Seaside 4: Where Every Week Is Shark Week

[UncleWolf]

Operation Sea Slug

Titania takes a few moments to make sure her rifle and her sword are prepared and ready. As she said, she'll willingly lead the way and turns her personal shielding on as well to hopefully take the first few blows if it comes to it. When she gets close to the thorny brush, she'll begin hacking away with her blade to clear a path for others.

[Shadowcaller]

Operation Sea Slug

Sargera studies the motes for a moment. "That seems to be a reasonable assumption. These motes can't be that old though, someone would have found this island much sooner if they always were here." She reasons, yet orders the group to follow Titania as she starts clearing a path.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Tammy exclaims as she hurries back to the main group. A few of the gnolls still remaining to guard the site and check out the partly melted rock.
"You know, those damages are at least a few days old. Whoever caused them might be gone now!" She informs them.

That's when Titania finds a already cleared path leading from the beach near the melted rock right into the direction they're moving.

"Maybe." Sargera admits, though she is clearly not relaxing. Holding her rod as weapon.
The path will take them up to the top of the hill where they can digging tools laying on the ground, a few even standing leaning against some of the nearby jagged rocks. Then in what must be the only completely flat surface on the island, is a black unassuming hatch.

[Tropical Island]

"Yes, along with the creatures that serve them, and all the-" He interrupts himself by waving his hand dismissively. "There are a lot of enemies to us out there. People that wish to wipe out humanity. But the great serpent is to stop them, by whatever means." He stops now before a great door that stands just ajar enough for a person to squeeze inside. "I need to ask though, are you of the spider goddess? I would have guessed you are from the mainland considering your inhuman nature, but it was a long time since we had contact with the spiderborn."

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

Ilpholin looks over the door. Seems like one of those you need two or more people to open. Rashak probably leaves it cracked so he doesn't have to deal with the heft of opening and closing it.

"That's correct. I hail from the Underdark and Lolth has always been my patron deity," Ilpholin proclaims proudly before pursing her lips and leaving it at that. Why would this fool think those from beyond the mainland were human? Or those from the mainland weren't? It doesn't sound like he's left this temple in fifty plus years to begin with. Bah. "I'm sure the Spider Queen was simply busy with her own machinations." She has so many after all.

Ilpholin leaves it open for Anika to proclaim her own allegiances or to play into Ilpholin's and attempt to slip under the questioning.

[UncleWolf]

Operation Sea Slug

TTN visibly stops and hesitates upon seeing the hatch. "...Sargera, I was made and stored in an underground bunker much like this. I think now is about time that I ask if you know anything about this place. You mentioned Artifacts, but not what kind." She points out, slinging her weaponry to approach the hatch itself. "Not that it is likely to mean anything to me I suppose, but with no sign of who these digging tools belong to and a mysterious hatch that looks like it's been opened fairly recently, I think we should at least be told what we're getting into before I open this." She adds, rapping her knuckles lightly on the hatch itself. "But I do want to say that if there is another BOLO like myself down there, then we'll need to renegotiate." The walking tank adds. Loyalty to the regiment and human kind and all that.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tropical Island]

"I'm just helping out Ilpholin really. I don't know anything about spider goddesses. My personal patron is Elune. I don't even know of any other goddesses but her." Anika claims.

"Is that so? Can't say that I know any goddesses by either of those names, but many years have passed since the fall of the empire so things have likely changed since those days." The priest shakes his head. "Either way, here the relics will only whittle away by the teeth of time. If you can stop the Crocrotras then at least they will be of some use."
He pauses as he stands before the great door. "Wait here, I will bring out the artifact for you."

Then he gets inside, disappearing out of sight. Leaving Anika, Ilpholin and Tuo alone for a moment.
"...the creatures you described." The young man suddenly asks. "Are they on their way here? We don't have any defenses..."

Operation Sea Slug

The gnolls have already started approaching the hatch, this being something of a routine for them it seems. Tammy and the imp reach the hatch first though and the goblin is eagerly inspecting the flat surface... from a distance. Not even Tammy seems daring enough to actually touch the thing.

Sargera shakes her head. "I might not know anything about this island, but I can tell you right now Titania, that hatch was made by gnolls. I recognize the handiwork. Usually they're far more ornate than this though. Additionally, considering where we are, I think this was was hidden away intentionally. There are no records of any gnolls living here even during the height of the Sadakhi or the Tuklan empire." She says, suddenly stopping as she looks at the black hatch contemplatively. "Usually there is at least a warning to ward off tomb robbers or other thieves. Some kind of written curse, but here, nothing."

The rest crew are exchanging glances, the atmosphere even more tense now than it was moments ago.

"Still, we need to open it up to find out. After all, there are no curses on it, correct Tammy?"

"Nope, none at all! I pretty sure that means it's not all that important. Perhaps some poorer gnoll-person that couldn't afford curses hid away their tomb instead. Or, ohhh! Maybe it's their secret porn-stash!" She giggles, the imp joining in which makes her stop abruptly as it was giggling far louder than the joke was worth.

