Editing LeviathanTempest:ArchivedSocialLife (section)

== Day-to-Day Life ==

Most Leviathans live in as isolated a fashion as possible. Contact with human beings, due to the Wake, is uncomfortable, and many of the anxieties and tribulations of day-to-day social interaction can cause an unwary Leviathan to lose control - of his temper or even his shape. This is balanced against by an equally strong drive towards socialization - both for contact with others and simply as relief from being alone. These competing drives form much of the woes that a member of the Tribe faces - they have a (human?) desire for companionship, but they are deeply unsuited for the social world.

=== The Wake ===
"Power: Wake (Beloved and the Lahmasu) - Leviathans cast a big shadow and whether they want it or not, this shadow is always filled with human cultists (the Beloved) and the successfully assimilated semi-Hybrid lines known as the Lahmasu, who seek out the Wicked Tribe with great fervor. "

[[LeviathanTempest:WakeXample| '''The Wake''']] is the term used by Leviathans for what is, in effect, the sensation that their subdued nature produces on normal humans. It is a psychic pressure front that humans feel on an instinctual level - it is the dread majesty of a Leviathan's birthright. Tribe scholars claim that it is the "shadow" cast by the Leviathan's true form, and it affects a region around him, which grows as the Leviathan's (POWER STAT) increases. 

Mortals affected by a Leviathan's Wake are infused with a mixture of awe, terror, and deference. For all that this seems attractive, it is a deeply isolating effect. A Leviathan can't enter a room without people lowering their voices, or go to the grocery store without people self-consciously apologizing for getting in your way (even if they weren't) - the Wake functions as a psychological battering ram, preventing the Tribe from blending in with a crowd. A Leviathan is always, willingly or not, intimidating every mortal in his presence. The Wake is a beacon, a message from the days of the Primordial that impresses itself on human minds - "You're less important than me; everything here is mine if I want it."

The allure of the Wake, especially for Tribe members who might have been socially awkward or bullied before they awoke to their true natures, is obvious. However, the Wake is also extremely dangerous - taking advantage of it means taking advantage of humans, further alienating the Leviathan from the world he has to live in. Many Leviathans have fallen down the path to degeneration by permitting themselves to revel in the wake, allowing themselves to say "Yes, I am better than these people. It's fine for me to do what I want with them." 

=== Beloved ===
Some mortals are more deeply affected than others by the Wake, and become obsessed with the Leviathan whose Wake they were touched by. The more powerful the Leviathan, the greater the pressure of the Wake, the likelier that this result becomes. These individuals attempt to stay near the Leviathan, equally terrified and deeply attracted. 

Unaware of the truth of what they are experiencing, they find ways of explaining it - some outlets more constructive than others. The only unifying element of this obsession is that the mortal is certain that there is something different - something special and unique and equal parts horrible and wondrous - about the Leviathan. Some become stalkers, or hangers-on, or even kidnappers, trying to understand the creature who haunts them, awake or dreaming.

These cases end in one of two ways - either the complete self-destruction of the obsessed mortal, or the entry of the mortal into the Leviathan's Cult as a Beloved. Established Cults usually begin with a Leviathan's first Beloved, and then grow - the more Beloved there are, the likelier that an ensnared mortal will join their ranks. 

Beloved form the backbone of a Leviathan's Cult. While it might have numbers well beyond them, they are the only ones whose loyalty and dedication is certain. They serve as extensions of the Leviathan, his agents in the human world, permitting him to avoid the strain of everyday life. Periodic exposure to new revelations of the Primordial world are necessary to keep the Beloved's mind stable, but this is a small price to pay for their aid. A Beloved Cult can infuse the Leviathan with Ichor through reverence and the enactment of mystical rites - their subservience reaffirming his divine nature. Beloved are also prime hosts for the generation of Hybrids, as they are willing, perhaps even eager, to be touched by the bloodline of the Tribe. 

The lure of staying secluded and meeting only with one's Cult is strong, especially for older, more world-weary Leviathans. This is a potential trap, as interacting with the Beloved is not a substitute for interacting with normal humans, and it is often the ultimate fate of the hidden Cult leader to fall into degeneration, isolated from his own human side. 

=== Atolls ===
The mirror image of the Beloved, an Atoll is an otherwise normal human being who, for whatever reason, is unaffected by the Wake. They serve as naturally-occuring sinkholes for the forces surrounding the Tribe and the Deep. This ability - to stand unmoved and untouched by the Deep - also means that contact - social or physical - with an Atoll has an immediate calming effect on members of the Tribe. An Atoll's touch, or smile, clears the fog of rage and discontent that surrounds a Leviathan, leaving them with a deep sense of peace and security. Unsurprisingly, the Tribe are obsessed with Atolls, reacting to them in much the same way as they react to anything else they want - overwhelming desire, tinged with the implied privilege of their divine natures. 

But Atolls are untouched by the supposed majesty of the Tribe; if a Leviathan wants to interact with one, they have to do so on the level of mere men. Frustrated Leviathans, desperate for the tranquility of contact with an Atoll, go to huge lengths to attempt to secure them - resorting to kidnapping or stalking. More moderate Leviathans are no less obsessed, merely more subtle - they find themselves drawn to the places the Atoll works or resides, and attempt, with all the awkwardness that the absence of the Wake brings to their social endeavors, to find a place in the Atoll's life. 

Even if access to an Atoll can be secured, the threat to a Leviathan is not diminished. The addictive effect of an Atoll's presence is such that an Atoll, wittingly or not, can easily manipulate a member of the Tribe - the terror of losing their source of comfort can drive them to absurd lengths to please the Atoll. Unscrupulous Atolls, or those that become aware of what power they have, can enslave a Leviathan and his Cult with hardly any effort at all. For a Leviathan, subverting or ignoring their divine nature is just as dangerous as denying their humanity, and even the most mild of Atolls will eventually force a Leviathan to choose between two forms of damnation.