Kelmu the Everflowing

Kelmu is the ancient deity of the turtlefolk, embodying the unending flow of time, patience, wisdom, and the mysteries of the deep. Depicted as an enormous sea turtle with a shell covered in swirling celestial patterns, Kelmu is said to carry the memories of the world upon their back, witnessing the rise and fall of civilisations without interference. They are revered as a guardian of balance, ensuring that all things move at their destined pace - never too fast, never too slow.

Aspects of Kelmu

Time & Patience: Kelmu teaches that time should not be rushed, for all things come when they are meant to. The turtlefolk believe that those who live in harmony with time will find peace and enlightenment.
The Ocean’s Depths: As the great keeper of the deep, Kelmu is associated with the knowledge hidden beneath the waves. The ocean is both life-giver and destroyer, and only those who respect its ways will survive.
Cycles & Renewal: Just as the tides ebb and flow, so too does life itself. The turtlefolk hold sacred the idea that death is not an end but a transition, a journey along the great current of existence.
The Silent Observer: Kelmu is said to rarely intervene, watching over the world with an unblinking gaze. Their followers believe that true wisdom comes from listening more than speaking, observing rather than acting in haste.

Worship & Rituals

The Drift Meditation: Devotees of Kelmu perform a sacred ritual where they float upon the ocean’s surface, surrendering themselves to the currents, trusting in the guidance of the great tide.
The Shellbinding Ceremony: When a turtlefolk reaches adulthood, they carve sacred runes or stories into their shell, marking their journey in honor of Kelmu. These inscriptions are believed to carry their wisdom into the next life.
The Moonlit Voyage: Once every few years, the most devout followers set sail under the full moon, drifting aimlessly into the ocean to seek divine visions from Kelmu. Some return enlightened; others are never seen again.
The Great Shell Offering: When a turtlefolk elder passes, their shell is either cast into the ocean or preserved in a sacred shrine, believed to be a message to Kelmu, offering their life’s wisdom to the deity.

Sacred Places

The Tranquil Depths – An underwater sanctuary said to be Kelmu’s resting place, where time flows differently, and ancient wisdom is stored within the coral formations.
The Everdrifting Isle: A floating island of sacred stone where the currents shift unpredictably. The turtlefolk believe that Kelmu’s spirit moves the island at will, guiding it to those in need of wisdom.
The Deep Spiral: A vast underwater whirlpool said to be a gateway to the realm of time, where those who enter may glimpse the past or future - but only if Kelmu wills it.

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Kelmu by Tillerz using MJ

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A world full of wonders.

Worshipped by

Kachhua (turtlefolk)

Distribution

Steamy Plains

Sacred or Magical Objects of Kelmu

The Tideshell: A massive, ancient seashell, said to contain the sound of the first waves ever to touch land. When held to the ear, it is said that one can hear whispers of past lives, lost knowledge, and the slow, inevitable song of time itself. Some believe it bestows wisdom from the ages, while others worry that prolonged listening could cause one to forget their own time and become lost in eternity.
The Riverstone Compass: A simple-looking black stone, smoothed by water, that, when held in the palm, will always guide the bearer toward what they seek - but not always in the way they expect. Many a traveller has followed the stone’s guidance, only to find that what they truly needed was not a place but a lesson.
The Everflowing Flask: A seemingly ordinary waterskin, but no matter how many times it is emptied, it always refills itself with fresh water. Legends say it was once a gift from Kelmu to a lost sailor, ensuring that those who respect the tides will never thirst. However, the flask is said to vanish from the hands of the unworthy, appearing where it is needed most.
The Driftwood Oar: A weathered oar that once belonged to a long-lost civilisation, believed to steer any boat toward safety, even in the fiercest storms. However, it can never be kept - it always drifts away once the journey is complete, as Kelmu does not allow any soul to hold onto certainty forever.
The Shell of Stillness: A pale blue conch shell, said to contain a single breath from Kelmu himself. When blown, it creates a bubble of perfect stillness, where time momentarily pauses, water calms, and all things are frozen in place for a few precious seconds. It is a gift and a warning - a reminder that even the flow of time has its moments of quiet.

