Glorantha: Inner Knowledge of the Sea Gods 
Inner Knowledge of the Sea Gods
The Merpriestess Speaks
originally published (in English) in Tales of the Reaching Moon #10
This document is Copyright © 1998 Issaries, Inc. It may be freely linked to, and 
one copy may be printed for personal use, but any other reproduction by 
photographic, electronic, or other methods of retrieval, is prohibited.
Table of Contents
  Where did the world come from? 
  Can you tell me the truth about...? 
Where did the world come from?
The whole world was dark and empty, no fish swam there, no coral grew there, no 
hard krill drilled its depths.
In that place was born the Mystery, the Source of Waters, the dark and empty 
liquid from which flows all life. Outsider call her Styx, but initiates alone 
can hear her true name.
From that Secret Power Zaramaka created himself. Great Elder, Keeper of the 
Source, Father and Mother of the Elder Three. Those Three met and mingled, the 
way the waters of a river mingle with those of the sea, sometimes washing 
saltiness far up the river mouth, other times sending dark brown mud far to sea. 
Within the surge and turbulence, that never-ending ebb and flow, the gods who 
made the seas we know, grew up and dwelt in fluid life.
Triolina is the grand-daughter of Zaramaka. She is the Mother of Life, and from 
her stem all the creatures of the waters. She had five husbands, or more, and 
two of her children wed to make our race. Mirintha, Gentle Nymph Mother, and 
Phargon, Son of Man, were parents of the seven tribal Founders, who each had 
different mates.
The Last Growth is the most wonderful phase of life, after Sramak received the 
gentle gifts of Gata the Giver, and hordes of new life bloomed across the 
Surface World.
Where did I come from?
From the Mother and Father were born the Tritons, terrible and powerful gods and 
goddesses of the deep. Their children were the Niiades, a race of magicians -- 
every one a shapeshifter or enchanter.
Among the Niiades some sought the depths of the sea, seeking wisdom through 
harmony and experimentation. Some of these are famous for their deeds, including 
the ancestors of the Seven Tribes.
The Ancestors were gods who mated with native animal gods, thereby creating the 
tailed races who inhabit the seas. Those are mortal beings whose children begat 
your ancestors.
Why do we die?
Since the Enemy came all waters in Glorantha must die. The tides of eternity 
sweep our ranks forever, and the grace and wisdom of Magasta preserves us in the 
world.
Before the Death all grew until the world was stagnant -- even the depths were 
turgid with thick algae. Magasta, The Churner, was he who set us free, both to 
release us into the wonders of Life and then to rob us of our freedom and love.
Fearful death is, yet it is the only choice set against the nothingness of 
stagnation.
What happens after we die?
After death your soul disappears into the depths of Magasta, drawn into the 
unknown universal soul of the waters. Some beings, whose descendants cling to 
them, remain afterwards as stale ghosts, but eventually fade away.
Why am I here?
Magasta has formed you for the Current of Life. You are like the rivers which 
wash the depths of the sea, always changing and moving, yet always there. The 
strongest currents go for a long distance, but even they begin and end. Both you 
and the greatest oceans and gods come from nothing, and when the flow is over, 
end in nothing.
While you are here your duty is to make your own current, to shape the flow of 
your life to serve your community and world.
How do I do magic?
All the world is an ebb and flow of energy and matter. Some forces are more 
apparent than others, but you can train yourself to harmonize with those around 
you. They can be known, called upon, and join themselves to you like a 
tributary.
I have heard of other powers. Can you tell me the truth about ...
...The Sky Gods?
These sterile entities of the Far Place are the source of bad living. Once these 
were gentle forces, friendly to Life in providing warmth and light.
But they grew proud and arrogant, jealous of their gifts which they took away to 
the Far Place. Their pride killed them, they suffered terrible dooms, and now 
that Life is renewed the worst among them are condemned forever to a waterless 
existence. Yet they have been tamed and give us again the pleasant gifts of old, 
as intended.
...The Storm Gods?
These enemies brought Death to us, and although Magasta took its secrets and 
used them to save the world, the Storm Gods misused them to bring misery and 
trouble to all watery beings. These monstrous gods pounded seas into submission 
and imprisoned legions of life within ice. They carried off our gods as slaves. 
Always Magasta and Orlanth have been rivals, and only Brastalos and some of the 
Tribal Founders are worthy of respect at all.
...The Earth Goddesses?
These gentle goddesses are bountiful friends of the sea. Ga, the Earthess, is 
the magical child of Zaramaka, made as a servant and worker for Sramak, the 
least of the Elder Three. She provides rich sustenance to him, and to all the 
Last Growth bodies which require nourishment on the physical plane.
...The Darkness Gods?
The inner powers of the sea are ancient and forbidding. They loom and glower 
within everything, ever ready to seep or leap out. Within each person, and 
within each god, lurk those powers, and sometimes burst out unhindered. Many are 
recognizable and controllable by the powers and intercession of Magasta. We do 
not revere them, or give them Power, though we know them.
...Lunar Gods?
Secret powers move the universe, and the cyclic powers of the Lunar world were 
ours until revealed by the upstart goddess called the Red Moon. Stealing and 
revealing our ancient lore is not bad enough, for this goddess also abuses the 
power to control chaos. Thus she tempts the return of the chaotic stagnation 
which could destroy the world.
...Spirits?
All the world is full of lost, meaningless spirits who do not know their place 
in the order of the spiritual oceans. Until all are cleansed by Magasta, and the 
ebb of the deep reaches all turgid recesses, the world will have these detached 
lonely entities mindlessly clinging to lost ways of life.
...Chaos gods?
The gods of evil must not be tolerated in any form, especially the insidious 
mental and spiritual gyrations performed by persons far removed from their own 
inner selves.
...Monotheists?
These arrogant people claim knowledge which is similar to Magasta's, but which 
is founded on baseless claims.


See also:
Pantheons of Glorantha: The Merman Pantheon
Introduction to Glorantha: The Elder Races
Cult of Magasta


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