[center][h1][b][color=0054a6]Klaarungraxus[/color][/b][/h1][/center] Klaar ruminated in the shallow waters off the coast of the vast continent pulled up by the boar god Boris at the beginning of the world. To the animal life that flourished inland, Klaar’s presence would be recognized more as an entire, strangely colored island suddenly rising from the oceans rather than as a creature, so immense was the girthy protuberance jutting out from the waters. The large, multihued eyes belied a sense of scale as they twisted and turned in opposing directions, absorbing all there was to see regarding this world above the waves. In Klaar’s heart, he knew he looked upon the work of his equal. The world tree, as tall and wide as Klaar could ever dream to be, loomed in the horizon. In the light of the setting sun Klaar watched the illuminated silhouette of the Old Growth Above and longed for a meeting of minds. One day, several tentacles assured the overmind, they would get such an opportunity. Until then, Klaar was able to grasp at the creations of the Tree of Genesis with fawning appreciation. Each and every one of them was beautiful, reminiscent of their artist in each and every way. The life above seemed far more soothing than it was below and Klaar often found himself perturbed that the fauna of the Deep were not simply made of beautiful corals and swaying sea grasses; surely it was working on land. [color=0054a6]”Thou hath cast thine image beyond mine reach, oh, blessed mirror of root and sky. How I hath yearned for thine emerald mind.”[/color] As Klaar intoned the Deepspeak words of his thoughts, his yearning was made manifest. Waves lapped at the edges of the continent like grasping hands, reaching desperately inland and away from the shore. White waters crashed and receded and so too did one eye roll downwards to observe with newly spawned fascination workings of water on the sand. As waves dragged back into their home, no longer able to brave the harsh surface world, rivers and rivulets of glistening ocean blood dragged helpless sand back in their clutches. Surely, Klaar reasoned, the sea would not surrender so easily when faced with such an obstacle as a simple beach. [color=0054a6]”Damnable shoreline, thy will to malice outstrips thine use,”[/color] Disdain and consternation overwhelmed the old god, beak clicking a slow yet furious beat as all eyes turned their attention to the shore. [color=0054a6]”Knowest thee now to be mine equal when erstwhile thou hath been mine progeny!? Damn thee, shoreline! No strand can be mine master! Klaarungraxus defies thee!”[/color] One great tentacle rose from the water, threatening the destruction of the dastardly shoreline that served as Klaar’s great antagonist. The huge was lifted above the shoreline before Klaar before descending onto that most vile of foes. The tip of the tentacle thrust into the sands and dragged a small crevasse in the sand. Water flooded into the wound left in the shore and Klaar leaned in to watch his rival drown. His intent gaze remained locked on the water flooding into the new space made by Klaar’s vicious attack on the continent. Cogs the size of boulders turned in his head as dread mathematics and calculations at the biochemical level were done at breakneck speek. [color=0054a6]”It dawns on me . . . “[/color] A burst of awareness overtook Klaar’s mind then, each tentacle pinging back agreement till consensus was reached. With one blow Klaar had been able to determine his enemy’s weakness once and for all and provide a potential step to finally contacting the Tree of Genesis as he so craved. He could at long last view the works of that twin above the waves close at hand, grasp at the trunks and leaves he had never experienced and deepen his own grasp of the marvelous art that was creation. The foolish shoreline had proven it could be its own undoing. Klaar began to whisper soft calls in Deepspeak to the waters, little soliloquies and know-nothings that made water dance to his tune. An entire stretch of beach, nearly a kilometer in length, seemed to sink lower into the ground. Water hefted sand across the surface, pushing this soil of Klaar’s own making to far corners of this new envisioned world. Soon multiple channels formed, deep enough for life to inhabit but not enough for the land to be drowned. Klaar was confident if he so wished he could drown the entire continent with little effort but this would accomplish little; then the works of the Tree of Genesis would be ruined and the beauties it had wrought would be turned to rot and muck before Klaar could admire them. No, a more insidious solution had been devised through the shoreline’s taunting. Why not simply move the ocean inland? Tentacles followed the inlets into the shoreline, life sprouting in their wake. Unlike the reefs and kelp forests nestled gently beneath the waves, the horrors of the sun softened by the waters of Klaar’s own making, the life spawned here would need to be more robust. Large, terrestrial corals began growing, their life cycles accelerated to an insane rate till they towered like trees. Rocky outcroppings were pulled from the sandy soil to give new, sessile life anchors to grow on and one by one new species popped up from the tentacles’ inquisitive probings. Huge anemones grasped at the air with phyto-reactive, bright green limbs while frond-like appendages thrust forth from barnacle-like organisms to drink up the sun’s life-giving rays. Towering stalks of land-kelp