The Arknights Terra Wiki is a collaborative, community-maintained wiki. If you notice an issue, please consider making an edit, starting a discussion on the article's talk page, or reaching out via the Arknights Terra Wiki Discord.
Church of the Deep
The Church of the Deep is a Terran organization and the antagonistic faction in Under Tides, Stultifera Navis, and Mizuki & Caerula Arbor. It is an Aegirian "heretical cult" that is widespread in both Aegir and Iberia, with the goal of fulfilling the will of the Seaborn in assimilating the Terrans into their hivemind.
Background[edit]
The Church of the Deep began in the eighth Terran century, coinciding with the onset of the Seaborn crisis. During Aegir's fourth expedition to the underground ruin beneath the mantle, the sage Mártus and his team uncovered the unexplored interior section of the ruins. However, the perilous nature of the site claimed the lives of the entire team, with Mártus himself disappearing under mysterious circumstances.
Within the ruins, Mártus uncovered the hibernating Leviathan Firstborn, Ishar-mla, the "Corrupting Heart". Through contact with Ishar-mla, Mártus received a vision—a revelation of an impending "Apocalypse" where the sky would fall and the land would burn, leaving only the Seaborn to survive. Enthralled by this revelation, Mártus willingly assimilated himself into the hivemind, becoming the first humanoid Seaborn. In doing so, he summoned the Seaborn into existence, intending for the entire world to be assimilated under their collective will.[1]
Mártus later returned to Aegir in secret, spreading his newfound philosophy among his followers, encouraging them to join the Many. Though Mártus never officially claimed leadership, these loosely banded followers would become the earliest followers of the Church of the Deep.[1] These early followers became key agents in perpetrating the Seaborn crisis, as they covertly introduced the Seaborn into Aegirian cities. Initially dismissed as mere "kelp-farm pests," the Seaborn were allowed to proliferate, and by the time Aegir recognized their true threat, it was already too late.
Around the tenth century, some followers of the Deep infiltrated the migrating Aegirian Islanders under Breogan's leadership. By incorporating the Lateran faith practiced by the Iberians with the locals' curiosity about the Seaborn, the Church of the Deep established a foothold in Iberia. Followers of the Deep spread various legends regarding the Seaborn to the land-dwellers, such as a "Tree" with a sun as its crown deep in the ocean, whose fruits gave birth to the Seaborn, and a primordial chaos resting on the seabed, radiating sunrays that molded countless kinds of Seaborn. Despite stern warnings from Aegirian sages about the dangers of the Seaborn, the King of Iberia became more fascinated by the Church's myths and legends.[2]
By the time the King of Iberia unveiled the hypocritic nature of the Church of the Deep, it was only a few years before the catastrophic Profound Silence of 1038. The bishops, eager to summon the "Primordial Lifespring," sought to hasten the assimilation of Terrans with the Seaborn. Through this summoning, they also hoped to encourage the Aegirian Consuls to approve the controversial hybridization technology used in the creation of the Abyssal Hunters—a taboo that had sparked heated debates for over two centuries. The Church's treachery resulted in the Profound Silence, as a Seaborn-infested tsunami severed all communications between Iberia and Aegir.[3] Both nations suffered devastating losses; Iberia permanently lost its coastlines and its king, while Aegir was forced to accelerate the Abyssal Hunter project in response to the relentless Seaborn infestation that claimed many of its cities.
In the aftermath of the Profound Silence, the Church of the Deep grew more brazen. In Aegir, many high-ranking Consuls, technocrats, and academicians have quietly converted to the Church's faith, embedding it deep within the nation's infrastructure. This infiltration rendered any attempts to completely eradicate the cult nearly impossible. Following the annihilation of the Abyssal Hunters against Ishar-mla, the Firstborn, in 1095, the Church began closely monitoring the survivors. Their goal was to lure these Hunters back to the ocean, using their flesh—tainted with the Firstborn’s blood—to revive dormant Leviathans and trigger a second Profound Silence to assimilate the entire planet. [3] In Iberia, the disaster caused widespread starvation, homelessness, and waves of refugee crises. Faced with despair, many Iberians turned to religion for solace. The Church of the Deep presented these bishops as "saviors" who offered salvation from suffering and encouraged them to convert to their faith. In rural regions, they and their Seaborn "heralds" began performing grotesque rituals, encouraging their followers to throw themselves into the sea to be consumed by the Seaborn, thus becoming part of the Many.[4] Even though the Inquisition attempted to curb their cultic activities, they faced strong resistance from the followers of the Deep, who harbored strong grudges against the Inquisition's totalitarian rule, blaming it for worsening their suffering.
Members[edit]
| Character | Information | Status |
|---|---|---|
| An Aegirian scholar who founded the Church of the Deep after encountering Ishar'mla after being declared missing in an expedition to a "Predecessor" ruins. Notably the first and only transformed Seaborn who fully retained his human memory and consciousness. | Alive | |
| A humanoid Seaborn who acted as an intermediary between the Church and the We Many; Later killed by Gladiia | K.I.A. | |
| A bishop of the Church active in Sal Viento. Transformed into a gargantuan Sea Monster after being cornered by Gladiia, Skadi, and Specter during the incident in Sal Viento, who slew him. | K.I.A. | |
| A bishop of the Church active in Gran Faro under the guise of a translator, noted to be the one who experimented on Specter in the past. Offered herself to be assimilated with the Endspeaker, which is killed by Ulpianus after the sinking of the Stultifera Navis. | K.I.A. | |
| A bishop of the Church notable for rescuing Mizuki and turning him into an Aegir-Seaborn hybrid. | Alive | |
| A bishop of the Church notable for being the mentor of Thorns who taught him alchemy and the Destreza swordsmanship. | Alive | |
| Former technical advisor of the Abyssal Hunters project residing in Milliarium, notable for his modifications to the Class IV weapon used in the Waterway Program. Killed by Ulpianus. | Deceased |
Other members[edit]
- Cassia: A cultist who lived in Milliarium, using her role as a researcher at the Institute of Facility Management as a façade. She was one of the culprits behind the Seaborn's invasion of Milliarium, in which she framed Tullia for her actions. Cassia was eventually captured by Secunda after attempting to disable the city's self-diagnostic system, where she was caught red-handed by Lucilla.[5]
- Marin†: An Aegir bishop and Thiago's lover. She was one of the Church's cultists operating in Gran Faro and was eventually arrested and executed by the Inquisition.[6][7]
- An unnamed Sarkaz girl —suggested to be a Church of the Deep cultist— who appears to be a simple dancer accompanied by many of her kin. She will offer a treasure chest to anyone who comes by, unbeknownst of the Sea Terrors hiding inside.
Cassia
The mysterious Sarkaz girl as seen in Dancing Chests' artwork.
Gallery[edit]
A Liberi cultist of the Church
Ditto, with a veil covering the whole face
References[edit]
|