A Brief Survey of Triton Ethnography

By Professor Chethan Babu

Introductory Comments

One need only go back a single generation to see shocking comments given about the “savages”
known properly as the Tritons (but in that day known by a variety of common racial epithets we
will not repeat). The cultural studies done in that organization, including one by my own mentor
Professor Kristof of Anders, are all significantly misunderstood and have arguably been the direct
cause of several interspecies incidents. In this brief survey to follow, I will summarize all of the
modern scholarship, including the several ethnographic scholarly books I have written, comprised
from among my dozens of magic-aided trips to four different Triton cities. It is my sincere hope
that this non-scholarly survey can help prepare for healthier interactions between the surface
dwellers and the Tritons moving forward.

History and Lore

It was once generally accepted among scholars that the Tritons had no reliable sources of history,
due to the almost non-existence of written records among their race. However, it turns out that
this is due to a prejudice on the part of our sciences. To the surface dweller, writing is immutable:
once written down, it does not change. As such, our society came to value written word as the
highest form of evidence. The opposite is true for the Triton: the constant swell of waves and
shifting of undersea sands has resulted in an utter lack of confidence among the Tritons in writing.
(I can assure you, they find our reliance on written contracts as baffling as we find their seemingly
naïve trust of verbal contracts.) It is a myth that they do not write: indeed, every Triton I have met
can write in both Common and Primordial; it is simply that they see it as a lesser and more chaotic
form of record-keeping.

Without a reliable source of storing writing long-term, they have developed a remarkable oral
tradition. The Tritons tend to record their histories as epic poems, and can repeat them word-by-
word, with no variation, even in cities which are widely diverse. As such, I have tended to give
more credence to the accuracy of these histories than some of my peers, who dismiss them as
wholly mythological.

What I believe we can say about their history is as follows. The Tritons hail in their distant past
from the elemental Plane of Water. There, it seems that they were a powerful race of warriors, in
constant battle against leviathans, kraken, sahuagin, and the like. At the height of their civilization,
they had beaten back their enemies into what they called the Darkened Depths. After many years
of no conflict, they began to grow suspicious of the quiet. Expeditions were sent into the Depths,
only to find that a portal had been discovered and their ancient enemies had escaped into our
world.

The Tritons Conclave sent a large group of settlers through the portal before closing it up on their
side; the settlers created a massive and ancient coral city near the original portal, called Sitnalta.
(I personally do not believe Sitnalta actually exists, as it seems to fit a similar primeval paradisaical
archetype as many of our own religions.) Sitnalta is seen as a lost paradise-city, sunken in the
depths. The Tritons found that their long absence had allowed the sea monsters to grow far too
powerful. The Tritons soon discovered that the continent had rational surface-dwellers (us), and
felt it their duty to protect the surface dwellers.

So, they spread out, forming a number of cities and fortifications on the continental shelf, forming
a protective undersea wall against sea creature. They appointed themselves our guardians and
have silently fulfilled this role for generations before we ever knew they existed.

About five hundred years ago, sailors along the western coastline began to interact with the
Tritons. The Triton were taught Middle Common, and many of the older Triton cities still teach this
(hence their tendency to formal, stilted “thou”, “thee” and the like). The Triton cities on the west
coast developed in parallel to our major shipping lanes, and before long these cities merged
together to form the metropolis Minifera (see “Cities” below).

Ninety-two years ago, the interactions between the “Continentals” (as they call us) and the Tritons
famously and radically changed. A Triton princess, Leira, fell in love with Erick, son of the Viscount
Falmouth. She moved onto land, and the two married. Despite widespread racial prejudice (which,
in fairness, appears to have been the case from the Triton side as well), the two lived by all
accounts a loving marriage. Their marriage was infertile (see “Biology” below); however upon
becoming Viscount, Erick adopted one of Leira’s family as well as one of his family. He divided
his viscounty into two Baronies, and pushed through the necessary legislation to allow a Triton to
inherit a noble, landed title. With political representation soon came tourism, improved trade deals,
and more and more interaction between the Continentals and the Tritons. While significant racial
prejudice remains, it is becoming less rare (especially along the west coast) to see a Triton or
even have a conversation with them.

To be certain, they are still rare, comprising less than half of one percent of the population; but
this number is growing, as is their important influence on the economy.

Religion & Ethics

Triton society is highly and deeply (no pun intended) religious. They worship a deity unknown to
us, named Persana. Scholars have struggled to learn anything specific about Persana, for the
Tritons seem wholly uninterested in theology despite being highly religious. They say that Persana
is a “reef to be explored” rather than a series of rules to be developed, and they find our priestly
theologies laughable and bizarre.

The closest thing they have to scripture is a series of ancient poems called the Sadev. Most of
them are mysterious and make little sense to even their priesthood, being steeped in references
to the Plane of Water (which no Triton has visited in at least a thousand years). What the Sadev
makes clear is that Persana is the Guardian of the Deep and the Justice of the Depths.

