12/3 Do Not Fear the Dark

Jack gave a shrug to Poppy. He had no doubt she would smack him around if he doubted her words. The issue was that he wasn't exactly what one might call a learned man. No one would call him a wise or educated person.

Jack was ultimately the little guy, despite being six foot and as broad. The salt of the earth. The common folk personified. Jack was a bonafide moron.

"I ain't doubting you, Poppy. I'm just saying that a lotta words went a wee bit over my head. But I ain't for the philosophizing. I'm just Jack, a hired sword without a real proper purpose.

Right now? Goon for the Deep Company."

A glance was spared towards If, eyebrow raising at the notion of initiation, "Whaddya mean after the first? Cor, how many times a man gotta be initiated in some Company? What else is there beyond the drinking and getting loot?"

And then the notion of a dead god clicked in his head, "Wait...Dead god? That the Deep One people keep mentioning to me and whatnots?"

(Jack Harlock)
Maertock would take a thoughtful drag from his cigar as he leaned back in his seat, the Captain of the Deep Company gazing about with a brief, scanning glance over of his crew before nodding lightly.

"Evenin' Albie. Alright, ya asked about the dead god. Ya get the dead god. Ahem, ambience."

The captain would clap his hands together as a black fog spilled from his form, swallowing the locale with a frigid, misty cloud of inky darkness. The sorcery of the Deep.

"There are many gods, but the oceans had two. A pair of brothers; Inki and Yama. The divine leviathans of the ocean who carved the ocean's depths with their mass. Shaped the currents and ensured the tides."

The captain would nod lightly at that.

"Jormungandr, the serpent, created them from his own being to ensure the ocean's many creatures had names. For while the ancient serpent was almighty, it was too large to reign over its dominion effectively in its massive form."

Maertock would whistle lowly at that as the dark fog spread out further and further, seeming to swallow light and warmth in its presence as from the corner of one's eye, it might seem as if there is an uncanny feeling they are being watched by something much bigger than themselves.

"But one he missed. The lowliest parasite, clung to the bottom of his body. The only one he never saw, never named, and therefore never set the boundaries of his power. He was a weak, pathetic thing, this anathema of the ocean. But it dug and dug and dug, until at last it wretched free a scale of divine power from the massive serpent. Tumbling down to the lowest depths, this parasite began to feed and glut upon the power of a primordial god, nameless and boundless."

A low whistle as an eerie, cold wind passed through the demesne of black fog and darkness.

"And that is how the story of the dead god begins."
(Maertock Reave)
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 Jack's brow furrowed as he listened to Maertock tell his tale. There were two ocean gods, Inki and Yama. Or was it three with Jormungandr? A creeping feeling seemed to grab about the man as he listened, enthralled by the moving shadows that helped tell the tale.

And then the parasite. Something that fed off the divine. Falling into deep depths to grow ever strong. It was there that a proper question popped into Jack's head. He understood why they called it the Deep One, since it was a being in the deep, but...

"Wait... what makes it a dead god? Doesn't sound like it was killed right proper. Just... forgotten."
(Jack Harlock)
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[ Maertock would offer a dramatic cackle at Jack's inquiry, flashing a serrated grin that glinted pearly white in the black fog as his icy blue eyes fell upon Jack. It was a fair question all things considered.

"It will all make sense in time my boy. Have no fear. Now as I said, Inki and Yama watched over all the animals of the ocean. Those they found that were unseen by the great serpent, they got to name themselves. Names as I said have power, and those they named personally followed them. And so it was the brothers two amassed entourages befitting of gods."

The captain would nod firmly at that, gesturing idly as the shadowy, inky fog formed shapes of whales and squids, sharks and dolphins, turtles and elusive sea cucumbers. Countless fish split under two.

"But Yama envied his brother's quarry, for he was the smaller and faster of the two. More had been named by him, and his entourage paled in comparison to his brother's. And so the first reaving of the sea was done."

An echoing, infernal laughter in the fog, though it was unclear if it was Maertock's or...something else.

"Yama fell upon his brother and in the ocean's depths, out of the sight of their divine, withered father's glance; for the creation of the ocean's many creatures had tolled the serpent, and the creation of Inki and Yama splitting his power in thirds. It was there in the shadows of the first abyss he did slay his brother and rend his heart from his body."


(Maertock Reave)
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 Jack was still enthralled by the movements of the shadows. The young man was thoroughly engrossed in the story as it unraveled. Something about it all was alluring. He knew naught of the divines that worked in their world, so it was interesting to learn fully the nature of the Sirenian religion.

"So... Inki was killed by Yama? All the sea animals fall under Yama's sway then? And what of that parasite?"

How many more layers were there to this ordeal? And first reaving? Is that where they get their name from? Slowly, the hamster wheel turned, moving at a glacial pace.

"And if this is only the middle, what comes next?"
(Jack Harlock)
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Maertock would raise his hands as the fog fluctuated ambiently at his gesture, the reaving of Inki displayed in the flowing fog as the nearby tide stirred with darkness.

"The heartless corpse of Inki plunged into the abyss, its titanic size and mass personally carving the lowest depths of the ocean with its descent. And so the carcass of a god did find itself at the lowest, darkest, and deepest part of the ocean. Where the pressure was so immense it warped reality, and the darkness was so thick that no light could penetrate it even an inch."

The captain would display the descent dramatically as the ocean's bottom was split and carved by the fall of a titan, the black fog displaying with clarity the sheer magnitude of the gesture with poise.

