Editing LeviathanTempest:ChapterOne (section)

=== Speciation ===
As the Tribe's "story" begins to overlap with the historical records of humanity, the various lineages and ancestries settle into a more distinct grouping. Those human bloodlines that were touched lightly, or host to the blood of lesser Progenitors, eventually began to produce fewer and fewer offspring who manifested that blood, until it was functionally absent. While the blood of the Tribe cannot ever be said to truly disappear, the vast majority of Leviathans born in the span of known history have descended from a handful of Progenitors. The greater part of these, in turn, can trace their ancestry to a group of seven Progenitors, with their bloodlines expressing themselves in distinct and identifiable patterns. Occasionally a freak birth occurs, a member of the Tribe that is not linked to a known Progenitor or from a line that was believed to no longer exist. Far more common are families of Hybrids that cannot be easily traced to a known Strain - the leftover fragments of a lost bloodline. On the other hand, the most commonly-seen Strains have collated information about their Progenitors and a mythology of the lost world has evolved over time. 

==== Primordial Icons ====
"''Mother Hubur, she who fashions all things,''

''Added matchless weapons, bore monster-serpents,''

''Sharp of tooth, unsparing of fang.''

''With venom for blood she has filled their bodies.''

''Roaring dragons she has clothed with terror,''

''Has crowned them with haloes, making them like gods,''

''Whoever beheld them, terror overcame him,''

''And that, with their bodies reared up, none might turn them back.''"
* The Enuma Elish


All told, there are seven Progenitors whose blood survives in the modern world in appreciable quantities. The seven Strains descended from them represent a little under nine-tenths of the Tribe's numbers and has done so for thousands of years - while one group might grow or shrink, the proportions remain roughly the same. These Progenitors have received the lion's share of the scrutiny directed by the inquisitive minds of the Tribe, and therefore more information about them has survived to the present. 

Bahamut is a being of immense size, called "Unchained." It was said to be tranquil at most times, with cities and temples erected across its broad back, but to rumble with rage when displeased, responding to rebellion or heresy with apocalyptic wrath. These rampages were said to rock the foundations of the world and shake the skies. Some Leviathan scholars - or "scholars" as the case may be - identify Bahamut's periodic purges with the shifting of ages in Mesoamerican myth, or the fabled Deluge of the cradle of civilization. From Bahamut descend the '''Bahamutans''', a Strain who have a talent for emulating both their Progenitor's nurturing fecundity and incredible power and size. 

Dagon, "the Hierarch" also called Dagon the "Arch-heretic," is a hotbed of life and sustenance - but not of ease or security. It is called "the Hierarch," and is said to give birth to countless creatures and serve as a source of "creation" in general. Religious edicts, practices, and rituals were its purview, and it rewarded compliance with full harvests and nourishment. It was the patron of faiths and fertility cults, and could call down rain when pleased or devastating storms when wrathful. It survives in the half-fish icons of Mesopotamia and in the cruel and bloody rites that mankind relied upon to call forth fertility or a healthy crop. From Dagon descend the '''Dagonites''', a Strain who maintains the deified stance of their Progenitor, creating life and directing mortal cults.

Lahamu, called "Watchful" or "The Celestial Eye," is the guide of the sun, described as one of its many ever-watchful eyes (along with the moon and the innumerable stars), yet itself never came to light. From reclusive secrecy it monitored all things and declared edicts and directed the Tribe and their mortal followers, gifted with prophecy and insight into the minds of others. Nothing escaped its gaze and those that attempted to deceive it would be dragged screaming towards its gaping maw. From Lahamu descend the '''  Lahamin''', a Strain gifted with their Progenitor's vision whose cults are ever monitored and whose eyes - and influence - can be found everywhere.

Nu, the "Elder," also called Naunet or Nun, is said to be the first of Tiamat's offspring, and to have the most profound connection to the Primordial Waters. It was the stirrer of the seas and the sky, having inherited their mastery from its creator, and its fluid form could go anywhere and take any shape. Nu was the most distant from humanity and yet was subject to great fear and reverence, for its control shaped the known world. Knowledge of Nu remains in fragmented tales of primordial ooze and original waters from which life emerges - as well as in the terror presented by storms and floods. '''Nu's''' descendants keep its name, and the Strain is known to retain the strong bloodline and elemental mastery of their Progenitor.

Oceanus, the "Father-of-Seas," is said to have been granted dominion over a greater portion of the human masses due to its incredible beauty and allure. As a deity of men, it was said to have created the rivers and lakes that sustained them, all in exchange for irrational fealty and servitude. If denied reverence, it would break the minds of the rebellious, or turn their families upon them in furious storms of zealous violence. Even among the Progenitors, it was a source of horror, for the wrath of Oceanus had faces and names; it would come as a loved one with a culling blade. From Oceanus descend the '''Oceanids''', a Strain that claims itself a noble linage, as displayed by that their unearthly beauty and might.

Tannin, called "the Unbending" and the "Sinner-Devouring," is hailed as the foremost predator. It was said to stalk the Primordial Waters, unseen but all-seeing, wreathed in gaping jaws and poisonous spines. Those that crossed its path, if found wanting, would be devoured without hesitation or remorse - Tannin's mouth was the gate of Hell. Whole nations of rebels were said to have disappeared between its razored teeth. It is immortalized in the stories of devouring beasts and the images of Hellmouths, as well as mankind's terror of the predators of the deep blue sea. From Tannin descend the '''Tanninim''', a Strain who continue the work of their Progenitor, wielding the natural weapons of the Tribe and passing judgment on the Tribe's enemies. 

"Island-Breaking" Thalassa or "Mighty-Armed" Thalassa, is a being of the deep, suited to the pressure of the seas. Its power and grace were legendary, both raising up landmasses with its strong arms and gracefully sculpting mountain ranges or delicate palaces and temples of coral - or destroying them with singular, devastating blows. It was a being of fluid form but impossible strength, as much appeased as revered. It survives as in legends of treasure guarded by mighty beasts and the mythology of crafted terrain - mountains said to be the bodies of immense beasts felled in bygone days, or collapsed piles marking a captured titan. From Thalassa descend the '''Thalassans''', a Strain who use their power and influence to dominate humans and thrive in centers of wealth and power.

But these are not all. The legends of the Tribe record the names of dozens more, and from time to time a descendant of one of these lesser-known Progenitors emerges - or is discovered. Among the dire names listed on the tablets of the Tribe are ''Sanna the Glacierhide'', ''Cipactli the First Diviner'', ''Nagaraja, king of snakes'', ''Tangaroa of the Burning Blood'', ''Isonade, Herald of Storms'' and ''World-Coiling Jormungandr.'' Some others exist, but it can never be certain if a name refers to an unknown Progenitor or merely indicates a familiar figure. Much of the history of the Progenitor's world has been subsumed into the myths and pantheons of mankind.