The Vein is no passive chasm. It is alive—with hunger, memory, and currents that think in ways no chart or chant can capture.
Below is a selective catalogue of the forms known to drift or prowl within its depths. Many entries are incomplete. Some are perhaps incorrect. The Keepers write only what survives.
Strata: Luminous Drift (Tier II-III)
Temperament: Predatory, Patient
Threat: Very High
A cathedral-sized drifter whose lantern-organ flickers with the afterglow of swallowed hulls. Its jaws hinge in four directions, each lined with tactile filaments that taste vibrations long before light reaches them.
The Maw drifts in near-perfect stillness, imitating wreckage. When approached, its lantern brightens—an instinctual lure that triggers drowning sensations in unguarded minds.
Its lantern-organ yields prism-filament shards: used by shipwrights to brighten lantern rigs. Handle with oil-soaked cloth; the glow clings to skin for days.
“If its lantern flickers twice, retreat. If thrice—pray you do not breathe in.” — Keeper Fenn
Strata: Siltfold Shoals
Temperament: Avoidant
Threat: Low
A long, ribbon-like swimmer that moves by rippling its silt-colored hide. Often mistaken for drifting debris until it darts suddenly, vanishing into the murk.
Striders avoid light, pressure shifts, and noise. Their presence in numbers often signals the approach of a larger predator.
A strider’s dried spine-whorl is sometimes used in charm-binding rites. The effect is subtle but real: calmer lines, fewer snaps.
“If the water goes very still, and the striders all vanish— do not linger.” — Marginal note, origin unknown
Strata: Driftwater Expanse
Temperament: Opportunistic
Threat: Moderate
A many-legged crustacean that clings to wrecks, hulls, and sometimes the boots of incautious dredgers. Its claws are strong enough to shear rope.
Skitters lurk around salvage zones, attracted to the vibrations of descending hooks. They rarely attack unless threatened, but can ruin a line in seconds.
Their claws, when polished and bound, amplify grip-strength on dredger hooks—a prized material for shipwrights.
“If you hear tapping behind the hull, do not investigate. It is already too close.” — Keeper Sorrell
Strata: Throat-Chasm Divide
Temperament: Territorial
Threat: Severe
A vast, serpentine sentinel believed to guard fissures that descend into the Vein’s oldest wounds. Its eyes emit a dull blue glow that clouds thought and memory.
Wardens do not chase. They simply watch. Staring long enough into their gaze induces vertigo and the impression of falling inward.
Warden-scale fragments carry faint warmth, even submerged. Some Keepers claim they whisper when held near certain ruins.
“If you feel watched by something you cannot see, and cannot hear— it is the Warden.” — Keeper Telth
Strata: Crownfall Descent
Temperament: Lurking, Mimetic
Threat: High
Little more than a suggestion of shape woven into drifting fronds of kelp. Appears humanoid at distance, dissolving into strands when approached.
Wraiths move with currents that do not match recorded tides. They sometimes rise sharply toward the surface, only to vanish in a blink.
None confirmed. Some claim the Wraith leaves behind threadlike sigils—but the few samples retrieved had all dissolved by morning light.
“One lingered near the coordinates. It bent its ‘head’ toward me, though the water was still.” — Unattributed Keeper Log
Strata: Beyond Crownfall (Deep Veil)
Temperament: Unknowable
Threat: Extreme
Thought to be an imprint—the memory of a guardian that has shed its mortal shell. The Echo moves without displacing water. It casts a faint reflection even in total dark.
Observers report a rhythmic flicker in its silhouette, as though it were half-formed from light and recollection. Prolonged exposure induces intrusive visions.
No physical trace remains upon its passing, save for a sudden drop in water temperature and recurring whispers near the hull.
“The Echo remembers things you have not done yet.” — Keeper’s annotation (scratched out, rewritten twice)