Now 'Chip', the captain, decides to speak up. "Erm, got a bad feeling about this, Sag."

"Yes, I understand. But there is a risk behind every tomb we investigate. It's a part of the job. We just need to take precautions." She turns to Titania. "Anything you suggest before I have you open up that hatch?"

[Rebonack]

[A Secluded Beach]

Zee is standing on the beach, wiggling her toes in the sand.

A bit cold today, yeah. What with the dreary grey sky and the drizzling rain. Extra cold, since her clothing is folded up under that over-hanging rock face.

Thankfully she has better things to do than standing around naked. No, she has a mission today.

A very important mission.

A snail finding mission.

She takes a deep breath and strolls into the lapping, frigged waves. She keeps walking until the water comes up to her knees. Then up to her chest. Up to her neck. She keeps walking until her hair vanishes from sight.

There's a shadow of something very large moving through the water now, something that scintillates with yellow and green iridescence. Something with searing radiance bleeding between scales. Heading further out. Diving deeper down. Something that twists everything near it, motes of alien growth arising in its wake. Fish scatter from its path, those that caught sight of it twisting and writhing as they mutate. To even perceive the arcane horror is to be touched by it. And to be touched by it is to be changed.

She's heading toward a rift in the earth, a yawning abyss in the deep dark. A place where black clouds belch from fissures and boil water that's freezing cold just feet away. A place where alien, long-toothed things stalk the eternal night.

You know, an ocean trench! With hydro-thermal vents and stuff. Where else would she find a scale-footed gastropod?

[Deathkeeper]

[Operation Sea Slug]

Will shakes his head.
"Yeah, curses would be no good. Uh, I hope you don't mind me staying behind you on this one, Titania." he mutters.

[Rebonack]

[The Deep Dark]

Down.

This little adventure is very, very down.

Zee once dove down to the HALO base. That was a neat little trip. But compared to this? Compared to swimming into that fissure in the earth with the weight of the whole ocean pushing in on her from all sides? That was like a dip in the kiddie pool by contrast.

She can feel herself changing the deeper she goes. Adapt and overcome. The flukes growing from her tail, the gills flaring along her neck, her front and back legs shrinking away into broad paddle-like flippers. Fur and scales streamlining to reduce drag, sealing together. The little windows into her burning heart growing in number and size, illuminating the water around her. Sparks of searing light slip between her teeth. She can only imagine how awful she probably looks. Words come unbidden to her mind, old words from an old book. A challenge to man's hubris. A long descent awaits her, and she sings into the darkness as she dives.

"Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or her tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Canst thou put an hook into her nose? or bore her jaw through with a thorn?
Will she make many supplications unto thee? will she speak soft words unto thee?
Will she make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take her for a servant for ever?
Wilt thou play with her as with a bird? or wilt thou bind her for thy maidens?
Shall the companions make a banquet of her? shall they part her among the merchants?"

A group of sahuagin and their shark companions observe the seraph from afar, and take issue with this interloper into their domain. Their approach is swift, tridents and harpoons at the ready.

"Canst thou fill her skin with barbed irons? or her head with fish spears?"

The hunters surround her thrusting and throwing their weapons even as ribbons of iridescent light slither through them. The sharks charge, chomping down on crystalline scales. To their dismay, the horror's hide only becomes tougher with each assault. Adapt and overcome. The aquatic seraph gives a thrash, tendrils of flesh and scale and claws lashing out from her and raking through the attackers. Blood in the water. Enough to injure. Enough to dismay. The wounds touched by her power.

Your songs are my songs.

"Lay thine hand upon her, remember the battle, do no more.
Behold, the hope of her is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of her?"

The sharkfolk flee in terror. Whatever this beast is, they have learned swiftly that it isn't to be trifled with.

She dives still deeper. Growing. Swelling. A single blazing star in the abyss.

"I will not conceal her limbs, nor her power, nor her graceful proportion.
Who can discover the face of her garment? or who can come to her with a double bridle?
Who can open the doors of her face? her teeth are terrible round about.
Her scales are her pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered."

She gapes her mouth wide, burning radiance spilling forth. Creatures of deep draw near to the light, only to be caught in the vortex. Fuel for the furnace.

"By her neesings a light doth shine, and her eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Out of her mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
Out of her nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
Her breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of her mouth.
In her neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before her."

The walls of the abyssal canyon loom into view, the seraph's light sending shadows dancing across the cold, dead stone. The pressure grows still, and her hide grows only stronger at its crushing embrace.

"The flakes of her flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
Her heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
When she raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
The sword of him that layeth at her cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
She esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make her flee: slingstones are turned with her into stubble.
Darts are counted as stubble: she laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
Sharp stones are under her: she spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire."

