Closed A Bountiful Sea (Syndus)

[Ink]

TimestampPlease timestamp your post when you arrive. Any day but the first three of the month


Tiaru darted left, then right around the submerged wreckage of metal. It was mangled beyond recognition, and though it made the water around it tangy and terrible the sea life was beginning to overtake it. In her time as an Apprentice on Sahova, Tiaru had been asked to gather many things from the ocean floor, but never something living. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it, her family would be appalled of that she was sure. Try to justify it though she might when she saw the snake it would be a specimen in a lab and a free creature no more.

Coral was a strange thing around Sahova, once many centuries ago it might have been beautiful and wild. Now it seemed a foreboding shadow, she had never seen it move herself but she had seen formations change unnaturally quickly. There were those who might be able to manipulate parts of the reef, but all denied doing so. Her Master had theorized it was due to the wild Djed of the island and cast offs from experiments gone horribly awry.

Her net in hand, she propelled forward giving the reef a wide berth. She had seen that the hunters and golems were out on the northern shore this morning, they sought the highest population of the creatures. She was becoming somewhat of a specialist in the days since they arrived, the smartest and strongest of the snakes did not get caught by the golems for whatever reason. So when she brought a snake back the contest for the catch was high. Some of them even went to Wizards who would keep them alive because of the superiority of her specimens. It was some small consolation.

She saw a shadow on the sandy ocean floor, long and slender. It could be an eel but instincts told her otherwise. Res leaked out her webbed toes and transmuted at her commanded propelling her forward towards the unfortunate soul.

[Sssalisssyndusss]

15th of Autumn, 514AV

Toxic.

It was with high hopes and cautious optimism that Syndus' den arrived on the shores of this island in the middle of the Sebakem. An isolated little tuft of land divorced from the greater continent seemed the perfect place to try to reach out to the land walkers, and the chief thought that the inhabitants might even be more respectful of the ocean that they were surrounded by. How naive that that idea seemed now.

From the moment their den first set foot on the island, their mission was abandoned. Even the Iyvess, who had not seen the continent for centuries and had little idea of what its vegetation appeared like, could tell that this place they had found was somehow sickly and twisted. The bare beach on which they mounted the land possessed a foreboding matched only by the gnarled flora found further inland. Not one Iyvess wanted to press forward, but none were willing to abandon their chief. In hindsight, they may have been able to talk her out of walking onward and instead find somewhere on the continent that was not plagued in such a way. Perhaps this all could have been avoided.

They went for a long time without finding anyone. First contact was made when they themselves were found, aggressors appearing from seemingly out of nowhere, casting nets and spells. The den scattered, survival instincts taking hold, and now they were being tracked down one by one.

The hunters had become the hunted.

Slithering quickly through the water, the Dhani wished he could have stopped to look around some more. Aside from the sickly atmosphere emitted from this dreaded island, there was something more that the Dhani noticed, something magical in nature. His sense was weak still, but he could still feel the excess djed that pooled around this place, manifesting in the strangest of ways. It was probably the cause of the island's unhealthy appearance, though there was no way for Syndus to be sure. Not without stopping and trying to learn, at least. He had found pockets of time here and there while running across the island and escaping to its surrounding waters, but never enough to really focus. Whoever these islanders were, they were dead set on capturing every Iyvess on their shores it seemed.

Syndus was in his Dhani form, shooting through the water in a gradual arc around the island, completely ignoring the possibility of escape even though it was a viable option. Even if he could get away, what would he do? His den was here, either caught or still on the run. He could feel them, an instinctive tug in his gut toward the island, the feeling of his den crawling over the island and its surrounding waters. He had to find them - there was no other option.

[Ink]

The net swung towards the Dhani and the water seemed to push towards the net, an obvious trick of reimancy to anyone skilled in the art. the Charoda apprentice pulled in the wriggling snake. The catch was the most difficult part of the hunt. She pushed for the surface her net wriggling and roiling as she dragged it behind her.

This wasn’t the first of these serpents she had caught for her master, it wouldn’t be the last. As she breached the water’s surface, already headed back towards the automaton boats. The boats had tanks and collars to keep the creatures contained. It was a mile off though, Tiaru could see the silhouette on the horizon. The dhani thrashed in its net; gnashing against her conscience. It was wrong each slap of the water cried to the apprentice, wrong wrong wrong…

The dhani screamed as she transformed, pure fury. She was female, Tiaru could see this. The magecrafted net kept her safe from the enraged onslaught but it was little piece of mind. She felt she deserved every hit of the serpent’s lashing. The net had been a necessity when the wizards had realized the snakes didn’t particularly want to be slaves. It was a quick job but it worked startlingly well to catch the unaware, enough to scare the murky green Charoda into subservience. It was a fine line she swam, between apprentice and potential experiment. A number of times she had worried her apprenticeship was its own kind of experiment. Still she had to remain on the island until she had her answers.

