Shindaleria

[hellspawn]

•Aliases: Mother Ocean, Ocean's Embrace, Lady of Currents
•Race: Sea Elf
•Worshippers: Sea Elves, sailors, and sentient sea creatures
•Governs: Sea Life, Oceans, Healing, Wisdom
•Mantras: Idealistic, Intuitive, Natural, Stoic

The Mother Ocean has always been and always will be. Seek the embrace of her safety whenever you need it. Respect the sea, and its harmony it will not harm you in any way. Swim both the great currents and the shallow seas. Promote knowledge and use of the sea by reasonable folk, and fight those that would taint or deplete its beauty and bounty. Think long and wisely before acting; the seas do not alter quickly, but when the waters move, great change is sure to follow. Seek out fellow swimmers who honor the ways of Mother Ocean, and ally with them against those who follow Mist and who feel not the serene waters but only the chaotic waves.

[hellspawn]

Clerics of Shindaleria, most of them sea elves living underwater, prefer weapons and armor they can wear under seas. The trident is a useful weapon for underwater combat and hunting. Priests of Mother Ocean often spend most of their time in the sea, so they need to be able to swim; thus, they prefer clothing over heavy armor that rusts and makes them sink. Followers of Shindaleria prefer blue as their color, be it the turquoise blue of the shallow seas or the midnight blue of the deep ocean.

[hellspawn]

The ocean is in constant flow and as such there is little formal structure to the worship of Mother Ocean. Still, there are those that are blessed by her and thus receive her gifts of wisdom. Those members of Mother Ocean's clergy that are new to the ranks of her gifts are called Salps, the tiniest of sea creatures yet vital to the life of all. They drift in ocean currents and provide for the life of others in many ways. The transition from Salp to Nekton is a slow one. Nektons too are swimmers of the ocean, indeed the name is derived from a long forgotten elven dialect meaning swimmer. They travel the waves and currents constantly in motion. In time, a Nekton evolves the wisdom of the waves and settles into a Naulti to reflect and store that which they have learned in their times adrift. Those closest to Mother Ocean and well versed in her ways and wisdom are referred to as Naulti in veneration of the giant naultil snails that roam the ocean floors. They have few enemies but are respected for they are not defenseless. They can innately channel the Al'Noth when severely threatened. Their immense shells with many chambers and iridescent colors are prized possessions of the sea folk. It is said that a shell given freely by the snail imparts wisdom to its new owner.

Elections and Organizations
The very nature and vastness of the oceans preclude those in service to Mother Ocean to adopt the trapping of their landtrapped cousins. In the vastness of the oceans, a Nekton may go for years without directly contacting another of their kind or, if the pull of the waves is right, may find themselves drawn to a spot to receive the wisdom of their peers. Much of what happens under the blanket of the ocean's waves is not understood by those who have not given themselves to float in her currents.

[hellspawn]

Waterwalkers
For the terrestrial followers of the Lady of Currents, there does exist a small force of her chosen ones who leave the waves to teach her wisdom to those that make their livelihood from the bounty of her blessings. Composed of mainly humans, half elven, and recently displaced sea elves, these few have chosen to spread Mother Ocean's teachings of conservation, patience, and respect in opposition to Mist's more chaotic philosophy. They tend to be more stationary; however, some replace drifting in the ocean's currents to the constant drifting on the surface of the waters, acting as ship's clerics. Some take to the waves in vessels they captain themselves, drifting from seaside village to village spreading the dogma of the Ocean's Embrace.

Azure Guardians
The water is a mystical substance and exists in many forms and flows in many ways. There are those of the waves drawn by both the power of the currents and the power of Al'Noth. They channel the mystical properties of the sea. They study, but not in the sense of the mage. There are no texts in the murky depths. They study the currents, eddies, vortexes, and all that is the powers of water. On initiation, these wielders of the Al'Noth receive a pair of fine dolphin gloves. They initially are the color of the gentle animal's underbelly, but as the initiate learns and understands more, they deepen in the ocean's blue, eventually turning an almost inky black.

