Nadroth

N A D R O T H THE YAWNING ABYSS At the edge of a great trench, deep in the ocean, a simple yet enormous shell can be found. The trench is incomprehensibly enormous, as is the lurking danger within it. If one is so brave as to dive that deep, and braver still to wish to claim the shell, they may meet Nadroth for the first and last time.

What did I see? Oh, you're asking me. I-I don't know. I don't know. Can we not talk about this? I had nothing to do with what happened to Flint and Kayle. I swear it. We dove too deep and, and they, they drowned. Or s-something. I don't know. Please stop asking me.

Prison?! BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTH-okay, okay, okay.

Fine.

Way off the coast, we were flying, and we, we decided to have a contest. Who could go deepest. The ocean there, it's dark. Goes down forever. But we all grew up in the waves, more or less, so you know, we were comfortable. We used an illumination spell so we could see each other, took a deep breath, and, and off we went. Or down we went, I guess. Ha.

I couldn't make it as far as them. I was, I-I...I was maybe, 200 feet above them? There was just this...underwater canyon of sorts. It was so enormous, bigger than any canyon I've ever seen on land. It was not possible to tell how deep it went; I've never seen water so black. And on the edge of the "cliff" was the biggest shell I'd ever seen. Like a giant snail somehow got down there and died. Half-buried, but still bigger than Flint, which is saying a lot because Flint was huge...

Sighs

They wanted to dig it up and drag it home, but the p-pressure was so bad for me I couldn't go help. I started to go up for air when the water just began to...shake. Or. No; it was vibrating. And, a-and I thought it was an earthquake. Or maybe digging up the shell caused an underwater rock slide. But it was immense. A million little fingers drumming on my scales. It was so uncomfortable, the sensation. And...Flint and Kayle, I heard their muffled screams and saw them swim as fast as they could towards me as...as...

J-j-just give me a moment, please...

The canyon.

It was moving. Closing. I thought maybe it was a rock slide, and maybe the entire thing was c-collapsing but...it was. It was worse. As the sand displaced and all kinds of sea junk disappeared into the closing gap I saw...I saw eyes. Eyes bigger than me.

It's not a canyon. It's a mouth.

S-s-so I don't know, not for sure. I don't know what happened to them. I just know they didn't make it to the surface.

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Bring them here. Let them see. Let them know the unknowable, observe the incomprehensible. Let their minds collapse and wither so that they may be Taken. So that they may know. From the ruins of what they were, a better one will rise, greater than any shell your world has to offer. Oh, Child of Water, you are so pure. You are closest to me. Not even your God knows like you know. You have felt the unfeelable and now your eyes are open. You were never abandoned. Never lost. You were always mine. Bring them here. Show them the door. One day, you will be with me on the other side, your spirit free and endowed with all the power you deserve.

Bring them.