The Toll of the Deep – Guild Leaders, Buildings & Deity

Guild Leaders

The Church is still developing; the traditions are being assembled but the role of High Priest or Drowned Priest has been established. The most pious of the faith was determined to be a Codex Eaölf, Canoth, who was drowned in the shallow waters of Silver Quay in the latter part of the year two thousand and thirteen. Giving his life to the Kraken it was returned to him by his own followers and he was given reverence to the first

Drowned Seer – Canoth , Archimandrite

(Codex Eaolf)

According to the teachings passed down from the Zoranethi the power of the Kraken was born into the world before the coming of the comet when the land was only human and they were divided into the Clans they call Earth Tribes. There were seven Tribes that lived upon the land but there was also one that lived upon the sea and they were the mightiest of the Tribes for they had mastered the brutality of the Sea and risen above the petty squabbles that followed the way of life on the land. This tribe were called the Zoranethi and even then in the days before the Gods the name that they gave to their Chieftain was Kraken, those that served the Kraken and had mastered the magics and the skill at arms were Reaper Seers, those that could glimpse the future through magics were the seers and the Krakens greatest warriors were Reapers. Already, through the teachings, we can see that in truth, the formation of the Church can be found thousands of years ago in a wisdom that has been lain down and never refuted.

The Zoranethi had called upon forces that were ancient to other worlds but new and proud and powerful in this and having seen their diligence and their purity the powers chose to teach the Kraken their arts and in turn he would teach them to his followers. The Lady of the Deep Blue Ocean taught the Zoranethi how to brew the most powerful potions that could heal the most horrific wounds or transform a dying body into a new and virile one. From the Angelus the Kraken received the Eye of Fate that allowed him to see great swathes of the future and guide his people fairly and accurately to greater things. The Zoranethi decided that it would be best if it shared this power with the Earth Tribes of the Land and came to the shores of these people to bring its gifts to those that dwelt there but in sorrow this almost led to their destruction.

Canoth was born as a human approximately thirty years before the great ceremony of the Zoranethi and placed into slumber by the will of our Lord the Kraken. He served his time as an alchemist and acolyte to the Great Reaper Seers of the temples until the call to enter stasis occurred. After that he slumbered along with the rest of his kind for thousands of years and dreamt the dreams of the Kraken, whilst other Priests speak of comfortable sleep and kindly dreams he speaks of violent portents and dangerous foretelling. These dreams and nightmares still plague him, long after his indentured sleep, but he will not speak of the truths that he holds to in his twilight hours.

When the Eaölfs were awoken he was one of the first to gaze upon the world and feel the sun once more upon his face. He was greeted by the Lord Plaguemantle who led us from our slumber and still holds a great deal of respect for the Faes council. Since the Church rose he has been at the helm in one way or another, foresight and intelligence have married to make a great wisdom inside the Eaölf but he is not used to the world in which he lives. The Basanic society that has developed in the last two thousand years has made him feel vulnerable and naive whilst the development of trade to require money rather than a barter system has placed his church in a vastly weakened position. However Canoth is hard working and willing to learn.

He did not waste his first four years and despite opposition by the Church of Terref and to some extent the Church of Tiberius he has developed strong ties with the Clergy. He forged early friendships with the Church of Naed, who would protect his peoples freedoms and the interests of his Church and cultivated the respect of the other Churches of the Dusk whose pantheon he would be speaking for. In those four short years his faith grew quickly in numbers and he moved his own home to Karrid Ren in order to more closely have the ear of the Clergy and to seem willing to obey their tenets. However he expressed a great need to lead not only the Church but his people which has led to their being some questioning of his intentions. Not from within the Oblivions faith but by the Terrefian voices that sought to undermine the system.

The clergy of mid 2014, using Terrefian voices of their own, managed to end the corruption of their Church and involvement with the Church of the Kraken and Canoth began to open negotiations with them via the Clergy. Canoth began to grow as a person, up until this point he had been working his way through the ranks of his own faith. He had managed to make the position of Quartermaster but other Priests were overtaking him, ones that he considered more meritous and yet he had not promoted himself above them. Canoth was used to being part of a larger organisation that looked after the various members of it and in the Clergy, now that he was meeting less resistance, he found faith and he found backing.

Now feeling comfortable and secure he took on the role of Archimandrite and began to experiment with the doctrine of his people. No-one had set down the laws of the God before and he took to the role of shaping his church with the help of the Priests in Karrid Ren. Then disaster struck for the neophyte Church Leader when, without any warning or seeming reason the then Primus Mirelle Silverlight disolved the Clergy and left Canoth feeling abandoned and without hope. The Church of the Kraken began to fall into decline but then in late 2015 Karrid Ren gained a new occupant called Sennig and Canoth found his way again.

