Origin of the Tides

Summary

The tides have long since fascinated mortals, how something as vast as the ocean can heave and move so frequently, with enough force to damage smaller ships or sweep people out to sea. There is no doubt, at least in the main telling, that the ocean is deeply connected to Nagi, God of Water, as the ruler, keeper, and guardian of the world's ocean. He is the god of all ocean creatures, and the tides his very breath that gives them life. With every inhale, the sea lurches back into his lungs and when he exhales, the life he has given the ocean's waters goes forth to feed the ocean and make the waves swell once more.
Nagi's breath doesn't simply just cause the tides, but storms and massive swells, his hurried breathing whipping the ocean into a frenzy during his hunts and playful chases of the ocean's denizens, for he is so connected with the ocean he at times forgets his influence doesn't stop there, and these storms can hurt those who worship him from afar on land.

Historical Basis

It has been confirmed many times that the god of water does not breathe as most mortal races do, and in fact completely lacks lungs as the myth so says, instead having gills and breathing like a fish does. Nagi himself has also stated that although he is the god of water, and he can influence the tides, it is not his own creation or doing that they exist.

Variations & Mutation

The most prevalent variation on the myth is more a different telling of the origin of the tides. Rather than the water god being the one to create the tides, they are actually the work of Neia Lun De Draco, the leader of the Lunar Dragonflight. The tides are her effort to pull the moon, her domain, closer to the earth as the final resting place for her children killed during the The War of Black Ash so they can rest among the stars. The moon of course tugs back, but is not strong enough alone, and can only tug on the ocean, filled by her tears at her fruitless endeavor. This telling is much more popular with the dragons, particularly the lunar flight, who almost universally reject the mainstream version with Nagi.

Cultural Reception

Both tellings of the myth are received as being more symbolic of Nagi or Neia's power and influence in the culture surrounding them rather than taken as fact, outside of young children. Very few people actually believe that the tides are caused by either one of them, especially given that Nagi himself has spoken against the myth and it is something easily proven by science.
Still, there are some conspiracy theorists, often those who also believe in other easily disproven theories such as the planet being flat or a donut, or that of all things, birds do not exist, who do take the myths as fact and ignore all proof otherwise as a cover up. This is to the frustration of all, even the most devout priests of Nagi, or Neia's closest allies.

In Art

Both versions of this myth have been the subject of many art pieces around the world, and often are used as companion pieces to one another, displaying paintings, sculpture, or more rarely, in the form of plays and songs side by side or working in tandem. Thematic pieces, even if not related to the myth itself, featuring the moon often feature Nagi and Neia in the art's imagery.