The depths of the trench resolve out of the murky darkness below her, towers of encrusted minerals shimmering in her light. They belch thick, black clouds and send the near frozen water boiling. Boiling just as fiercely as the water that touches the windows into her the furnace of her heart. It roils about her. Seethes. Flashes of light and burning torches. Ribbons of iridescent power. All that she touches is hers. All that gaze upon her splendor tremble in reverent awe. By now a great school of fish follows behind her like the train of a robe. Fish from all depths. Fish of every imaginable kind. Fish touched by her power. Fish warped so they can follow their queen into the deep dark. Adapt and overcome.

"She maketh the deep to boil like a pot: she maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
She maketh a path to shine after her; one would think the deep to be hoary.
Upon earth there is not her like, who is made without fear.
She beholdeth all high things: she is a queen over all the children of pride."

Life teems around the vents. Pale white things teetering on the brink between freezing and boiling. Anemonies sway in the current. Crabs and shrimp skitter over stones. Bristle worms paddle their way through the abyss. Massive tube worms and their bacterial symbiotes sup at the mineral rich water. And other, still stranger things. Wide, staring eyes peer up to behold the Glory that descends upon their dark domain. And among these innumerable crawling things eking out and existence at the bottom of the world, the seraph spots her prize.

A strange, humble little snail with a dark, metallic shell and tiny scales decorating its pinkish foot.

"I found you, little guy. You're going to help me beat up some faeries," the seraph sings as she gapes her mouth and reaches out with her tongue, raking it across the stone, snatching the little creature up along with much of the bacterial mat it was feeding from. Up into her mouth the slurry goes, vanishing into the light. Then she turns and settles herself upon the ocean floor and clamps her jaws over the boiling black cloud belching from the bowels of the earth. The change starts slow, but rapidly accelerates as living iron suffuses her scales. She glimmers in the darkness, gold and black and rusty red. Flesh and scales dig into the earth like roots, spreading and consuming. Crystalline growth reaches, bubbling, flowing, tendrils waving in the depths. She leans back and sighs, black mineral plumes billowing between her teeth. "Come to me, children. Feed me your songs and sing in harmony with me. Join me in my Glory and together we'll swim in the Correct path."

All manner of sea life flocks to her. It swims. It crawls. It drifts. It settles on her metallic scales. It creeps into her maw. It basks at the windows into the furnace of her heart.

And all that touches her burns with Glory

[Shadowcaller]

[The Deep Dark]

In the darkness of the deep trenches a song such as this was a rare treat. Such sounds usually came from the great light above which would never touch this world, until now.

As the creatures of the deep swarm around Zee, it seems it wasn't just the attention of animals she had gained as a deep voice echoes inside her mind.

Who brings such melodies into my domain? Who calls my livestock 'children'? It rumbles melodically, sounding like the voice is coming from a great distance. Zee certainly can't see anything that would be capable of such communication of the creatures around her.

Speak your identity.

[Rebonack]

[The Deep Dark]

Oh swell, now Zee is kind of annoyed.

She had come down here for two main reasons.

First? She really wanted an archive of the scale footed gastropod's song. Being able to produce scales infused with actual iron is a fantastic tool for punching fae.

Second? She needed to eat. And not just normal human sized eat. She is, in reality, a whole lot bigger than that and her metabolic needs are just as tremendous. That means finding a secluded place every now and again to hoover up a bunch of biomass.

The remoteness of an ocean trench meant she could do both things at the same time without having to worry thing much about just how virulently cognitohazardous she is. Ever since the nonsense with the cherub arena she had finally finished progressing through her 'growing pains' stage. She's a full-fledged Glory now, and that means her influence isn't just a matter of proximity now. Oh no. That would make things way too simple. No, her unbound form is hazardous to anything in perception range. Olfactory, auditory, optical, any mode of direct perception is hazardous. To lesser creatures without much Will, it's easy enough for them to get caught up in her and her potent purpose. They can't rightly wield the sword of division to cleave between self and other. Stronger Willed creatures would probably be already, but there's still the mutagenic impact her 'touch' carries. It's easier to focus on things she can see around her.

But mysterious voices?

How dangerous is her Glory to other sapient in perception range?

She simply isn't sure yet.

"Most everyone topside calls me Jezekiel or Zee," the seraph sings off into the depths. "My ladder-handle in the Empyreum is 'Dizee'. My New Name is... uh... probably not a great idea to utter aloud. I'm just down here snacking on fish, crabs, shrimp, anemones, and hydrothermal vent plumes. Any form of perception of me is an acute cognitohazard and you should probably back off unless you have an iron will. Which I guess you probably have if you're a deep sea abyssal telepathic squid or something."

[Shadowcaller]

[The Deep Dark]

'Topside'? You mean the mainland, little one? I can tell that you are from the earth-lands. I feel the scent of a lifetime walking its soil about you. The voice rumbles back. Almost sounding like its talking to itself.
But that's not where you are actually from, no? You are akin to the hidden things within the depths of my domain. That which does not belong, that which would challenge my supremacy. Now there is a dangerous edge to the voice, almost as if its getting upset simply by talking about it. Let it be clear, 'Zee', my will dominates all which lives here. All things here exits because I and the rest of my kin allows them to. Anything that threaten that balance, like you and your ilk, are anathema. You do not belong. The voice states coldly, suddenly having lost its musical tone.