The overcast sky looked down on the scene, the charoda dragging a dhani through the sea. For most Sahova was an island of death. Here the corpses were stored only to walk again and the living found grizzly servitude if they were fortunate. The climate was hushed in waiting; a quiet murmur of the savage secrets the island held. Just beyond the edge of hearing the silky wind whispered promises both sinister and profrain. The island of death was in business and was business was good.

Dhani screamed against her net-cage, fury turning to terror as the inevitable became clear.

oocWhatever form Syndus chooses to take or which items he brings with them is totally up to you. Feel free to move about the environment however is natural to the character, I an work with any scenario.

[Sssalisssyndusss]

For the first time in what felt like forever, Syndus was well and truly alone. He had always been reclusive among his den because of his secretive nature, in order to protect both himself and those around him, but now he was in total solitude. His den was gone, and in their abssence Syndus felt uncertain, fearful even.

What made it even worse for the Iyvess was the twisted nature of those denizens of the sea he did come across. The creatures that inhabited these sickened waters were not natural, not whole. They were distorted from their pure form, perverse adaptations of Laviku's children that had all the seeming without any of the substance. It was not difficult to guess why - the untamed toxic djed that spilled from every orifice of this gods-forsaken island must have infected the environs and that which inhabited them. Undoubtedly it was affecting the surroundings in ways that Syndus had yet to discover, but he did not have the time to study.

The Dhani Reimancer slithered through the sickly waters, peering through the murk ahead of him. All around Syndus the abnormal creatures of this sea swam in their patterns that were so alien to the Iyvess. Schools of fish wafted lazily about near the surface, and down below Syndus were some solitary but large hulking beasts as big as the Iyvess himself - some bigger.

There was life here, of that there was no doubt. It was just the tainted level of toxicity that gave this ocean its unwelcome appearance, even to the serpentine children of Laviku.

Peering up toward the surface, Syndus recognized some of the schools of fish. There were many sorts to be sure, but there was one particular kind which he had encountered when his den first came ashore which he was not eager to encounter again. He knew not what they were named, but he called them leechers due to their habit of sucking the djed used for Reimancy. It was an unpleasant discovery when a handful of the buggers grabbed on to Syndus as he tried to surface, and it took the den some time to figure out how to dispose of them. Some part of Syndus wanted to send a pack of the little lowlifes right into the cliff, but now was not the time for such personal vendettas.

For now, the more pressing matter was finding the others of his den. Any Iyvess that had escaped into the sea would likely head toward where they first climbed ashore on the island, returning to where it all went wrong. If there was no one there upon his arrival, then Syndus would have to circle the island with his Oceanus sensing for any Saltwater Iyvess within the waters. If there were no other Iyvess nearby...

Well, he would tackle that problem if it arose.

[Ink]

The golems executed their clean up protocols. Their catch was secure and their berth all but full. The Charoda reimancy apprentice looked down into the water watching it wistfully. Syndus would have sensed the dhani as they dragged her into the boat, and when she suddenly disappeared from the water to be caged in the boat.

Tiaru saw him only ticks before the golems did. She couldn’t make it in time to stop the inhumane capture methods of the animations. She cringed away from the sight. The puncturing noise as the harpoon released and speared the dhani in the water. The Charoda went to prepare the holding tank for one more. Waiting quietly, mournfully, to open and snap shut the top.

The Golem cranked the lead rope pulling the harpoon back.They were advanced in many ways but rudimentary in others, they had never been taught emotions. At the same time their ability to perceive and target creatures accurately was nearly as good as a lifelong fisherman. After the new creatures were captured, categorized, and available for experimentation the golems would be relegated to hunting edible fish. It worked out well and agreed with Sahovan efficacy sensibilities. Having a source of food that didn’t require food to run, if there had been more Pulser Wizards the idea might have come about sooner. Of course if there were fewer Pulsers it wouldn’t have been necessary.

As the male Dhani was pulled against the side of the boat the golems reached down with metal fists and wrangled him up out of the water. Tiaru was surprised to notice he wasn’t merely a snake, but half-way between snake and man. The Wizards had already ascertained they were like the Dhani, but she hadn’t yet seen one so transformed. As the golems wrestled him towards the tank, Tiaru flipped it open and let him be tossed in. As he went down she noticed he had a pack on his back, another new sight. She tilted her head, “Do you speak Common?” She asked. This Dhani was the first to have a humanoid head, so she had never yet spoken to one.

The cage Syndus had been placed in was a metal with slits in the top from which sounds, light, and air could enter. The mundane ended there as the shielding on it was immensely powerful. Not only was it shielded against res and all of the elements, but voiding as well and of course flesh. The wizards weren’t sure the world of origin of the new Dhani yet. What if they were summoned from another world? It could not be left up to chance.

Tiaru Looked down through the hole. “What is your name? I am Apprentice Tiaru.”