PONDERING THE DOOM WHICH AWAITS US: WHAT THE LUDOCH PRIEST SAY Martin R. Crim (1994) Where Did the World Come From? The primal river, flowing from eternity, split itself into many branches: hot and cold, salt and fresh, high and low. Zaramaka the Primal Water had three children: Daliath, Sramake, and Fra- manthe. Together they populated the whole ocean. Much later, dry land appeared, floating on the surface of the water. Eventually, all the dry lands will sink again into the sea from which they came. The currents of the water will go on forever. Where Did I Come from? Your soul bubbled up from the deep through the ceaseless cycles of the sea. Like a warm current, you rose and entered your mother's womb, and stirred the embryo there. When your soul has cooled, it will sink again into the depths. Why Do We Die? The cycles of the sea are inexorable and merciless. All must return to where it came from. Your soul came from the deep, and so you must return to the deep. Only the ocean is eternal. What Happens after We Die? Our souls return to Framanthe's gloomy deep. There, we gradually forget all we know about our present life. After a time, we will be reborn into the brighter surface waters. Why Am I Here? Because of the cycles of the sea. Do not search for a reason why your particular soul is here and now. The sea does not know, or care, where each drop of water is. Rather, we take part in the role that the sea gave to the Ludoch race. How Do I Do Magic? Daliath, the second child of Zaramaka, discovered the secret energies of the waters. He taught his children, who make their inner powers available to us. All magic comes from the gods. I Have Heard of Other Powers. Can You Tell Me the Truth about... ...Banthe? Prince of the Western ocean, and one of the Manthie. He is a cold god, drawing frigid water down from the far north, where they say there is an ocean of ice. ...Chaos? This is an enemy who came to us from the land. He corrupted the [sea] trolls, giving them powers but cursing them at the same time. He killed many Tritons and Naiads, but King Magasta defeated him. ...Darkness Gods? This tribe claims to be as ancient as the waters. Styx is the goddess of oaths and black waters. She is a dire and unforgiving goddess, and set the fates for all water beings. Xentha is goddess of night. Robber was a demon and the mother of Wachaza. Other darkness demons gave birth to the monsters of the deep. Kyger Litor is the goddess of darkness and land trolls. We rarely need to worry about her, but her people sometimes take to boats. They will eat anything. ...Dormal? This clever human recently reinvented ships. Since then, humans have plied the deep waters. Thus, humans set themselves up for another disaster. ...The Cold Death [Drospoly]? This terrible god takes all that dies in deep water. He is deadly cold, and utterly dark, and his realm vomits forth monsters. It is a terrible thing to die in deep water and sink to his lair. Do not speak of him. ...Earth Gods? This tribe rules over the dry spots. They have many parallels to the sea gods, such as land-Murthdrya, land-Tholaina, land-Dragon, and land-Waertag. The first were the earth gods, who gave birth to the storm gods and the fire gods. We rarely have anything to do with the land gods. During the godtime, we fought the land gods and sank many lands. We sank some more lands when we destroyed the cursed God Learners. Eventually, we will sink them all. ...Fire Gods? Yelm leads this tribe. He lit up the sea, and made flowering plants appear where he touched the waters. The storm gods killed him, and he fell into the ocean. Then we learned that water is more powerful than fire. Magasta stole Yelm's secrets, and taught them to his nephew Lorian. Lorian took his tribe to invade the fire gods' realm, and won a place there. You can see him in the stars. Yelm rose again, because of the ceaseless cycles of the sea. Now he rises and sets. We take note of one other fire god. Lodril is the god of volcanoes. He sometimes raises mountains of hot rock from the sea bed, or pours ash into the water from some land vent. ...Lorian Godriver? This god fulfilled ancient prophecies by invading the sky. We do not worship him, for he is too far away from us now. He saved our lord Choralinthor, for which we are grateful. His water connects with Choralinthor through Skyfall Lake, far inland. ...Murthdrya? The goddess of plants. Her folk, the elves, worship her alone. We propitiate her, for she provides much of our food. ...Nelat? The purifying waters. He is the son of Daliath and Sramake, and father of Mirintha. We do not often worship him, except those who approach