Wings of the Ocean

 Flocks of Ylimancha

Illustration by Luis Perez

The coastlines of the world bring a majestic beauty and a home to many creatures. It is a safe haven for the birds that fly out over the oceans to catch their meals. This natural perfection has been embodied in the divine for of Ylimancha, the Empyreal Lord of coastal waters, fisherfolk, and flying creatures. Little is known about her or her followers except for her constant war with Pazuzu. This week we take a look at three possible sects of the Empyreal Lord known as Harborwing.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Ylimancha. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of Harborwing. What character do you make?

For more information on Ylimancha

Ylimancha’s Pathfinder Wiki Page

Ylimancha’s Archives of Nethys Page

The Aviary

This sect of followers Ylimancha sees birds – especially sea fowl – as the children of their patron. They have set up a large aviary on the coast north of Magniamr in which to protect these creatures. Although they mainly deal with sea birds like gulls, ernes, albatross, and puffins they occasionally take in something much rarer. They have been known to help griffons and pegasi regain their strength if injured, and rumor has it that a phoenix even calls the sanctuary home.

Membership in the sect is a lax affair. The desire to help the creatures associated with Harborwing is usually enough. However many of the sect members are naturalist who specialize in avians. Healers – both divine and mundane – are also common among the members of the Aviary.  Ylimancha has been known to call some of the common members of this sect to her divine flock granting them clerical or oracular powers.

Andoran Coast Guard

Andoran has one of the largest fleets that sail the innerseas. They are defenders of their nation and consummate hunters of the slaver ships that haunt the waters.  But slavers and pirates are not the only things that threaten the citizenry, and Andoran boasts many fishing fleets. To protect these folk from the monstrous predators beneath the waves the followers of Ylimancha – many former Andoran naval personnel – have taken it upon themselves to patrol the waters closer to home.

Reefclaws and giant flying piranha are constant threat. Fishing can also draw a large number of sharks to an area. The Andoran Coast Guard deals with these common threats but it is the uncommon threats – which thy try and keep quite lest promote panic – where they really excel. The small coastal fleet has defeated at least one scylla and negotiated with a nest of water naga disturbed by a careless fishing trawler.

Sky Warriors

The battle for control of things that fly has been long and hard fought. The Demon Lord Pazuzu is a tireless opponent to Ylimancha in the outer planes, and their followers clash often on the material plane. The Sky Warriors are a sect of the Empyreal Lord’s church whose only mission is to battle against the minions of the King of the Wind Demons.

This sect is one of the most martial of the otherwise peaceful Empyreal Lord. Consisting mainly of warpriests, clerics, paladins and rangers the sect will also accept the occasional warrior not granted divine power by their patron. Almost every member of this sect also has a natural means or attempts to find some way to fly. Many aasimar whose divine blood has manifested in the form of wings become members of this sect.

The bounty of the water and the freedom of the sky call the followers of this Empyreal Lord. Who is your disciple of Ylimancha? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to Harborwing? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

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The opening illustration was created by the fine artist Luis Perez. You can find him on Twitter, Tumblr, and on Instagram at luisperezart. 

Character Exploration 31 - Callius Waterborne

Our subject is a Gillman who is slightly above-average in all areas, which meant that the meat of the backstory and choices would have to come from the random background rolls. Truth be told I had a hard time picking a class for this character so I narrowed down the possible choices and then rolled to pick one. In an attempt to give myself a bit more information to work with I also rolled on the background chart for that class. And that is how our Gillman became a witch.

Witch Background Roll

Witch Training: [Initiated] When you came of age, a coven of witches initiated you into their circle because you showed great promise. After your initiation ritual, you changed on a fundamental level.

Callius Waterborne

When a group of Gillman brought the keystone of the fallen Arch of Aroden up from the depths to the people of newly-formed Andoran, it wasn’t just as a gift. The piece of the once great monolith was more than a symbol of support. It was a request to be accepted by the people of the fledgling democracy, although most common Andorans go about unaware the Gillman have made a home for themselves in the deeps far off the coast of the growing nation.

The city of Tidesmarch has grown in that time, now hosting a few thousand Gillman. Much like Andoran they have chosen a democratic form of government, electing a council from among the people of the different districts of the city. The council also includes representatives of the church of Gozreh—worshiped in her aspect as goddess of the sea—and members of the Emissaries of the Waves, a group of witches attuned to the heartbeat of the sea.

Becoming an Emissary of the Waves is no easy task. The sea witches watch the populace of Tidesmarch, opening their sense to search for an individual's direct connection to the depths. Children who show promise,  as young a six but no older than ten, will be taken from their families and trained to be the voice of the ocean. Not every supplicant survives the training with their mind intact as the ‘thoughts’ of the sea itself can be quite alien.

Callius Waterborne the middle sister of a large family showed her gift at an early age. Her parents who were both shapers of coral, expert artisans working with living material, saw her gifts early and called for the Emissaries to test her. Callius was accepted among the sea witches, as was her younger sister two years later. One child in many generations of a family line to show a connection to mother ocean was rare, but two in the same generation was practically unheard of.

Although Callius had been undergoing the testing and mastering the teachings of the Emissaries for three years before her sister came, when the two took to studying together they began to outstrip all the other students. Callius and the Emissaries, however, were blind to the toll such quick growth in power was affecting young Jindira. The younger Waterborne daughter began to rail against the followers of Gozreh claiming they had no true connection to the sea. Unlike the witches, they need an intermediary to touch the true mind of ocean. This led to Jindira manipulating her sister to help her disgrace and humiliate members of the church of She Who Guides the Wind and the Wave.

Bringing out the worst in her sister was only the beginning. The true betrayal came when the witches realized that Jindara had never been receiving her power for the ocean. Jindara’s mind had been hidden from them and corrupted by the thoughts of the Gillman’s long removed creators, the Aboleth. Her power came through her connection, not to the sea, but to the void to which the Aboleth looked to as a divine nothingness. When Jindara’s insanity became clear the Emissaries tried to do away with her. She killed many and called to her sister, Callius, to join her but at that moment the older Waterborne knew she couldn’t. Jindara thrust a trident through her sister’s side, leaving her for dead as she swam off to join her masters.

Callius decided to leave the Emissaries after the incident, although they assured her she still had a place among them. She looked for her own life outside the city to take her mind away from the loss of her sister. She picked up with an Andoran merchant vessel, having to keep close to the sea as constrained by her biology, but needing to be apart from it. It was on the ship that she met the mercenary Felrick and saw how humans could put a monetary price on anything. Although his dealing were always fair Felrick never did anything for free. “Time is money,” the Andoran would always say.

Many years later she would return home to her family. Trying to put her past behind her she has taken up the family business of coral sculpting. Still wary of Gozreh, Callius has taken up the worship of Shelyn like her parents revelling in art and freedom. But deep down all Callius wants is safety and security for herself and the ones she loves. Her tainted sister is still out there, and as much as she tries to hide it, she still feels the call of the waves. What her future holds for her she doesn’t know and dares not ask.

Was a witch what you would have picked? Would you have gone with the Gilman Rogue archetype Eldritch Raider? Who do you see as the betrayer of our heroine? Take a look back at the rolls one more time and tell me what you would have done different.

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