Ina'ut-in-Mourning

If the Depths begin to speak to you
do not listen
— Old Rymes of Ancient Mariners

Ina'ut-in-Mourning is the general term used for the current form of the god of oceans, depths, darkness and secrets, Ina'ut. It is a distant, bestial and colossally powerful thing, not at all recognizable as the humanoid archmage and warlord it once was in Materia's First Age. Portrayals vary, but they are usually a mess of fins, tentacles, eyes and teeth with perhaps the occasional humanoid feature. The thing resides somewhere in the deepest reaches of the Sunken Expanse. Any remaining worshippers of Ina'ut are invariably insane.

History

There are generally considered to be three "eras" of Ina'ut's godhood on Materia, during which he experiences two apotheoses. He initially arrived on Materia from his native plane of Lorgain as the Lichlord and Colonial demigod Inum'indiron'aravaut, who ruled the Kelpeater Empire as a sort of god-emperor. As he grew in power and his empire fractionated, he became more of a ubiquitous, planar god of water, oceans, power and elemental magic, called his First Apotheosis.

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The Flood and the Fall

At about year I.M. 2850, the Deluge came—horrific, inexplicable and without warning—to drown Materia in haunted brine, save for the outer, upland peripheries. Worshippers of Ina’ut spared drowning by the rising waters nonetheless drowned in madness. Most quickly expired in fits of screaming and cardiac arrest. The more powerful of his church survived, but descended into madness-prophecy, eventually fleeing society in all directions.

It is impossible to confirm via surviving texts whether the Deluge corresponded exactly with the water god's transition to quiet and bestial Ina'ut-in-Mourning, and the creature does not answer any such inquiries, even from its most powerful worshippers.

This was Ina'ut's Second Apotheosis.

Materia: Third Age

Though it is hard to trust what such lunatics say, his clerics and oracles insist the monstrous god of the depths still has a part to play in some future upheaval. They treat Ina'ut-in-Mourning as a messiah figure of sorts, reading the Expanse's winds, currents and Kaiju activity for signs of what they believe will be a universe-ending war.

It's possible this is a prediction of the future arrival of the Daybreak Empire.