“The Path of the Deep Preserver”

—derived from T’au (the people) and Nu, a reverent compression of Vishnu, the Preserver. Some Fire caste scholars also interpret ’nu as meaning "endless motion”, referencing ocean currents or the silent swim of a god-beast in the stars.

“When the stars dimmed over the Kor'vat Expanse, the Ethereal Aun’Shi’var communed in silence with the void. A shadow stirred in the deep black, vast and silent. Not destruction. Not madness.

Preservation.

A great fin, wider than a continent, shimmered in solar light. Teeth like asteroids. Eyes like suns. It swam through the stars not to feed, but to preserve balance.

And thus the T’au’nu rose—not in fear, but in faith. The Star-Tide comes not to consume, but to cleanse. Not to punish, but to protect. Those who swim with it shall be spared. Those who resist the Greater Good… will vanish without wake.”

—From “Verses of the Deep Current”, Third Codex of the T’au’nu

Swim with the Current: Resistance to fate brings only chaos. Flow with the will of the Greater Good.

Preserve the Whole: Every caste, every species, must be kept in balance—like fish in a thriving reef.

The Shark Protects: The cosmic predator is no enemy. It is the universe’s immune system. Let it pass.

Do Not Fear the Maw: The Star-Tide devours only those who cling to division and selfishness.

Spread the Wake: Teach others the Way of T’au’nu, so they too may swim in peace.

T’au’nu is seen by traditional Ethereals as “permissible but fringe.”

Gained popularity after sightings of enormous “void-sharks” in deep-space observatories.

Some Water Caste diplomats use T’au’nu metaphors to justify planetary compliance:

“The tide is coming. You may swim with it—or be lost to it.”