Ahzulan

The Ahzulan are the ancient gods of the sea. They are depicted among the a'an buiudir'l maurileth ("gods beyond life") of the panamaris, and they occupy the westerly side of the Great Compass of the Izu'a'ir. According to myth, there are many Ahzulan, and they are ruled by the ocean goddess Perythidacia. Each Ahzulan represents a different aspect of the sea, and they are in constant conflict with the Izilan (the gods of the land). The conflict between the Ahzulan and Izilan is represented by the ebb and flow of the tide against the seashore.

It is believed that an ancient conflict once erupted between the Ahzulan and Izilan, causing global devastation and the near-extinction of man-kin. Ultimately, according to myth, the Ahzulan triumphed and all land was swallowed by the sea after 99 years of rain. To survive this cataclysm, which came to be known as Water's Age, Princess Atressa of a long-lost man-kin kingdom struck a shrewd bargain with the Ahzulan in which she promised the servitude of all man-kin to the Ahzulan (as slaves) for eternity, in exchange for the Ahzulan's protection. The Ahzulan accepted Atressa's Accord, took the man-kin as slaves, and protected them during Water's Age. Thousands of years later, at the end of Water's Age, the Ahzulan allowed the man-kin to return to the land, but only under the conditions of the Covenant. It is strongly suspected that the Ahzulan preserved and restored many other land-dwelling species as well, and that the Ahzulan may have engineered the Green Cradle -- since the Green Cradle is a peculiar, habitable oasis on an otherwise harsh and barren continent. Through Atressa's Accord and the Covenant, the Ahzulan have a uniquely paternal bond with the man-kin, but man-kin civilization has long forgotten this. Today, the Covenant is little more than a myth.

The Ahzulan are still worshipped by the mer-kin (the people of the sea), by some eld-kin, and by a few ga'arg. Members of the Navigators' Guild learn certain legends about the Ahzulan, mostly as superstitions and cautionary tales not to venture too far out to sea, lest the sea itself take the sailors as tribute.

In ancient Elder, the earliest known language of Landfall, the primitive vocalization of ideas involving the sea or rivers was the vowel sound "u" or "oo." The Elder word for god was "an." Hence, the origin of the word ah'z u l'an. Because water represents the westerly (left) side of the Great Compass, that side likewise took the "u" sound -- u 'a'i -- pronounced oo -ah-ee, which became Izu'a'ir.

The Forgotten God Hexfane is believed to be an Ahzulan. Ghuul who pledge their souls to Hexfane are called mor'ghuul or "water ghuul."