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+--- Thread: Creature of the Deep (/showthread.php?tid=6772)
Creature of the Deep - Lamia - May 12 2019
Despite Fornax not exactly being Lamia's favorite place to be in, it was a place with water, and one of the few caves to go to. Fornax was too hot and open, despite it being so deep and vast. Lamia preferred the darker, deep lagoon of Pisces with its cold water and chilly caves, even if its area was a lot smaller then the other caves.
Still, it was better to expand her horizon. Now that she was getting older - and stronger, at that, she felt the need to keep on the move. Never stay in the same place for very long. Never settle to live in a singular area. Always move, always discover, always hide in the darkest reaches.
She was currently on the bed of Fornax's ocean, away from the bigger vents in a relatively cool area of the water, feasting on a fish she had just caught, hidden away in the crevice of a rock. Her bulbous eyes stared out, waiting for anything to try and swim by, for any dangers that might threaten her...and for any more snacks she could possibly pick up with an easy stretch of her hand.
There was one coming close. A small fish. It smelled sweet. It was getting closer and closer, so close...an arm struck out from the crevice and curled around the fish. It tried to get away, but Lamia's grip was iron. She dropped the fish she had been eating with her other hand and brought this new one in, popping it right into her mouth whole, and crushing it down with her teeth. She used her tongue to find the gem and quickly bit down around it, spitting out the rock before swallowing the rest of the fish whole. Delicious.
RE: Creature of the Deep - Orarian - May 12 2019
The Orarian had not been disturbed since the battle upon the shores of Fornax; long ago it had retreated back to the hot, boiling vents that popped and sizzled against its fleshy skin. Nothing dare disturb it for cycles, as it grew, and grew, and grew. It patrolled the depths as though it knew nothing else, but it had not forgotten the surface and the things that it had fought back that day. It had not forgiven the things of the surface.
And yet, the creature did not know worry or fear. It was blessed by ignorance. Should something invade, it would be fought back... Should. For cycles, nothing came, and nothing went. The current remained consistent, and with time, the beast became arrogant, beset with the vice of sloth in its complacency.
One fateful day, however, something larger than the usual fish shifted in the waves, rippling down to the steaming, broiling vents that the goliath lurked in. At first, the Orarian did not believe what it had felt; perhaps it had merely been a gurgle from one of the more active cracks in the ocean's floor. However, the sensation grew closer, the ripple louder and louder, shivering up the tendrils that stretched across the darkness.
Something was here. Something had come. The Orarian's path had finally been crossed, and the cycle was disrupted. Slow and deliberate, the massive beast twisted, turning from its path toward the faint taste of blood that bled through the water. The creature did not have to go far before it pinpointed the being that had disrupted its pattern. It stretched its long tendrils out toward the disturbance, like branches of a tree drawn toward the sun. From what it could sense, the thing was about half the leviathan's length, and moved mostly as a fish did, but something was different. This was no mere cave fish. It was no longer alone.
The Orarian's starlit central eye flickered with energy; a faint beacon in the darkness. Then it fell dark once more, the ancient magics rusted and forgotten. In the youth of its creation, it had spoken only a few times before the attack, so somewhere deep down it knew, but like everything down in the deep, the knowledge had been lost in the endless shadow.
@Lamia
RE: Creature of the Deep - Lamia - May 12 2019
From the crack in the rocks, Lamia saw a shadow fall over. At first she didn't pay it heed - darkness was good and there were plenty of fish big enough to obscure the light. Or something swimming near the surface perhaps. Or maybe Phlegethon was drifting through the waters. Didn't matter. She didn't pay attention.
It was only when there was a glimmering glow that Lamia looked up from her meal and found her eyes staring at a leviathan, its tendrils reaching for her in her little cave. The fish she was holding fell from her hands, a cloud of red blood flowing from her mouth as it gaped open with shock. Her first reaction - panic. Swim away. Swim and keep swimming until Fornax was far behind, until the tunnel swallowed her whole and she left behind these warm waters for the freezing cold darkness of Pisces, where things were safe, where things were home. Flee to Tenzin, for if this monster followed her, the phoenix would surely help her beat it back to the cave it had come from.
