The Struthian Fishing Disaster

The Struthian Fishing Disaster
Literature
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Name: The Struthian Fishing Disaster
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Bases: Struthio
Schematic: {{{schematic}}}

The Chained Power of the Deep

The monks of the Cloistered isle keep a terrible secret. Hidden behind the walls of their secluded monastery, they keep a constant vigil, performing rituals to subdue the eldritch being that claims lordship over the seas near Struthio. Some say their order has existed long before the Struthian peninsula was permanently settled, legend says they were originally devoted to the service of the ocean lord, and turned on their master. Whatever their origins, their vigilant efforts prevent him from rising once again. Despite their countless attempts, they have thus far been unable to permanently slay the lord, and those who stay too close to the sunken ruins of his temple sometimes experience odd dreams as he struggles to escape his bonds.

The Fishing Scam

Jorgen was a small time smuggler who wanted more. He had been running his racket for a few years and wanted to dream bigger. He wanted to become captain of a grand trading ship of his own, and his frustrations reached the ears of the ocean lord. One night, he dreamt of a promising offer: the fabled treasure of the deep in exchange for sacrifices to the ocean lord. He would need to do two things: prevent the monks' rituals for a day and get at least 5 people in boats to certain coordinates in the Camelus sea. The offer was tempting, and when he awoke that morning he decided the only way to escape his situation was to take the offer.

Jorgen pulled a few strings with Grigori, his associate on the peninsula and a fishing contest was arranged. This would allow him to get plenty of people on the water without suspicion. To prevent the monks' rituals, he hired a young smuggler named Jared. Jared never met Jorgen, they communicated through graffiti on the wall of the lighthouse. All he knew was: if he could distract the monks the day before the contest and during, he would be handsomely rewarded. He joined their order as an initiate and in the afternoon before the day of the contest, he slipped sedatives into the monks' food, enough to keep them asleep for 24 hours. This took care of the monks' rituals.

Due to ancient Struthian law, the waters around the ruins were prohibited. Jorgen created an alternate route map and distributed it the morning of the contest. In total 16 contestants entered, not including Jorgen who also joined to avoid suspicion. When the contestants moved to the second deep water location, they moved directly over the ruins of the ocean lord's temple. Some noticed the shapes in the water below them, and were curious but they weren't alarmed otherwise.

Jorgen watched from a distance as it began. The lord's influence had grown enough overnight to reach the surface above the central chamber, and kelp strands reached upwards, gripping the contestant's boats. Four were further out and saw what was happening. They were the only ones to escape, abandoning their boats and swimming desperately for the shore. The rest were dragged below, vanishing into the dark waters. In that moment, Jorgen witnessed true malevolence willing itself into reality. In that moment, he felt both creeping, seizing terror and ecstatic joy.

He fled back to his isle and claimed to be a survivor of the incident when the Struthian guard came to investigate the bizarre mystery. Only one of the survivors could be contacted for comment, before she fled Struthio like the others to live somewhere dry, an all consuming fear of deep water etched into their minds. To this day, the people of Struthio see Jorgen as a survivor of a mysterious disaster. With a lack of evidence, and the confusing nature of the evidence that was found, the official story is that geological activity in the sunken ruins opened a rift that created a down-current swallowing the victims. But the four survivors, the monks and of course Jorgen know the truth.

The fates of those involved

Jared

Sedated himself with the monks to avoid suspicion. in his weakened state, the ocean lord spoke to him and invited him to join him in his abyssal palace. Jared had never felt wanted by anybody before, and accepted. When the monks woke, they found him lying in the fountain muttering to himself, and swearing his loyalty to the deep. He had flung seawater over every surface he could, in an attempt to disrupt their protective wards. The monks imprisoned him below the chapel, not wanting to kill him but knowing that his existence lent the ocean lord power and his mind was, perhaps irreversibly, bent to the lord's service.

Jorgen

The treasure never appeared, at least not in the way he intended. the currents shifted over time to send boats to his isle, increasing his wealth; he also found that he could hold his breath for much longer than a normal human. Sometimes at night, he feels it - a wordless summons. He knows the real treasure still lies within those cursed ruins. He knows the pelagian silver rests at its heart, waiting for him to collect it. Sometimes he stands at the coast, staring out to sea. The call is weak and faint, but it's always there, a constant presence tugging gently at his mind: Join the others and take his prize. Sometimes he nearly gives in. But the fear always creeps in again and saves him.

The Monks

Worked tirelessly to reverse the damage done by Jorgen's actions. They managed to re-establish the protective wards and contain the ocean lord, but their task was never as easy, with the souls of the contestants taken by him fuelling his power. Several expeditions were undertaken to rescue the victims, and in total eight fish were discovered in the ruins. Confused, they performed rituals on the fish and discovered that they were indeed bound to the ocean lord. Two theories are held by the order: first, that these fish are the victims who were transformed. Second: that the victims are held deeper into the ruins, where them monks' protective charms are not powerful enough to block his power, and that the ocean lord can claim non human beings as his servants. As a precaution, nets were erected around the perimeter to prevent the ocean lord growing his power further. The fish were taken to the Isle of Fry, where they currently reside, far outliving the normal lifespan of their species.

The Taken

Vanished beneath the water. As the sank they tried desperately to hold their breath in the hopes that they could struggle free, and when they finally gave in and opened their mouths, they screamed wordlessly as the last air in their lungs escaped and the sea water poured in. Nobody knows what happened after this, some prefer to believe they died peacefully. More sinister theories suggest they never died, the panic of drowning replaced by the confused terror of their continued survival as they were slowly consumed by a desire to serve the ocean lord. Few know of their supernatural fate, and to those who do, their true fate is unknown.

The Survivors

Fled the peninsula, instilled with an all consuming phobia of deep water. Whenever they look into a body of water such as a lake, they are gripped with terror and hear the screams of their companions being consumed by the water. They have scattered in various directions, some establishing their own settlements, others joining organisations far from Struthio, but not one lives within sight of a lake or sea.