There is now a longer pause before the voice resumes. But... you do not seem like the rest of your ilk, so I will give you a chance to prove yourself to have respect for the balance. Give me an offering which suits a ruler of the waves.

[Rebonack]

[The Deep Dark]

Eeww, it's being patronizing.

And... possibly talking about Ol' Squidbeard?

Zee is willing to bet that it is TOTALLY talking about Ol' Squidbeard. Or maybe something like Ol' Squidbeard.

"No, definitely topside," Zee replies with a little nod. "See, it's a naming convention. Inside, Outside, Seaside, Starside, Riverside, Skyside. Topside! We have to be thematically consistent. That's probably important."

It actually isn't, but she thinks it's funny.

"I'm totally someone from up there. Or... I was based on someone from there. I think? The transformation process from terrestrial to empyrean is really weird and don't know if I've totally wrapped my head around it yet. Weird Theseus' Ship nonsense. That's a maritime reference, very relevant right now," Zee rambles back. "Are you talking about Cthulhu or whatever? He may or may not count as ilk since the Nexus has... I dunno... probably at least three different spins on the Mythos cosmology going on at once. I'm really not sure there. But I guess weird vaguely angelic things probably count as not belonging by some estimations."

Zee hums to herself, feeling how deep her roots have gone. How big would she be able to be? That a good question. Hopefully not a question that's going to be relevant in the near future.

"Not sure what kind of offering would suit a wave-ruler. I'm more into particles, myself. Would a recounting of the tale of Theseus' Ship count? Have you heard that one before?"

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

"I'm just helping out Ilpholin really. I don't know anything about spider goddesses. My personal patron is Elune. I don't even know of any other goddesses but her." Anika claims.

"Is that so? Can't say that I know any goddesses by either of those names, but many years have passed since the fall of the empire so things have likely changed since those days." The priest shakes his head. "Either way, here the relics will only whittle away by the teeth of time. If you can stop the Crocrotras then at least they will be of some use."
He pauses as he stands before the great door. "Wait here, I will bring out the artifact for you."

Then he gets inside, disappearing out of sight. Leaving Anika, Ilpholin and Tuo alone for a moment.
"...the creatures you described." The young man suddenly asks. "Are they on their way here? We don't have any defenses..."

[Tropical Island]

Elune? Eilistraee? No, no. Probably someone different. "We can stop them," Ilpholin assures the old priest, waiting patiently as requested. Which leaves her free to answer Tuo's understandably concerned question.

"Who the demons? Or the gnolls? I mean, the answer really is yes either way. They just aren't on their way immediately. You'd be wise to train in the meantime and forge silver weapons. The demons have a weakness to silver, though they do occasionally utilize less susceptible minions, like the gnolls, Crocrotras, whatever you want to call them. If you're especially fortunate, we will end the tide of evil before it reaches your village." No promises though.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tropical Island]

Tuo seem to consider her words carefully. "There is no silver here, but... the green midgets occasionally visit to trade such items, but we've always turned them away. Can they be trusted?" He asks, meeting her gaze for just a moment before looking away, not down. Not the right moment for that.

"Green midgets selling stuff? Sounds like goblins, merchants are in general not to be trusted but boy, goblins are the worst. They'll sell their own father for a gold coin and then use the money to blow themselves up. You do better looking for someone else to help you." Anika remarks, apparently not too trusting of goblins.

[The Deep Dark]

Silence follows for a moment as the creature seem to consider this offer.
A story... Echos back. What about a song? Sing to me of this ship of Theseus.

[Rebonack]

[The Deep Dark]

"Oh, sure! You sing all good stories anyway," Zee replies brightly.

Brightly is, after all, the best way for a Glory to reply. And song is still dear to her heart. Her 'mother' was a Choir, after all. And she, too, was first a Psalm before her Self had well and truly matured. Song still flows through her blood and pounds in her ears. The songs of life still make harmony within her.

And so the seraph sings, her Glory burning bright as the darkness is lit as by the sun and the silence filled with harmony.

Το πλοίο όπου ο Θησέας και η νεολαία της Αθήνας επέστρεψαν από την Κρήτη είχαν τριάντα κουπιά και διατηρήθηκε από τους Αθηναίους μέχρι την εποχή του Δημητρίου Φαλήρεως, γιατί έβγαλαν τα παλιά σανίδες καθώς αποσυντέθηκαν, βάζοντας νέα και ισχυρότερη ξυλεία στην μέχρις ότου δεν έμεινε κανένα από τα παλιά ξυλεία, καθώς αυτό το πλοίο έγινε ένα σταθερό παράδειγμα μεταξύ των φιλοσόφων, για το λογικό ερώτημα των πραγμάτων που αναπτύσσονται. η μια πλευρά υποστηρίζοντας ότι το πλοίο παρέμεινε το ίδιο, και το άλλο υποστηρίζοντας ότι δεν ήταν το ίδιο.

