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 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.'
~~~~~~~~ Good evening. Interesting things are stirring in the depths; if you wish to investigate, take care.
~~~~~~~~ More people should dive confidently into the ocean depths of Alternia, unwilling to comprehend their own mortality. The overconfident, foolish ones are the most interesting to encounter. The ones who recognise me, however, are the most amusing. Both are fun to play with.
~~~~~~~~ Good dusk. Tonight is a night for hunting down those who think themselves immune to consequence. Tonight is for feasting.
Let me gueſs, you do not conſider yourſelf to be one of conſequence.
~~~~~~~~ Part of tonight's meal decided to swallow the rings she wore. I can only assume she thought doing so would either save her or the jewellery. She was proven wrong on both counts.
~~~~~~~~ A disappointing find; a creature had destroyed the chain of a particularly lovely necklace I discovered in the Captain's quarters of a Kelhqun-Era vessel. Thankfully, the pendant was touched only by tarnish and seawater.
~~~~~~~~ The sun's rays already begin to warm the upper ocean, drawing the day on a rewarding night. Good dawn. Let the lullaby of the depths drag you down into sleep.
~~~~~~~~ Tonight's hunt was very successful; not only was it delicious, but I also recovered some pieces of rather lovely jewellery. [voraciousTreasure uploaded a photo!] ((The Physalia's hand is in shot, holding an eight-stranded pearl necklace with golden bars connecting the strings, each bar studded with tiny gems. There is violet and purple blood on the necklace as well as on their hands and clouding the water somewhat, staining their fingers and the thin golden rings they wear.))
~~~~~~~~ In my opinion, the scroll-song is the most beautiful relic I have the opportunity to recover. Each one is a unique and functional art piece, crafted with a technique lost shortly after Her Condescension was crowned. Each segment contains a portion of the titular song enscribed upon it; my favourite implementations are carved upon slices of bone, the edges sanded to round the edges pleasingly. [voraciousTreasure has uploaded a photo!] ((It is a photo of a small cylinder made of carved mother-of-pearl, a slit down the length of it. Somehow, the mother-of-pearl appears to be all one piece, perhaps grown in the needed shape and then carved with a visage of waves, spirals, and ships rolling along the scene. Flat segments of bone connected by tiny metal hooks spill from the gap in a ladder-like formation, ancient Alternian lettering carved into each one.))
~~~~~~~~ I made an exceedingly interesting discovery this night. Good.
((I want to give Physalia the Ancestor badge, except that it's not really applicable right now...))
~~~~~~~~ Good dusk. A storm is brewing, this one more vicious than most. Those on the surface would do well to worry.