But then that annoying intelligence took over and she found herself curious. Suddenly oblivious to any danger. She had, after all, not been hurt by any creature before, especially not those that lived beneath the water. It was only instinct, right? Only instinct that fueled the desire to flee.
She didn't think about it for too long. Abandoning her fish, she reached forward, gripping the edge of the crevice and sliding the rest of her body out to the open water. She opened her jaws and a beautifully haunting song echoed into the water, indescribable music that made the water ripple and shimmer.
RE: Creature of the Deep - Orarian - May 12 2019
The long semi-fish released its prey and it drifted, leaving a spreading trail of diffusing blood. The Orarian could taste the iron that seeped through the salty waters. A tendril brushed away the corpse as it floated by, not wanting the distraction; though it could eat the fish with its maw, it preferred softer food.
More importantly, the disturber sang to it, a language that it had not heard in cycles. As the water rippled, so too did the beast want to echo its answer. The ocean was pushed and pulled by current, and when something shoved, it would react with a wave.
THE҉ OC̢EAN͢ ETȨŔN̵AL, it's answer warbled, distorted like refracted light through the waves. The gemstone at the front of its body pulsed and burned like a supernova was imploding at the center of the universe it held. I AM W̸̶̷̨͞R̶͟͏͝O҉̧͘҉T̷̢̕H̨͜͞. .̵̶ ́END͡LE͟͝S̸S͡͞ ̛̀AŅ̵D͝͡ E̷̕TÉ͠R̀͜N̶̶AL͘͠.̴̀ ͘ I AM OR̷A͡R͡͝I͟͡A̛N.
The creature's tendrils pulled back from the singing longfish, curling inward toward its central mass. For a moment it seemed to think, slowly spiraling in place, a dozen dark strands surrounding the glistening stars that seemed to stare right at the disturbance. A low rumble came from the creature, as it slowly remembered its words; the sound was deep, a low pitch that not just anyone could hear. It shook the water in slow deliberate pulses of words.
Though instinct told the Orarian that this disturbance was an invader and a danger to the beast's home, it found it hard to believe. The singing creature was some kind of fish, as much as its movements felt slightly wrong, its voice nothing the giant had heard before. When its light flashed again, words distorting through magic, it accused... but it did not sound angry. YO͢͞͏Ų͏ ͘A̶͘R̸E̡ I̶͝N̶ ͏T̨͠͞H͞E ́͏͝O͝͏RARI͏À̧͟NS. ̢T̢H͘͡͞E ҉̕W҉͠R̨͝O͘҉T͏̡H̵ ̧DO̡͝E̕͘S͟ ̡͝N̢̢͏O̷͞T̛͘ ͏T̢̛͘O̧L͘E͘ŔA̡T̕͜E͜͢ IN̸VASION͡.҉ It paused, waiting for a response; though it had no facial expression to read, the slow twisting could almost be interpreted as contemplative.
RE: Creature of the Deep - Lamia - May 12 2019
At the sudden loud voice, Lamia flinched, her tail fin fluttering anxiously as she backed away from the leviathan. It was very loud, and the gem was very bright. Too bright. Way too bright! She could not close her eyes so she spread her webbed fingers and covered them over her sensitive pupils so she would not be blinded.
But her mild fear changed to confusion. Was the thing mistaking her for someone else? Were there other things like her out in the water? Perhaps they had long been in their chrysalis, perhaps one of them had somehow made it angry. She simply could not see otherwise how it had come to the conclusion that she was "disturbing the natural order" or "invading".
Relief echoed across her face and into the rippling water around her.
RE: Creature of the Deep - Orarian - May 16 2019
The request was something that the writhing mass of tentacles did not quite understand. The ocean was not bright; it was endless, all consuming void and darkness. Light...? Still, the Orarian knew what light was, somehow... It knew of the glistening world beyond the water, seen through the lens of frothing waves. It somehow knew of nebula, shifting clouds of white specks pulsing and thriving, and thinking upon this, the creature grew quiet. The light of its gem dimmed to nothingness, showing nothing but the faint hint of glitter from the stone.