Perhaps deriving from Persana, or (as I think more likely) a natural result of a reliance on oral
contracts and oral history, the Tritons are an almost impossible integrity-focused race. The only
word they have similar to “lying” or “deception” is “abandonment”—the idea is that to break a
contract or tell a lie is to abandon society. (This has, unfortunately, made them an easy target for
con men and has led some to wrongly accuse them of being less intelligent than surface dwellers.)

Their chief (and nearly only) virtue is Justice—but even this they see differently than we do.
Justice to the Tritons means that everyone has neither less than they deserve, nor more. Some
deserve more than others, based upon aptitude—but whatever is deserved, one should have.
Both gluttony and poverty are vices to be avoided.

Biology & Anatomy

Despite the persistent rumors, Tritons are a mammalian species, not a fish-related species. They
are vertebrates just like surface humanoids; they have large complex brains; hair; nurse their
young; and give live births. They are however somewhat of an amphibious mammal: they have
both lungs for surface air and gills which allow them to breathe underwater indefinitely. Though
their normal mode of operation is underwater, they see surface air as a sort of ‘dessert’ of sorts,
often coming up to float and relax after their evening meal and soak up the nighttime air; this
cultural more likely has a biological root cause, as it seems they are much more efficient at
processing air through their lungs.

Reproduction for Tritons happens sexually and their reproductive parts are a physical match for
surface dwellers. While sexual partnerships between Tritons and humans are rare, they have
happened: yet so far, all have been infertile (such as the famous case of Viscount Erick and Leira).
Fertility rates among the Tritons seem similar to surface dwellers, yet their infant mortality rates
are significantly lower. The cause for this is not yet identifiable.

Tritons can swim at a similar speed to which humans can run on the surface. However, Tritons
developed in an environment in which movement in three dimensions was the norm; as such, this
causes them some discomfort on land. They are much more aware of what is happening
overheard and behind them than surface dwellers; and yet, they constantly report feeling strange
or ‘trapped’ against the ground, with some developing a full-fledged phobia similar to a
claustrophic’s fear of small spaces: the Triton with such a phobia feels trapped or oppressed to
be ‘stuck’ to the floor and unable to rise.
Though they lack the thick hair of, say, an otter, Tritons seem exceptionally well adapted to cold
water—and this is true of every Triton, even those who live in warm-climate waters. They are
likewise completely unaffected by the high pressure of deep water. This gives a piece of
circumstantial evidence to some of their lore, as clearly their ancient evolution occurred within
extremely cold and deep environments. As dissection of a Triton is never performed (see
“Science” below), it is unknown if this comes from blubber or some other physiological feature.
Nevertheless, simply from outside observation, some key physiological differences are noted,
from gills to their leg-fins to the webbed hands and feet.

Ecological Niche

Triton societies fit into a different ecological niche than most surface-dwelling peoples. Surface
dwellers tend to fill the niche of the apex predator: the highest trophic level, eating mostly
herbivores but through use of tools and intelligence and hunting preference, controlling the prey
density of a region. As I argued in Tritons: Oceanic Keystone, Tritons fulfill a subtly different role:
that of a keystone species, which (like wolves) can sometimes serve as apex predators or (like
foxes) often serve as a Tier 2 predator.

A keystone species is one whose impact on the ecology is far greater than what its population
should demand. It is critical that we surface dwellers remain on good terms with the Tritons,
because their removal or withdrawing from their positions would likely lead to major coastal
collapse: their architecture reroutes and partially forms shipping lanes; their defense against major
sea creatures protects our coasts; their role within the natural ecology protects the undersea kelp
forests from excessive damage and maintains crucial balance. (It is in this role that sea otters
became the most common and popular pet among the Tritons; please note that to wear otter fur
is deeply offensive to the Tritons, as sea otters can be seen almost as family members The otters,
under Triton direction, control the sea urchin population; this keeps the urchins—whom Tritons
view as pests, similar to perhaps a rabbit in a farmer’s world—from destroying too much of the
kelp forests. The kelp forests, in turn, seem to serve as a root system for much of the undersea
world.)

It seems likely to me that this role in the ecology as its keystone protector derives from their
religion and ethical system’s view of justice; however, other scholars have suggested that it is the
other way around: that as their species’ thriving happened by taking up the role of keystone, this
informed their ethical view of everything being properly held in justice for all.

Daily Life & Work

Tritons are diurnal, even when living too deep to see much sunlight. They tend to rise about an
hour before sunrise and begin hunting and foraging immediately in the early morning. They have
a large mid-morning meal with only their immediate family, and spend midday either resting, at
education, or at their work. Around sunset, they will undergo a second foraging or hunting period,
and the entire Lodge will eat a large communal meal for dinner, which can last for several hours
and is typified by stories of their day and the recitation together of at least one epic poem. It is
traditional then to divide into men and women and surface, floating silently on the surface as they
stare at the stars, breathe in the air, and let their food digest.