the well of Daliath. ...Primitive Spirits? The world is full of spirits. Those who have resigned themselves to their fates are good; the rest are evil. Our shamans learn their secrets and their powers. ...River Gods? These are water gods who invaded the land during the Gods War. Humans and other creatures worship them, but do not gain wisdom thereby. Even though they survive through a cycle of water power, they do not learn their places and fates. ...Sokazub? This goddess is a daughter of Tholaina. She mothered all the spineless animals of the sea. The distant Dwerulans worship her and her daughters Swems and Molucca. ...Storm Gods? These gods came along even after the dry lands and the sky gods. They were violent and arrogant. They sought to avoid their fates, and suffered for it. They brought suffering to the oceans in many battles. Some of them raped Naiads, and thus fathered the bastard Piscoi tribes. Our ancestor Naiads made treaties with the storm gods, married them, and produced the first Ludoch and Ouori. In return, the storm gods' sister, Brastalos, became the slave of Magasta. The worst of the surviving storm gods is Orlanth. ...Tritons? These semi-mythical and semi-divine beings came into the world long ago, and gave birth to the many Naiads. They live in the deep and mutter dark rituals that have yet to give birth. ...Mother of Monsters [Varchulanga]? A frightening goddess. We Ludoch propitiate her, especially if we must cross the bottomless ocean where the Gnydron live. ...Waertag? This half-breed was the founder of a great sea-going race, now much diminished. They were amphibious, but preferred to stay on their dragon ships. They had strange magics and stranger ideas. Gods of the Ludoch Pantheon Annilla This is the invisible goddess who causes the tides. She rises up the eastern sky over a variable number of days, and then plunges straight through Magasta's Pool in one day. As she rises, so the tides rise, and as she falls, they fall. She has secret powers, which she shares with her secret cult. Brastalos This storm goddess commands the sea winds and the spirits of the air. We use her sylphs to fill underwater caves where we can hide. Her cult is not very popular, because she is frivolous, like many storm gods. Daliath The source of all magic, whom few dare approach. He is all wise, and sees the cycles which our smaller souls cannot fathom. He taught Phargon how to find all the outer [spirit] magics. He taught the other gods how to find their inner [divine] magics. Framanthe The goddess of the afterlife, and mother of many gods. Where Daliath has wisdom, Framanthe has mystic insight. Her cult is simple. Golod The fish father and favorite husband of Triolina. He gives us many tasty varieties of food. Only ugly Piscoi and slaves worship him, though. Iphara The goddess of fog, whom some call upon to confound sailors. Our shamans contact her. King Undine This god is important for his place in the genealogies. Some of his children accept worship, but most are unintelligent spirits. King Undine is the source of all the undines which the cults and shamans snare. Magasta Our dread lord, whose cult swells in time of trouble. He is king of the sea gods, and commands all the powers of the oceans. Manthi Manthi is subservient to Magasta, but king over all the rest of the sea's beings. He is the god of justice and stern rulership. He is the father of the Manthie, including Sshorg. Manthie These are the children of Manthi and Natea. They are the princes and lords of the various seas and bays. We worship Choralinthor, one of the Manthie and the son of Faralinthor, the Bright Calm. Choralinthor rules a bright, shallow, and calm bay, full of food. Mirintha The sea nymph, ancestress of the mer-tribes. By her half- brother, Phargon, she mothered the ten founders of the mer- tribes. The founders married their half-sisters, Mirintha's daughters by King Undine, who were the first naiads. The founders' children were naiads, too, and they were the ones whom the storm gods married or raped. Natea She is Manthi's sister and wife, queen of sea beings. We worship her together with Manthi. Phargon Another child of Triolina, and another husband of Mirintha. He looked like a Ludoch, although the Piscoi lie and say he looked like them. He leads the ancestor cult, and teaches our shamans. Sramake "One Water," the hermaphroditic child of Zaramaka. He/she is important only for his/her place in the genealogies. Sshorg The prince of the eastern sea and one of the Manthie. He is a warm god, pulling heat from the land of fire to the south. We worship him to thank him for his many gifts. Tholaina