Neral was a deity of the Shake, a subjugated race of the Letherii Empire, who originally had been a coastal people whose primary allegiance was to what they called the First Shore. 'Neral', also known as 'the Swallower'--presumably in reference to the phenomenon of coastal erosion, denoted that particular aspect of the Elder God of the Seas (who was known more widely as Mael--a name that the Tiste Edur had given to him).