Taltos
Taltos, the Deepdweller, was created by Dagon to oppose Betshaba in her sphere as Goddess of Water. He is the patron of sea monsters and his seed has resulted in the creation of many creatures of the deep who harrow merchants and travelers on Betshaba’s waters. Most of Taltos’ worshippers are pirates, who he encourages to work together to gain riches and plunder on the seas. His worship is strongest in the Pirate Isles, but most coastal regions at least have a secret seacave where sacrifices can be made before long ocean journeys in an attempt to appease him. Taltos’ priests are often excellent scholars and are encouraged to use logic and reason in all things. Unlike most other deities of his rank, Taltos is on good terms with all his children, even those who bicker with each other, and this alliance is seen as one of the greater threats to the Triadic deities.
Depictions
Taltos the Deepdweller is most often depicted not as a noble or idealized god, but as a presence of immense and calculated menace, a being whose form suggests both intelligence and inevitability. In statuary and carvings, most commonly found in hidden sea-caves, half-flooded grottos, or the holds of pirate vessels, he is portrayed as a towering, partially humanoid figure emerging from the depths, his body fused with elements of the abyss. His skin is rendered as scaled, ridged, or slick like deepwater stone, and his limbs are often elongated or subtly distorted, hinting at a form shaped by crushing pressure and unnatural evolution. His face is rarely shown clearly. It is usually obscured by shadow, tentacular growths, or a helm-like mass of bone and coral, suggesting that true understanding of him lies beyond mortal perception. Surrounding him in art are depictions of coiling sea monsters, drowning ships, and kneeling figures offering tribute, not in reverence, but in recognition of his dominion. Unlike Betshaba’s flowing beauty or radiant symbolism, Taltos’ imagery emphasizes depth, weight, and the silent terror of being watched from below.
As Elagarath the Beast, Taltos appears as a colossal leviathan, an amalgam of the sea’s most terrifying predators, all teeth, tentacle, and crushing mass, embodying pure and unstoppable predation. This aspect is invoked in fear and battle, a symbol of sudden destruction rising from the deep. In contrast, the Deepdweller is depicted as vast and shadowed, half-seen in the abyss and watching rather than striking. Where Elagarath devours, the Deepdweller waits, calculates, and claims.
Doctrine
Taltos teaches that the sea is not sacred in the sense of purity or divine balance, but as the ultimate proving ground of will, intellect, and dominion. Where others see mystery or holiness, Taltos reveals structure beneath chaos: currents that can be studied, exploited, and ultimately mastered. To his faithful, water is not memory, as Betshaba proclaims, but opportunity: a shifting, living domain in which only the cunning endure and the weak are erased without trace. The Deepdweller does not demand worship born of love or reverence, but rather recognition of truth... that all things sink, and those who understand the depths may choose what rises again.
Central to Taltos’ teaching is the belief that unity is a tool and that cooperation must exist only so long as it strengthens the whole. His followers are encouraged to form crews, cults, and alliances not out of loyalty, but out of shared gain, with the understanding that betrayal is inevitable and even necessary when it serves a greater claim. This philosophy extends to his divine progeny, whose rare cohesion is held as the highest expression of Taltan doctrine: competing powers bound by mutual advantage rather than fractured by pride. Thus, the faithful are taught to think as the sea itself—layered, patient, and mercilessly adaptive.
Taltos also elevates knowledge as dominion. His priests are expected to be scholars of tide, beast, trade, and human weakness alike. To know the currents is to command ships; to know fear is to command men; to know the abyss is to command monsters. Ignorance is not merely a flaw, it is a death sentence. In this way, Taltos stands apart from many baneful deities: his faith rewards not blind destruction, but calculated supremacy, where terror, wealth, and influence are all instruments of a greater design.
At its core, the doctrine rejects all imposed order, moral, divine, or societal, declaring that true authority belongs only to those who can seize and hold it. Even Taltos himself is not framed as a benevolent ruler, but as the exemplar of this truth: the Deepdweller who rose, who claims, and who endures. His faithful are not promised safety, only the chance to rise above others before the tide inevitably turns.
There are three major holy works central to the doctrine of Taltos: the primary work is the compilation of wisdom called the Unfathomed Depths, which is supplemented by the Canticle of the Drowned Pact and the Bestiary of the Unfathomed Brood.
The Unfathomed Depths
The principal sacred work of Taltos, the Unfathomed Depths is not a single authored text, but a growing body of writings attributed to generations of his priest-scholars, raider-philosophers, and deep-cult savants. Organized into sections known as “Descents,” it explores the principles of cunning, the structures underlying trade and power, the behavior of sea-beasts, and the manipulation of both men and tides. Each Descent builds upon those before it, often contradicting or refining earlier teachings, reflecting the belief that truth—like the sea—is layered, shifting, and never fully revealed.
The text is deliberately obscure, filled with allegory, fragmented accounts, and encoded observations. To the uninitiated it appears disordered, but to the faithful it reveals patterns of dominance and opportunity hidden beneath the surface of the world. Marginal additions are expected, and every copy is unique, shaped by the insights of its keeper. In this way, the work is not merely read—it is descended into, each layer bringing the reader closer to mastery or madness.
The Canticle of the Drowned Pact
A collection of hymns, oaths, and ritual formulas recited before raids, voyages, or major undertakings, the Canticle of the Drowned Pact formalizes the temporary unity of Taltos’ followers. It emphasizes shared purpose, mutual gain, and the understanding that all alliances are conditional. Often performed in echoing caverns or aboard ships at night, the Canticle binds participants not through faith, but through acknowledged ambition, sanctifying cooperation until its usefulness ends.
The Bestiary of the Unfathomed Brood
Part scripture, part field manual, this text catalogs the many monstrous offspring attributed to Taltos and his lineage. Each entry describes the creature’s habits, strengths, and—most importantly—how it may be avoided, controlled, or turned to advantage. More esoteric passages suggest that the greatest of Taltos’ servants are not merely beasts, but extensions of his will, capable of recognizing and even obeying those who properly understand them. To study the Bestiary is to accept that terror itself can be measured, predicted, and wielded—a cornerstone of Taltan belief.
Virtues
Cunning ensures survival and superiority, Unity ensures strength and success and Dominion ensures ultimate control.
Vices
Folly destroys survival, Disunity destroys strength, Timidity destroys opportunity, Waste destroys wealth and Subservience destroys ambition.
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