The Tidelorn: Memory Beneath the Waves
“We do not rule the sea. We remember it. And in return, it remembers us.”
Overview
The Tidelorn are a powerful, enigmatic race that dwells beneath the seas in hidden cities of coralbone, volcanic glass, and bioluminescent spires. They are bound by ancient vows, moon magic, and the tidal will that governs all things in motion. They are as old as the first shoreline and as deep as forgotten trenches.
Little is known of their origins—some say they were surface folk who made a pact with a now-lost moon goddess, others claim they were born from the blood of a sea titan slain during the First Drowning. What is certain is that the Tidelorn are more than a people: they are a covenant between memory and motion.
Society & Structure
✡ The Brine Circle
A fluid council of tidecallers, stormspeakers, and moon-priests. Leadership is rotational, following lunar phases and tidal cycles. The Brine Circle interprets omens, guards the ancient laws, and communes with the Deep Mind.
⚔ Pearlblades
An elite order of warrior-emissaries, trained to move between worlds. They protect sacred sites, escort diplomats, and enforce tidal law when necessary. Pearlblades are as elegant as they are lethal, often wielding weapons forged from abyssal stone and enchanted pearl.
☣ Undercurrent
The Tidelorn’s clandestine wing. These spies and shadow-swimmers keep watch on surface politics, infiltrate dangerous waters, and recover stolen relics. Their identities are secret, their methods—untraceable.
Culture
- Memory is the sea’s sacred gift. To forget is to sever one’s tether to the tide.
- They believe in fluidity of form, identity, and destiny. Rigidity is a surface affliction.
- Tidelorn rarely interfere in land affairs unless provoked or summoned by oath.
- Surface myths speak of them as monsters, saviors, or ghosts. All are true.
Ceremonies:
- The Drift: honoring those who return to the sea in death.
- Moonwake: a coming-of-age ritual performed during a full tide.
- Saltbinding: the ritual exchange of vows, often used for marriage, alliance, or peace.
Magic & Gifts
- Tidecall: Shift currents or draw water to rise, crash, or calm with a gesture and chant.
- Moondrift: Cast illusions through reflected light and ripples.
- Seabind: Enchant objects with lingering magic of salt, pressure, and time.
- Deepsong: Ancient, echoing vocal magic—used to awaken old things or calm great beasts.
✦ Walking the Land
Though born of the sea, some among the Tidelorn have found means to walk the surface world—but it is neither easy nor common.
- Most must undergo a ritual transformation known as the Saltskin Binding, a painful rite that infuses their bodies with tethered magic, allowing them to survive beyond the tides for a time.
- Others bear relics or enchanted armor that maintain hydration and tidal essence while on land.
- These methods are closely guarded, and only a few are chosen or trained to wield them—typically Pearlblades, diplomats, or Undercurrent agents.
Even then, their time on land is often limited. Without their oceanic connection, they begin to dry, forget, and weaken—for the sea is not only their home, but their memory.
Relations
- With Surface Dwellers: Rarely trusting, but not hostile unless provoked. They honor old oaths.
- With Verdantblood: Distant cousins in memory. Some deep groves extend into kelp forests.
- With Noctari: Enmity is ancient. The sea remembers their hunger.
- With Ember Court: Little interaction, though emissaries have occasionally shared prophecy.
Lore & Legacy
- Some claim the Tidelorn still guard a sunken gate to the Hollow Moon, buried in an ancient trench.
- It is whispered that their true capital—Marevault—is sentient, and moves beneath the waves.
- A Pearlblade once walked the land during the Ashen Years, carrying a tide-forged blade that could cleave flame itself.
See also: Marevault, Moonwake, The Brine Circle, Saltbinding, Hollow Moon, Verdantblood