Shalimyr
God of the Water
Shalimyr (SHALL-uh-meer) is the chaotic neutral god of the waters of the world: oceans, rivers, lakes, streams, and rain. He is the god of sailing, fishing, and all other mortal endeavors that rely on the water. To those living on coastlands, Shalimyr is the lord of sea storms (to landlocked peoples, Urian is usually considered the father of storms). He is the patron of fathers, for he was the father of Eliwyn, the tree from which the gods and mortal races arose, but he is also the patron of grandfathers, for from Eliwyn came the races of the world.
Shalimyr is shown as a great blue-skinned figure, with his hair and beard made of white sea foam. He wields a mighty falchion named Seacrest, and wears armor made from seashells. In his eyes dance the wild waves of the sea.
In nature, Shalimyr is often associated with the frightening beats of the sea, such as the great kraken, but he is more commonly identified with simple fish. His favorite creatures are said to be whales, sharks, and dolphins, and certainly Shalimyr's several faces can be seen in them, from the indifferent whales, to the violent and dangerous sharks, and even friendly, helpful dolphins.
Shalimyr is worshiped most ardently by the aquatic mortal races: the sea-elves, merfolk, and triton. These three revere Shalimyr over all other gods. On land, he is worshiped by those who live by and with the water—primarily elves and humans.
Divine Domains
Tempest, Water
Holy Books & Codes
The Beatitudes are the Shalimyn prayers, to be repeated three times daily. The Beatitudes' words are said as Shalimyn perform the actions of prayer, pouring water on their palms and touching their lips and eyelids. They are often followed with less formalized prayers.
Morning
"Blessed art though, Grandfather Ocean, from whom all blessings flows."Mid-Day
"I praise thee, Grandfather Ocean, for all thou givest daily."Evening
"I thank tee, Sea Father, for sparing me this day."
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Tenets of Faith
"Somewhere stands the greatest wall ever built, and the men that built that wall do stare at it with pride. But o'er that wall, there hangs a bough, its leaves laden with the water. And every day the bough does drip down on the wall its precious drops. A thousand men may live a thousand lives, and look upon the wall, but one day the water will prevail. Drop by drop, the mortar will be undone. Bit by bit, the wall will crumble and fall, and those proud men will be proud no longer of their mighty wall, broken into dust. I obey the water."The Shalimyn faith preaches profound humility. We live and die from the water; without it we are nothing. It is to the water we must always show our gratitude. On the surface, this makes the Shalimyn seem like a downtrodden, dour lot, but it is not so. The Shalimyn are humble before the waters, but they are fierce to their enemies and unafraid to die, ready to enjoy hard drink and the joys the body offers. They believe they live only by Shalimyr's grace, that every day they might be swallowed by the waters—even when they stand in a scorching desert—and this belief and recognition of impending death makes them fearless, at least in theory. However, when not in wild festivals or raging against enemies, a Shalimyn's faith is based on personal sacrifice. The Shalimyn shed things that are important to them and constantly mourn the losses, but temper mourning with gratitude for the sea's gifts. The more a person sacrifices, the holier she is thought to be. The Shalimyn faith is based on three primary principles, referred by the Shalimyn as the "Three Blessings."—Shalimyn Shipwright Kellyne Seafarer's "A Daughter of the Sea Father."
Humility
If every drop of water believed itself more important than the drop ahead and behind, the river would not flow. If the river thought itself greater than the ocean, the seas would grow thirsty and dry. Every individual must accept that his fate is not in his own hands, and must flow where the river takes him. The practical effect of the doctrine of humility, though, is not a sea of Shalimyn faithful waiting for orders from elders (as one might imagine from a lawful church with a similar doctrine). This is because all mortals must be humble. No mortal can determine another's path, so every man and woman must listen for the call of Grandfather Ocean, the inevitable pull of fate, the flow of the river tugging them this way or that. This "pull" would be described by a modern person as the unconscious: the raw emotional voice buried away by most, but heeded carefully by the Shalimyn. This makes for a church of people who, through their humility, are prepared to obey their every animal instinct; and perhaps among the truly righteous Shalimyn, these instincts are the call of Shalimyn. Regardless, it makes for a chaotic faith.
Sacrifice
We come from the water empty-handed. We must return to the water empty-handed. All things are granted by Shalimyr, and the belief that anything we have in hand is our property is absurd; it all belongs to Shalimyr. Because of this, Shalimyn obsessively tithe anywhere from ten to eight percent of everything they own. There are wealthy Shalimyn sea-traders who give away all their wealth when they are old (often to their own children or grandchildren), so this custom does not mean the Shalimyn are all paupers. However, it is ingrained into the Shalimyn in their earliest lessons that they must be prepared to sacrifice everything for the Sea Father, even their lives, for everything they own belongs to him. Nearly all Shalimyn rites involve a sacrifice of some kind, usually mingling the blood of an animal with the water.
