LUNATICS OF THE DEATH-TIDE
Set Nº 89
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LOW TIDE JURAKIN LUNATICS
The Low-Tide Jurakin infest the coasts and sea caves like plagues. They are the smallest and most wretched caste of their kind.
Hatched in the muddy shallows and spawning pools deemed unworthy of noble blood, these creatures are erratic and strongly influenced by the ebb and flow of the tides.
What they lack in discipline they make up for in numbers, swarming their enemies with crude harpoons, shell shields, nets, hooks, and anything else dragged from the seabed.
Also called as tide Lunatics, the Low-Tide Jurakin are treated as expendable lives by their High-Tide masters, yet within their own filthy settlements they have formed a bizarre society of petty nobles, prophets, thieves, and self proclaimed dignitaries.
When the tide rises, so does their frenzy, and entire shoals may suddenly pour from the shallows in a lunatic, ravenous horde.
ARMORED MORAYS
Armored Morays are vicious predators of the shallow seas, distinguished by the massive natural plates protecting their heads and powerful jaws capable of crushing shell, bone, and armor alike.
Low-Tide Jurakin capture young specimens among reefs and mudflats, raising them on scraps until they become barely obedient mounts.
An Armored Moray is never truly tamed, and many riders eventually disappear between the jaws of their own beasts.
To a Lunatic, however, this merely proves that the Moray has chosen a stronger master. When driven into battle, these creatures coil through the currents before striking with terrifying speed, carrying their shrieking riders directly into the enemy ranks.
ARCHIBALD, BARON OF THE MUDFLATS
"Every shiny thing in these mudflats belongs to the Baron. And the Baron is me."
Where King Osteras rules the Jurakin by ancient right, Archibald rules a miserable dominion of mud and wreckage, the underbelly of Jurakin society where no High-Tide would ever venture.
Calling himself Baron of the Mudflats, he extorts tribute from local fishermen, threatening to wreck their boats and raze their livelihoods with his hordes of Lunatics should they refuse to pay.
The Baron surrounds himself with stunted Jurakin servants who carry his mantle and endlessly praise his grotesque magnificence. Among his subjects, Archibald maintains his authority through threats, bribery, and sudden acts of violence, though even he knows exactly where his little dominion ends.
Before the emissaries of King Osteras, the fearsome Baron becomes remarkably courteous, sending lavish gifts and eagerly proclaiming his undying loyalty to the crown.
BRAKLOTH TWO-TONGUES
"Octavius has spoken! Or perhaps I have. It matters little, the tide understood."
Among the Lunatics there are few creatures stranger than Octavius, the Tidecaller of the Ebb, whose muttered incantations can pull currents aside, strand ships in sudden shallows, and summon violent undertows from tranquil waters.
Permanently entwined around his head is an ancient octopus, a creature seemingly as intelligent and temperamental as its host.
The two whisper constantly to one another, argue in different voices, and occasionally punish those foolish enough to interrupt their conversations.
No Jurakin can say with certainty whether Octavius is actually the Jurakin beneath the octopus, or the octopus itself, commanding the Low-Tide as its puppet. Perhaps years of symbiosis have made such a distinction meaningless.
BOTTICELLA, THE JURAKIN VENUS
"Behold! The fairest jewel ever carried upon the foam!" -Botticella's devoted attendants
From a great scallop shell rises Botticella, an impossible beauty celebrated among the Low-Tide as their own Venus of the sea.
To mortal eyes she may appear as an enchanting nereid of flawless form, beckoning sailors toward the shallows with promises of love and hidden treasures. Yet when the glamour fades, her beautiful body bears the unmistakable head of a fish, revealing the grotesque creature beneath the illusion.
Two devoted attendants accompany her wherever she goes, one heralding her arrival with ridiculous ceremony while the other carries her garments and tends to every whim of their beloved lady. Whether Botticella truly believes herself the greatest beauty beneath the waves is uncertain, but no Lunatic within earshot has ever been foolish enough to disagree.
It seems clear that ever since Kurkalla, the Tide Tyrant, took root within the Jurakin realm, the strangest abominations have begun to emerge.
STORMTIDE LEVIATHAN
"When Holmuran stirs in his sleep, the Leviathans hear his dreams."
-Ancient Jurakin saying
Among the oldest creatures of the deep are the Stormtide Leviathans, colossal armored cetaceans said to have swum the oceans when Holmuran still walked freely upon Mundus.
Ancient Jurakin tales claim they once followed the Lord of the Seas like a great celestial shoal, carrying his storms across the horizon wherever their master commanded.
Hunted relentlessly through the centuries by the whalers of Anphitria, these ancient beasts have been driven to the brink of extinction, and few living souls have ever witnessed one.
Even now, when a Leviathan rises from the abyss, thunder follows, black clouds gather above the waves, and its immense body leaves the water to swim impossibly through the storm filled sky.
Among sailors and coastal settlements, the sight of a Stormtide Leviathan is regarded as an omen of impending calamity. The Tide Witches believe these creatures can still hear the dreams of Holmuran through his corrupted, slumbering Avatar, perhaps explaining why their rare appearances are so often followed by disaster.