Η θεά Αθηνά, τόσο εντυπωσιασμένη από την αφοσίωσή τους, αποκατέστησε τα σάπια σανίδες μέχρι την ολότητα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για να ξανακτίσουν το πλοίο. Η πράξη αυτή χρησίμευσε μόνο για να υπονείμει τους φιλοσόφους, για τους οποίους το πλοίο ήταν πραγματικά το πλοίο του Θησέα, ένα ζήτημα που έφερε πολύ χαρά στην Αθηνά.

Spoiler: Greek to me

Show

The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned from Crete had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their places until none of the old timbers remained, insomuch that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.

The goddess Athena, so impressed by their dedication, restored the rotted planks to wholeness which were used to rebuild the ship again. This act served only to bemuse the philosophers further, for which ship was truly Theseus' ship, a question which brought Athena much joy.

Around her the ocean floor blooms, metallic growths spilling forth from the mineral rich mud and blooming into the shape of delicate lactated flowers spilling soft starlight into the dark. Bubbly crystalline masses burble into being, translucent surfaces and scintillating rusty red interiors, ribbons of yellow and green iridescence flashing across them. Tendrils of growth weave around each other to create braided forms pleasing to the eye. A garden of living stone and metal grows around her, but the centerpiece is most magnificent. An Athenian galley grows piece by piece of jeweled stones and opalized wood, a glory to behold. And then, piece by piece, in dance to the Glory's song, the sea life ensnared by her purpose begin dismantling it and replacing the parts anew as they decay. Then, when there is one ship whole and once ship in tatters, the rotted remains are restored to their full glory and rebuilt. Now there stand two ships, equal in beauty, but the question remains.

Which is Theseus' ship?

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

"Goblins are... Something else. A greedy bunch to be sure. And I've never met a competent goblin before. You may be able to scam them, but you're just as likely to end up with faulty product. Have you... Never been to the mainland before? There are lots of shops over there."

Ilpholin saunters over to Tuo, eying him up and down as she starts to circle him, appraising his physique and stature with no regards to personal space. "Hmm. What do you think Anika? Is he cute enough to take with us?"

[Shadowcaller]

[The Deep Dark]

Silence follows as the song ends and the seafloor springs to life around Zee. A source of life nearly completely independent from the sun, truly Zee was the manifestation of life itself and her song its anthem.

I am pleased. The voice echoes back once the world seems to have settled after Zee's song. I will grant you and all those who utters your name free passage within my domain and all things within it, lifegiver. Your song is truly a blessing to hear and behold, I would urge you to grant it to as many as possible.

[Tropical Island]

Tuo eyes Ilpholin in turn, not sure what to make of her stares. Should he be self-conscious? He had no idea what such wondrous persons as these two amazing women could see in someone like him.
He shakes his head at her question. "Never. But I've been in a city." Tuo sounds insistent on that point. "We just don't have a lot of money. Not money they accept in the big cities at least." As he talks he straightens his back, trying not to squirm underneath Ilpholin's gaze.

Anika giggles at Ilpholin's suggests. "Could be fun. But how'd he get back?" She inquires.
Tuo eyes widens at the nymph's suggestion however, his mouth agape, standing there completely speechless.

[Rebonack]

[The Deep Dark]

It's probably worth pointing out that Jezekiel is not, in fact, her step-daughter. There's an easy way to tell, if you're trying to figure out the difference. Zee tromps, meanders, and occasionally skips if she's feeling particularly perky at the moment. Ilpholin saunters or maybe sashays. Very different.

Absurd jokes aside!

The listener's impression isn't wrong. Not strictly life, but one of life's most enduring qualities. Adapt and overcome. Determination through adversity, to change and become better for one's trials. Her song brings life and encourages it to flourish in spite of hardships.

And the crushing depths of the deep dark certainly counts as a place of hardships.

"I'm glad you liked it," the seraph calls back out into the depths.

All about her the garden continues to bloom and grow, fertilized by her song, but now tapping its roots into the molten heart of the earth below. Metal branches and flowers swaying in the gentle ocean currents as they shed life-giving light upon the sea floor. Stray bits of cyanobacteria bask in that light, growing into long woven ribbons of blue-green. Crystalline trunks becoming fuzzy with bacterial mats feeding on chemicals seeping through the tree, drawn from the volcanic vents. All woven together into a singular symbiotic organism, trees of breathtaking alien beauty rising from the depths and filling the dark world around them with light and warmth.

And most importantly, food.

Fish nest in the branches like birds, feeding on fruits and nectar, more than happy to spread the tree's seeds far and wide. Shrimp creep along its trunk picking at the bacterial bounty. Anemones cling to the earth around it like flowers in a field. Life clung to the harsh world of the hydrothermal vent, and now that life is blooming all the greater. The garden will continue to spread now, even after Zee is gone. A growing star in the deep dark.

