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[colour=lightseagreen][h1][b][i]Ashalla[/i][/b][/h1]
[b]Goddess of Oceans and Storms[/b][/colour]
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The Abyss stirred, for stirring was what it did. But it stirred without life, since no life had been created for the Abyss. There were some Iron Carrionfish adapted to the extreme conditions down here, although after having consumed the last of Narzhak's fluids they had migrated back to the surface. The Abyssal Leviathan was made from the Abyss, although when it was here it spent its time slumbering. The Abyss was a desolate place.

Yet it did not have to be. The Abyss had no shortage of usable energy, with strong thermal gradients and energy-rich volcanic gases. A steady trickle of biomatter sunk down from Galbar's oceans, which provided a modest supply of organic molecules. The life here, under the intense pressure of thousands of metres of water and distant from the life-giving rays of Heliopolis and nurturing influence of the World Tree, would be very different to life on Galbar. But Ashalla relished the creative challenge.

Ashalla stretched out her will, and mats of single-celled organisms grew on the rocky spires just above the magma. These organisms were unharmed by the extreme temperatures; rather, they thrived, and feasted upon the chemicals which billowed up from the magma. Just as chloroplasts formed the basis of all ecosystems on the surface of Galbar, these archaea would form the basis of the Abyssal ecosystem.

But while the archaea unlocked the energy of the Abyss for biological use, they could not thrive alone. Ashalla had seen how Shengshi had created symbiotic relationships between the creatures he had made, and she saw a measure of beauty in such coordination, as well as the efficiencies which could be gained by providing different roles to different creatures. Upon the rocky spires Ashalla created coral-like beings which clung to the stone near the mineral-rich waters. Some encased themselves in protective tubes, while others fanned out in all directions. They reached outwards with fleshy plumes and frilly tendrils to grasp at biomatter drifting through the water, and in doing this the archaea entered into their bodies. While the archaea were sustained by the bodies of these worms and corals, the worms and corals in turn benefited from what the archaea produced by chemosynthesis.

Next Ashalla created copepods and shrimps, tiny little crustaceans which fed off the coral and tube worms or were eaten by the coral. Many of these were clear, making them almost invisible in the near-darkness of the Abyss. Ashalla also created crab-like creatures with long spider-like limbs which hunted on the tiny crustaceans. Ashalla also created some cephalopods with gigantic eyes, and a few small fish with ferocious fangs, to hunt on those.

At first glance, these creatures appeared dull in colouration. The dim incandescence of the Abyssal floor made it almost impossible for mortal beings to discern colour by eye, so Ashalla had given only minimal pigmentation to these creatures. But then a copepod tried to eat some of a fleshy coral, and in response the coral suddenly lit up in a dazzling display of colourful lights. Seeing this light, a squid dove in and snatched up the copepod with its tentacles. A fish which tried to eat a shrimp was sprayed with glowing blue fluids. Another fish which was accosted by a squid lit up in blinking patches all over its body, drawing in other fish and driving away the squid. Copepods communicated to each other with timed flashes of coloured light. Indeed, it appeared that almost every species here used bioluminscence in some way.

Ashalla spread this life and others throughout the Abyss. In doing this she had turned a dark, colourless, hostile place into one filled with life. The stunning displays of colourful lights shimmering on the rocks and in the water were more dazzling than the stars in the sky. She had created not just life, but beauty too.

However, all these creatures were small and comparatively weak. Even an Iron Carrionfish would instantly be the apex predator in such an ecosystem. If a Leviathan Angler or some other creature found its way down here and survived the environment, it would have free reign until found by the Abyssal Leviathan; considering the size of the Abyss, such an encounter could take a long time. Ashalla needed another species of sea monster, one to lay claim to the Abyss and extend her dominion of Galbar's oceans.

Flesh was conjured and sculpted within Ashalla's influence. A spine longer than 20 metres took shape, and it was wrapped by organs, ribs, muscle and dark black skin speckled with white spots, forming a slender body which was flattened sideways. Stretching up from its tail end all the way along its spine and halfway along its underside was a single continuous ribbon-like fin. At one end a head was made, with two large eyes and a powerful jaw which could open wide to reveal a terrifying array of sharp teeth. To add to the terror, a secondary smaller set of jaws lay at the back of the creature's mouth, able to launch forwards and drag prey into the throat.

Ashalla breathed life into the creature's body, and its gills flared open for its first breath. Its body rippled and slithered in the water as it swam forwards. Its mouth creaked open, and the water flowing into its mouth was vented out through holes behind its head such that it caused minimal disturbance to the water currents despite its colossal size. Its beady eyes slowly scanned the near-darkness of the Abyss.

The most astonishing thing of this beast was not anything which could be seen with the eyes. Ions flowed through internal organs along the length of the eel, creating a difference in electric potential which formed an electric field curling along the length of the beast, pulling an electric current through the water. At first, the current was almost imperceptible, but the electric field was measurable. When an octopus swam nearby, the distortion to the electric field it caused was sensed by the eel. It waited for the octopus to come a little closer, then the vast eel unleashed the full force of its electric organs. The octopus convulsed as electricity surged through it, and went limp when the current stopped. The eel then lazily twisted around and swallowed its minuscule prey whole.

In the time this first eel had taken its first meal, Ashalla had created more of its kind. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"Deep-terrors,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla said to them, [colour=lightseagreen][b]"the Abyss is your home. Here you will hunt and nest. Here your young can grow in safety. You are to guard this place from any who do not have my favour. But there is a world above, a whole ocean filled with life more abundant than this Sphere. There you will hunt. You are not to harm any person who has my favour, but otherwise you are free to take your rightful place as rulers over the beasts of the sea."[/b][/colour]

Having received their directives, the deep-terrors, giant electrified eels, swam off. Some went to the hollow rocky spires to nest. Some made their way towards the Abyssal Rift and Galbar. As they went, Ashalla's words followed them. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"May all who see you see my strength through you."[/b][/colour]

[hider=Summary]
This post is asynchronous with the events on Dragon's Foot.

Ashalla creates an ecosystem in the Abyss. It resembles Earthly hydrothermal vent ecosystems, but with a big helping of colourful and functional [url=https://youtu.be/lKeDBpkrDUA]bioluminesence[/url].

Ashalla also creates the deep-terrors. These are a species of sea monster that is essentially a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moray_eel]moray eel[/url] about the size of a blue whale which is strongly electrogenic; my creative reimagining of the classical sea serpent archetype. They nest in the Abyss and hunt in Galbar's oceans.

[b]Might Summary[/b]
[u]Ashalla[/u]
[i]Start:[/i] 5 MP, 3 FP
[i]Spent:[/i] 2 FP (Discounted from 4 by Oceans) for Abyss ecosystem.
1 FP (Discounted from 3 by Oceans; or Enhanced. I spend the same either way) for Deep-Terrors, an extraordinary species.
[i]End:[/i] 5 MP, 0 FP
[i]Portfolios:[/i] 7/10 Colour
10/10 Ice
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