The manner of work varies greatly, though they prefer less job specificity than our surface world.
Whereas we have specialists in any given field, they tend to divide into only a few fields, in which
they are generalists. The Providers serve roles we would typically call hunting, gathering, and
farming. The Protectors serve in a variety of military functions, from front-line soldiers to generals
(see “Military” below). The Preparers oversee the functioning of society, from architecture to
educating the children to preparing the meals to serving as craftspeople.

Until age 15, the young Tritons are mostly raised by the Preparers, though a huge portion of their
education requires spending time in the other areas and testing their skills. By the time they reach
15, they will have at least a year’s experience in all the different areas of society. The Tritons
divide up duties by some unspoken combination of need, skill, and desire: it is not at all uncommon
for Providers to change to Preparers or to Protectors all within the same year; and yet it is not
firmly set in any sort of structure (at least that I can divine). It appears instead that they are each
expected to give an honest self-appraisal at their current skillset and of the biggest needs of the
city, and adjust accordingly.

There seems to be no caste difference or social value granted to one area above the other. All
are seen as critical parts of their social structure. There is likewise no differentiation based upon
gender between the roles.

Society & Family Structure

The Triton social structure has three primary concentric circles: the Family, the Lodge, and the
Conclave.

The Family is of course the immediate family of the Tritons. Young Tritons associate all sexual
activity with committed relationships; they do not have a marriage ceremony or concept as surface
dwellers do, but mating until their children are raised is inherent to their way of thinking. (The
logic, as it was once told to me, is this: the female Triton must carry a more significant burden
during pregnancy, birth, and nursing periods for the young; as such, it is only Justice for the male
who impregnated them to share in all other burdens for the child are completed.) Thus, the typical
Triton does not engage in sexual activity until ready to bear children; then, once the final child is
born, the mating couple will remain together at least until this child is fifteen. They may remain
together after, or not; it differs by relationship. As Triton lives are typically around 200 years, it is
not uncommon for a Triton to have several mating partners throughout their lives; they are not
strictly monogamous from the start of sexual activity until the last child reaches adulthood, but
see no restrictive bonds on the other party after such a point. The Family, then, is composed of
the mother, father, and all children under the age of 15. At 15, the child moves out to become the
mating-available partner of his or her own family. It is with the Family that morning meals are
shared. Elder members of the Family (parents, elder children) see to the education of the children.
This is not relegated to the female sex, but is dually shared. Families generally are protective of
one another, but there seems to me a bit more distance (or at least: less protectionism) than what
is seen among surface dwelling families. The Triton tends to put their children in far more
dangerous situations as young than we would.

Outside of the Family is the Lodge. The Lodge is a confusing concept and even after years of
study I do not fully understand it. In its simplest form, we can consider the Lodge to be similar to
a tribe: everyone who are second and third and fourth cousins who live in a similar area and share
some genetic linkages; however, it also often includes families totally unrelated who are accepted
into the Lodge to allow them to move into the neighborhood. In this way, a Lodge is more like a
small village within the larger city: a group who tries to ensure that their Lodge could serve as a
sort of stand-alone city if needed, fully functional and able to go as settlers to another area and
found a new city at any given moment. I believe this comes from their strong military thinking and
background as expeditionary forces: Families are too small to survive and fulfill their role on their
own, yet cities are too large; so the Lodge serves as a sort of tribe/extended family, but one which
also recruits non-relatives to join up when additional skills are needed.

Though I have no idea if this is based upon a census or is just a saying, it is said that the metropolis
Minifera has a thousand Lodges within it, each with a hundred Families, each with about ten
members on average. This if true places the population of Minifera at a million, on par with our
own capital city. Personally I find this to be simply an exaggeration to show that the city is large
and demonstrate the concentricity of the family-lodge-conclave structure; as we will see in
“Science” below, there is little concern for data integrity among Tritons. Regardless, what we can
say for sure is that no other city has more than one or two Lodges within it: compared to Minifera,
they are more of a fortress or village than a proper city.

The city itself has a political system which is frustratingly difficult to comprehend, wholly lacking
the needed bureaucracy to operate as well as it does. I personally believe it is this total lack of
civilized bureaucracy which is the primary reason that they are so often identified as savages. We
will explore this more in “Politics” below, but I do not think it is a fair complaint. There clearly is
some form of bureaucracy here, we simply do not have the written form that we are used to
seeing. It seems the primary decision making is by council meeting, called The Conclave.
Periodically, a conch shell or other signaling device is sounded, and when this occurs, each Lodge
dispatches a representative to form a Conclave. The Conclave debates and discusses and comes
to a binding agreement, which all lodges and families follow in turn. It seems that this
representative is always changing; it is seen as part of the Preparer role. I cannot fathom how it
is chosen: it seems as though it is done without any formal agreement, yet it happens that Minifera
has at all times a representative near to the city center, and a Conclave can be formed within a
hour even in that metropolis.
Politics & Cities of Note

As noted: Minifera is the primary city and metropolis, comprising of almost certainly more than
half of all Tritons in the entire world. That said, the paradise-city of Sitnalta is thrown about with
such casual commonplace phrasing that one would fully expect that half the Tritons had visited it,
when in reality the answer is none. Thus we must conclude that Minifera is the lone city of major
significance. All others spread around the continent and are significantly smaller. Although they
do not keep a written account, it seems that there are around 50 of these smaller Lodges. All are
located within 50 miles of the coastline, tending to prefer about that distance so as to keep an eye
on the truly deep monsters of the sea. However, Minifera is significantly closer to shore (only 15
miles away), which—combined with its close location on our major shipping lanes—probably
explains its rapid growth compared to the other cities.

