It was dark when it awakened -- but it had always been dark, and there was
an uncomfortable disturbance it had to deal with. Something was in its
territory, and coming closer still. It snapped one eye open, and began
probing about, annoyed at the interruption.
There. A pinprick of light, attached to a large fish. Quickly, it attacked
and devoured the fish, stuffing it whole into its immense mouth. Just as
quickly, though, it spit the fish out, half-chewed...it had some sort of
carapace and was not good to eat.
Almost sighing, it returned to its resting-place...well, at least the
disturbance had been taken care of. It went back to sleep.
"Damn, we just lost feed on the sub."
"What, again? Did we get any video?"
"Yeah. Playing it back now."
Silence for a few moments.
"There, what is that thing?"
"Can't tell, too dark."
"Up the contrast."
"Maxed out. We'll need some special equipment to clean up the image."
"Play it back again."
Silence for a few moments.
"There, do you see that? What's that look like to you?"
Silence for a few moments.
"I think we need to call in The Boss on this one."
In the beginning there was an angel named Andarion, a staunch defender of
Heaven, who served a bright Archangel named Oannes. As a Cherub of the
Waters, he was reckoned a formidable foe, and many a Servitor of Vephar had
cause to regret meeting him. Over time, he was given a Master Distinction
and the Word of Krakens, much to the consternation of Jordi, who wanted the
Word for one of his own Servitors.
But that is another tale.
In the form of a giant squid he roamed the depths of the oceans, rooting out
diabolicals in the watery deeps. And when Oannes would come upon his
faithful Servitor (infrequently, for such was the trust Oannes placed in
him), the Archangel would smile upon him, and reward him for his bravery and
his loyalty. Life was good.
But then his Archangel was slain, and life was no longer good.
A good son of Heaven, Andarion's first impulse was to make for the celestial
plane and seek a new Superior. But then he remembered the great undersea
complex of Kala Liman, lair of angels of the Waters, and realized that it
would have need of defenders.
And indeed, Kala Liman did. Demons of Fire laid siege to the complex, but
were repeatedly thwarted by the might of the giant squid Andarion and its
fellow angels of the Waters. Wave upon wave of angry hellspawn were
repulsed by the beleaguered defenders. In the end, however, the battle for
Kala Liman was decided by the sea herself. A nearby volcano erupted, and a
great rent appeared on the ocean floor, and Kala Liman tipped into the
yawning chasm.
All corporeal combat ended with the volcano's eruption. Angels of the
Waters and Demons of Fire would awaken from Trauma later on and remember the
sight of Kala Liman slipping into the darkness. But not Andarion -- he had
been soul-killed in the fighting, and would never see Heaven again.
It wasn't long after the fighting ended, though, that a giant squid appeared
near the site, and descended into the darkness of the chasm...
SEEDS
Most Superiors don't place a high priority on locating Kala Liman. Some of
the newer ones think it's just a myth -- but older Superiors, especially
those old enough to remember Oannes, remember the tales of the great
undersea lair of angels of the Waters.
Rumor has it, of course, that it's filled with Really Neat Stuff. In truth,
it probably is, since it was widely known that Oannes stored most of his
relics, reliquaries, and artifacts in Kala Liman. The trouble is that (a)
not a lot of celestials remember where it was, and (b) it fell into a chasm.
The ocean has a lot of chasms, and some of them go down quite a ways. Not
everyone remembers what Kala Liman used to look like, either -- some say it
had tall marble columns, others that it was grown from coral and shaped like
no human structure.
The adventure, of course, involves having someone find Kala Liman.
Having celestials find the site is one way of starting the adventure. As an
added bonus, they get to try out some neat Jeantech (or Vaputech) to brave
the ocean's depths.
Another twist is to have mortals find the site. This would throw the
scientific community into a tizzy, and more than one Superior would probably
want a cover-up of some kind. Or, if the PCs have appropriate roles, the
government or the agency could call them in as specialists (as in Sphere).
And then, of course, there's Andarion the squid.
He's a really old Remnant, of course, and fairly powerful. He's had over
three thousand years to cement his position and authority. Many of the
creatures of the deep who live around Kala Liman respect the great kraken
and will even accept "orders" from him, attacking PCs and generally making
life very difficult.
Plus, even worse, he considers Kala Liman "his" territory. He doesn't have
any use for the Really Neat Stuff...but anyone trespassing is in for a world
of hurt. Giant squids aren't very sociable creatures.
Let's see...giant squid, high technology, lost undersea complex, McGuffins,
hostile marine life...that covers it all, I think...oh, and, before I
forget...there's no light down there. :)
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EDG <[email protected]>
In Nomine Collection Curator