As it contemplated, the longfish continued to speak, growing bold once more. The Orarian drifted closer as it listened, though it seemed pulled more by the water than by any motion of its own. Lamia, the fish answered, and thus was considered by the giant. The name felt familiar and yet unknown, and it spoke to a great sense of emptiness in the never-ending void.
When the leviathan answered, instead of speaking via the bright, blinding magic, the creature returned to the deep, low tones that pulsed through the water. la̡m͠ia̡ i̛s ǹot̶ o͜f̶ orar̷íàn, ͜ groaned the massive sea creature, constricting and expanding like a lung sucking breath. b̨u̶t a͘lso̢ ̴nòt o̡f ̸the wo͏rld̶ b͘eyon҉d, it went on.
th͜e̴ bi͜na͠r̸̀͜y̴ ́͡ ̵i̵͟͞͝s͠͠ ̵̛͟͜͡b͏̀͝r͖̫̠̦̘͉̅ͮ͠o̸̲̞̥̤̪̟̘̙͕̽̉k͓̳̣̤͔̯͈̫̾͊̐ͫ̐͠e͆͗҉̺̯n̶̨̢҉.͜ w̴̧h҉a̧ţ̴ ̛̀e͡l̴s͘҉e͜ ͞i̴s th҉e͞re? The resounding sound crackled, the nearby undercurrent popping and twisting as the creature's heavy voice surged. What secrets did the Lamia have? What did it know of things that were not what was or wasn't, but instead beyond the Orarian's scope and understanding?
@Lamia
RE: Creature of the Deep - Lamia - May 16 2019
Lamia mistook the large fish growing closer for actual, conscious movement, but she also interpreted it, perhaps, in a skewed manor. She thought it was trying to grow closer to observe her better so she stayed still. Otherwise, she probably would have backed up more and grown a little more nervous.
The rumbling, rippling tones sounded far more natural to her then the voice that had ripped through the water moments before. She chimed softly, a sound of confusion shimmering through the water. She did not understand. This leviathan was unlike any creature she knew, unlike any she had spoken to before. She was confused.
A sudden, wild though occurred to Lamia. This creature was massive. Massive like Tenzin. He had said there were 12 ancients across the caves, all of whom were big and all who had seen since the beginning. It occurred to her that, perhaps, this was an ancient!
He had said there were no fish ancients but he didn't look like a fish. Fish were not this big. And the way it spoke was so strange and otherworldly, that she wondered if it was the most ancient. Perhaps all the ancients were water-bound creatures. She hoped that the name Tenzin would at least spark some recognition, if it truly was an Ancient.
RE: Creature of the Deep - Orarian - May 23 2019
The Lamia asked such strange questions, as though they spoke languages that had evolved independently and converged, rather than ones that had merely branched apart naturally through regional dialect and accent. It was easy for there to be misunderstandings between the two creatures who had lived greatly different worlds. The Orarian could only take the words the longfish had given it; Fornax and Pisces. Again they were words that the massive behemoth had never heard before, but they tugged at the indolent creature. They felt like the Light. What did it mean?
Contemplating these thoughts, listening to the currents that shifted around them, the Orarian answered. "th҉is̵ i͘s the orar̡ia̸n͡," it said in the low, physical tones that rippled the deep water. This clarified nothing, but the leviathan did not quite know the difference between itself and the ocean it lived in. The boundaries were near non-existent. "yo҉u ca͞ll th͜is.̀.. Forņax... ̀t̕h́is Pisces͘,̵ ̡it ̧i̡s͢..̕.̨ ͟like Fornąx,̷ like ͟th̴e ̨o̷r̡a҉rian?" It took a few moments to mull over this concept, that there could be a world that was not of the other world, but instead a parallel existence, tangential to the Orarian. The water grew still and almost peaceful for several long beats.
That left only Tenzin. The thing that told the Lamia of Fornax. The concept was disturbing, like a sudden current of cold water in the normally tepid ocean. "te̵nzi҉n.̕..͝ ͡is̢ a͢l͟só,͡ of Pisces?" The creature questioned. "wha̡t i͞s ̷te͞nz̴i҉n?̷ d͟i̴d it ̀send͠ yǫu͏ ̨to͝ the̛ ơr̷a͡r̛ia͢n?"