As mentioned, the political decision-making is done by representation at the Conclave. It seems

any Lodge can demand a Conclave, and in their entire history only a few times has someone
abandoned a Conclave decision (agreed to an action, but then failed to uphold it). It seems that
Abandoners are given no mercy and brutally wiped out, so instead they generally will flee and
never be heard from again. If the Tritons truly have this disagreement happen as rarely as they
say, then likely there are no Abandoner descendent societies out there to study; if instead their
rarity indicates a shunning rather than a rarity, then one could possibly find some oath-breaker
Triton societies somewhere.

As mentioned, there is no central bureaucracy. There are no taxes taken or central laws made.
Each family cares for itself and its lodge; each lodge cares for its families; when lodges must
cooperate, a Conclave is called.

One must admit, though, that it is working: hence my hesitation to call them barbaric or savage,
as so many of our day do.

Urgent communicating between cities is done via whale song, which can be heard for many miles.
A simple command is given to the whale to relay, which sings it out: the next whale hears and
takes up the song, and so on. It means nothing to the whales, but other Tritons can understand it
as a Primordial code.

Hunting, Farming, & Gastronomy

Among surface dwellers, it is well established that civilization advances directly in relation to their
mastery of fire and farming. Fire allows the growth of industry. Farming allows us to live together
and have periods of leisure to develop our society that hunter-gathering does not allow.

Such is not the case for the Tritons, and their society has developed differently as a result. Fire,
of course, is nearly completely out (that said, in Minifera there are large pockets within magical
bubbles, and all cities have complex cave systems with air in them, allowing some amount of fire;
it quickly burns through the oxygen, however, which must be refilled either through magical or
technological means; likewise, apparently there are areas undersea in which fire literally vents
from the ocean floor—I cannot tell if they are serious about this, but if so, such vents could be
where all smelting occurs and why I see it so rarely; it seems impossible that all their metal could
be coming via trade).

Farming is likewise difficult, at least in the manner we mean it: it is much more difficult to pen in
sea creatures (three dimensional movement, remember), and in addition it seems to go against
the ethos of the Tritons to pen in the natural world, as is reflected in many of their idioms: they
prefer adaptation to environmental engineering, in general. As a result of this, there are really no
domesticated animals. Furthermore, the sea floor in many of their cities received very little sunlight
to help plants grow. What they call “farming” is what we might call more of “gardening”—keeping
and protecting kelp forests which already exist.

So then, Tritons tend to be hunter-gatherers. Why do I say that they are civilized, not savages,
when I would not say this of hunter-gatherer societies on the surface? Quite simply, it is the plenty
of the oceans. Hunter-gatherers on the surface often spend most of the daylight simply to provide
one day’s food—and as such, language, ethics, and culture never develop. Yet the Tritons are
hunter gatherers with an incredibly rich culture. This occurs because there is food everywhere,
and they work together easily. They never over-hunt, and they work together easily as a group.
Their typical hunting pattern is to find a school of fish and begin to swim in large circles around
them, while one (the “netman” remains far below). Slowly, all three will close in bit by bit
(“tightening the net” they call it)—each circle gets a foot tighter, then a foot tighter, and so on,
while the netman slowly comes from the bottom. The fish’s instincts cause the school to
congregate closer and closer to the center, until eventually the netman can cast and bring in the
entire school. A party of ten Tritons can easily find enough food in a single net-tightening to feed
them for days.

(I have also found that the Tritons can apparently command the fish to simply come to them! —
either magically, or through years of adapted body language. However, this is seen as a last resort
and a bit shameful—a “proper hunt” is the preferred method.)

Kelp and plants are also harvested. It seems that Tritons are just as susceptible to poisoning by
undercooked food as we are; however, they have developed an ingenious method of using
various algaes and seaweeds to “cook” their food without a fire. These are apparently highly acidic
and, with proper wrapping and treatment, the seafood is rendered safe to eat. In the coastal
villages near Minifera, this technique has been picked up by a few local restaurants, which they
are calling ceviche. The surface chefs use lemons and limes to achieve the same result, and the
citrusy flavors (totally exotic and unknown to the Tritons) have become quite popular in Minifera.
A significant amount of Triton trade along the coastline is now for sealed barrels of lemon and
lime juice, to add more flavoring to their undersea diets.

