which they spawned. The coloring of their markings usually denotes the color of their host. Their host also greatly influences the Deep One’s appearance and behavioral aspects.
Spirituality
Deep Ones are highly religious and reverent of nature. Most worship Dagon. However, it is to be noted that Hydra is worshiped in combination with Dagon. There are also whispers of some sub groups of Deep Ones who worship the lesser gods like Cthulhu. 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! Deep Ones also revere past Deep Ones who outlined a specific trait. These Deep Ones are reffered to as paragons. The symbols of some paragons are worn by Deep Ones as blessings for the trait that paragon represents. 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.
