From Overview:
Once a lighthearted race, the pergothi are now a jaded people. Their ability to create artistic masterworks is overshadowed by their rigorous military skill. The pergothi have a solemn duty to protect all aquatic creatures from those who dwell beyond the waves.
The pergothi once existed in far greater numbers. They were a race of artists responsible for wondrous pieces of aquatic art. Their creations joined worked items seamlessly with the natural world. These masterpieces were sought by those from both below and above the waves.
But the appetites of air-breathers are well known for their ravenousness. They demanded greater works. Over the course of a single century, their frenetic quest looted the treasures of the pergothi. But this was not the worst blow to the pergothi. Many airbreathing races viewed the exotic pergothi with the same avarice as their art. Those pergothi who did not flee were stripped from their home below the waves, becoming little more than pets. Most of these pergothi quickly withered in captivity.
Pergothi went unseen beneath the waves for centuries. When they finally returned, they were no longer the genteel artisans of old. They were a force to be reckoned with, possessing a divine mandate to drive air-breathers from beneath the oceans.