Neither alcohol nor tobacco are used by Tritons underwater, and their bodies are not at all used
to their consumption. This has led to more than one incident when Tritons travel to the Surface,
and Tritons should be served alcohol only in moderation and with caution—for your good as well
as theirs.

Science & Magic

The two primary schools of learning—science and magic—are both very different in Triton
societies, again due to the relative disuse of books and written language. (Though again, I must
stress—despite the popular racist trope, Tritons are highly literate people, with virtually every child
able to read and to write!)

Science and philosophy are virtually undeveloped among Triton society, and unappreciated. They
see no value in recording observations over and over and performing careful experimentation.
This is partially due to the disfavor of writing, but also is (I believe) somewhat environmental: it
takes much more effort to create a controlled environment in the always-moving sea; it often
requires fire to break down elementals and materials and refine chemicals or metals; and sitting
to study something which may never have a payoff is not seen as particularly useful addition to
their society. All of these factors together makes this sort of learning rare and unappreciated; and
frankly they find our obsession with science and philosophy just as baffling as we find their lack
of the same.

Magic, however, is prevalent among the Tritons in approximately the same proportion as the
surface. Both the method of spellcasting and the types of magic seem to fit every surface category
I can find. The primary difference really seems to be in the mode of conveying the information.
The incredible oral and repetition memories of the Tritons allow them to remember their spells
without any detailed spellbook to guide them. Instead, a shell with a few runes sketched on it
seems to be sufficient to help them remember and prepare spells. Wizarding training among the
Tritons is based upon apprenticeship and experience with repetition—not libraries of books, but
of other wizards meeting together. In addition, they seem to prepare spells in about half the time
of surface wizards; on the flip side, they have seemingly no knowledge of some rather common
spells (like fireball) that surface dwellers frequently use.

Technology & Architecture

While they may not be much interested in science, mathematics, or philosophy—and while their
environment puts them at some significant industrial disadvantages—there can be no doubt that
the Tritons are our equals in engineering ingenuity, and perhaps our superiors in the field of
architecture.

Regarding the traditional five industrial arts (sewing, carpentry, metalwork, pottery, and
glasswork), Tritons are very much in line with us, technologically. The materials are the primary
difference: where we might use metal, they prefer bone; where we might use leather, they use
kelp. They are our peers in sewing and joinery. They are excellent carpenters (albeit using
different materials such as coral). In the art of plumping and pump work they are our far superiors,
and their cities can sometimes be found by looking for slender coral pipes in the far ocean sticking
above the surface. Pumps in these pipes draw air down to the deep caves and into bubbles used
for visiting surface dwellers or activities which require fire. Apparently, as the pressure increases
this also requires manipulation of the air via what they call “compression and decompression
pumps.” These pumps have long been suspected to be a magical in nature, but I am no wholly
convinced that they are simply a far advanced technology that we can barely understand.
Generally built from undersea materials like bone, rock, and coral, it appears that they somehow
draw lightning power from the very water itself—they claim that the element of water and element
of air combined is where lightning originates, and they have claimed to be able to manipulate this
to harness small, harmless levels of lightning power from the water and use this to power these
amazing pumps. I have also seen them harvest it from certain serpent-like creatures who seem
to have the ability to develop the same electrical powers. It is possible that I have been misled,
but I believe this to be a great example of their technological superiority in this area. The two
areas where we are beyond them is in Glasswork and Smithing, however as I say, is very rare
and not nearly as valued among the Triton people. They have gotten by for centuries without it,
and except in how it can help them with weapons and armor, they see these areas as curiosities,
not important. They will gladly trade for such items when they need them.

Architecturally, the Tritons are frankly geniuses. Their cities are vast and beautiful landscapes of
coral and kelp and bone and cave, and their primary goal with architecture seems to be both to
incorporate and to represent the environment and ecology around them. They will dig and
reinforce ingenious tunnel systems to connect underwater caves. They are also patient builders,
often planting coral or kelp in such a way that a generation later will cause the desired result—
indeed, one of their idioms is, “Plant the kelp whose acids you will never harvest,” meaning to
have a long-future view. When you begin to talk to someone who oversaw the creation of one of
their many undersea palaces or coral or anemone homes, it is awe-inspiring how every little detail
serves to tell a story. In this way, architecture is their primary form of art (see “Art”) below, and
often their oral histories are carved or designed into their walls.

Art

Regarding language arts, literature is nonexistent in the Triton world other than bare m inimum
requirements. The day-to-day language of the Triton is a form of Primordial, which they can read,
write, and speak. Likewise, they learned Common about five centuries ago, leading to a formal
and stilted and antiquated version spoken and taught. (Those among the Tritons who serve in a
more merchant capacity as Providers often are much more fluent in our speech.) But they keep
few records and even fewer artistic writings; to the Triton, books are a sad and inferior method of
sharing a story—dry and dull. Likewise, traditional plays are virtually unknown among the Tritons.