Kelp Shepherds
The oceans are not barren wastes of water and rock. The diversity of plant and animal life below the surface of the waves rivals that on the rocky surfaces of the land. Just like the great forests stretch to the skies and sway in the winds, there are deep in the oceans of life great forests of sea plants that dance in the currents. The largest of these is the great kelp forest in the Sea of Mour, western Almoran Ocean. These forests of dense fronds are nurtured and protected by druids in the service of the Lady of Currents. They tend not only the plants but the creatures that call the forest their home. Most of the shepherds are sea elves but a small portion is of mer descent. They can be recognized by the band of kelp fronds tattooed over their biceps.

[hellspawn]

Shindaleria does not have actual temples in the manner that we are used to with other gods and goddesses. The entire ocean and the rivers, lakes, and streams that return to it are her temple. One is always within the temple of Mother Ocean if one is immersed in her waters. However, there does exist a multitude of underwater shrines in dedication to her. These can be as simple as some prayer carved into an underwater shelf or the transformation of a sunken hull with coral statues and offerings of other tiny ocean treasures for her favor.
Shindaleria's shrines are used to record events in the seas, and Mother Ocean's clerics travel there once in a while to record past events in the cave walls. The locations of the most ancient shrines containing the most ancient history of Layonara are guarded secrets known only to a few of the oldest sea elves. Those who venerate Mother Ocean but live above the waves, still incorporate water into the sanctums in which they chose to worship her. Often these places of worship are found in seaside cliffs and caves that are submerged for part of the time and open for those who cannot breathe underwater at other times. Waterwalkers often carry a coral figurine of a sea creature that they submerge and offer prayers too when they cannot submerge themselves.

[hellspawn]

Prayers

Prayers to Shindaleria, due to most of her clerics being sea elves and spending most of their time in the water, aren't often heard. They are however sometimes written in the corals and rock walls of her shrines.

"Ocean's Embrace
Cradle me,
Eternally sway,
Gentle Currents,
Inspire awe in the soul,
Bounty of your wisdom
May it never cease,
In Ebb
In Flow
Forever"
Some sailors pray to Shindaleria before crossing the sea, for example: "Mother Ocean, grant us passage through your gentle waters, as we pose no threat to you or the life of the seas."

Holy Days

Mother Ocean doesn't really have widely recognized holy days, but individual sea elf communities celebrate certain days in her name. One time that those faithful to Shindaleria do find especially holy is that period when the seven stars of the wave twinkle in a running harmony. To those familiar with the sight, it is called the Remembrance, and it is reported to be how the constellation of Shindaleria first appeared on the southern horizon when she claimed her spot in the heavens. At this time, her faithful give thanks to her fortitude and wisdom against the odds and offer prayers to her continued strength.

[hellspawn]

•Allied:

◦Aeridin
◦Beryl
◦Folian S'pae
◦Ilsare
◦Katia

•Friendly:

◦Az'atta
◦Deliar
◦Grannoch
◦Lucinda
◦Prunilla
◦Toran

•Neutral:

◦Aragen
◦Dorand
◦Goran
◦Kithairien
◦Rofirein
◦Vorax
◦Xeen

•Unfriendly:

◦Shadon
◦Corath
◦Sulterio
◦Grand

•Enemy:

◦Pyrtechon
◦Branderback
◦Mist
◦Baraeon Ca'Duz
◦Vierdri'ira

[hellspawn]

Reliquary

Given that there is no one major temple to Shindaleria, there is no repository for items sacred to her followers. Though, it is said that her vestments of faith once used when she swam the waters of Layonara are holy and have powers unique to the relics. These items are presumed lost in the horrors of the Cataclysm and the more recent Dark Ages. The Nautil of Seeking is a blessed shell of an archaic nautil who is said to have been well over 5 centuries old when it dispersed back to Mother Ocean. It gifted its shell and memories of the things it saw as it contemplated on its journey to a then youthful Salp who happened upon her at the time of dispersement. The Salp, known as Mys'ser'shlassla, took the shell to one of the special grottos to be honored for the wisdom and beauty it represented. Those who would make the swim to seek the shell are said to return with an inner vision of Mother Ocean.

[hellspawn]

•Alignment:
◦Neutral Good



•Cleric Alignments:
◦Lawful Good
◦Neutral Good
◦Chaotic Good
◦True Neutral



•Domains:
◦Animal
◦Healing
◦Water
◦Good