~~~~~~~~ ((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!))