The Tide
The Tide
Known Before as: Nerina, the Deep-Minded Queen
Current Form: Scattered Consciousness, Lingering in the Ocean’s Depths
Embodied Concept:
Cycle, Pressure, and Pull. Nerina represents the constant ebb and flow of existence—attraction and retreat, creation and destruction, the moon-drawn rhythm that governs all seas and souls. She is not water—she is motion through water, inevitability through rhythm.
Patron Of:
- Ocean Currents and Deep Pressure
- Moon-Linked Cycles (tides, fertility, madness)
- Forgotten Depths, Drowned Knowledge, and Leviathanic Beasts
- Storm Giants and Creatures of the Deep
Symbol:
A coiled sea serpent devouring its own tail, with a crescent moon nested inside its open eye. Often carved into coral, tattooed by deep-sea cultures, or ritually drawn in saltwater during sea-bound rites.
Common Appearance to Mortals:
When she appears at all, it is within dreams, scrying pools, or moments of drowning. Nerina may manifest as a woman with flowing hair made of kelp and eyes like bioluminescent abysses—or as a leviathan made of tides and broken ships. Her voice is the pressure behind the waves—heard only when the breath is held too long.
History and Myth:
Nerina was once a towering goddess of the sea, worshipped openly by ancient storm giants and coastal empires now lost beneath the waves. During the Demonic Wars, her body was torn apart—some say by Tiamat herself, others by a pact she made with the World Turtle that cost her form in exchange for balance.
Her essence now resides in the deepest trenches, riding the currents, whispering to those lost at sea. Her children—the storm giants—still revere her as their first mother, though even they fear to speak her name beneath the surface, lest the tide turn against them.
Some say those who drown at sea do not die, but join her dreaming mind, swallowed whole and woven into the rhythm of the abyss.
Doctrine and Devotion:
“There is no resistance. There is only surrender, or drowning.”
Her followers do not pray in words. They chant through drums, waves, and ritual breath-holding, aligning their bodies with the tides. Worship is often sacrificial or trance-based, seeking communion through drowning, pressure, or ecstatic visions beneath the surface.
Her clergy are rare, and her relics lost—except among storm giants, deep merrow cults, and the most secretive selkie moon-witches.
Relationship to the Pantheon:
Though not counted among the “gods” in mortal temples, Nerina predates most pantheons and is recognized by sea deities, storm gods, and titanic beings as a foundational force. She no longer acts with will—but her influence is constant, woven into tides, moon cycles, and the slow turning of the world. The Platinum Dragon honors her memory; Tiamat fears her return.
Perception by Mortals:
Revered and Feared. Among coastal peoples and seafarers, Nerina is treated with ritualistic dread—not loved, but deeply respected. To insult the Tide is to invite shipwreck, infertility, or madness. Among storm giants, she is still revered as a divine ancestor, and among selkies, as a shifting mythos of woman, beast, and storm.
Relic of the Tide: Trident of the Moon’s Pull
"All that resists the tide must break. All that surrenders becomes the tide."
Weapon (Trident), Legendary → Artifact
Requires attunement by a Druid, Cleric, Warlock, or Paladin who has nearly drowned, been swallowed by the sea, or completed a full moon ritual beneath open water.
Initial Form: Trident of the Moon’s Pull (Levels 10–13)
Forged from deep-sea black coral and rimmed with barnacle-fused silver, the trident hums with pressure even when still. Its tines glisten as if perpetually wet, and seawater drips from it even on dry land. When held aloft during high tide or under moonlight, it pulses in rhythm with ocean currents no mortal can see.
Tidal Reversal:
When you strike a creature with the trident, you may choose to reverse its momentum. Once per turn on a hit, the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 16) or be thrown 20 feet in the opposite direction of its intended movement and knocked prone as unseen currents yank them back.
Call of the Deep (1/short rest):
You may cast Control Water or Tidal Wave without expending a spell slot. When cast using the trident, the area becomes difficult terrain for 1 minute as whispers from the deep echo in the waves. Creatures who fail the saving throw also become deafened for 1 round.
Breath of the Tide:
You and creatures you designate within 30 feet gain the ability to breathe underwater and swim at double speed. While underwater, you have advantage on Constitution saving throws and resistance to cold and thunder damage.
Awakened Form: Trident of the Drowned Queen (Levels 17–20)
Now awakened, the trident’s tines glow with faint moonlight, and its shaft ripples with shifting ocean patterns. When thrown, it returns to the wielder like a current returning to shore. Those struck by it hear the deep voice of Nerina echo within their skull.
Moonpull Dominance (1/day):
As an action, raise the trident under moonlight or in open water to summon a tidal vortex. Choose up to 6 creatures within 60 feet. Each must make a Strength saving throw (DC 20) or be lifted, spun, and crushed as a sphere of deep-sea water erupts around them (6d10 bludgeoning damage, prone, restrained for 1 minute). They may repeat the save at the end of their turns.
Ebb and Flow:
When you are reduced to 0 HP, you may choose to become water, reforming as a tide 30 feet away with 25 hit points once per long rest. This leaves a trail of briny seawater and ancient runes etched into the ground behind you.
Drowned Memory:
You may cast Legend Lore once per day by submerging the trident and chanting a name. The answer comes not in words, but in imagery, pressure, and sound—visions of what the sea remembers. The knowledge is always filtered through Nerina’s perspective.
Awakening Trigger:
The trident awakens when:
- The bearer surrenders themselves to the ocean, embracing a drowning ritual or trance.
- Or, when they call upon Nerina’s name while submerged and complete a full moon’s cycle without touching dry land.
- Or, when they use the trident to spare an enemy in recognition that even the tide retreats before it returns.
Once awakened, the bearer’s voice becomes subtly echoic, and during moments of silence, they can hear the creaking of lost ships and the distant songs of drowned souls.