Sennig has helped Canoth gain some level of stability and dignity whilst guiding him through the never ending changes that are faced by the Clergy on a month to month basis. Together they have gathered the priests of various faiths, during the absence of the clergy, to talk, debate and discuss the ethics and direction of the Church of the Kraken. Canoth has gained a lot of wisdom from Sennig and is set heavily on the path of the Focus and Gatestone and in fact ensured that it was one of the faith of the Kraken that enjoyed the first draft of the new prophecy bringing draft. Canoth is very proud of the fact that he is considered by many to be among, if not the, first disciple of Sennig and that he has been pivotal in the development of what is thought to be the future of the faiths by those in Karrid Ren.

He has caused some consternation in his support of the Eleven citing his own churches alienation at the start of its career. His thinking is still very out of time and he cannot help but try and support the underdog. His views have gained great support among the Followers of The Focus and his sympathies are becoming their sympathies. The whole of Karrid Ren looks like they are with Canoth and he sees a future for the Krakenite faith here. The removal of the power of the Clergy and yet more changes to how things are run since the death of Abraham Wingates has further made him disillusioned with the way that things seem to be done and he is giving serious consideration to leading the Church away from this arrangement. For the moment he stays where as he does not want to rock the boat but that is all.

Major Centres of Worship

In the time of the Zoranethi very, very powerful temples to the Kraken were built, according to our lore, atop some of the strongest crossing points of Ley Lines in all of Vaklam. The secrets of these locations are lost to us along with the location of the floating islands and whatever other edifice the Zoranethi constructed for over three thousand years in his name. We are aware that the Zoranethi are reported to have had a vast Empire that spanned parts of the oceans and the lands that are unmapped, uncharted by the Royal Basin but we have yet to learn of them. Of all of the ancient strongholds we only know of one that has survived and that is the home of the Holy Temple of the Azure Order in the Great Desert where one of the original Zoranethi, somehow, still worships the God to this day. Since his rise the Church has not been idle and we have chosen as our Holy Buildings boathouses, shipyards and the like that will serve both the God and our Faith as its basis of strength for years to come. The major home for this power can be found in Silver Quays where, under the auspice of the Silverlight family, we have been gifted the rights to build and to prosper. Equally in the great edifice that is Karrid Ren a great wing dedicated to the Kraken has been constructed and is currently the home of the Drowned Priest of the Faith. Finally each Priest is expected to construct a Ketch (a small two masted vessel) of the Kraken that is to be their Holy place upon the sea. Traditionally these ketches have room for the Priest, one other soul and all of the burdens that they both carry.

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The Kraken (Crack-en), The Oblivion of the Deep, is an ancient power from long before the time of the Gods that we have become familiar with in the Royal Basin. Once he was followed doggedly by the Zoranethi but now he has cast them aside and is empowered by the beliefs of the Codex Eaölfs and those other mortals that now follow him. Most who travel the waters of the Oceans fear and respect the Kraken; ships crews often sacrifice some of their cargo or preprepared chests of gems and coins in the hope that the Kraken will spare them on their journeys. The folk of the Greater Teeth, call you them Free Trade Alliance or Pirate, have been worshipping the Kraken in such a way for generations and have learnt well what the Sea can give or take if the Kraken is not properly given obedience. Controllers of Sea Ports, harbours, merchants, all those that have some reliance on the Sea be they Terrefians, followers of the Tao or Naedites all give their respect to the Kraken.

The Kraken, despite being a recent addition to the heavens, spends much time in contest with both Terref and Bethylak with regards to the rights to travel across the oceans and the power of fate respectively. Whilst the powers in question both agreed that they would cede some of their power to the Kraken at the first Tharinos the reality is very different. The Kraken contends daily with the followers of those faiths who thwart his at every opportunity. The Kraken however is famously both patient and wrathful and those deities that would test his power are no doubt in for some later calamity. That said the Kraken is not a malicious God he just represents the dangers of the vast and merciless Ocean; endless, eternal, deep and chilling. The Kraken understands that the Seas will one day wear down the land and that all those that dwell there will eventually be his.

None have ever seen the Kraken as anything other than a great beast from the depths, tentacles and huge black eyes peering out of the gloom. His Archangels and Angels are made up of the drowned and are known to carry great ships lanterns on long, long hooked poles to light his way in the deep waters.

Dogma

The Krakenite faithful are still establishing their true outlook understanding what the Kraken is and the virtues that he represents but as yet have not gained a great deal of experience surrounding how the Divine and the Mortal interact. They understand that the sea is a savage and unforgiving place and that those that travel upon it must be taught to expect to pay perhaps the ultimate price for daring the Krakens domain. The Kraken controls tides and the moon, the mists and the realms below not mention being the patron for sailors and the drowned. These elements mean that those who seek success had best pay a fair and reasonable price in goods or respect or learn that the Krakens Heart is as cold as the depths to which they will soon belong.

To say that the sea is the be all and end all of the Krakenite faith would be very misleading, there are certainly two sides of the coin at work here. The Priesthood takes the role of burdens very seriously and with it hidden things. Since becoming part of the Clergy of the Royal Basin they have chosen to embrace the nations burdens as best they can, ostensibly so that they can better fit into the society that they have come to belong to. They have become part of the world that seeks for that which is lost, takes up the burdens of others and fights for the overall good of the Clergy and ergo the Royal Basin, it is fast becoming part of the mantra of the Church.