Noteworthy People Connected to Kelmu

Elder Nhaon, The Keeper of Forgotten Names

A revered monk of Kelmu, said to remember every name that has ever been lost to time. It is whispered that those who seek him in the remote Cavern of Tides may recover the names of ancestors, forgotten places, or even pieces of their own past they have long since let slip away.

Captain Sora “The Drift Queen”

A legendary navigator who never used maps or stars, yet always found her way. Many claimed that Kelmu himself whispered the currents to her, guiding her ship where it was needed most. She disappeared at sea decades ago, but her ship still appears in myths and omens, said to reemerge in times of great need.

Yalun the Patient

A hermit who sat unmoving by a river for one hundred years, waiting for a single golden leaf to pass - a sign, he claimed, that Kelmu’s wisdom had been revealed. When at last it came, he simply smiled, stood, and walked away, never to be seen again. His story is often told to remind people that all things come in their own time.

The Ferryman of the Silver Shore

A mysterious, hooded figure who is said to appear to those lost in their journey, offering passage across rivers, oceans, or even into the afterlife. Some say he is Kelmu himself; others believe he is a mortal who learnt the flow of time so well that he now walks its currents freely, never ageing, never stopping.

Hanalai, The Voice of the Deep

A prophetess who lived beneath the waves, said to be able to speak with the ocean itself. Legends tell that she was once a mortal child, but after a powerful storm, Kelmu took her into his tides, transforming her into a being neither fully human nor fully divine. Sailors pray to her before embarking on long voyages, hoping that she still listens from the depths.

Philosophy of Kelmu’s Followers

“Rush not, for the current knows where to take thee.”

“Silence is the language of the wise.”

“What is lost is never gone, only waiting to return with the tide.”

“A shell bears the weight of time, yet does not break; so too must the soul endure.”

The legend of the river that stood still

Long ago, before the world knew time as it does now, there was a river that never moved. It stretched across the land like a silver thread, its waters perfectly clear, reflecting the sky without a single ripple. Trees lined its banks, their roots twisting in thirst, yet no rain or storm could stir the river’s surface. It did not flow; it did not change - it simply was.
The people of the land, known as the Stillborn Ones, lived in quiet stagnation. They did not grow old, nor did they suffer, but neither did they dream, nor laugh, nor love. Time passed around them, yet they remained as unchanging as their river, trapped in a world where nothing ever moved forward.
One day, a stranger arrived, a traveller draped in robes of woven tide, his hair dark as the ocean depths, and his eyes reflecting the endless sky. He walked to the edge of the unmoving river and knelt, placing his palm on its surface.
“You have forgotten how to flow,” he murmured, his voice as soft as the rolling waves. “You have forgotten how to move forward.”
The Stillborn Ones gathered, watching him in silence. None had ever spoken of change before. Change was unknown, and unknown things were to be feared.
A young woman, braver than the rest, stepped forward. “Who are you?” she asked.
The stranger smiled, and the currents of his robes shifted like waves upon his skin.
“I am Kelmu,” he said. “The Everflowing.”
He lifted a single stone from the riverbed, holding it between his fingers. The people gasped - for never before had anything in their world been moved. A simple action, yet it changed everything.
Kelmu tossed the stone into the distance. It skipped once, twice, then fell beyond their sight. As it sank, the river shuddered. A single ripple spread outward, slow at first, but then the entire river came to life.
Water rushed forward, crashing over the land with a mighty roar. The trees drank deeply, their roots no longer bound by stillness. The grass bent to the wind, and the people - the people who had never known change - felt time touch them at last.
For the first time in eternity, they breathed in a world that moved.
Some cried, overwhelmed by the sensation. Others feared what was to come - would they now grow old? Would they lose what they had?
Kelmu gazed upon them kindly, yet did not stay to answer. He was already walking onwards, following the new path of the river, where the water would never again be bound to stillness.
The Stillborn Ones - now simply People - watched him go, and with their first true step forward, they followed.

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