Deep One
She Who Is, Draugh’ger. N demipower of sleep, that which is beyond comprehension [She/Her]
Pantheon: Grippli
Realm: Outlands / Ringlands / Semuanya’s Bog
Symbol: A still pool of water
In the musky dusky marshes of Semuanya’s Bog, where the mist clings to the cattails and the air hums with the chorus of a thousand unseen creatures, lies the domain of an entity as mysterious as the amphibious dreams that weave through the minds of sleeping grippli. This power, known to the few who dare speak her name as the Deep One or ‘Draugh’ger’, embodies the essence of sleep and the unfathomable depths beyond the reach of mortal understanding. She resides not just in her murky, underwater realm but also deep within the grippli soul, where light fades into shadow, just where the consciousness slips into the embrace of the unknown.
The grippli know the Deep One in a way that no other beings can. To them, she is not merely a power to be worshipped in the traditional sense, but a primal force that pervades their very being. Her domain is one of dreams and sleep, realms that every grippli visits but none fully understand. It is said that the Deep One slumbers in the depths of a lake so deep and dark that its bottom has never been seen by the eyes of the waking. Yet, even in her sleep, she dreams the dreams of all grippli, connecting with each of them in the most intimate and profound ways.
To speak of the Deep One within the grippli tribes is to acknowledge the presence that looms whenever there is silence, the guardian of the threshold between the known and the unknowable. Her influence is subtle, a whisper in the dark, a chill down the spine that tells of a presence too ancient and too deep to be fully comprehended. The grippli do not question her motives, for they understand that some mysteries are beyond the ken of mortal frogkind. Her will is enacted not through direct intervention but through the subtle shifts in the dreams of her children, guiding them with a hand unseen but deeply felt.
She is too deep own slumber to maintain her own realm, and instead dwells in the deep dark heart of Semuanya’s Bog. It’s a cert that Semuanya knows she’s there, and maybe even what she’s dreaming about.
There’s a legend whispered among the grippli in hushed reverent tones. It’s a tale of survival, and the enigmatic balance between waking life and the depths of slumber. It speaks of a time when Semuanya first discovered the Deep One during his wanderings through the bog. Curious and cautious, he approached the lake, sensing a power ancient and profound, a presence that was both unsettling and mesmerising. As he gazed into the inky depths, he understood that the Deep One was not just a creature to be feared or worshipped, but a fundamental aspect of existence itself, embodying the unknowable depths of consciousness and the primal instinct of sleep that all creatures must heed.
Semuanya, in his wisdom, understood the importance of the Deep One’s eternal slumber. He knew that her dreams were not just the dreams of the grippli but were a reflection of the cycle of life and death, of growth and decay, that all beings must embrace. In her sleep, she held the secrets of survival that went beyond the physical, touching upon the spiritual and the ineffable mysteries of existence.
And so, Semuanya chose to let her sleep undisturbed, understanding that to awaken the Deep One would be to disrupt the delicate balance of nature, to unveil mysteries that the grippli, and perhaps even the powers themselves, were not ready to confront. He became her silent guardian, ensuring that the bog remained a place of profound power and mystery, where the veil between the known and the unknowable was thinnest. To this day, the grippli revere both Semuanya and the Deep One, seeing them as two sides of the same coin: survival and the acceptance of the mysteries that lie beyond comprehension. They understand that in the heart of Semuanya’s Bog, sleep and wakefulness, life and death, are forever entwined.
If they even exist, the Deep One’s motivations remain her own, secrets kept close to her unfathomable heart. She’s a reminder of the mysteries that lie in the depths of sleep, the power of dreams to connect us to something greater, and the wisdom in acknowledging that there are things in existence beyond our understanding. In the grippli’s acceptance of the Deep One’s inscrutable nature lies a profound philosophy: That not all must be understood, to be revered.
Source: James O’Rance and Jon Winter-Holt