And all this is food to her. Not just the matter she's consumed, biological and otherwise. The sheer act of sowing life and encouraging it to change and thrive is sustenance to her.

"Thank you for your generosity... umm... Wave Ruler?" Zee ventures. The weird telepathic voice really didn't talk about itself all that much. Aside from it being the Big Fish in the pond. Or a big fish, anyway. "The ocean depths are a great place for me to feed and sing; the fish don't mind my song's encouragement. They just want to live and spread their own stories to their children. It's the mortal folk who find being changed my by song concerning. They'll accept it sometimes, but only if they're the same afterwards, otherwise they become frightened."

Healing people nourishes her a little. It's still change, after a fashion. Just change to maintain equilibrium. Perseverance is still part of what she is, after all.

"I'll be sure to return, Wave Ruler," Zee says as she begins drawing her roots back into herself now that her furnace is full and burning bright. "And I'll sing my song to spring more gardens of Glory into life in the deep dark." She rises higher into the water now, bits of stone sloughing away. The fish don't follow her, this time. They have a shining home at the bottom of the world, granted to them in love. "Be well! Maybe we'll sing again to each other soon."

And with that she begins her ascent.

That... went pretty great! She got to feed, met an interesting new person, ate a scale footed gastropod, and had an opportunity to really flex her new muscle as a Glory. She's been afraid of how potentially virulent her presence can be, but now she's really starting to grow accustomed to it. It really isn't that much different from her lifeshaping, just... more. More reach. More depth. It takes some mental discipline to conform it to her Will, but the act is becoming more second-nature. She just needs a little more practice and she'll probably be able to direct it without needing to focus.

It's too bad some people don't like the gardens she grows.

Oof... she still needs to help the foxes replant at Inari's, doesn't she? That's next on her to-do list.

Right after returning to the surface, getting dried off, and putting her pants back on.

Hopefully they'll still be on that rock where she left them.

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

What they see in him? Not much honestly. Though he must have done plenty of manual labor, so he has that going for him at least.

Ilpholin goes to drape her arms over his shoulders from behind and let her hands start gently exploring his chest as she speaks to Anika in whispered tones next to his ear. "Oh I don't know. I'm sure he'll find a way. I mean, it would make an excellent opportunity for him to prove he's a man wouldn't it?"

[Shadowcaller]

[The Deep Dark]

Ilpholin and Zee ought to start a band, they're both great singers after all. Just need to be careful as a live performance might prove a life-changing experience to the fans in more than just one way.

"Both immortals and mortals alike are subjected to constant change. It's the lack of awareness of this fact that makes many of them weary of it." The voice replies. "My kin would not rule these waves if we did not adapt ourselves to what is around us, wherever they be as lifeless as the death they bring or bursting with so much life that they must take it, such as yourself. So come by again, life-giver. I look forward to see what change your gardens will bring to me and my domain. Just remember that the mortals you speak of might have to change if they are to not be subjected to the will of the rest of your kind."

Then it falls silent as Zee makes her ascend, only a faint echo lingering before leaving her with only the company of the sea creatures.

[Tropical Island]

Tuo can no longer hide his blush, among other things. Which makes it so fortunate that he is saved by the snake-priest squeezing through the open door. In his hands he holds a object wrapped in faded green cloth embroidered with gold.
He gives Tuo and Ilpholin a surprised look, his forked tongue slipping out once again as to "taste" the air. "I brought the horn." Rashak states as Anika suddenly slips her arm around the priest and puts her hand on the horn. "Great! We'll take that then. Anything else we need? Since we figured we'd bring Tuo here with us so he can see the world and gather some defense for his village, in case those gnolls, or whatever you called them, comes around I mean."

Even without eyebrows Rashak still manages to give the druid a skeptical look as he hurriedly pushes the clothed horn into her waiting hand. "Right, and Tuo agreed to this plan?" He eyes the young man that still seems to flabbergasted by all this that he can only nod in response. "Very well then. I suppose contact with the outside world will be good. Just don't let anything happen to the boy." His words seem to indicate Ilpholin especially as he is now staring at her.

[Rebonack]

[From The Deep Dark Toward the Surface]

Zee considers the voice's parting words as she ascends toward the waves far above.

People fear change. People like things to stay as they are because it's comfortable and predictable.

But she is change. To be wounded by adversity. To heal again, stronger than before. To press on and overcome.

The alternative is to be trapped in stasis, to fail to change, to die and be forgotten. How many stories have ended forever because a species just couldn't change fast enough to endure a new hardship?

Lots, is the answer. Lots and lots. Too many to count.

Could... could her song help mortals overcome the Game's other players? Is that even possible? It could protect them from fae trickery, she knows that for sure. But what about other empyreans? Giving a little of herself to everyone she meets would make the world steadily more like the Empyreum. And that would just hasten the day when the world is subsumed and its works tested by the searing Light of Truth. She doesn't really want that to happen, either. Far, far too many people wouldn't survive having everything false burned away. Not unless she could somehow touch all of them. Make them all Correct.

