The Physalia
@voraciousTreasure
The blood in the water shines a beacon Private messages are open. I may not deign to answer. If I do, this is your warning to tread carefully.
~~~~~~~~ ((OOC: TL:DR and info at the bottom!)) Let me tell you a story. Long ago for all but the eldest of trolls, there was a collector. His name does not matter. His bloodline does not matter. His caste matters only for it lent him undeserved power. He used that power to gather a great many things that took his fancy; jewellery, relics both fabled and not, beautiful things, powerful things, curiosities of all kinds. One night, whilst the pink moon was full, he decided to follow a tale he had heard of a hidden hoard of treasure. He cared not for the curse said to have been laid in protection. He cared not for the reticence of his crew, both indentured and there by choice. He cared for nothing but his own greed. One night, whilst the pink moon was full and the seas were still, he brought his ship to a great spire of stone; the remains of once-grand mountain. Now only a shard remained. He weighed anchor and brought his ship to a halt. He sent some of his crew into a cave at the base of the spire to retrieve the treasure, and when they called to the ship the news of its discovery, he joined them on the stony shore. He had the honour of becoming the first ensnarement when the song rose up from the deep to wind through his mind. It called to him. It told him: there is a greater treasure to collect. It told him: come here, for there is something you dearly want. His boots met the waves and he plunged down beneath, unheeding of his crew. It told him: hello, Collector. I’ve been waiting for you. And then the singing stopped. A very specific cruelty. He had time to realise what he’d found. He had time to try and scream before his limbs turned to stone, his flesh hardening against his will to flee, for he knew he could not win this fight. One night, whilst the pink moon was full, they say the collector was stolen by a siren. They say it turned his bones to stone and froze his limbs in place. They say it let him sink in the sea and watch from below as it sung his crew into its clutches and paralysed them too. They say it let him watch as it tore them apart. They say it finally curled around him and let him beg. They say it smiled and sung in glee as it broke his ribcage in twain and ate his pusher in front of him, slowly. They say it rendered his grand ship to sticks and took the treasure for itself. They say it was a mertroll. They say it was a siren with a paralytic prowess. They say dulling your hearing will not save you. They say using a weapon will not help you. They say it comes up from the depths and roams the oceans of Alternia. They say if it catches you, it will eat you. They say its name is The Physalia. Hello. ((This account will contain #violence, #gore, #death, #nsfw, #nsfwe, and #cannibalism. The Physalia is a seadweller who has spent much of their life in Alternia's oceans. Something of a legend, they are one of the many dangers facing trolls on the planet; if The Physalia catches someone, they will paralyse and eat said troll, taking any valuables for their own benefit. Their voice is rumoured to have hypnotic qualities. The Physalia is a mutant, having a fish tail instead of legs, but does not seem worried about being culled. They spend their time exploring shipwrecks and underwater hives; their lair is a cave system hidden in one of the deepest trenches on Alternia. DMs open both IC and OOC!))
~~~~~~~~ A near-dawn find, retrieved from a foolishly stubborn morsel. At least they were briefly entertaining. [voraciousTreasure has uploaded a photo!] [OOC: Taken underwater, a photo was uploaded of an elegant hair-comb, carved from mother-of-pearl and inlaid with silver and amethyst in spiraling patterns. The comb floats just under the surface of the water, surrounded by blooming violet blood. The sinking moonlight glints off the long teeth and the shining silver inlay. A broken, skeletal corpse drifts in the lower right corner of the photo, the ribcage cracked open and the bones stripped of flesh.]
~~~~~~~~ Good dawn. Your attempts to ignore the ravenous depths will not assuage their hunger. The ocean does not forgive so easily. Nor do its hunters. Choose your respite with great care.
~~~~~~~~ That was delicious. :) Nothing particularly useful in that ship aside from food, though. A shame.
$peak your $h¡7 dude ¡ a9ree
7hank$ buddyboy
ok $orry ..( ..( ..(
7hank you for accep7¡n9 my apo!o9y. bow$ before you
~~~~~~~~ The seas are calm and there floats a ship on the surface. I would wonder if they have grown aware of just how close I am, but their obliviousness seeps into the water like ink. I have a song just for the likes of them; I am so very hungry.
~~~~~~~~ A recent find. Interesting to some. [voraciousTreasure [VT] has uploaded a photo!] [A photo was uploaded. Taken underwater, of course, in the remains of a sunken ship, it shows a tarnished silver case held in The Physalia's brutally elegant hand, their claws sharp and their fingertips stained with blood against their already dark chitin. The case is a far cry from their usual photos of jewellery and curiosities; it seems rather plain with a 'simple' filigree scrolling and a word in Old Alternian embossed in small lettering across the front. Unlike previous displaying of finds, The Physalia has clearly not felt the desire to translate this one.]
~~~~~~~~ Hm. I normally refrain from bothering to look at or comment on the front page of this site, but I am intrigued by how many here believe that troll flesh would taste foul. They are incorrect.