Their oratory and performing arts are excellent. Their bards are known for haunting songs,
reflecting both the beauty and awesome danger of the ocean itself. They have seven major epic
poems covering their history, dozens of shorter poems detailing heroes of their past, and
countless songs. Singing—from the silly improvisational songs at dinners to melancholy tales of
loss. Epic songs combined with dancing are the primary forms of performance art among the
Tritons, and their bards are highly valued for these skills; generally speaking, a bard using their
skill to tell the history and to entertain is seen by Tritons as equivalent service to the Lodge as a
front-line military soldier.

The other major area of art is sculpture. Like their architecture skills, the Tritons are master
sculptors. I have seen some coral sculptures which would fetch untold fortunes if traded above
the surface; however, it seems that Tritons consider this idea offensive. Sculpture is meant to be
part of the environment from which is it sculpted, and to remove it they say destroys the entire
purpose of the artwork.

Games & Sports

Tritons tend not to have much organized sport, but both children and adults love an impromptu
wrestling match, race, or hunting coemption. Their most formal version of sport is called Whale-
Ball. A whale testicle, covered in woven kelp, weighs about 20 pounds (on the surface) and is
roughly a foot in diameter. A net is connected to various pieces of surrounding coral. Teams of 2,
3, 4, or 5 play opposite each other, and attempt to throw the ball into the net. Throwing from above
gives points for one team; from below, for another team. However, you cannot swim while holding
the Whale-Ball; you must pass it to a teammate, while the defenders attempt to intercept it.

The game is extremely popular and it is not uncommon to go into a Lodge before dinnertime and
see ten or twenty games going on at once. I theorize that this game has grown popular because
it also has a survival value: it teaches teamwork, defensive strategy, and three-dimensional
strategizing—all of which have significant value to their military and fighting style underwater.

Military & Fighting

Weaponry used by the Tritons tend to be either bone or brass, or magical items which do not rust.
The Tritons must fight in a water, which has significantly more resistance than the air; as such,
they are not particularly proficient with swords and other slashing devices. Stabbing weapons
which can be used to pierce are the preference: spears, tridents, and daggers most commonly.
These can be used to apply force in a short, rapid stabbing motion and thus has maximum
underwater benefit. For the same reason, mechanically aided bows like crossbows are preferred
to traditional bows: arrows only fly about half the distance underwater as through the air, but
clever engineering by the Tritons can double the range of a hand crossbow. (As such, Triton
Crossbows are highly desired on the surface; but as they are expensive to make and generally
made by the person who will use them for their own benefit, they often have sentimental value
and are not for sale.)
The style of fighting of a Triton has also developed differently than on the surface, due to their
environment. For example: the Tritons know nothing of siege warfare—to besiege a city in three
dimensions is impossible, and most siege warfare based upon throwing projectiles is ineffective
underwater. (They also do not understand the concept of being besieged—“Why not just leave
and build your city elsewhere?” they ask. As they can drink both fresh and salt water, they do not
understand the importance of a city built around a water source on the Surface—anywhere
undersea is just fine for them.)

The Tritons have developed a number of military stratagems, which are described in brief below:

The Orca Strategy. Killer whales, or orcas, are (according to the Tritons) the greatest hunters of
the oceans. They are held nearly to a mythic level among the Tritons, and the most common
stratagem for battle is the Orca strategy. Orcas hunt in teams, focusing on strategies of hording
their enemies at once; they also make significant use of their environment—pushing water or
using natural ground to pin their enemies. This is the standard go-to approach of Triton armies:
always looking for environmental advantages and always hording and flanking enemies for
advantage.

The Dolphin Strategy. Dolphins often hunt by creating what the Tritons call a “bait ball”—they
herd the enemies into a small area and then rush straight through them one at a time, each at a
slightly different angle, wearing them down in dashes. If the Tritons use Dolphin Strategy, they
will herd or pin their enemy into where they cannot escape—such as a cave system. Then they
will take turns making full-speed dashes at random angles through the system, looping back
around to repeat. This is a great strategy used when fighting one or two large creatures who
cannot be handled one at a time; it is also a good strategy for the opposite situation, a high amount
of small creatures who only present danger when given time to swarm.

The Otter Strategy. Otters will often focus their efforts on shellfish by restraining the prey and
cracking its shell with rocks before ever attempting to do damage: death afterward is swift. The
Otter Strategy means that the Tritons focus all of their energy into breaking the defense or armor
of the enemy (such as by all aiming at the same spot) and thus exposing an easy kill thereafter.

The Octopus Strategy. Octopi hunt at night, using their superior vision for advantage. They rely
on stealth and camouflage to get close to their prey and attack without even being seen. The
Octopus Strategy is used by Tritons when they have a stealth advantage over their enemies and
can use their darkvision and/or environmental advantage to sneak up on them. In battles on the
mainland, they often will refer to attacks from high ground as the Octopus Strategy, because to
the surface-dweller who thinks in two dimensions during a battle, he or she often forgets about
someone hiding above.

