Leviathan

## Leviathan, Guardian of the Deep

The history of the Leviathan are told by the perspective of Glaciella Deepfrost, Ice Maiden of the Guardian's followers.

### **Overview**

What I know of this fierce guardian is that he once fought to save my people from the tyranny of a dwarven king, the names of that king and the people he opressed are lost to the millenia but Leviathan remained, if a little forgotten. After the battle it was gravely injured, stricken down by the great and terrible machines of war brought to bare by the dwarves. Leviathan retreated to what is now known as the waters of Twinlakes, though if my memory serves me right it was once far deeper, and far colder. Now Leviathan stirs in his lighter slumber, as if ready to awaken in a short time, and the Merfolk must be there when his array of eyes gaze out on this diverse and altered realm once more.

### **History**

I know not of any written history on the Leviathan, any that still remain are likely at the bottom of a dwarven mine below the farthest reaches of what we modern civilizations have re explored. I shouldn't have to explain why we Merfolk hold no written record of such things. Water and oceans dont mix of course. What is known is so because of the oral traditions of our people, passed down through stories and poems; poems told to children before bed or songs sang in idle labour.

One popular poem we recite when the mood takes us is **The Ode to the Deep Sleeper**, I'll recite it here for you now, as an example:

#### Ode To The Deep Sleeper

*Waves crash to rocks, cracking on harsh shore*

*Swallowing shells, muscles and more*

*Ravenous is the sea, waves of woe*

*Yet this tale sings of the beasts that lurk below*

*Serpents, sharks squids and slugs*

*Smelt blood for the feast at the jaws of these thugs*

*Not all who swim are of the same mind*

*For some bond together, cooperative and kind*

*The Merfolk, of deep, of ice and the not*

*Lost in their seabeds lost in deep thought*

*Worry little of danger, fear less of who brings*

*Life has more values than such petty things*

*This choice in mindstate, such resiliance and restrain*

*Gathers the gaze of the Guardian so it may not go in vain*

*He keeps us in shelter, from fear, fight and loss*

*He lights our future like sea pickles and glow moss*

*The many legs of carapace, stalwart in defense*

*Holding evil at the gates, asking for no recompence*

*Leviathan our Guardian, Protector of Folk*

*We stand by you, our savior, our friend, our yolk.*

As I recall, Leviathan stood up to a tyrant who attempted to rid the waters of the Merfolk, they felt we were a plague to be rid of. We remember such sentiment as baseless racism and judgement fallen without consideration. This war we waged was a contributing factor to our reservations in forming ties with the Dryskins of this millenia, though I feel these ones of the south to be different than most, more considerate of their neighbors. I wont expect the dryskins to bow in reverance to the Guardian of the Deep but mayhaps a nod upon its passing, respect of its power or at least fear of its reputation. The Future of Leviathan is to be carved but for now we must hold onto our faith and the memories of its doings so long ago.

### **Origins**

Leviathan was once a sea creature like the many others that lived in the past, perhaps larger than the others but not entirely different from any old beast of the Deep. This all changed when the Merfolk "created" Leviathan, you see Leviathan is technically known as an **Eikon**, a being willed into existance by the determined and devout beliefs of the people. The Merfolk desperately needed a hero, a saviour from the dwarves. They needed a Guardian of the Deep to protect the homes of the Folk across Tecalgia. Whatever Leviathan was before then is lost to time, the power of the Eikon overtook the species and he became a race of 1.

When he first arose to the Merfolk's defence, he was merely a beast. Leviathan couldnt speak or fully understand the voices of the Folk, I often wonder if he fought the dwarves out of self preservation or because the power of an Eikon forced him to obey our will. Either way as time passed Leviathan gained enough **Aether** to become sentient and spoke to us, coordinating tactics, giving commands to the Deepfolk Cavelry, even commanding the Thermalfolk to build their own machines of war. **The Guardian Mantle** is a famed artifact of the ThermalFolk, a sort of suit of armour worn b Leviathan imbued in pools of Aether deep below the surface. Giving the guardian nearly limitless power so that he may channel it into destructive force against the Dwarves. The location of the mantle is known only to the Guardian, it was sealed away by the Tidecallers long ago