Balaena

Balaenas were a large, intelligent aquatic species that resembled gray whales and inhabited the River Oceanus, where they served a vital role as the most accessible means of transportation across its waters.

Description
On average a balaena measured around in length and they were considerably fast swimmers. Their skin was tough and leathery, making it difficult to bludgeon them.

Personality
A friendly, peaceful disposition was common among balaenas. As a result they preferred to avoid engaging in combat whenever possible and conversed with many of those who visited their waters. Even when forced to fight someone, a balaena would never willingly leave creatures helpless within water and would help any creature that was in danger in Oceanus regardless of their alignment, gently nudging them to shore.

Ability
Balaenas were powerful telepaths, capable of communicating with any intelligent creature and often able to recognize when someone was lying. They also had an innate ability to cast the spell know alignment.

Combat
Much like a mundane whale, a balaena fought by means of ramming opponents with its large head and slapping them with its tail. When underwater they would unleash extremely loud, ultrasonic shrieks, which could deafen their opponents for over a week and potentially attract the attention of other balaenas.

Homelands
Balaenas could be found in the River Oceanus, which traveled through all the layers of Elysium, as well as where the river passed through Arborea and the Beastlands. In Arborea they were far more common on its second layer, Aquallor, which served as their winter feeding ground. Though they could also be found along the coasts of its first layer, Arvandor.

In the plane of Mount Celestia, balaenas could be found in the Silver Sea. This was because they were knowledgeable of a secret portal that connected the Silver Sea to the endless ocean of Thalasia, the headwaters of the River Oceanus.

Relationships
Balaenas were very well respected among most inhabitants of the Upper Planes, due to their vital role as transportation across the large and dangerous waters of Oceanus. This combined with their peaceful disposition made it that balaenas had no natural enemies within Oceanus. Asrai in particular were sometimes known to act as either companions, guides, or translators for them.

There were several known ways to summon a balaena for transportation. one highly successful method developed by the warriors of Elysium was to mix holly leaves with a bushel of Elysium grapes and then burn the mixture upon the shores of Oceanus. Another method was to cast any of the monster summoning spells while standing in the waters of Oceanus.

However, a balaena would use their know alignment before agreeing to provide anyone transportation. They never provided transportation to evil creatures and would only provide aid to chaotic neutral or true neutral creatures if they were on a good-aligned cause. Despite the former, creatures of the Lower Planes would try to trick or force balaenas to carry them and if they were unable to succeed in doing so they would resort to attempting to capture or brutally slay the balaena.

Whenever balaenas visited the island-citadels of the Silver Sea they would pick up travelers who believed themselves bound for the upper reaches of Mount Celestia, but whom the balaenas knew through their connections with deities that the individuals were destined for Elysium.

Balaenas had a special connection with the various deities of Elysium and Mount Celestia, but were particularly known to act as servants of the Seldarine deity Deep Sashelas. Despite this, they refused to take travelers in the Silver Sea to the divine realm of his consort, Trishina.

Rumors & Myths
Some sages believed that the reason balaenas refusal to take travelers to Trishina's divine realm was because they lived and mated there.