Gratitude
Every day we awaken with our homes still intact, our vessels still held together, our sails still whole, it is because the Sea Father has let us. Every man, woman, and child must thank Shalimyr for his gifts at least three times daily: in morning prayer, in mid-day meal prayer, and in evening prayer. Prayers must not be missed. The prayers involve pouring water on the palms, touching water to the lips and eyelids, and reciting the Beatitudes of the Sea Father. If prayers are missed, the penitent Shalimyn must make painful sacrifices to Raging Shalimyr. He kills one of his finest livestock, gives his best sword to a pauper, and so on. Gratitude is also shown with regular periods of fasting, during which the Shalimyn eat nothing, and drink only water for a week at a time. The Three Blessings are so important to the Shalimyn because they know Shalimyr is a vengeful and angry god. He nurtures those who show him the proper respect, and destroys the arrogant utterly. The Shalimyn themselves are happy to cheer on this destruction. The bar brawls begun by Shalimyn are legendary, and easily set off, for they take it as a religious duty to deflate the ego of pompous men. Should a man brag in a seadog bar about his brave and mighty exploits, he can expect a mug against his head soon after. The Shalimyn faith is likely the only (nominally) "good" faith where one does his religious duty by cold-cocking someone in a bar. But the Shalimyn truly believe they are helping such people, for if they find such men arrogant, imagine what Raging Shalimyr will do to them! In fact, the truly devout Shalimyn can be heard to mutter, "This is for your own good, in Shalimyr's name," as they hit an unsuspecting, pompous fool in the head with a chair. Of course, not all Shalimyn indulge in this sort of behavior, as the faith runs a wide gamut, from chaotic good to chaotic evil worshipers. Yet nearly all Shalimyn find the imposition of elaborate codes of law ridiculous and laughable. Authority must come from personal respect and devotion. This is how the captain of a ship might lead an incredibly loyal crew, all of whom would gladly die on his word, and not be thought arrogant—each member of the crew knows the Captain and respects him. However, try telling one of the Shalimyn, "You must obey me because those are the rules," and it won't get you far. Add to this the fact that the Shalimyn are prepared to lose their lives should Shalimyr call, and you have a potential riot brewing at every port in the world. It warrants saying, though, that like very other religion of the gods of the tree, not every Shalimyn is devout to the point of an impassioned willingness to die on a moment's notice. There are many more "rational" followers of Shalimyr the Endless. But the Three Blessings make for a volatile religion.
Holidays
The main holy days of Shalimyr revolve around the fishing seasons, and depend on climatic conditions. The night before fishermen sail out again after winter is called Return Night, and is a festival of absolute abandon. The Shalimyn drink and eat to excess, dance and sing, all to show their gratitude to the Sea Father. Often a great bull is sacrificed in thanks, and all Shalimyn feast upon its uncooked meat after its blood has mingled with the waters.
The first week of winter, when the fishermen must dry-dock their ships, is a somber time, and none of the Shalimyn eat for the week, surviving only on water. All Shalimyn must fast during this week, praying in all three daily prayers for a short winter, even if they aren't anywhere near a fishing community at the time. It is considered an unforgivable sin for one of the Shalimyn to eat anything during the first week of winter; there are tales of men who grew sick during the week and, after being force-fed by friends, cut out their own tongues in abject shame. While most aren't that zealous, it is not a matter to be taken lightly.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Not as wild as Zheenkeef, Shalimyr does have a great love for dramatic shifts and changes in the world. He believes the world should be in constant flux, or risk stagnation, as his tidal pools grow stagnant with stillness. This is not to say that Shalimyr has no appreciation for the calm and the quiet. Indeed, he is as fond sometimes of silence and gentleness as he is of raging storms and tossing waves. There is a joy in both, but unlike his brother Urian, Shalimyr does not believe there is good in both. Nor does he care. Shalimyr loves to watch things break as much as he loves to watch them grow. He has as much appreciation for cruelty as he does for love, and believes they are equally valid instruments of change. This has been noted by his worshipers; they call the loving side of Shalimyr Grandfather Ocean, whereas the cruel and stormy Shalimyr is named Sea Father. All children of the world love the Grandfather and fear the Father, and Shalimyr seems to enjoy being both loved and feared. What he does not care for is what he sees as the arrogant illusion of permanence.
Shalimyr hates those who are proud and believe that they have built something that will never fall or fail, for they forget that eventually, everything collapses—even the world will crumble someday, when the Nameless One's name is spoken again. Nothing lasts, no matter how strong or virtuous, and to believe something will endure forever is pure hubris. Because of this, Shalimyr, more than any other god, levels the proud. Like the myth of the Pirate King, tales abound of men, women, or nations that believed they had achieved perfection, only to have everything they were so proud of destroyed by the waters of Shalimyr.
While he loathes the pride in others (including the other gods), Shalimyr is himself quite proud. He works his way into every crevice, slips into every available space, all to make sure he can see everything, destroying or nourishing as he chooses. He is unlikely to try to destroy the world, but he loves the power of knowing that drop by drop, he can undermine the foundation of any building, or topple any kingdom. After all, water is everywhere—it is in the air, in the dirt, in the blood of the people. Thereby, Shalimyr is in all things, and all people of the world live by his permission and through his grace. Or so he believes.
All this said, Shalimyr can perform acts of incredible generosity. Since the earliest days, Shalimyr allowed the mortal races to sail on his back. Sometimes he rages at the ships with his terrible rains, and sometimes he destroys a ship or two, but usually is he quite kind to sailors. The merfolk would have all died but for his grace. Whenever a town is thirsty and finds a new well, it is Shalimyr's grace made manifest. While it is true he is capricious and quite often a force for destruction, he is no more purely destructive than he is purely nurturing. He can give gifts to the mortal races that are every bit as magnificent as his punishments.
Among the gods, Shalimyr is usually aloof, except where Zheenkeef is concerned. His protectiveness eventually became an obsession, for Shalimyr the Wave is hopelessly besotted with the Mother of Madness. It is said that he and she couple often and feverishly, all without the knowledge of her husband Tinel, the god of knowledge.
Divine Classification
Old God
Religions
Children
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