The mother of sea-beasts. She gave birth to the endless varieties of creatures in and around the sea. With Golod, she is the mother of the countless species of fish. Impregnated by an air god, she mothered all the water-loving mammals. By a captured sky-god, she mothered the birds of the waters. With a husband of darkness, she gave birth to all the invertebrates that live in water. She bore the first turtles and watersnakes, as well as monsters like the elasmosaur, for a god of the earth. We worship her to gain her protection and favor. She is easier to reach than her mother, Triolina. Triolina The mother of life. She is hard to approach, but provides great gifts for those whose life-current takes them to her. Wachaza This frightful god brings war and devastation in his wake. We must fight to defend ourselves, and thus some of us must worship him. Zaramaka The primal water, fore-parent of the seas and all the creatures in them. What My Uncle Told Me: A Personal View of Ludoch Culture Who Are You? I am Sinking Current Shark Tooth, of the warriors. I have stained the sea with many foes [that is, spilt their blood]. I will stain more water until I too die in battle. Who Are We? We are the tribe of Shallow Bright, a mighty nation. Our ancestors lived for many generations where we live now. We have never doubted our fates, seeing each of us in turn go down to the dark depths of death. What Makes Us Great? We keep our ancient ways, never blurring the lines of caste and lineage. We struggle against death and darkness, as our life- streams demand of us. Destiny has brought us power, wealth, and many children. Destiny has also brought us blood, loss, and pain. Where Do We Live? We live in the Choralinthor Bay and the shelf areas near the bay's mouth. Many rivers empty into the bay, making it less salty than the open sea. One river runs away from the bay, up into the mountains to wash a polluted chaos nest. Choralinthor ordered it to do so, and its name is the Syphon river. How Do We Live? We live on the food gathered by the gatherers. They bring us enough to eat every day at the feeding place. The makers bring us useful things. The rulers sometimes give us land-things they have traded for. We make our weapons and practice with them. We meditate, to learn our souls' life-currents. When the rulers tell us to go to war, we gather in our strong places to prepare to die. Then we go forth and slay our foes. Those who survive return to our homes in the bay. What Is Important in My Life? To learn your life-current and not to fight your destiny. Fate decrees that all of us warriors die violently. The only question is whether you accept your fate. If you do, you remain within the currents of the sea. If you fight your fate, you become lost. Who Rules Us? The rulers rule us. Their head is the chief, who also rules the legged folk of the Islands through their High Admiral of Boats. The Pharaoh, a land god, claims to rule our chief, and he certainly rules the legged folk of the Islands. If our chief decides or refuses to follow the Pharaoh, that is of no concern to us. He must follow his own life stream. We also look to the Naiad Ludo, daughter of Phargon and ancestress of our race. She sends us signals from the deep. What Makes a Ludoch Great? We warriors are great when we kill many foes. Rulers are great when they preserve their tribe from destruction through wise decisions. Shamans are great when they have bound many powerful spirits. Gatherers and Makers cannot be great. What Is the Difference Between Males and Females? Males are the stronger, and thus make better warriors. We lead the charges, while keeping the females in reserve. Given a choice, we protect the females, so we can rebuild the warrior strength of our tribe quickly. For similar reasons, we seek to kill the females of our enemies. In the other castes, gender makes little difference. Each of us Ludoch belongs to our mother's caste, so fathering is not important. The currents of the sea move male and female together, and we do not fight this. Unlike the land folk of the Islands, we do not stay with the same mate after mating is done. When a warrior boy is fifteen, his uncles take him away and make him an adult. My uncles did it to me, I and my brother did it to you, and you will do it to your sisters' sons. We do not say anything more about those secrets, except in secure places. What Is Evil? Fighting against fate is evil. Those who seek to escape their life stream become lost and confused, like the people of the land. They cannot know what awaits them, and must live with uncertainty. Changing gods, seeking to act like those