Persana
(a.k.a. Guardian of the Deep, Justice of the Depths, the Great Sculptor, the Benthic Architect)
Sculptor and architect of many wonders throughout the multiverse, Persana is best known for creating the triton race. The Architect of the Deep works in many mediums, and little interests him besides his creations, but also of concern to him is guarding the oceans and the Elemental Plane of Water from existential threats.
The origins and history of Persana are virtual unknowns, but there is no shortage of theories. Some sages hold that he was once a primordial archomental who became enamored of the beautiful forms of human- and animal-kind, and so set about to create his own version. Other scholars claim that Persana was created by powerful deities to guard the hidden secrets of the Sea Mother or defend against incursions by the Great Old Ones. Supporters have been unable to produce evidence to support either idea.
Persana is virtually unknown amongst the land-based peoples of Toril, only appearing in the oldest texts as a miscellaneous aquatic deity or misrepresented as an amalgamation of other powers. Among the worshipers of Gond, the human god of civilization, he is known as Triton, and his race are called the Tritones. For these humans, he is said to be the son of Gond and Umberlee and serves as their messenger with his conch shell that can control the waves. While Persana has at times worked alongside Gond, the tritons themselves dispute this origin for their god. As for Umberlee, young tritons are taught that when the coral reef grows, building upon itself to form beautiful, intricate structures it is the influence of Persana at work, but a reef is reduced to rubble by the raging currents it is the work of Umberlee. However, they’re also taught that it takes both creation and destruction in equal measure to ensure the balance and longevity of the ocean. Persana chooses to say nothing on these matters to non-tritons, and so the issue is still debated by sages.
Whatever his origin, few dispute his creation of the tritons from the raw matter of elemental water. Exactly why he did this is unknown, but since their genesis, they have spread to many oceans throughout the multiverse, and have built many great cities in the murky depths. Their skill at architecture, engineering, and design is nearly unmatched beneath the waves. Whatever the case, it is clear tritons still share a close bond with their maker, for his faith infuses even everyday tasks in triton life.
Besides the tritons, Persana’s primary passion is architecture, be it practical or artistic, as well as sculpture. Unexpectedly, he is known to wander the Plane of Water rather than build himself an elegant palace or city; many sages suspect it is because he enjoys the building and creating of wonders, rather than the experience of living within them. He is known to have designed and laid the cornerstone of the Great Marid Padisha’s palace known as the Citadel of Ten Thousand Pearls, and he is said to have designed Shelluria the great city of the Elemental Plane of Water, as well as many other wonders. On the Prime Material Plane, he is said to have granted the inspiration for the great Sharksbane Wall to his followers on Toril, which was built to contain the sahuagin of the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Persana is an active deity, but generally only within the interests of his tritons. He enjoys manifesting an avatar in order to assist a group of tritons to design or begin construction on a new great city and will also appear to aid against threats posed by the direct activities of other deities. However, he has been known to accompany or act in the service of other aquatic powers, such as Deep Sashelas and Istishia, and is a member of the Asathalfinare pantheon, an alliance of aquatic and aerial deities. His exact reasons for aiding these deities, and what he gets out of his agreements with them, is unknown.
Divine Domains
Tritons, architecture, sculpture, guardianship
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