...

That's the Ideal Form in her talking, isn't it? The beating heart of the Empyreum. Pushing her to help win the Game for her side.

No, she's not going to betray who she is. Or... who she was. Who she was made from? It's all so muddled.

Theseus' ship...

No, she'll find another way. A way that doesn't end with the world burned OR dissolved in the roiling depths of the Dreamheart.

The seraph crests the rim of the trench and swims on toward the mainland.

[Earl of Purple]

From the Surface to the Deep Dark

Headed in the opposite direction to Zee is a crab. This crab is a little bit on the large side. Well, no. It's a lot of the large side. The first Zee might be aware of it is when she notices the red-and-white striped lighthouse built on its back is moving. The crab itself is... actually huge. It's a mile long, and three quarters that wide. Its shell is dark grey, nearly black, and rough. It's stained in places with traces of sea-bird, and there's scars from limpets and barnacles- though the former's long since left or died, since this crab is no longer a suitable habitat.

It stomps along seemingly pretty oblivious to its surroundings, occasionally smashing apart a long-wrecked ship, and it doesn't seem particularly bothered by its unusual ornament.

[Rebonack]

[Lots of Crab]

The first thing Zee notices is the displaced water.

Ocean currents are a lot more apparent when you're busy swimming in them. So when you suddenly find yourself getting blasted in the face by what amounts to several under-water rivers worth of current suddenly blasting into your mouth and through your gills you take note.

After getting over the initial reaction of 'warghblbl!' Zee begins to employ some nice little tricks she's picked up for her archives. Namely? Sonar. A pulse of sound in the direction of the current. And the ping back? Apparently a small undersea mountain is taking a stroll. Sure. That explains the current, doesn't it? This is probably worth checking out.

And so she starts swimming nose first into the wall of water, her form becoming sleeker and more hydrodynamic to better slip through the waves. Before long, she'll catch sigh of a... lighthouse? Hmm. Walking island, then. As deep as they are, getting a good idea of the shape of something that big is hard to accomplish, visually. But Zee's recently pilfered sonar is giving her a rough shape. It has legs. It has a huge body. It has... claws? Probably?

The giantest enemy crab.

Now, Zee's pretty sizable in her unbound form. Maybe the size of a killer whale. She could be bigger, hypothetically. She could feed on biomass and inorganic matter to make herself absolutely enormous. But that would be awkward using her unbound form anywhere near people. Even killer whale size is obnoxiously large in most contexts. But this thing? Apparently it doesn't care much about the fact that it's wrecking everything around it via its presence alone. And Zee's not even talking weird abomination mojo here. Just the brute physical reality of something that large moving around causes devastation. She can only imagine how much of a mess it would make if it got anywhere near the coastline.

And so, in the spirit of curiosity, she'll land on the shell of the crab. Snagging it with the claws on her flippers shouldn't be too hard. Nor should using her essence to begin drilling a golf ball width hole down into the giant crustacean. Living things tend to yield to her touch and she would be pretty surprised if she can't reduce the chitinous armor into a slurry of sugars and amino acids for her to lap up. Should all go well, she'll extend a tendril down inside the crab, branching it out into filaments that will seek out the crab's cranial nervous ganglion, assuming it has anatomy anything like a normal crab. And should Zee make contact? Well...

~Hello! Can you hear me?~

She'll try relaying concepts directly into the crab's brain.

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

Tuo can no longer hide his blush, among other things. Which makes it so fortunate that he is saved by the snake-priest squeezing through the open door. In his hands he holds a object wrapped in faded green cloth embroidered with gold.
He gives Tuo and Ilpholin a surprised look, his forked tongue slipping out once again as to "taste" the air. "I brought the horn." Rashak states as Anika suddenly slips her arm around the priest and puts her hand on the horn. "Great! We'll take that then. Anything else we need? Since we figured we'd bring Tuo here with us so he can see the world and gather some defense for his village, in case those gnolls, or whatever you called them, comes around I mean."

Even without eyebrows Rashak still manages to give the druid a skeptical look as he hurriedly pushes the clothed horn into her waiting hand. "Right, and Tuo agreed to this plan?" He eyes the young man that still seems to flabbergasted by all this that he can only nod in response. "Very well then. I suppose contact with the outside world will be good. Just don't let anything happen to the boy." His words seem to indicate Ilpholin especially as he is now staring at her.

[Tropical Island]

Ilpholin gives Tuo's chest a once over one last time as she pulls away, her hands slipping up over his shoulders. "It's just the world. As long as he doesn't go around picking fights, he won't die or lose an arm or anything." The world is pretty forgiving as long as you have a name. She can't really promise nothing will happen to him, but hopefully the things that do happen to him are all pleasant.