“Speak the name of The Kraken and fear that he will hear you; his name is the fear of the wind and the waves and the storm and the calm. Dare his realm and know that you will end your life here but that what you seek is worth the price.”

From the Lore of the walls of the temple of Kalamone

Archangels

Angels of Power

Servants

The Kraken is served by a number of Lesser Powers that can also be worshipped by Priests and Ley Followers, these powers have fallen under the remit of the Oblivion of the Deep over the years and given their power to increase his strength.

The Demi Power Orgoora

“That which is given to the Kraken is his to do with as he wishes, he may tempt you to the Oceans depths to seek it but he may seeking your own life rather than hoping to return a treasure. Such is the burden of things”

Orgoora was once a successful Captain in the Free Trade alliance who followed the power of the Sea Hag, the power behind the Salt Druids of the Greater Teeth. She had mastery over many of the rituals that controlled the waters and used them to her advantage when acting towards her true nature as a Pirate, scourge of the Seas and mistress of Mayhem. Her main use of skills was to sail the waters late at night, obscuring the Moon with thick mists until she was ready to strike at vessels lost in the Dark. Such was her obsession with Kraken even then, before he was a power, that she would cast many of the treasures that she took into the ocean as a gift to the Zoranethi deity. Many of the treasures and the magics of the world were cast to the Kraken and remain lost to this day. When the Kraken was given the right to the heavens so he took with him many powers and Captain Orgoora was one of them.

The followers of Orgoora have made it their duty to return that which was given to the sea back to the Church, the belief runs that the gifts have been the Krakens long enough that now they are his. Indeed many of the relics and artefacts have altered their being over the years and now represent the needs of the faith of the Kraken. Many have dreams and visions that lead them to those long forgotten wonders and, more, the gifts of many other Captains that have cast treasures and wonders beneath the waves The Holy Symbol of Orgoora is a pair of Twin, Black Seahorses.

The Demi Power Korvillian

“The voices of the dead never leave the living, the burden can never be forgotten.”

Not much is known of the actual origins of Korvillian or “The Korvillian” as she is sometimes known. The most common story of her existence is that she is a drowned sailors whose brother or husband or perhaps even son survived the same calamity that claimed her life. Her voice was first heard by the weeping widows who stood on the dockside of Rendrith lamenting the loss of those who died in the ill fated wreck of the Blue Bolster in 1422. Those that stood and wept heard the voices of their loved ones saying one final goodbye and whispering the secrets that they would otherwise have been buried with. Since that time Seers have been making contact with her for hundreds of years and now she has been taken by the Kraken and elevated to a new roles.

Followers of Korvillian are called upon for several reasons; they are specialists in speaking to those that have crossed the waters controlled by the Kraken in the past. They are able to allow loved ones to speak to their departed or Captains that wish to learn what errors took place to lead to a previous Captains death. Their efforts are never cheap but they do allow the ways of the Kraken’s Oceans to be utilised with greater ease.

The Holy Symbol of Korvillian is a skeletal Seahorse.

The Demi Power Kazosh

“You may run from the destiny laid before you but it will seek you in the realm of dreams and make you nought but nightmare.”

Kazosh was once one of the Zoranethi, a survivor who was present during the change between mortal and Undead. During his time as a mortal he wished for nothing more than to survive and join the sleepers but his position as a seer meant that he was one of the retinue that was part of the ritual but his moment had been prepared for. In his efforts to escape the transformation he worked certain druidic charms and rituals about himself and in doing so did indeed make himself immune to the wishes of The Kraken. Instead Kazosh escaped but soon realised that he could not interact with the real world and could only manifest in the dreams and Nightmares. The Kraken allowed Kazosh a return to his Pantheon but he is little more than an extension of The Krakens will and is the entire source of all of the power of Dreams and Nightmares that the Kraken possess. Whilst his name is whispered he is somewhat of an anathema and seen by few as a true part of the faith. His links to the Zoranethi past make him somewhat inaccessible.

The Holy Symbol of Kazosh is an embossed purple seahorse.

The Demi Power Kules Varth

“The Deep speaks of loss and life, if you can bear to listen”

How Kules Varth came to be is not something the ancient being has spoken of but he is known to have existed within the realms of the oceans for at least as long as any on the teeth can remember. His known history is one of ambition, domination and ultimately of decline. Although not part of the deific pantheon he has aspired to greater godhood by rising above known powers, sought greatness through the power of the Codex of War and sought power through alliances with other great beings like himself. This path brought about his apparent end in the final stages of the Codex of war when he took alliance with the Champions of the Codex and while travelling with them through the depths of the ocean was confronted and cast asunder by Shen Gong the Destroyer. In recent times he was re-discovered by Guildsfolk in the deep oceans bereft of purpose and with a fraction of his once great strength. He was persuaded to leave his realm of Deep servants and ancient craft and seek a place within the Kraken’s greater domain and has been willing to offer up his knowledge and service of his creatures to cement this alliance. The Holy Symbol of Kules Varth is a shattered crown

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