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Benthic Maw — Description

Who knows what lurks in the depths of the sea, for it is a realm where man does not belong. Just riding upon its vast surface is a challenge for humanity, dealing with the storms, the leviathans and the endless horizon. Go below, and you enter the aquatic void. Nothingness all around, with few glimpses of life both tiny and titanic drifting by. Going further offers only darkness and crushing depths, the home of the abyssal beings and the graves of countless souls. Sailors and sea monsters both sink into the abyss, just more dying life to rain down upon the faithful below. The ocean floor is a graveyard, where everything comes to finally rest. Man has dredged it, collected samples from it, but few have been able to truly see it. Even less is known about the depths of the Humor Seas, their fluids far too potent and dangerous for proper experiments to take place. The Aquanauts work tirelessly to try to reach such strange places, for so many answers lie in the abyss. But sometimes, the abyss comes to man, lurking in the shallows and slithering onto the shores.
There have been numerous encounters with the "abyssal beings," a strange group of various aquatic creatures that seem to form a faction and faith in the depths. They who worship the Mother of Snow, who thrive upon the blessings that rain from above. Though their tongue has yet to be translated, run ins with them prove an intellect within. They do not mean harm unless threatened, and they do not seem to hold an inherent ill will against man. But not all that emerges from the waves is so mindful and passive. There are stories of horrible shambling things that have appeared, coming to our land only to feed. A mass of tendrils, fins and flaps, reeking of abyssal Rot as they leave a damp trail of misery and death in their wake. From these tales has come their name "Benthic Maw," describing one of these deep sea visitors that seeks nothing but prey.
Looking at the stories and slain specimens, it is believed that the Benthic Maw are some kind of sea slug. While there are no ties to Phlegm like land slugs, its anatomy seems quite familiar. Its squishy body blue and gray, covered in sharp crystalline spines and writhing cerata. Its head is a mass of eye stalks, each organa glowing with Blue Blood. Yet what draws the most focus is their undersides, rearing up to reveal a horrific maw. It is an orifice lined with shredding teeth, with a pair of eager tentacles looking for its next meal. As one can imagine, the Benthic Maw looks to feed, be it above or below. Though their tales spread fear, these things coming to shore is quite rare. They spend most of their time at the bottom of the sea, where Aquanauts believe they feed on the plains of detritus and dead. Down there, they practically eat as they slither through the muck, their stomach mouth greedily slurping it all up. It means plenty of nourishment, though it doesn't slow them in their feeding. In fact, they still seek out live prey, never passing up an opportunity for something fresher if it swims by. And when they come to shore, this behavior is increased greatly due to the lack of its usual food.
Though these creeping things are quite slow, they are still a terror to behold. They look to feed on prey and, to do so, they have found a way to bring them down to their sluggish level. The Benthic Maw have strong ties to Blue Blood, the ancient fluid of the abyss. Its power is found in their numerous eye stalks, causing them to glow with an odd light. Each of these organa can emit of beam of this blue light, aimed at whatever they look upon. While it may seem like a way to illuminate their path in the abyssal darkness, it is actually a weapon. Those exposed to its beam will begin to feel a bit weak, a gradual tiredness seeping into their body. What is actually happening is the subtle draining of their energeiai and vigor, the Blue Blood's properties allowing the Benthic Maw to sap prey. These eye stalks are meant to weaken their food, exposing them to enough light that they cannot flee the hungry mouth. How many are focused on a target determines how strong the effect is, with a single eye causing the occasional yawn, while all orbs directed at a foe can cause them to collapse into a tired heap. During the first few encounters the surface world had with the Benthic Maw, scribes of these horrid tales would be perplexed with the deceased and their inability to flee. These slugs are quite easy to outrun with a simple trot, yet witnesses would watch victims stumbling over themselves and floundering in place. What seemed like crippling ineptitude was actually exposure to the creature's cruel weapon, the draining power of its fluid robbing them of the chance to flee. Lucky survivors tell how their legs refused to work, and how they could hardly muster the strength to crawl away.
Be they creatures of the land or sea, any who fall to its draining sight will be seized by its tentacles and dragged into its mouth. Countless rings of shredding teeth await them, obliterating flesh and bone til nothing remains. It is believed that their maws are so strong that they can grind up abyssal bone, which goes to show how little of a chance regular prey has. Their death is quick and messy, yet the creature crawls on, hardly slowing its pace as it continues to feed. Benthic Maw are terrible foes, but at least they are simple ones. Just moving and eating, draining anything that tries to escape. That was the original idea, but Aquanauts believe there may be something more complex hidden within. Their eyes turn to the Black Bile shards upon their back...
For some time, it was believed that the Benthic Maw simply had Black Bile spikes as a means of defense. Their main ties were to Blue Blood, with a little affiliation with Black Bile to keep hungry predators off their back. But studies of these shards taken from the dead have revealed that they are not empty vessels of hardened Humor, there is actually information inside. Aquanauts have been working with other arms to fully decipher these spines, but they currently believe that structures contain data about the things they have eaten. Not just a tally of prey, but specific information taken from their flesh. It seems to break down into incredible detail, with faint hints of anatomy and fluid composition. Though nothing solid has been pulled out, the current theory is that the Benthic Maw learn from the creatures they eat, taking notes of their biology and behavior to better feed on others of their kind. There even lies the possibilities of them harvesting memories to learn about locations of more food, allowing them to find hidden nests or easy prey. As they feed, the crystals grow bigger, a sign of a more advanced foe for those who dare challenge a Benthic Maw. But, of course, it can also serve as a weakness, for shattering these structures can rob them of this information and reset their stolen intellect.
In current times, the Benthic Maw are a periodic menace that may emerge from the waves. They show up one day and start devouring a path through the countryside. However, their rampage is not endless, for eventually something will call them back to the sea and the terror comes to an end. Obviously, it is important to cut these feeding frenzies short, ending the beast before it can swallow more lives. They are just another monster to haunt these lands, one that the seafolk dread whenever they appear. Unfortunately, the Aquanauts feel that there may be more bad news to these appearances. For they have studied their flesh and looked to ancient tales, and they believe the Benthic Maw may be more than just a hungry slug. Evidence suggests that they may be far older, the shrunken descendants of abyssal beasts from a primordial time. This brings to mind the vague mentions of the "Ascended Leviathans," entities spoken about by the ancient dragons. From what has been gathered, it appears that during the Age of Eitr, giant beasts of the sea came to the world above in an attempt to take over the land. They marched upon the shores, challenging the dragons and their empire. Though the battle must have been mighty, it sounds like the Pale Huntress was able to lead the dragons to victory and drive them back into the sea.
What happened after isn't fully known, but it would seem these would-be usurpers fell to a punishment that had them fade away into these lesser creatures. What was once big, proud and powerful is now a mindless creeping thing. But they are not the only things that dwell in the abyss. What if the Benthic Maw are being wielded by others in another attempt to take over the land? Could there be abyssal beings below that have grown sick of man's follies and seek to bring it all to an end? And if so, could these slugs be more than just hungry monsters, but spies and intel gatherers, feeding upon terrestrial life and bringing their stolen knowledge back down to the depths? We can only wait and see....
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Evolutionsvoid was struck with multiple ideas of how to do this and wondered how best to explore them but the Colonel, more concerned with getting this piece done than pondering possibilities, told Evolutionsvoid to "go to hell."