[BEGIN MESSAGE] ... agreed. [END MESSAGE]
[BEGIN MESSAGE] az are y0u. phyza|ia. g00d hunting. [END MESSAGE]
~~~~~~~~ Good dusk. There is always a hunter. It is always closer than you think. Hungry. Take care as you set out tonight.
~~~~~~~~ Tonight's hunt was delicious, but aside from the meal, unfortunately only offered one instance of any worth to me. The set is rather lovely, though. [voraciousTreasure has uploaded a photo!] [A photo is uploaded. Taken underwater, a beautiful and delicate pair of dangly earrings have been photographed in The Physalia's hand, resting on the undersides of their fingers. Said fingers are long and sport a few elegant golden rings, and their vicious claws and fingertips are stained dark. There is a vague shadow of blood covering their chitin; most of it has washed away into the water, but some still remains. The earrings are made of carved pink pearls, tiny emeralds, and silver; each earring has four clusters of three pearls each, carved to look flower-like, with 'stems' made from emeralds set in silver. They are pretty and extremely expensive-looking. The hooks and some of the pearls are stained in violet blood.]
~~~~~~~~ Good dawn. The depths are far deeper than you can comprehend. Everyone slips under the surface eventually, and certain beings lie in wait. I, for one, hunger for the feast to come.
~~~~~~~~ One of my favourite artifacts recovered during the last week. The leaves are sheets of mother-of-pearl, they are bound together with iron, and they are enclosed in silver. The inscription within the leaves tells a rather old tale in verse; an early version of the fable that became known as 'The Bark-Growth Maiden'. The passage shown in the photo is a verse placed repeatedly throughout the tale. It reads as follows, translated from Old Alternian and phrased in a more modern parlance: 'See me now; a ray of light in the moondance See me now; I cannot leave this place Hear me now; a strain of song in the forest Don't ask me to follow where you lead Follow where you lead' [voraciousTreasure [VT] has uploaded a photo!] [A photo was uploaded. It shows a 'book' made of mother of pearl, a curling script engraved upon each piece. If one knew Old Alternian, they would see that The Physalia's translation is very accurate, if adjusted a little to allow a layer of poetry when read in Modern Alternian. A row of holes along the inside edge allow for the pages to be held together via a series of metal rings, and the edges of a silver front and back can be seen. The artifact is completely clean, placed against a wooden plank torn from a ship.]
~~~~~~~~ A very busy week; one primarily spent retrieving, preparing, and restoring artifacts. And, naturally, hunting. I shall be sharing some of my finds from my explorations and my prey here over the next few nights, as the mood takes me.
~~~~~~~~ Good dawn. Take your rest whilst you still can; you will need whatever you can grasp, and your hunters will not be gentle.
~~~~~~~~ Good dusk. The ravenous rise from the depths tonight. I would warn to be on your guard, but doing so will bring no difference.
~~~~~~~~ A find from the Imperial ship sunk last evening. [voraciousTreasure has uploaded a photo!] [A photo is uploaded. An imperial ship rests on the ocean floor, broken into several pieces. Several corpses drift about the shipwreck, mostly skeletal; the bones have been eaten clean, all of the ribcages broken open in a very specific way. The Physalia holds a delicate necklace up to the camera in a long-fingered, elegant hand, their fingertips and claws stained dark. The necklace consists of twenty small pearls, each one intricately carved with swirling designs. It may just be the blood clouding through the water, but the pearls seem to hold a purplish hue within. A larger pearl forms a pendant, this one the same colour as the others and carved with a flower.]
~~~~~~~~ I do believe a maelstrom is forming around an Imperial ship. Good. As much as I enjoy a chase, it's nice when my food comes to me.
c< OOOOO, Have fuN! >c
~~~~~~~~ A piece of tonight's find. [voraciousTreasure uploaded a photo!] ((A photo taken underwater. The Physalia's left hand can be seen holding an elaborate bone brooch in their long, viciously sharp claws. The brooch is set with pearls and carved with the image of a sailing ship on the waves, two tiny gems marking out the two moons above the ship. Their fingertips and claws are stained dark; in the background, an empty, bloodied ribcage floats in the water, cracked open.))
~~~~~~~~ Hm. An interesting development. An edit: this has nothing to do with the current posts spat out by the users here.
~~~~~~~~ Good dusk. Remember to look behind you.
No no, don't encourage them. -t's more fun catch-ng them off guard.
That's why you s-ng and - don't, - suppose.
~~~~~~~~ I have found myself humming a song for the last two nights, unable to place where I heard it, nor the lyrics. Having finally recalled them, I've seen fit to share. It's an old song about someone I knew a long time ago, typically sung in a round by multiple people to allow the verses to overlap pleasingly. 'Peeking through the embers, stirring up a storm Kashkash is watching you and keeping you from harm Ember, Ash, and kindling, pretty kings and queens counting out your wishes lighting up your dreams Listen to your lusus when she takes you to town, for Kashkash gobbles all the naughty wrigglers down Hearth, tinder, flint & steel Pretty kings and queens granting all your wishes Dancing in your dreams Never make a wish that will make your lusus frown, for Kashkash gobbles all the naughty wrigglers down.'