Oh and Tuo agreed! That's good. Ilpholin was probably going to get around to asking his opinion eventually. "Well, that seems to be everything then. We'll be on our way and we'll do what we can to end the threat before it reaches your temple. Blessings to you and the Great Serpent." Ilpholin smiles and gives a bow to Rashak appropriate for higher level religious figures, following all proper etiquette learned from her time studying Lloth religious practices.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tropical Island]

Rashak distances himself from Anika with a long step to the right while she is preoccupied with finding what might be under that cloth and turns to address Ilpholin again to return the bow. "Yes, may it and the gods of your faiths watch over you. Show those foul creatures no mercy and may your death's be painless if you fail." Grim words, though probably wasted on Ilpholin.

"Don't worry, dude. We won't." Anika says confidentially as she have pulled away the cloth, revealing a large signal horn which appears to be made of bone. The colors of it are oddly vivid however, as if it had been intensely polished just moments ago, yet the surface still looks perfectly dry. There are no signs of decay either, as if the horn had just been carved out a live animal, retaining that lively luster despite the fact that it clearly had modified into a instrument.

It has no inscriptions or other ornaments yet anyone who saw it could probably tell that there was something unusual about it.
Then the druid walks back towards Tuo and Ilpholin. "So, you want a rocking ride back, or should we travel a bit gently this time?" She grins sheepishly, still remembering what had happened last time.

[Earl of Purple]

Lots of Crab

Approaching the crab is tricky, in addition to all the water it's displacing, it's also creating back-currents and vortices as it pulls water into its gills to breathe via its mouth to eat. Zee can probably manage it, though, but she's small enough for the crab to eat.

Zee can bore through the shell quite easily, it is... Shockingly, not that different from the shell of a much smaller crab. Despite that a much smaller crab scaled up to this size would probably collapse and die, unable to keep itself oxygenated, much less able to walk. There's probably magic involved somewhere, inherent biomancy to reinforce its body and make it strong enough to hold itself upright and efficient enough to work.

When she makes contact with its brain, she finds it quite slow, and it doesn't directly respond to her query with more than a vague sense of unease and caution. Eggs. I must lay my eggs. That solves the mystery of what gender this crab is- she's a female, off to lay her eggs. The males that will fertilise them might be smaller; sperm doesn't need as much space as eggs, and the bigger you are the more eggs you can lay and the greater the chance that some will survive to produce the next generation. Then again, they might be the same size; crabs don't have as much gender disparity, and in some the males are larger than the females for wrestling.

[Rebonack]

[Lots of Crab]

Huh.

Well. Okay.

Zee really wasn't sure what she was expecting. You don't really need that much brain power when you're a crab the size of a small island that just filter feeds. Somehow she was expecting an ancient wise sea beast like the spooky voice she had been conversing with earlier. Her familiarity with the fantastical has probably spoiled her a bit.

So! Giant crab wandering through the sea looking for its spawning grounds. This thing is a walking disaster, of course, so it would probably be a good idea to know where it's going, right?

With that in mind, Zee will begin poking around at the parts of its brain that govern its instinctual impetus. See if she can't figure out what it's destination is in a vague sort of sense.

Provided that destination is away from the mainland (or any smaller inhabited islands for that matter) then allowing the crab to wander around to her giant crabby heart's content is fine.

If not... well... It wouldn't be very nice to slay the giant crab, enemy or no. Maybe warn the communities in its path? It isn't exactly fast, so people in its path should have time to evacuate, right?

[Earl of Purple]

Lots of Crab

It's headed for the deepest part of the ocean. A place where the water is so salty and the pressure so dense dead ships hang, pushed by undersea currents and lost by the world, a place where there's no light or much life... Except around the volcanic vent which shall warm her eggs, where the magic of the earth and the sea meet and mingle and allow such titans to live undisturbed.

It will stay there for... Well, until a male turns up to fertilise her eggs. Or until the urge to breed has passed unsatisfied; that's happened before, too. More often, recently. She's not got much sense of time, especially since where she's going there's no way to measure it and it has no real meaning, lit only by chemical reactions, bio-luminescence and the raw magic of the primal world. The crab has gone before, though; this isn't her first trip to her breeding grounds. Even if the trips are rare enough that somebody was able to build a lighthouse on her shell between them.

[UncleWolf]

Operation Sea Slug

"No, I don't have anything else to ask or suggest except that everyone stands well back. Including you, Will. I'd go further than just behind me. Just in case." TTN advises. As everyone backs off, she turns her shielding up to full, producing an audible hum in the air, and then leans down to open the hatch. If it is stuck or locked, she'll put her considerable weight and strength into the act to try and rip it off from the hinges.

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

"I refuse a painless death," Ilpholin concludes, turning to start making their way back out of the temple, only taking a moment to look over the horn. Yeah, looks pretty magical alright. You can tell how magical something is by how new it looks compared to its surroundings. The larger the difference in apparent age, the more powerful the object is.

Ilpholin's attention moves to stare at Tuo, as if looking for his opinion on Anika's question. "Me? I like a rough ride, something hard and fast. But there's a lot to be said for gentle and taking it slow as well, in the right company." Just don't drop them on arrival Anika and it'll be fine.