Eindridil
Titles: The Drowned, Terror of the Tides
Domain: Sea, Safe Travel, Primal
Symbol: A cresting wave
Sphere Granted: Dark
When she is calm Eindridil grants safe passage to those who seek travel upon the sea, but when her ire is provoked she unleashes her rage in a torrent of chaotic destruction. She holds no loyalty to good or evil. That loyalty is reserved for those that treat her watery domain with the utmost respect. As such she is often the matron of mariners, fishermen, pirates and those who travel by boat. She is considered as volatile as the sea itself, and when her rage is unleashed it is indiscriminate. It is for this reason that the devoted who choose to follow her demand that those who take to the sea offer sacrifice and homage to Eindridil. Those who would disrespect her will often find themselves lost in a fog, suffering from an unending thirst, or for those transgressions that deeply offend Eindridil, sunk to the bottom of her ocean floor.
While her power is immeasurable within the seas, her influence and reach stops at the shoreline. She finds herself imprisoned within the watery depths, unable to walk on land. As such, she takes in those wayward souls that would serve her, acting as her eyes and ears, both on ships and in ports around the world.
Woe betide any who commit sacrilege against Eindridil or the sea. Those who transgress find themselves turned away from waterfront cities as word of their crimes spreads from port to port among her faithful servants. Tales exist of ships being refused hospitality as their crew slowly and painfully succumbs to thirst and starvation, sometimes becoming so lost that they become damned to sail the sea well past death, all because they refused to show Eindridil the respect she demands. These ghost ships wear her black mark upon their sails as a warning to all that the sea demands respect.
Contents
Appearance
The goddess Eindridil is known to take on two forms. When the sea is calm, she is depicted as a beautiful pregnant mermaid with seaweed green hair and an enchanting, hypnotic voice. She can, at will, birth a number of horrific sea monsters from her womb for protection or to carry out her will. When her ire is provoked she is known to transform into a manifestation of the raging oceans and torrential storms, taking on the appearance of a fearsome sea monster. In this state her form becomes that of a hulking mass of writhing tentacles, each ending in a terrifying predator of the sea. She can, at will, in any form, open her mouth to release a blinding fog, as a warning to those nearby that they are in danger or that her rage is brewing.
Tenets
Five things a follower of Eindridil should do:
1. Offer leniency and temper your anger towards those that earn their keep from the sea. Maintain the unspoken code of honour amongst your fellow fishermen, mariners, but also thieves, pirates and their like.
2. Grant hospitality to those who show you respect. Ensure their safety and protection while they are within your home.
3. For great instances of disrespect towards Eindridil or her domain, a follower is expected to spread the word and deny hospitality to every safe port.
4. Always accept parlay or surrender from an enemy.
5. If you encounter disrespect for the sea or your home, do not hesitate to unleash your rage. Hold back nothing.
Five things a follower of Eindridil should not do:
1. Suffer those that would take more than their share. That includes the bounty of the sea but also the spoils of war.
2. Betray the trust of someone in your home or one who has granted you hospitality.
3. Leave port without offering tribute or sacrifice. The greater the need for safe travel, the greater the sacrifice should be.
4. Turn in or detain a fellow mariner who is committing minor crimes against the laws of man. The code of sea supersedes the laws of man on both land and sea.
5. Bury or cremate a body of the faithful or loved ones; their remains should be committed to water and left for the creatures of sea.
History
Eindridil was one of the five golden acorns created by Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to become a family of new gods. She was to be a daughter to Valdr and Haldora but her destiny was stolen from her when her brother Sverin attempted to steal her from the nest as she grew. Sverin was not strong enough to hold her as he descended down the World Tree and he dropped her. She landed in a river that fed a great ocean, and eventually came to rest in the great southern seas of the mortal realm of Maud’madir. For a time she was at peace with her surroundings, finding the ocean calm and serene, but that serenity was quickly shattered. The Firstborn Physignathus, Guardian of the Ocean Depths, would not suffer a god in her waters. A great battle took place under the sea and, inexperienced in combat, Eindridil was driven back. Her children, angelic mermaids, were slaughtered before her eyes and Eindridil was cursed by the Firstborn to never again to walk the lands of mortal men. Shame and defeat were new to Eindridil, but so too was the rage that was growing in her belly. This rage would manifest physically into horrific monsters that did her bidding in the open sea. Eindridil swore revenge on Physignathus and, when their forces do battle, coastal village be warned.
Eindridil longs to live on the land, and this softens her heart. Because of this she is often merciful and quells her rage when mortals pay her the proper respects. Those that do not feel the unbound rage of the Terror of the Tides.