The Trident Realm of Neritica

A wind starts in the west, blowing in the mountains and sighing gently onto the plains below, following the paths carved by once-mighty rivers. The wind squalls across the ocean, churning the surface into a boiling and deadly surf that crashes onto the coast of island chains. As the storm unleashes its fury, lands are flooded, ships and lives are lost. It streams over the land, a lofty spectator as it soars over clashing armies and blood-stained fields. It howls through the deserted remains of a city ruined by earthquakes and villages devastated by flooding. The wind, which has travelled so far and seen so much goes almost unnoticed by those below the surface of the waters of the world. The rivers, the seas, the oceans and the lakes – these are the domains of the Neriticans, known to simple land-folk as ‘fishmen’.

Deep beneath the seas of the known world lies the Trident Realm – a triumvirate of glittering underwater kingdoms, ruled by an aquatic race far beyond the ken of land-dwellers. Created during the God War by the Dark Smith, the Neriticans are as capricious as the vast oceans that surround them, in parts gentle and nurturing, in others spiteful and full of wrath.

The great Kyron was friend to all beasts of the land, air and sea. When his dark side helped reform the beasts of the earth and sky, the Dark Smith had also turned his cruelty on those of the sea. Hideous magic and dark powers roiled the waters of the world and man and beast were fused in terrible pain. When the Lost were rescued by Brave Kyron, those of the sea fled to the dark depths of the oceans, sent away by their father to escape his brother’s evil curse. The beings that were now neither of land nor sea but a strange amalgam of both, hid themselves away in terror, not understanding what had become of them. Over the centuries that followed, the fishmen slowly, cautiously, emerged from their submarine retreat and began to explore their new world and identity. Of the races on the land, the fishmen identified most with their fellow sufferers, the beastmen. Like them, the fishmen began to fracture into tribes and clans, sometimes divided by type, sometimes by necessity. They too watched the Great Hunt in the skies as Kyron stalked his wicked self across the stars by night and day. But the fishmen felt the effects of the chase more keenly as the ocean tides responded to the wandering gods.

As with many races, the fishmen’s influence on the world since has ebbed and flowed. They are fiercely territorial and have clashed and sided with many land dwelling peoples, especially when their watery domain is encroached upon by the vile, filthy cities that are built on coasts and rivers. Their relative isolation and remoteness has given them a certain aloofness to the general woes and conflicts of the other races, but when their anger is roused, few can stand in the way of the hordes that pour forth from the ocean waters. They still feel the call in their hearts to protect the Mother world from the darkness from which they were rescued and this more than anything is what drives them to arms and to venture onto the land.

The Three Kingdoms

Deep beneath the surface of the oceans, there currently exist three major kingdoms, each ruled by a near-mythical Trident King. The kingdoms were born from the forced breakup of a former, larger empire when the war against Winter ended and the Infant Sea was created. This catastrophic event had far reaching consequences above and below the surface. The three new kingdoms may bicker and squabble amongst themselves, but they have a unity of sorts, and together form the Trident Realm. The exact location and range of the kingdoms seems fluid and neigh on impossible for any land loving creature to fathom – in fact many confused attempts are a result of contradictory evidence. The Neriticans are not in any rush to correct any wayward assumptions however.

Medu'Syth

The largest and most powerful of the kingdoms is Medu’Syth. This vast realm of reef-cities and cave-dwellings covers many hundreds of leagues of ocean floor beneath the Endless Sea, sprawling across Pannithor’s equator and culminating in the great undersea city of Yth’Medu, with its labyrinthine mazes of coral, sunken elven ruins, and carved rock-temples. If any of the fishmen’s territories can be said to be cosmopolitan, it would be Yth’Medu. Here large domes of magical energy create pockets of air so that friends of the riverguard may take respite from the salty sea, and even emissaries from the Brokenwall Islands may visit to treat with the ruling family. None should ever mistake the hospitality of the Sythians for weakness, however, for any outsider who has laid eyes on the glories of Yth’Medu cannot have failed to notice the living forts of the placoderm army, and the ceaseless patrols of those ferocious warriors.

