Beware of unmarked spoilers!
Why did these specific people hear the ocean's call?
Not everyone in the world heard the instructions to move underneath the ocean, so it begs the question, why these specific people? Place your bets here...- Fate or the gods or whoever specifically chose people who would actually be able to create a new society, even against the impossible odds. This both includes people with important skills, but also people who could cooperate and attempt to meet the other kingdoms in the middle, in an attempt to defy We ARE Struggling Together. (And, problems and Ol' Joshy aside, the creation of Founders' Wake could've gone one hell of a lot worse if they'd had people who point-blank refused compromise.)
The Parish took Devo away from his family.
If they somehow knew he could one day be a Hand for the Parish, they may have taken him to raise themselves, with or without the consent of his parents. If Devo knows or suspects this, it'd explain why he's so bitter — especially if he has reason to believe the Parish may have actually hurt his birth family.- It may also explain why, when he changed his name, he went with La Main, which just translates to "the hand," referencing his (presumed) role of the Hand of Devotion. If he was raised by the Parish and doesn't know who his biological parents are, he'd have no way of knowing what their family name was.
Zoox isn't your typical Brinarr.
He doesn't have several souls inside of him; he doesn't have any, and is essentially Artificial Intelligence, having being made sentient by some other means. This is why the clam described him as "empty."- Confirmed.
