Pelagus the Wavewalker

<i>‘You cannot comprehend the vastness of the ocean, its staggering breadth and depth, the unimaginable number of living beings that call it home, its history stretching back to the birth of the world. I can. And that is why I can tell you that, despite this vastness, a single piece of flotsam tossed overboard is an affront to all of it.’ – Pelagus the Wavewalker</i> * Pelagus is a powerful and respected Tidemaster who gradually expanded his fastidious guardianship to a whole archipelago – something few Tidemasters can dream of. This was not an idle claim, for Pelagus was more than capable of enforcing his will across great areas. He sank several oil-leaking Dwarven ships, heedless of retribution, to end their pollution – once they were at the bottom of the sea, he wove seagrass into great pouches to contain the leaking oil and remove it from the waters. Possibly in response to his growing talent, he was ‘called’ to the depths by a strange, unknowable compulsion that he said was issued by a primordial deep-sea entity, a spirit of the ocean. Pelagus vanished into the crushing, lightless abyss for eighty-eight days. When he returned, he was changed – adapted to the cold and pressure yet still able to survive the shallows and even dry land, and with his already-impressive mastery of oceanic magic amplified to new heights. Appearing before Polemarch Agameos, while the Polemarch was conducting a conclave of nobles, Pelagus declared he had been ‘bestowed’ the title of Tidemaster of all the Argolades. He was an odd presence. His voice, booming and powerful when underwater, was thin, reedy, and breathless in the surface air. Despite this, he comported himself with dignity and commanded attention when he spoke. Many were skeptical and nervous about this claim, but a few became Pelagus’ fanatical supporters. Since then, Pelagus has made some effort to be involved with the politics of the Argolades, since he feels he must surveil land-dwellers to know how their actions could impact the seas. Pelagus has so mastered hydromancy that he can control the salty water within most creatures, including animals, monsters, and Telerians. Manipulations of these fluids, subtle or dramatic, allow Pelagus to weaken, disorient, slow, and stymie his foes, or simply rend their tissues from the inside. But these are not the powers Pelagus most relishes – he is a consummate conversationalist with sea life, from the largest whales to the smallest krill. He has a fondness for the leviathan-ships of the Sylvan, with whom he enjoys long, meandering exchanges. He appreciates the Sylvan in general more than the other members of the Nyresan Union, for he sees their reverence and connection with the forest as similar to his own bond with the seas. He would claim that his is deeper and more powerful, however, for the seas span the globe, against which the Mistwood is small. Pelagus is far more reticent regarding vessels from the Dwarves and the Shadowkin, but such ships bear barnacles, limpets, and ship-worms, each with a story to tell. Migratory pods of dolphins and whales also bring Pelagus news of the broader ocean, making his knowledge of the world and its happenings nearly as vast as the oceans themselves – unexpected in one who fiercely guards his native land and almost never leaves.