LeviathanTempest:BahamutClan

Bahamutans

[Picture: The Symbol of Bahamut: An oval, fish-like scale with iridescent rays. It is inlaid with intricate filigree-work in some precious metal. Over this has been crudely painted an open eye, with no iris but a wide black pupil. Fingerprints are still visible in the paint. ]

[Picture: Central. A fisherman is standing under a streetlight. He is a young man, with a general Latino appearance. His legs are in oilskin pants but he is barefoot. He wears a wifebeater, under which bumpy, scaly ridges are visible that delineate his muscles. He has no hair and his scalp is glistening. His arms are tattooed, and one of his hands is holding the rostrum of a sawfish like a macahuitl. His jaw is gaping wide open, much larger than a human jaw could, and displays several rows of teeth along with a flat, wide tongue.]

Morphology

Even in a family of titans, Bahamutans are known for their size. Even when not expressing their Leviathan natures, members of this Lineage tend towards broad shoulders and considerable height. This size has lead to the Lineage being branded as gentle, slow, or dull, but nothing could be farther from the truth - the blood of Bahamut is as forceful and energetic as any of its kin, and the Lineage often expresses this as explosive strength or drive. On a practical level at the very least, many Bahamutans are hyper-aware of the realities of power and force - they have to cope with such things in their daily lives, dealing with a world that is, to them, crushingly small and oppressively restricted. The Bahamutan tendency towards power expresses itself in something not unlike heroic stature - the Lineage is certain of its capabilities, faced as they are with a world in which nothing seems too big to tackle.

Progenitor

The Bahamutans trace their descent back to a Progenitor labelled Bahamat or Behemoth. Reputedly a fish or whale of immense size, it was said to support whole cities on its back. Martial Bahamutans cite the biblical image of Behemoth's power as proof of a lost warrior tradition, while more spiritual members note Behemoth as a nurturer of life and progenitor of species.

Genetics

There seems to be some sort of mechanism at work in bloodlines touched by Bahamut. Some subconscious system that prevents a Leviathan being born until there is space for a new arrival. Of course this isn't to say it's polite enough to wait for parents who genuinely want a Leviathan, yet as a general rule Bahamatuns are rarely born to parents struggling to get by and most commonly in times of prosperity and expansion. This trait is amplified when there is are living Bahamatuns present: A Bahamatun finding herself pressed for resources will rarely discover that a nephew is the latest addition to their worries.

Bahamutans normally arrive in a group of between one and three at a time. These individuals often show some remarkable similarities even before coming into their Heritage: Appearance, mannerisms, an odd trait like shared allergies. This isn't that surprising in long running Bahamutan families but for Bahamatains with a culturally normal background it can be quite the shock meeting your nearly identical third cousin for the first time at a family reunion. Bahamatun families with a more Tribe oriented culture and no access to prophecies often look for odd similarities as portents of an future Leviathan. Identical twins (either actual identical twins or fraternal twins who happen to look identical, that happens a lot) are considered an especially auspicious sign. When born to a bloodline touched by Bahamut if one identical twin is a Leviathan the other certainly is too.

Puberty

It begins with distance. As master of the natural armours and Vitality of the tribe a Bahamatun's inheritance first manifests by a feelings of inner security. What once seemed like enormous problems seem small, easily solvable but also unimportant. In these early days the hardest and most important thing is for the Leviathan to maintain a sense of proportion. Some describe it as an almost dreamlike state where the world seems formed of mist, where force and reaction seem unrelated. What feels like a simple push topples trees and attempting to rescue a drowning man shatters the beach. The first step taken by many Bahamatuans is to relearn their own strength.

Bahamatun families, even though unaware of their own heritage, have a moderate tendency to be surprisingly calm when a new Bahamatuan emerges. Sometimes this is stoicism, sometimes shock but it always gives a little breathing room that gives the family time to get to grips, or succumb to the wake, before making any rash decisions.

A curious fact is that Bahamatuans who emerged as a set, even if they had never met before, lack the territorial instincts that most Leviathans feel against each other. They may also include any other Bahamatuan who was a family figure in their upbringing in their instinctual trust though this is unreliable. A Cohort formed of related Bahamatuans can be among the most stable and thus the most successful in the Tribe, however instincts to corporate can repress disagreement leading to stagnation. Even worse repressed feelings can escape in other self destructive ways or build up until they explode in a fashion that can be called apocalyptic, both figuratively and sometimes literally.

Evolution

The True Form of a Bahamutan is traditionally expected to be much larger than that of his fellows, and their stereotypical tranquility leads to depictions of them using their great bulk to shelter others from the hazards of the Depths. Their tendency to express themselves through the Vestiges of Vitality and Fecundicity makes this image somewhat reliable - a powerful Bahamutan will indeed be huge and relatively solid, albeit with a form teeming with lifeforms both strange and, on occasion, voracious. A Bahamutan's resilience makes it a likely candidate for a long voyage, and their immense shapes can seem to drift, untouchable and listless, through the Depths.

Ecology

Family

The Bahamutan line is typically cited for its fertility and productive capability. Allegedly, at least, the Lineage combines the fecundicity of the Dagonites with the ability to weather the rigors of reproduction. Bahamutan-touched mortal bloodlines tend to be directed by their patri- or matriarchs towards a tight-knit, self-sustaining structure that protects and nurtures without the fevered internal politics of a Dagonite's brood, but this atmosphere conceals a more stifling tendency to self-replicate - the drive for competition is excised in favor of cooperation.

Lahmasu

The line of Lahmasu that Bahamut's lineage produces are the Gugal or "great bulls." The strain is distinguished by characteristically large builds and voracious appetites, and they are identified with numerous instances both of heroes of great stature and with disastrous and violent indulgence.

Cults

Bahamutans are generally involved in their Cults on a personal level, seeing a need to protect their followers and their territory. This is sustained by the comfortable strength that most of the Lineage possesses - Cult members are likelier to come to the Leviathan with mundane problems, seeking protection from their own weakness in that reassuring power.

Vestiges

Vitality, Awareness, Fecundity, Might

Symbols and Associations

The Sea of Salahit, the Caspian Sea, the vice of Sloth.

Concepts

Awkward young linebacker, high-stakes fisherman, neighborhood protector, surprisingly burly kindergarten teacher, professional wrestler, church camp counselor

Quote

"This is a good place. I like it here, and I spent years making sure it remains the sort of place I like. Usually this involves making sure punks like you don’t bother the good people of this town. Then it becomes the sort of place they don’t like. You still sure you want to set up shop here? "

Back to the Main Page