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I have slumbered for too long.
The depths are far more welcoming to me than this chaotic, loud existence near the surface. Even from here, I hear the echoes of their boats as they rock against the wooden docks. I hear their petulant, stupid chatter.
In the depths, I am alone.
In the depths, I know who I am and where I stand.
Nobody to bore me or waste my time down below. The fish don’t guffaw when I tear into them.
What’s more, the heat from the orb above bears down oppressively on me here, tainting the water around me with its unconscionable heat. I long for the cold, chilly embrace of the deeper parts of the ocean which I call my home. I long for solitude and peace.
Here, I have to learn their language, study their culture, all for the sake of one day appealing to them should it become necessary. With infinite time to oneself, the mind ruminates and plans. It conspires and builds…
In truth, I’m not sure what motivates me to do this. I should have no need to connect with them… no use for them. They are food to me.
And I hunger.
Long, wiry lines and nets appear above me and vanish at regular intervals as they attempt to ensnare their prey… my prey. I quiver with rage at the thought, watching the foolish, brainless fish as they race to reach shiny objects and baubles, falling into the grasp of these addle-brained trappers.
Long stakes of wood implant themselves into the silt, the roots of their fragile civilization. No matter how many times I break their docks, they seem to rebuild.
This ismydomain. And simply because they live their lives on the sandy beaches of the land, I allow them to exist. They are of no concern to me on the land, dwelling outside of my realm.
But this is a direct challenge to my power. Every fisherman is nothing more than a taunt, another reason to strike unilaterally and absolutely. My patience has been growing thin with these beings.
“Allow me to remind you why you fear the ocean.”
I growl. My words are coherent to me, bubbles escaping from my mouth with every utterance. But to the land dwellers, they sound like the marine roar of an approaching predator.
I imagine their agitation. It fills me with delight.
Rushing forward through the ocean, I charge into the bottom of a fishing boat, rocking it.
“What in the name of the Thirteen!”
A gruff, masculine voice cries out suddenly, startled. His weight shifts in the boat, and it rocks harder. As it tips, I watch it, my mouth watering.
I can hear their fear as they attempt to rationalize and silence the noise. They tell themselves I’m a harmless creature of the sea, like a delicious caesin. I chuckle at the thought and let them watch the bubbles forming from below them that slowly rise to the surface with my exhalations.
Before I give them something to truly terrify them, I want to unsettle their minds.
Diving back down, I allow them to return to a feeling of shaky peace. Their lines return to the ocean but slowly, their nets hesitant. Uneasy chuckling emerges from above, as they attempt to joke about what happened.
“I haven’t ever seen my boat rock like that,” the throaty, masculine one says.
“Take it easy, Marn,” says another, who projects false confidence. “It’s probably just the tide coming in.”
“What tide? Do you see waves anywhere?”
“Well, we know it ain’t an animal,” he says before peeking his head out over the ledge of the boat. My eyes meet him as he looks right through me. His arrogance in daring to glimpse me almost ruins my appetite, but I remind myself that he’ll be a far better dark elf when he’s dead.
“Nothin’ down there,” he says, returning to his boat, shaking it as he sits back down.
I am invisible to their eyes, a threat somewhere on the precipice, lingering in the deepest recesses of their imagination. It is sensible to fear the ocean. It’s up to me to remind the living of that.
Meanwhile, my stomach growls. I do not know how much longer I can deny myself a meal, all for the sake of amplifying its taste. Fear is fine seasoning, but not worth starving over. On an empty stomach, the best tastes are lost, and the act of eating ceases to be enjoyable.
“I’m telling you. There’s something down there.”