rose up towards the sky with large globes filled with lighter-than-air gasses keeping them afloat. At the edges and between the columns of coral, fields of sea-grasses grew. It was, in every way, the sea brought to land. Klaar wriggled with ecstatic joy; this was EXACTLY what he had so desired. Though the terrestrial reefs were not necessarily as majestic as the forests now covering the surface of the continent they certainly had their own, aquatic charm. But, with such a blossoming environment it could not simply be enough to leave it as is; life must teem, afterall. Sliding back into the sea just at the mouth of this coral-born estuary, Klaar began roiling up the seafloor into a great cloud of darkened waters. From the expanding cloud of sand and muck spawned forth a myriad of organisms, most either life intended to live in the low tidal pools between the corals or to climb about their surfaces. Coral Mites, as numerous in shape as snowflakes, billowed forth from the murky brine to inhabit their new home. The oddly diverse crustaceans disappeared into sand, hollows in the coral, or the clumps of grasses that brought color to the channels. With the basis of life formed, Klaar drew forth from the waves ever more diverse array of organisms to fill out this new niche environment. Building from the ground up in terms of the complex food chain that would need to be formed, Klaar simultaneously crafted a number of quadrupedal crustaceans, born of the same lineage from which he had crafted shrimp, to serve as herd animals and grazers. Termed Caproshrimps, they would serve as one of the primary prey organisms in the terrestrial reefs. In addition to these exoskeletal grazers, a family of endoskeletal herding quadrupeds would help steady the base of the food chain. They would take their colorful bodies, scaled hides, and crushing beaks from the lessons Klaar had learned from the growth of tropical fish, so-called Shorecattle. Gifted with strong beaks and long, prehensile tongues, they could eat both the shelled fruits of the flora from their world or directly graze on the grass patches dotting the landscape. Alongside these terrestrial organisms were barnacle-fliers, partially protected, flying creatures that scrabbled across corals and could fly between them with ease. Kytes, ranging in all shapes and sizes, would join them in the air as ray-like predators snatching smaller animals from the shoreline. Predators, of course, were soon to follow and a number of forms were considered. The magnificent Deep Drake would be the basis of the apex predator of these waterless reefs, Land Drakes taking on many of the qualities of their more aquatic ancestors while shedding those made unnecessary by a life spent primarily outside of deep waters. Bearfish, formed from the same lineage as Shorecattle, would serve as a healthy middle ground between the apex-predator and those below it, able to bring down smaller organisms with ease while simultaneously browsing on the flora available to itself. Finally, pack hunting Tidal Jackals would round out the food chain as scavengers and opportune hunters. The array of life unleashed so readily by Klaar was staggering, even for himself. Nevertheless, such things did not call for babysteps. The coastal reefs would dot the shorelines of the continent wherever Klaar saw fit, breaking up beaches and coastal cliffs when adequate environs were available to be turned swiftly into reef. With this first of many done, planted just west of the Tree of Genesis, Klaar knew he could proliferate the environment across the coasts of the numerous continents and islands now being stolen from the deep by capricious gods. Though he had accepted that they should rightly have their own worlds, it would do well to remind them that he could retake what was once rightfully his. Klaar wriggled with barely contained excitement; oh, what a lovely day. [hider=Post Summary] After filling the oceans with all manner of unique and spectacular life, Klaar finds himself looking longingly at the forests of the Tree of Genesis. In self-defense for its numerous slights and attacks on both Klaar’s personage and dignity, Klaar does battle with the evil beach and draws first blood. In doing so, he recognizes the capacity for growth. Klaar sets about creating a new type of environment, to be spread along coastlines all over Galbar; the Terrestrial Reef. Filled with all manner of sessile organisms and aquatic-turned-terrestrial flora, the Terrestrial Reef is made as a strange, mirror image of the forests Klaar has so longingly stared at. After filling it with flora, Klaar unleashes an array of new fauna on these post-aquatic environments. This numerous list of creatures consists of the following; Coral Mites, Caproshrimp, Shorecattle, Barnacle-Fliers, Kytes, Land Drakes, Bearfish and Tidal Jackals. In addition, all amphibious creatures can also be found in this very unique biome.[/hider] [hider=MP Summary] Start 5MP/0DP >Free (Reduced by Ocean) - Creation of numerous, large ecosystems in the form of Terrestrial/Coastal Reefs. These are further populated by terrestrial variations on common undersea floral life, often expanded to considerable sizes. >Free (Reduced by Ocean) - Creation of extraordinary species; Land Drakes and Kytes. >Free (Reduced by Ocean) - Creation of species; Coral Mites, Caproshrimp, Shorecattle, Barnacle-Fliers, Bearfish, and Tidal Jackals. >Free - Teach the villainous shoreline a lesson. End 5MP/0DP [/hider]