"Jormungand heard this cataclysmic fall, learned of the dark deceit of Yama with a furious rage. Yet, his power had waned since the time of creation, and he did not have the strength of heart or body to destroy its own, schismed manifestation. In punishment, Yama was shackled to the cycle of life and death; made to shepherd souls upon the cycle while being dismissed of his sovereignty over the ocean. This is why the high seas are free."

The captain would nod lightly at that.

"Inki's corpse rotted in the abyss, but one cannot just kill a god. The corpse lay, divine consciousness remained by sheer, black rage and desire for retribution. Yet, without a heart, the corpse could never stir again."

Maertock would whistle lowly in the wind as he hummed a haunting, siren song.

"But the anathema had glutted upon the scale of Jormungand. There, the parasite had grown swollen with false godhood. In the black depths of the abyss, it did crawl upon the corpse of Inki and make a dark compact of divine vengeance."

The tides would appear to crash and recede like a coming storm, though the skies were clear and blackened.

"I will give you a heart, the anathema did ask, if you would only give me a name."

Another soft whistle.

"And so the parasite did crawl in the hole where Inki's heart was reaved, and there it did replace what had been lost in the leviathan. It was not enough to stir the corpse, but it was enough to steal souls that were sunken to sustain the heart that still beats. To pervade their influence across the ocean's depths to the coastal tides. The two had become one. The Mori."

A drag from his cigar as the fog began to dissipate.

"And so was born the dead god, the lord of dark retribution. They who serve him are free to do as they please; the tithe of souls can be sunk by any with the will to embody the deep."
(Maertock Reave)
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 In most every human, there is a primal fear. A dark sense of self-preservation that worked to keep a person alive. For in the genetic memory of humanity, that was something dark etched upon it. The primal fear that would arise in the face of abject horror and madness.

Such a primal fear was welling up within the mind of Jack. Everything that Maertock was saying to him was grim and dour. Worse yet, it was dark. It was something that would be best left alone. It explained why the others were excited about the raising of a Kraken to serve as their ship.

The parasite was explained, a false heart to beat in the chest of a rotted corpse. Divinity stolen and used to empower the fallen. Dark magics that would never bode well for humanity or anything that walked the surface.

Yet, despite the primal fear that rose, that screamed to get far away from this threat of a shark man, Jack remained where he sat. To stare upon the wooden table in silent contemplation. He didn't understand the full gravity of the situation, but he knew that Maertock wasn't telling this story as a pastime.

This was their goal. The Deep One, the Mori, was their goal to bring forth. Jack was never one for gods or divinity. Not for ideals or lofty goals. He was a dumb kid from the streets, now a man hardened by his labors. What he understood was the now and the need to keep going forward.

"And reckoning you all seek to bring forth this Deep One? To access them souls it has. A dark tale of the gods but... What does it mean for blokes like me? Might be able to bring forth the chill and handle some water, but deep dives to dead deities ain't in my wheel house."
(Jack Harlock)
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 Maertock would take a long drag from his cigar as he nodded lightly to Jack, offering the lad some of his hottest, best brewed mint tea for the swabbie as he clicked his rows of serrated teeth together. The first time hearing the tale shook most, especially those that weren't Sirenian.

"When the Deep One stirs, there'll be those that served him and aided in his rise by sinking souls in his name. And there's everybody else. Consider the gravity of that statement, because the odds aren't in the latter's favor."

Another low whistle as he dragged from his cigar with a low, soft hum.

"Don't worry Jack. Stick around, reave with the crew, and you'll have no troubles breathing underwater when the time comes. You'll likely have gills, though WHERE you'll have gills is up in the air."
(Maertock Reave)
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 Jack took the tea without word of protest. A small sip to sample it. Not that he doubted the Captain's intent, but it was proper to enjoy such things slowly. Even in the face of abject horror, jack was not one to just forget his manners.

But Jack was shook to his core. Not that he understand the full why, but just that the lizard brain part of him screamed for him to leave and escape. To go anywhere else to try and fight the cultist pirates.

"Not sure if I'm keen on the god stuff but I ain't seeing much else worth my time. Reckon it all the same, no matter where I go. At least I'd enjoy some looting and the like, yeah?"

Another sip. Jack was not a smart man. Jack was not a clever man. Even in spite of such dark dreams and wretched realities, he still felt crushing ennui. It didn't matter.

None of it did.

He was never one for morality, just the here and now. Of seeing the next sunrise and sleeping in a secure enough place, "Though, no worse a goal than the other cities. Doubt the ideals are ultimately different from say... Achyon. Even with those, no use for ideals or such goals.

Like they all said, just a common bandit. A hired blade. Coin flowing in my pocket is as far as my interest goes. The rest of the ride is what I'll just go along with until the end."

Another sip.
(Jack Harlock)
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 Maertock would chuckle softly as he clicked his rows of serrated teeth together, the Captain of the Deep Company cheerful as could be all things considered as he reclined in his cozy chair.

"Oh, worry not, it isn't a matter of keenness. He will visit you when the time is right. In your dreams, perhaps, though I wouldn't let your guard down even there. Nowhere is safe in the presence of his gravity."

The captain would nod lightly at that, humming as he cracked his back, neck, and shoulders with ambient cheer.

"We are not forced to live a particular way. That is the freedom of this life, to do and act as we please with no constraints. The Deep does not care how souls are sunk, who does so, as long as the tithe is offered."

Maertock would hum cheerfully.

"When the time comes, do not fear the dark. And above all, let him in."
(Maertock Reave)