Įnemies of the proteans describe the most horrendous manifestations: a living, hungry thing that answers the call of the proteans to wreak havoc on their enemies.
These descriptions fluidly mix both grammatical gender and number, as the concepts of individuality or gender are alien to the Speakers of the Depths. Others imply that the Maelstrom itself might be a third manifestation of the Speakers' essence. For example, the scholarly akizendri can nibble and corrupt sources of knowledge such as books and scrolls and will do so simply to introduce chaos into the would-be readers lives. Proteans describe the Speakers of the Depths as being two perfectly intertwined serpents, moving in and out of each other, constantly creating and devouring the world around them and themselves. Inhabiting the Maelstrom are the proteans, serpentine and unfathomable creatures that can warp reality both within and around themselves. The two major descriptions come from the proteans themselves and their enemies: archons, axiomites, and devils. Ok so I have a villain who is trying to basically open a gate into the abyss and bring the demon lords into the Material realm effectively. Those who have seen manifestations of the Speakers of the Depths have each seen completely different things, but all the manifestations are disturbing and terrible, yet seemingly so difficult to describe to anyone else.