Myrrhimm

The kingdom of Myrrhimm occupies the space nearest the Great Deep – that impossibly deep trench that is so venerated by the Neriticans. Watchtowers line either side of the trench, their bioluminescent beacons pulsating should any trespasser draw near. Of course, given that such trespass usually results in some hulking depth horror eternal bursting from the long dark in defence of the trench, such trespass is rare indeed. The city of Myrr’Uulis is the capital of Myrrhimm, and its many iridescent towers shimmer like beacons in the darkness to pilgrims from across the Trident Realm. Myrr’Uulis is home to the elders of the thuul, whose priests are inducted into the many mysteries of the Great Deep from the moment they breach their egg-sacs. This vast temple-city is protected by the mysterious gigas – large, powerful crustaceans, who scuttle endlessly around the sea bed, beady eyes vigilant for intruders to this most sacred realm. The farthest reaches of Myrrhimm stretch into the icy waters of the north and Myrrhimm’s king has been rumoured to have dealings with the fledgling Northern Alliance both above and below the ice. Whether Myrrhimm itself extends similarly to the southern ice cap remains a mystery.

Ilythish

The farthest-flung kingdom is Ilythish, home to the greatest population of naiads in the Trident Realm. Ostensibly the smallest of the realms, it is also the most beautiful, with verdant fields of aquatic flora, resplendent reefs and bioluminescent fauna providing its cities and villages with unrivalled splendour. The naiads themselves are often seen as vain and self-absorbed, although in truth they live long, peaceful lives, which they fill with light and laughter. Yet they harbour a dark secret: naiads have a thirst for killing and cruelty that goes beyond the simple barbarism of their placoderm kin. They go to great lengths to ensnare victims, body and soul, often sending parties to the surface to seduce sailors, fishermen and coastal villagers, before dragging them back to Ilythish. If one were to look closely at the settlements of naiads, they would find that the coral grows amongst mountains of glittering treasure, hulks of human ships, and the skeletal remains of mortals, picked clean by swarms of carnivorous fish.

The Neriticans at War

The Neriticans’ major allies are, predictably, those of the Forces of Nature and the beastmen of the Herd with whom they share a common history and empathy. The armies of the fishmen will march to war whenever they feel threatened or the natural balance of the world is endangered. So relentless are they in defence of the natural order that even orcs have learned to be wary of water, lest some great beast drags them to a watery grave.

Neriticans excel at hit-and-run attacks, usually emerging from lakes and estuaries with great rapidity, and in great number, with a fury that only nature can conjure. Should a foe attempt to engage the Neriticans upon the seashore, they will quickly count the cost of their mistake, for that is where the fishmen’s home advantage becomes overwhelming. Not only do the Neriticans draw great strength from the salty spray of the ocean, but they can also summon forth the greatest monsters of the deep to aid them in battle, from krakens and wyrms to knuckers and depth horrors. The sorcerer-priests of the thuul begin their sibilant, ululating chants, summoning forth great storms to pummel the enemy, as more and more horrific beasts drag themselves from the surf. Elementals and devilish nokken materialise within the waves, and propel themselves at the enemy with unrivalled spite and fury.

The ability of the Neriticans is not limited to their proximity to water, although canny generals quickly learn that they are more dangerous when water is abundant. Most Neriticans have lungs as well as gills, and can march as well as any man. Eventually, however, they do have to return to their aquatic homes, and so Neriticans rarely have any interest in holding objectives or fortifying positions. They attack swiftly and decisively, sacking any settlement or stronghold that they see as a threat, before retreating back whence they came. The coordination and single-mindedness of the Neriticans is so alien to most mortal commanders that they are often caught on the backfoot – Neriticans will always attack rather than defend, always sally forth rather than be besieged, and always fight to the bitter end rather than allow any to taint their natural habitats.

When the winds of war blow strong and sweep across the land, they stir the waters of the world and nervous eyes keep watch of the rising tide. Who knows what will emerge from the depths?

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