Written by Saint Oran the Just, Patron Saint of Whales and the Sea, the Sunken Tome is bequeathed only to the Saint's most worthy students. Whole schools of water-clerics compete for the right to claim a rare copy of the book, held and copied down only at the Chapel of Saint Oran on the western shore of the Endless Sea.

Prospective students learn the spells and show their prowess until the academy's Master of the Sea declares one to be worthy to possess the book and teach others. In return, a holder of the Sunken Tome must forever don the Mask of the Depths, a sea-blue, crystalline mask with a great smile.

One may challenge the Master of the Sea's declaration of successor and challenge the declared successor to prove greater worthiness. If you succeed, the other must return to their studies until the next successor is claimed, and the challenger claims the book. If they fail, another step is added to the ceremony - the last thing the successor will see before putting on the Mask of the Depths is the strong-armed enforcer of the academy's will applying the Mask of Triton's Fury to their opponent. The burning metal mask scalds their face, and is pounded brutally into place with a hammer from the forge. Few ever survive this process.

When the Master of the Sea leaves this world, the successors are called back to the academy to convene. Each tests against the other in their mastery of magic and the Sunken Tome's secrets. In a series of violent elimination matches, each bearer of the Tome pushes themselves to the limit for the right to be called Master of the Sea.