Those Who Thrive in the Deep

"A great confluence roars on the horizon - And I will not be able to confront it with you, children of mine."

The ocean is boundless and mysterious in its entirety. Perhaps one of few things upon Rhyst that no man can truly, deeply explore to the fullest extent. It was man who created the first ships and vessels to cross her, but never to go below the waves and unearth the secrets miles below the sun-kissed surface. But to not explore is to remain in ignorance of what lurks just beneath the very water man travels.

It was decades ago, perhaps even a century, when the story of the Viruna Trench and what few men had spotted was spread throughout Isegrad like a wildfire. Many say it was but a tall tale when a sailor docked into Isegrad with a crew of twelve all having said the very same thing. That in the dark of night and during a ferocious storm- They saw them. Yellow eyes and black hair, bodies durable and strong, and magnificent wings that stretched from their shoulder blades.

"Draconians! From the Deep!" The sailors and crewmen tried to tell their story to any who would listen, having gone on record saying that they saw them whilst crossing the Viruna Trench in the dark of the night. The captain's account, perhaps, was the most telling of what exactly they'd encountered.

  "We had always sailed these waters. From port to port, passage over the Viruna Trench was calm and always quick. This stretch of water was known for being storm free- That's why we were so surprised when we happened across it during the worst storm we'd ever sailed through. It was the black of night, and not a sound could be heard but the waves and the wind. Quickly, our boat came to a screeching halt in the water- Almost as if we'd hit something. It was then when we saw it. Spouts of water thirty feet tall had erupted all around our vessel, the currents swirling around them had effectively stopped us in our tracks. We shined our bullseye lanterns on the tornadoes of water around us and saw the dark form of people- Winged people- Swimming through them as if they were flying through the air itself.

They leaped from the spouts, some landing on our deck dressed in blue and white scales. From their backs, beautiful blue wings spread out and four of them had quickly walled us in. It was then that the largest one of all of them, a tall woman wearing a crown made of beautiful coral and pearls spoke aloud-

 'You trespass through our waters during the height of our celebration. We of the Deep Coil forgive thee- And will guide you away from these waters after you give to us your word. That you will stray from our home during the storm. And inform the others of your kind to follow in your footsteps.'

As yellow eyes all glared back at us, we had no choice but to agree- For we knew not who we had met, but understood that they were most benevolent after we had trespassed on sacred territory we knew nothing about. They had let us go, these so-called Deep Kin, on the promise to never- under any circumstance- sail the Viruna Trench during a storm."

And so the story goes that this rumor spread throughout Isegrad and perhaps the villages around- But to no one's surprise, it went widely ignored and wholly superficial to the machinations of the empire. Conquest, power and industrialization swept the dirt that was one captain's story under the rug. And it wasn't until years later that a vessel by the name of the S.S. Enterprise had sailed the same path.

One of few ships that were built to its size, the Enterprise was created with the purpose of transporting an innumerable amount of munitions, people and supplies in the shortest voyage possible. Upon sailing those waters across the Viruna Trench, the ship was never heard from again. Not until months later, a singular survivor had washed ashore on Isegrad's nearest coast with a three-pronged stab wound going through his right leg.

Alas, he had little to say before he eventually died from exhaustion.

  "Beware the Viruna Trench during the storm... For Her worshippers are always watching... Always vigilant... And the Deep Kin of Viruna... Tolerate nothing.