ORIGIN - till valhöll

It had been a while since the creature's simple, loud start. There had been too many things, and for a great while, the beast had retreated back down towards the vents, feeding off of the insignificant life that floated too close. Whether through a sense of boredom or a need to seek out the world around it, the creature had returned from the depths of Fornax and crept towards the edge of its world: the surface. The thin barrier that it did not dare breach... Not yet.

The creature sought out, not only with its senses, but with its magic, to find intruders. The last bunch, the ones it had met when it was first brought into existence, had chased him off.. But not again. No. This time, it would chase them away. For the beast had grown stronger, and larger, and found itself feeling not only confident but implacable.

p̸̀̕r̶̸ơ̵̧̨͢t̷̷e̛͘c̵̛ţ̢̀͘ ̶̨͝͠ù͢ş̧͝͠,̸̛̀͝ ̷̧d̴͘̕͞ò̡̕͡ ̛ņ̨̡̀͟ǫ͘̕͟͞ţ̧̛́͢ ̶̧̡̧͠l̀̀͟͡e̕͡͝͠ţ͞ ͏͘ţ҉̛h̷̶̨ǫ̨̀şe̵͜͞͞͡ ̧͜͠͡҉w̡͠h̢̡̀́͡o̵̸̵ ̢͡d̶͢҉a͘͜͜r҉̢̀͠e̴͢͞ ̨̛ţ́r̷̵̡ȩ̴̷̴̀s̀͘p̸͜͝a̧͘҉s͘҉͟s̡͞͠ ̡i͞҉m̡̀͞͝͏p̶̀҉̨e͏͟d̵̷̶̢ȩ̨͜ ̷͟͞o҉́͟͡ń ́͞ţ̕͝͝h͢͞͠e̕͜ ̢̛́͘͞s̷͏u͏̷͢r̷͏v҉́į̛v҉̸̡́͜á̀͟͝l͟͠ ͝o̸҉̷f̧̧͢͝ ̧̀͡͠o̢͜͜u͠͠r̨̧̀͜͝ ̸͟g̴̡͞͏ŕ͝͞é̢͘̕a͢͜t̷̸̛͜n͟͟͝e̵̶͜͠s̢̛̛͏s͝͠

The creature continued to lurk beneath the surface, reaching out. Prodding, hunting, seeking. It circled the isles surrounding its territory, its star-speckled face shimmering in the light of Fornax, its semi translucent body a ghost patrolling haunted waters.

In truth, the creature was something of a keeper of the crypt that the depths would soon be known as. For now, it was relatively safe to play among the tropics-- but some day, the ghost would become more than just a passing shadow in the waters and become more than a legend. It knew its place in the world, even in its young age.

Nothing would escape its long, twisting grasp.

The creature of the deep devoured a small swarm of jellyfish nearby; its hunger satisfied momentarily. It could feel the world around it in pinprick flashes of hot, vibrant white swashes of bacteria-- and it understood the world as well. With time, it had grown to be as large as ten feet, and despite first appearing mindless, its knowledge had grown as well.

There was another creature who lived in the water, another gembound, who was all too friendly. The sea monster wanted to chase the bubbly Iris out, but she was large and powerful and above all, harmless. As frustrating as her company was, she only pestered the deep dweller occasionally. For now, the beast could go about its patrol, a boiling anger deep in its instincts.

It swept through the deep, hot churning waters of Fornax, moving along the currents with ease. It knew every path the water took, and it could get around with startling speed. Although it had just fed, there was a greater hunger nipping at its attention. Long tentacles floated behind it as it went, twisting fingers that felt the other currents as it passed them.

The creature was aware of a world above, where the starlit cavern danced without water. The air above the rocky currents was a place it did not dare to venture-- it seemed to know it could not survive out of the water-- but that did not ease its desire to know of these things. Rarely, it could feel a patch of hot white bacteria swirl and squirm on the shores, large creatures passing along the coast.

The Orarian wanted to expand its territory and cleanse the beach.

This was impractical.

So instead, the creature swept up, towards the thin film of the waves-- where the water met the air-- and stayed just barely submerged, a shimmering, starlit blackness just beneath the swirling foam.

And it tried to reach out to the world, to repel those that ventured too close. The words did not pierce from its world to the one above, not yet, but that did not stop it from trying.