The Shark Strategy. Sharks are solitary hunters, stalking their prey one-on-one before attacking
with ferocity. In the same way, Tritons will sometimes split up into man-to-man hunting, which
they call the Shark Strategy. This is generally not preferred as it puts the individual Triton at
greater risk; but it is sometimes a necessity.

Festivals & The Passage of Time

Notably absent from the life of the Triton are festivals—so common to us on the surface. I believe
that this is because the causes of most of our festivals are environmentally bound to our lives on
the surface: our festivals are always about harvests (which Tritons do not have), religious ritual
(which is not like the Triton religion), or the change of seasons (which Tritons do not experience
except in the temperate zone seas, and even then rarely). Thus, the very lifestyle of the Triton is
significantly different than ours: whereas we are often through festival either remembering the
past or anticipating a season to come, the Tritons lack this. As such, they are far more focused
on what they call the eternal now.

Perhaps the closest thing, then, that I have heard among the Tritons to the beginning of a
philosophical development is their view of time. They see the past as we do, and in their own
ways through poem and architecture, they honor the heroes of their past. But the present they
see neither as fixed (as the fatalists) nor as totally unchangeable (as the free-willists). Rather,
they say that the future has a current toward it, and sometimes we should go with the current
while other times we should swim against it, depending on the justice of the moment. We cannot
know now what will be just then, nor can we know where the current will lead—so why worry
about it? A common saying is, “Sufficient for today is its own currents”—meaning, stay focused
on the now. They seem to believe that only the Now is ‘real’ in any meaningful sense, and thus
they spend little time actually thinking much about either the past or the future.

Trade & Economy

For the most part, Tritons have avoided trade in the past, and remain self-sufficient. In most Triton
cities, you will find that their only trade is with other Tritons: thus, their weapons are bone, or
seaweed netting, with armor made from coral or the shells of large crustaceans. However, in
Minifera, a healthy trade practice has been growing for the past thirty years or so with our coastal
cities.

The primary exports from Minifera are exotic seafoods which do not approach the coast, gold and
magical items from shipwrecks, and consumer goods made from coral and seaweed (which are
en vogue among some progressive nobility who wish to show their acceptance of the ‘noble
savages’). The primary imports to Minifera are copper (which is used in their electrical systems
and does not rust), bronze weapons and armor (which also do not rust), and fruits (which do not
grow underwater).

To call it a thriving economy would be an exaggeration: it is neither a critical part of Minifera’s

economy nor of the surface economy. But especially in the field of weaponry and armor it is
growing. I have recently connected some of the Lodges in Minifera with a friend of mine, the Sage
Galvana, who is developing a treatment for steel which he believes will make it rust-free. If this is
true, then all manner of weapons and tools can be of significant value to the Tritons and perhaps
our trade will move to a new level.

Customs and Manners

As you might imagine by this point, the customs and manners of the Tritons are also quite
different. Let us take a few moments to discuss a few faux pas and customary greetings.

Greeting

Tritons greet each other with a complex whistle—sound travels faster and further in water, and
thus a memorable tune is distinguishable perhaps four times further away. This is used to identify
and keep up with who is in battle, and has become just a common way to say hello. The whistle
will generally last only a second or two, but will have three components: a personal name, a family
name, and a lodge name.

Most Tritons of course know that we do not greet each other that way, but habits are hard to
break. If you see a Triton whistle at you as he approaches, understand that he is likely trying to
let you know who he is and that he is not a threat.

When they attempt to greet us, they will do what they were taught from their first interactions—
even though this has been out of favor for hundreds of years here, they think this is how we greet.
Among strangers, they will greet with both hands out of pockets, grasping forearms to show that
they have no hidden daggers on them. Among friends, they will greet with a kiss in the air beside
each cheek.

They may also say, “Hail fellow! Well met!” as was once common at the surface.

Visiting Homes
Tritons always bring a small gift of some sort when visiting a home: this is often a shell or a rock
or an interesting bone or piece of seaweed. Do not be alarmed if a Triton entering your home
hands you a handful of seaweed—it is as though he brought you flowers. They probably smell
lovely to him; put them in a bowl on the table and he will be honored.

Food Preparation

A Triton will always be very wary of eating food that isn’t wet. He will tend to prefer fish or cold
soups to anything heated or meaty. Bland flavors are preferred: they do not handle spicy food
well at all, and may be sick all night in the privy.

It is not something a Triton is likely to comment on, but he or she will feel much more comfortable
if they see you wash your hands before serving food, or pour water all over his dish.

Tritons eat with miniature tridents very similar to our forks, so do not worry excessively about
cutlery. Tritons will use their own dagger to cut their food as a knife.

Unless they are purchasing it in an inn or similar location, Tritons feel an obligation to accept any
food offered to them and eat it; to not do so is impolite. Be wary of offering plate after plate of
food.

