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When Chaos destroyed the Spike, many sea gods leapt into the hole in the world to try and plug it. Most were destroyed. The Homeward Ocean began to succeed, and all the waters of the world flowed to him to lend their power. Zola Fel received the call on a clifftop in the Rockwoods. He leapt from the cliff to the valley and flowed back to the sea, setting his present course.
Two meetings during the Greater Darkness affected Zola Fel. He was the first of the sea's children to meet the Elder Giants of the Rockwoods. He was party to an agreement that led the giants to send some of their warriors to the sea to aid the fight. The second meeting was with a god who had found a way to travel over the waters. This god, Diros the Boater, was on his Voyage of Pacting in the Silver Age, making agreements with the waters of the world to let his boats sail on them. He and Zola Fel came to a mutually advantageous deal.
The cult of Zola Fel has been quiet since the coming of Time, as befits such a small cult. There have been few dealings with land dwellers, partly due to the inconvenience and partly due to an antipathy for Waha. The most important disturbance was the Giants' Revenge and the Bunging of Feroda, feats performed to stop the plundering of giant cradles on their way to the sea. When Pavis came he defeated the old foe, Waha, but he also drove out the friendly giants. This ambiguous relationship has continued since then.
When the people of the Sun Dome came to the River Valley, Kinope the Nymph, daughter of Zola Fel, entered into a ritual marriage with their founding count, Arinsor Clearmind. The river annually rises to fill the canals of the sun folk, and they in return provide Zola Fel's followers with a measure of their barley harvest. Thus does the rising of the waters enrich the entire river valley.
The cult promises its dead that they will flow to the Heart of the Sea to be purified before returning to the world again. This will continue until the spirit is pure enough to remain at the Heart. There is no guarantee that the spirit will be reborn in the River of Cradles. Funeral rites are performed by committing the body to Zola Fel to make the trip to the sea, beginning with chants asking the river to cleanse the soul of its grosser impurities as it flows downstream.
The runes of the Zola Fel cult are Water and Movement. There are minor associations with Fertility and Harmony as well.
The river's intelligent fish do not come from a single species. Rather, every species of fish has a small proportion (less than one in a thousand) of intelligent members; almost all of these special fish become initiates of Zola Fel. They do not oppose the controlled harvesting of others of their species, as long as no intelligent fish are slain; some in fact help the fishermen in their endeavors in return for various objects unattainable underwater.
Subservient Cults
The Cleansed One
This was originally a broo who encountered the Three-Bean Circus in the Darkness and was made aware of his chaotic condition. Rather than destroy himself in self-loathing, he quested mightily to remove the taint of chaos from his being. He was finally able to find true purification in the Deep Waters, and used Zola Fel as his route to the Heart of the Sea. He is now a symbol of the chaos-destroying powers of the river.Other Notes
Aquatic Races
Most of the members seen by landsmen are human, but the majority of the cultists are actually water-dwellers. Over the entire river length, only about 25% of the cult members are land-dwellers, mainly fishermen, boatmen, and a few traders; 20% of the members are amphibious races mainly consisting of newtlings, with a few ducks. The other 55% are full water-dwellers, consisting of a few triolini (including those in Christians Bay), the river elves from the Puzzle Canal (in the Big Rubble), and the intelligent fish of the river.Temples
A Zola Fel temple may be located in shallow or deep water, at a bank or in a pool, but is always located in still water for convenience. When land-dwellers are likely to join a worship service, a boat or section of the shore will be set aside for them. In every worship ceremony, however, there comes a time when even the land-dwellers must enter the water (at least up to the waist).Tributaries
The tributaries of the River of Cradles are mostly mountain streams without cults of their own. The spirits of these streams are generally subservient to Zola Fel, and he watches over them; in many cases, they are considered to be his children. There are usually small shrines where the tributary enters Zola Fel. These tributaries are considered part of the river for the purpose of determining priest restrictions.