@Lamia
RE: Creature of the Deep - Lamia - May 30 2019
Lamia's dumb fish mind was struggling to keep up with the creature's dialect. She spoke directly, almost formally, in her own tongue. As direct as she could, of course, but the creature's vague responses and questions threw her a little off guard. She didn't understand. She chimed strangely.
She looked up, the distant surface almost invisible from their depth.
RE: Creature of the Deep - Orarian - Jun 09 2019
The questions were strange, asking the Orarian to separate itself from the water that extended infinitely from it. It was asking a droplet to see it self as individual from the entire ocean. "i ͞a̕m͡..̢.̧ ͢orar͞ia͡n͡. ̀F҉or͘nax͢..̧. ̧i̷s͝ ͞y͏o̵ur̶ ҉w͟or͠d̴ for t̀hìs ̢w͏o͘r̛ld... ͢f͟o͜r̛ t͟hi͢s͟ w̵atér. t͏h͜e̷ o͜ra̷r͘i͜an͞ i̸s͜ o͠f͘ ͏thi͝s͜ ͞wat́er̡, ̡c͡o͏n͢st͠a͜n͢t ҉an͏d ̕a͝l͟w͟a͏ys,͢ f́ơre͢v̡e̢r.̡.. o͡f thi̡s world.̴" The long fish has also spoken of the 'whole world' that they hadn't seen, and this-- this was something that brought a bristle of unease and cold, relentless fury to the surface of the Orarian's shimmering skin.
For now, it listened, as Lamia continued to explain. Pisces is small and cold... Yes... The Orarian had sensed the cold, even before Lamia had spoke of it. It had felt the change of the current, and been disturbed. It did not know what to make of this change, of this different thing-- small water.
"ţhe̵ ̡other wor̕l͞d͠.̕..͡ the̛ ͟pĺa͠ce o̸f̵ ̕no wa̸t͝er,̷" The Orarian spoke, its deep voice slow and cold with a dark, strangled anger. "lonǵ ̸b̶e͏fore͜...͏ ́t̴hey t́h̛r̸eat͢èn͠ȩḑ ͝w̡ar̢ ̸ùp̛o̡n͡ ̀t̀h̨is w̢orl̡d̢, t͏he͡ órar̷ían̛, t̨he̶ Fo͝ŗn̴ax. T̸he͘ cre͘a͢turȩs ̕of̨ ͏thè ̕súŕf̢ace̸.́..͏ s҉ou̧gh͞t t̨o͡ ín҉v̛a҉de͞, ̢d̵̛es͞t̛͜ro͞y͠,̵҉͏ ̷͟c̷o̡͞nq̷͜u͜͟e҉r̸..̶̡̨.̵̢͟ the ̴̕o̡̕r̀̕a̴̴r̛i̛͘͜a̷͏͞n҉ ̨҉f͟͞o͟͡ug̷͢h̶t͘̕͡,͟ ̛d͠e̡̕͏f̷̨͡e̴͟n̷̸d҉͢e͞d͏,̧ a͞n̶d͟ t̢he͠n͞ ŗet̛r͞eat͠ed. l̷amia͡ iş the͘ fi͞r̢st--͝ ͡f́r̕om͢ ͜a͘ ͠p̧la̕c̶ę of̨ ̢w͝ater,͟ ̀f̶rom͜ ̴à k̀índ͠r̡e̴d̷ ͢w͏or̷ld̶, t͞o ͘c͟o͡m͞e..͟."
The tendrils of the Orarian curled inward, and it slowly turned and drifted to one side, then spun, drifting back, as though pacing. "t͡enz̛in̕.͝.. t͘en̡z͠in create̵d ̵t̵h̡i͘s ͢n͟ew̢ ̶world̛,́ ̨Pi̧sc͟e͝s..̵.͏" The thought started, and ended, unfinished. t̨h͟e̡ ̛ora͠ri̶an̨.̸.̡. ͜h̷aś nev̧er b͝e҉en ̵beyond ͘t̀hè ͜F̀o̢r҉nax̕.
@Lamia