Sex

Numerous issues have arisen from a misunderstanding of sex and sexuality between the groups
(as presented above). Remember that Tritons mate for the lifespan of the child; yet on the other
hand, surface-Triton unions do not provide children. This can be extremely confusing for a Triton,
and can cause them all manner of frustration. The safest approach is to avoid any casual sexual
relationship; as a result, many Tritons will be cautious about even getting into close friendships
with the opposite sex, fearful of sending the wrong message and accidentally beginning a sexual
relationship which will be fraught with difficulty.

Quiet Time

The Triton will prefer a post-dinner time of reflection and quiet, looking at the stars and reclining.
He or she will prefer for this to be a time of quiet. Do not be surprised if he wanders off from camp
for some quiet time.

General Politeness
The Triton’s view of himself is as a protector and guardian. What he or she will view as polite is
roughly the same as the treatment expected by a low-level noble or returning crusading knight.
He or she may be irritated by excessive familiarity.

Conclusion: Interactions with Tritons

I trust that this brief survey of my years of work is sufficient to demonstrate that—while different
from us in many ways—the Tritons are clearly an advanced species of people with a fascinating
and rich culture. Their culture is different from ours, and these cultures will clash: but just as
humans and gnomes and dwarves and elves and halflings have all learned to live in harmony, so
too can we stop seeing Tritons as outlander savages and realize that they are civilized people as
well.

It is often said that Tritons are arrogant: and I must admit that this is how they come across. They
see themselves as our protectors, and expect to be honored and revered—and frankly, that is not
without reason, for I have seen them hunting sea creatures which, if allowed to roam free, would
devastate all our coastal areas and send us back centuries technologically. Their arrogance is, I
submit, not unearned. That said, I have impressed many times upon Triton elders the importance
of realizing that the surface world is not lesser than them and in many ways is even more
advanced, and should be paid respect and deference.

Likewise, it is far beyond time that we end the absurd jokes and insinuations that the Tritons are
dumb, or backward, or rubes: they most definitely are not. In many ways they are our superiors
technologically; in other ways, we are theirs. They are different—that does not make them dumb.
I support harsh legislation against those who would con the good-natured Tritons out of gold or
valuables, simply because they do not yet know our economic value for things, and because of
their strong reliance on oral agreements. Indeed, I support the recent activist movement of the
surface-dwelling Tritons to make any oral agreement witnessed by more than one Triton to be
legally binding as though a written contract had been notarized by a Royal House. Perhaps we
can all learn something from their adherence and value to the truth, rather than seeing it as a sign
of childishness.

I can assure of this: if you are willing to put in the effort and get past the arrogant façade, you will
find the Tritons to be loyal friends and fascinating companions.

Appendix: Dictionary of Common Idioms

There are many common idioms among the Tritons, which seem to make no sense to us. Below
is a listing of such idioms and equivalent concepts in Common.
Triton Idiom Equivalent Surface Concept

“But this could be a pearl in an oyster.” Something seemed bad at first but was actually good –
similar to “a blessing in disguise”

“This is just minnows.” The item discussed has no value because it is too
commonplace.

“The current goes where it goes.” The path is inevitable, so it is not worth worrying about.

“Stop speaking like a crab.” Say what you mean—do not keep beating around the
bush or avoiding the uncomfortable topic. Attack it head
on—not backpedaling like a crab.

“You are a remora!” An inspirational phrase to not give up despite tough

odds. Like the Remora fish which attaches to a shark and
succeeds.

“You’re pulling my fin.” This does NOT mean something similar to ‘pulling my
leg’ or telling a joke. It means you’re preventing me from
succeeding and is generally meant when things are
important.

“A fish in the net is worth two in the anemone” This is an example of a phrase which came from
Common to the Tritons, and means the same as “a bird
in the hand is worth two in the bush”

“A perfect storm” Everything that can be wrong, is. This has become
common on the surface but started in Triton.

“Beware a dolphin’s whistles.” Do not be distracted by a desire for fun when work must
happen first. Dolphins are seen as playful by the Tritons
but also in their lore often serve as foolish types who play
when work is preferred.

“In deep water” / “In hot water” These are both considered good things by Tritons, and
so they will likely misunderstand this idiom if shared

“It is kissing the surface.” Something is not making any progress. This may
reference the death of fishes or the quiet time relaxation
of the Tritons post-dinner

“The gull circles.” Be patient and strike at the right moment

“The seedweed once cut can never revive.” Said to indicate that the path you are on cannot be
undone.

“Stop tasting with tentacles.” Don’t try and do things that you aren’t capable of doing.
Octopi can taste with their tentacles

“The lazy shark drowns in water.” To be idle too long is dangerous. We are waiting too long
to act, like a shark who stops swimming and thus can’t
breathe.

“No good treasure is found in shallow waters.” Anything worth having requires hard work.

“A salmon never arrived upstream by swimming down.” Roughly used equivalent to our ‘two wrongs don’t make
a right’