The Deep

Let me tell you of the Deep and why none should not get close to it.

This dark trench in the seabed runs deep, very deep into the ocean floor.

It is several times a skywhale's length, to cross about from one side to the other. The length is several tens of a skywhale's length.

It is a place of deep Darkness. Light, even bio-luminescence has no power there. Fort it gets eaten by its denizens.

Some say it is even the original Darkness of Ena herself. Or at least a safe haven for those that did not accept the gift of Mer and chose to hide within Ena's Darkness.

One thing is for sure however, danger is what lives down there.

The Deep, lies half a cycle out to our nearest settlement. Usually that is more than a safe enough distance for our residents to go about their business in peace.

Once every fifth lunar phase, a fish storm passes by or even right through this settlement.

During the time of a fishstorm, everyone has to be wary. Sometimes, one of the Deep's dark monsters gets tempted to venture out and follow the storm, right into our habited communities.

That is when the men of Mer are called upon to defend our defenseless citizens.

The monsters are dark, with tough scales and blind eyes. Sharp teeth in mouths open, ready to devour everything that gets trapped inside. Some even claim to have seen monsters like limbs, two skywhales long and half as thin. Covered only in skin, yet tough enough to withstand a man of Mer's spear. Moving on their own, yet in perfect coordination with others of their kind. Heads or mouth missing, yet just as greedy to entrap their passing prey, pulling them even further down into the Abyss.

The monsters that have come out, have been dealt with by the men of Mer and the monster's bones made into weapons against the next one that comes out. These fights never end without casualties however. The monsters are though and agile, despite being blind. Even equipped with sharpened bones, it takes several men of Mer to deal with one such creature.

In the old days, men of Mer have ventured down there, out hunting for the monsters that would destroy any nearby settlement. None have ever returned from there, however well equipped they set out on their hunt. Seeing as how many dedicated fighters are needed for one single monster, it was an inevitable result.

These days, the Deep is a place used in fairy tales and as warning for badly behaving children. No one every ventures close by. Not if they want to go near and survive that is. Especially if they are not our bravest of fighters, the men of Mer.

No one knows what kind of monsters or how many of them live down there precisely. But to this date, we are lucky the fish storms only ever enticed one of those monsters at a time, to come up for feeding.