Thassa, God of the Sea
Thassa is the god of the sea, aquatic creatures, and the unknown depths. She also holds sway over less tangible concepts such as ancient knowledge, long voyages, and gradual change.
Impassive and slow to anger, Thassa is secure in the knowledge that there are no mortals and few gods who can threaten her status. Once her ire is aroused, however, it is as unstoppable as a cresting wave. She often speaks in the future tense, referring to what tomorrow will bring. She seldom laughs, and when she does, it is usually out of smugness rather than genuine mirth. Thassa usually appears to mortals in the form of a female triton-like being with octopus-tentacle hair and a crown of crab legs. She seldom adopts the same size as her followers, preferring to be seen from a distance as she towers over the ocean. When she moves closer to the view of mortals, she takes many other forms, often shifting from one to another: a giant squid, an ocean storm, a school of sharks, a fog bank, or a crab, her favored animal. She sometimes speaks out of the ocean itself, in droplets hissing across the surface of the waves.
Impassive and slow to anger, Thassa is secure in the knowledge that there are no mortals and few gods who can threaten her status. Once her ire is aroused, however, it is as unstoppable as a cresting wave. She often speaks in the future tense, referring to what tomorrow will bring. She seldom laughs, and when she does, it is usually out of smugness rather than genuine mirth. Thassa usually appears to mortals in the form of a female triton-like being with octopus-tentacle hair and a crown of crab legs. She seldom adopts the same size as her followers, preferring to be seen from a distance as she towers over the ocean. When she moves closer to the view of mortals, she takes many other forms, often shifting from one to another: a giant squid, an ocean storm, a school of sharks, a fog bank, or a crab, her favored animal. She sometimes speaks out of the ocean itself, in droplets hissing across the surface of the waves.
Divine Domains
To most mortals, Thassa is the sea, and the sea is Thassa. The wind and waves, the tides, and the ocean’s bounty, ranging from small fish to the enormous krakens—all these are Thassa’s dominion. The sea has many metaphorical aspects that Thassa oversees as well: ancient knowledge, long-term change, introspection, voyaging, and repetitive patterns such as the tides.
Thassa governs the slow changes wrought by the passage of time, such as the weathering of rocks and the erosion of beaches. Where Nylea controls the eternal cycle of the seasons and Kruphix monitors the flow of time, Thassa holds sway over the slow-acting but irresistible forces that alter the world over hundreds or thousands of years. Krakens and other behemoths of the deepest oceans move at Thassa’s command. She is protective of what she calls the greatest of her children, and she usually keeps them out of harm’s way in the darkest depths. A mighty kraken sighted close to shore is a sure sign of Thassa’s displeasure.
Thassa governs the slow changes wrought by the passage of time, such as the weathering of rocks and the erosion of beaches. Where Nylea controls the eternal cycle of the seasons and Kruphix monitors the flow of time, Thassa holds sway over the slow-acting but irresistible forces that alter the world over hundreds or thousands of years. Krakens and other behemoths of the deepest oceans move at Thassa’s command. She is protective of what she calls the greatest of her children, and she usually keeps them out of harm’s way in the darkest depths. A mighty kraken sighted close to shore is a sure sign of Thassa’s displeasure.
Holidays
The God of the Sea is remembered in the eighth month as people revere the inevitable passage of time and how it changes us all.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Thassa is never satisfied with the status quo, and she also never advocates hasty, uncontrolled change. She constantly resculpts the physical world, altering coastlines and upending familiar trade routes. There is no ultimate goal to this ongoing transformation; the purpose is change itself. Thassa believes that change is essential to existence, and she opposes anyone who tries to establish or maintain a permanent order to the universe. She aids and inspires forces of change, the rivers that wear down mountains and the tides that claim whole continents. She sometimes seems disinterested in the intrigues of the present, even in her own current schemes, as her thoughts drift toward what the future holds.
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