The Deep One

### About

The Deep One is said to be a deity of Drevhall. It also goes by the epithet of the Eldest Guardian.

### Myths

#### The Scorching

According to the soggy scriptures, in the distant past, shortly after the creation of the world, the whole of the world was submerged beneath the ocean's waves, in what is known today as the Great Flood. And the Deep One, lord of the waters, ruled the seas. It created the Sea People and other creatures to serve him, and gifted its servants with great magical power. The greatest of these creations were its guardians, created from fragments of its own essence. It is said that the other gods grew jealous of the Deep One, and cast it and many of its minions down into the abyss and imprisoned them within a case of bedrock beneath the deepest depths of the planet. Once the Deep One was imprisoned, its magic faded from the world and the waters receded. The war between the gods which dried the seas became known as the Scorching.

However, the flood left its mark. The valleys of the Riverlands, and those lands that collapsed under the weight of the waters remained submerged even after the sea returned to its original level. This formed Crystal Lake.

#### The Return

It is said that one day the Deep One will break free from its prison with the help of its faithful followers. Once more the waters shall rise, until the whole world is once again the dominion of the Deep One. And those gods which betrayed and imprisoned the Deep One shall know its wrath.

### Religious Rites

#### Sacrifice

It is customary to make sacrifices to the Deep One by casting them down wells which reach down to bedrock, or into the void, in the hopes that such sacrifices will hasten its return. Sacrifices of extremely rare and valuable materials or living creatures are believed to be particularly impactful. Some even say that the Deep One feeds on the souls of zombies sacrificed to the depths or lost beneath the waves, creating the Drowned. Others say he offers those consigned to doom within his domain a second chance, so long as they vow to serve him.

The High Temple's official doctrine is human sacrifices are unnecessary and to be avoided.

#### Baptism

Initiation into the cult involves drowning while holding a Blessing of the Deep One, which revives the inductee from death by drowning. Priests of the Deep One may then hand out Blessings of the Deep One to those who have undertaken this ceremony, to spare them from death by other means.

#### Blood of the Deep One

Devotees of the Deep One ritualistically drink what is purported to be the sacred blood of the Deep One on holy days, which grant their imbiber the ability to breathe underwater, and metaphorically makes them of the same blood as the Deep One. Only those who have drunk the blood of the Deep One are traditionally allowed to hold high positions within the clergy.

#### Audience

Followers of the cult of the Deep One attend "audiences" underwater, at the bottom of the world until they can hold their breath no longer, hoping to catch the faintest whispers of the Deep One from within its bedrock prison.

#### Return to the Sea

*"We come from the sea, and must return to it."*

Upon death, followers of the Deep One should be returned to the sea. To be cremated, buried in the earth, or dropped in the void are considered improper.

### Religious Artifacts

#### Hearts of the Sea

Hearts of the Sea are said to be the last remnants of the Deep One, pieces of it which were sundered from the Deep One itself during its battle against the other gods, and hold the last lingering vestiges of its power in Drevhall. The Deep One's followers say that the beating of these hearts incontrovertibly evinces that the Deep One yet lives. The remnants of the Sea People gathered up these remains of their god, and built their settlements and temples around conduits created using these traces of the Deep One's magic. Suvivors of the Sea People that stray too far from these traces of their god's power invariably perish, they require this magic to sustain themselves.

#### Tridents

The Sea People are said to be the only ones who still remember the ancient art of crafting tridents, using the Deep One's magic. However, with his fading influence, this has become more difficult, and it threatens to become a lost art.

#### Wither's Bane

JesterInBlack's sacrifical sword Wither's Bane, is a holy sword of great importance within the faith. With it, Baron JesterInBlack sacrificed countless wither skeletons and many withers to the Deep One, a task that was carried on per his instructions by his cousin JesterInBlack II. It was used to break one of the seals upon the Deep One's prison.

#### The Sapphire Skull

The Sapphire Skull of the first Hierophant of the Deep One attunes its wearer to the currents of water magic, and allows them to breathe water.

#### Penny Pincer

Penny Pincer is a minor artifact associated with Costa, part of the Deep One pantheon.

#### Lost Relics

Rumors say there may be other relics related to the Deep One, wielded and lost in the scorching. There is rumored to be at least one blessed by each of the guardians of the Deep One.

### History

The cult of the Deep One has only recently emerged from the shadows. It was a hidden cult which practiced in secrecy, only passing down its teachings orally. According to the cult's oral tradition, since the time when the Deep One was imprisoned, the followers of the other gods had sought to silence them, and cause the Deep One to be forgotten.

No official record of such orders from the other major religions exists.

#### The Ryksull Heresy

After the cult of the Deep One resurfaced, a new sect within the faith formed, devoted to the miracle of the reanimation of the Guardians of the Deep. This sect was comprised of fanatical zealots who attempted human sacrifices on multiple occasions, and soured the perception of the faith in Drevhall. The High Temple of the Deep One only condemned the practice of human sacrifice after the cultists were brought to heel.

### The Guardians of the Deep One

Three of The Deep One's servants are said to have escaped the gods when their master was banished, or were overlooked or presumed dead for good. These ancient powers are known as The Guardians of The Deep One. A sect of the cult of the Deep One claims they are biding their time and building their strength, for the day they have long dreamt of when The Deep One returns and they will join their master in its revenge by ravaging its ancient enemies. Some claim the guardians are nothing more than a fable.

There are some sects within the church of the Deep One which worship these guardians Costa, Mare, and Tief as lesser deities of water. Among those which do, there are even some sects which rebel against the orthodoxy of the high church, and worship one of these guardians as the new god of water instead of the Deep One. There is some internal rivalry and contention between these sects, which have clashing practices.

### Religious Sites

There are a number of temples associated with the church of the Deep One.

#### Major Sites

##### The Temple of High Tides

The Temple of High Tides, more commonly called the High Temple of the Deep One is the seat of the official church of the Deep One. It sits in the heart of the Aquos temple district. Most of the church's Heart of the Sea collection is housed within the temple reliquary.

##### Shrine of the Shattered Seal

Well hidden somewhere in the ocean, this shrine once housed one of the seals on the Deep One's prison, before it was shattered by offering a sacrifice in the waters surrounding it using Wither's Bane.

#### Minor Sites

##### The Southern Water Temple

The southern water temple lies south of Aquos, in the Sea of Ice. It is open to the public, and features an altar of sacrifice where guardians corrupted by Tief's influence are sacrificed.

##### Bogwater

In the heart of Bogwater is a bottomless well where many sacrifices to the Deep One were once offered. Constructed as Jester I's personal chapel, the site was meant for private observances and audiences. After causing the outbreak of the sculk infection, the site has been sealed off by the holy boots of frost sealing. It's rumored there is another altar of sacrifice somewhere in the fortress' dungeons.

##### Vault of Costa

One of a number of shrines lost throughout the ages, a modest shrine and treasure vault of Costa was rediscovered on the coast of Costa Marina.

### Trivia

Some religious scholars of Drevhall believe the followers of the Deep One to be a deranged and deluded cult which worship a false god, created from misinterpreting ancient fan fiction. But who can say what is true with any certainty?