in other castes, and doubting fate--these make one lost. What Is My Lot in Life? You will follow Wachaza, try to learn your own life-current, and slay our enemies. Eventually, you will die in battle, or from the curse of an enemy. How Do We Deal with Others? With tridents, knives, and offensive spells. With swarming charges of hardened warriors, sweeping away the defenseless and putting to flight our enemies. This, fate commands us to do. Who Are Our Enemies? The Piscoi mermen are our enemies, because they hate us with an unthinking fury and have no respect for life. They frequent the deep places, for they need not breathe as often as we must. The Gnydron race is the strongest race of Piscoi. They alone of the Piscoi defeated the storm gods, and need not breath air at all. They live in the deep ocean. Their gods are Maga- sta, Wachaza, Daliath, Framanthe, Annilla, and the dread Cold Death and Mother of Monsters. The Malasp race is the least hateful of the Piscoi. However, they are sly and magically powerful. The live in the southwestern waters. They favor Magasta, Tholaina, Wachaza, Golod, and spirit cults. The Yssabau are the ugliest and least magical of the Piscoi. They are spread wide and thinly, but are most common in the southeast. They favor gods of death, including Magasta, Wachaza, and the Cold Death, but also worship Golod. The Zabdamar are the rarest and most magical of the Piscoi. They live in Kahar's Sea of Fog, far to the east. The males are especially powerful, though ugly, and often become powerful sha- mans, as well as priests of Manthi or Phargon. The females are beautiful, and some practice weird magics. Others worship Triolina, the fog gods Iphara and Kahar, or other exotic deities. Kahar is one of the Manthie. The Dwerulans are the most outlandish Piscoi, and live only in the worm sea, far to the southwest. We know them only through reputation, but they supposedly worship gods of spineless animals. [Troll Gods describes the cult of Swems.] [Sea] Trolls are pests, but are not intelligent or magical enough to threaten us. They stick to coastal waters, and lurk in deep dark places. They are chaotic. Other Cetoi tribes may also be enemies, if their life streams bring them into conflict with us. Ouori live far to the west, and rarely bother us. Blue elves sometimes attack us, for no clear reason. We fight them until they sue for peace. They are too many and too useful to exterminate, but we must always be on our guard around them. Land races are usually friendly, but clumsy. They may accidentally snare you in their nets, but you can easily cut your way out. They know better than to deliberately antagonize us. The legged folk we see most often are the humans called Islanders, who submit to our rule and speak our language. They have not learned the trick of speaking underwater, however. Who Are Our Gods? Wachaza is our god. He teaches magics of war and secrets of killing. We see that our lives and souls are his, and he breaks them as you would break a spear. Our rulers worship Manthi and Magasta. The shamans worship Ludo, Phargon, Choralinthor, and sometimes Annilla. The gatherers worship Choralinthor, Tholaina, and sometimes Triolina. What Is There to Do around Here? Practice your weapons. Listen to the wisdom of the elders. Meditate on your place in the stream of life. Do not talk to the land folk, for they are full of strange ideas that would pollute your mind. If you need something from the land, speak to the rulers and they may get it for you. NOTES: LANGUAGE: Ludoch, like all mermen, speak perfectly well underwater. They do not exhale while doing so, however. They hum, make pops in their throat, and use other ways to generate sound within their bodies, as dolphins do. Sound carries well underwater, so the ludoch hear each other quite well. A choir of ludoch can project their voices dozens of kilometers. This pales in comparison to the Tritons and some Naiads, whose voices carry through the whole ocean. (The sea is a noisy place, what with mermen shouting, whales booming and keening, and a steady susurrus of other creatures.) In the air, ludoch exhale while speaking, to project their voices better. Humans can learn this air-speaking with some effort, but never lose the accent that Ludoch can spot at once. Ludoch also have some hand signals, which they use when silence is advisable. They have no true sign language, however. CASTES: Ludoch recognize at least four professions or castes: ruler, warrior, shaman, and gatherer. Some ludoch recognize more or different castes. The caste system is a product or symptom of the extreme fatalism of the merman cultures.