Abyssal Terrors

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Heaven Above. Haven Below.

This content takes place in the Haven setting of Imagindarium's Creation.

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Index / Lexica / Timeline

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"They always told us to be prepared for anything, but I don’t think they ever mentioned being ready for a giant crab claw to burst through the bottom of the damn ship."

—Anonymous Westland Empire sailor describing an attack on his vessel by a particularly large Abyssal Terror

Abyssal Terrors

Physical Info

Diet

Usually carnivorous

Reproduction

Must be created by a necromancer

Number of Limbs

Varies

Number of Eyes

Varies

Number of Digits

Varies

Population Info

Native Environment

• Oceans
  
• Islands

Overview

Abyssal Terrors, also referred to as Deep Spawn, Sea Demons, or Krakynhal’s children, are terrifying beasts born from the unholy mixture of sea creature parts and Necromantic Magic. They are used by the Fleet of the Damned to bolster their own forces, often being seen in the hundreds during raids. These unholy creatures are the stuff of nightmares, often spoken of in the tales of old sailors the world over.

Characteristics

Appearance

The sheer variety seen in Abyssal Terrors means that no two look exactly alike. However, they do share a few key similarities. All Abyssal Terrors are made up of a mixture of parts taken from a variety of ocean-dwelling creatures. For example, one could be a chitinous monster made of the shells of various crustaceans, while another could be a revolting, slimy thing composed of a mixture of cephalopod tentacles and sea urchin spines. Regardless, all Abyssal Terrors are truly horrific beings.

Another thing that binds them all together is the Control Stone embedded into their bodies. The Control Stone is a small, glowing crystal that allows the necromancer who created the Abyssal Terror to direct and control the actions of their creation. Smaller Terrors will often only possess one stone, whereas larger variants will have a network of Control Stones crisscrossing their entire bodies, essentially acting as a sort of nervous system.

Biology

An Abyssal Terror is not born, but is instead made via an unholy ritual. Should a necromancer seek to create an Abyssal Terror, they must first gather the parts they seek and bind them together with their magic. The Control Stone is then seared into the body, often near where the “head” would be. Next, the necromancer must pour enough necromantic energy into the creature to allow it to become animate. Once this is done, the necromancer must immediately bind themselves to the creature by pooling their will into the Control Stone, ensuring that the beast does not become erratic.

If an Abyssal Terror’s Control Stone is damaged or otherwise destroyed, then the necromancer who created it will lose all control over it. This often leads to the Terror going completely mad, rampaging through everything in its path. Many a necromancer has been slain after creating an Abyssal Terror only to have the beast break its own Control Stone mere moments later. Regardless, the promise of an army of beasts that obey their every whim means that most are still willing to create one.

Behavior

Normally, an Abyssal Terror is a completely mad beast, mindlessly rampaging through anything that gets in its way. However, the Control Stone means that a necromancer can make their terror act in any way they choose. Sometimes, the Terror will take up traits of the necromancer that created them, much like a favored pet. Some of the larger Terrors might even form a degree of autonomy from being around their master so much, passively absorbing any leftover magic.

Sometimes an Abyssal Terror will pick up traits based on the parts that it is made up of. For example, a Terror that has the body of a shark will usually inherit the shark’s hunting instincts, going mad whenever it smells blood. This tends to be a problem as these inherited instincts are sometimes strong enough to temporarily override the Control Stone’s magic, though they will eventually fade over time.

Should an Abyssal Terror’s creator perish, then the bonds that once connected them will be severed, the Terror halting to a standstill as the orders it once received cease to arrive. It will remain like this until another necromancer steps in to claim it, renewing the bonds by pouring their own magic into the control stone. Some of the more powerful Abyssal Terrors have had many masters, passed down through the ages or taken by force.

History

An Interesting Find

When Krakynhal began his studies on the art of necromancy, he discovered an interesting tome left behind by the Isle of the Dead’s old inhabitants. This dusty text detailed the process of creating new life by stitching together multiple creatures at once and imbuing it with necromantic power. He considered it for a time, but his main priority was finding a way off the island, so he put it off for the time being. But the old text would always remain an interest to Krakynhal, one that he couldn’t wait to have the time to study further.

Once he left the Isle of the Dead and built up a sizable fleet, he decided now was the time to learn how to make his own monsters. The Westland Empire had been growing wise to his recent attacks, so he wanted to hit them with something that they wouldn’t expect. He ordered his men to hunt any and all sea creatures they came across, dragging enormous barbed nets through the water to catch whatever they could get their undead hands on.

Trial & Error

With the parts in hand, Krakynhal and his fellow necromancers set about trying to create the most powerful monsters they could, using the tome as a guide. Their first forays into the field of fleshcrafting resulted in little more than quivering masses of fins and other appendages, but with every failure, the sinners drew closer to their desired results. It was only a matter of time until they had amassed an army of these beasts, christening them as the Abyssal Terrors. However, there was still a fatal flaw.

Every time they managed to create a Terror, it would inevitably fly into a berserker rage, attacking anything in sight. This meant that they had to be sedated and chained up below decks to keep them from slaughtering the crew, but this measure would not last. Krakynhal needed something to bring his creations to heel, but nothing in the old tome listed anything about controlling the Abyssal Terrors.

To Control a Monster

Krakynhal researched for weeks on end, trying to come up with a solution that would allow him to truly control his beasts. He tried the same spells that allowed him to control the actions of his undead crew, but the Terrors’ minds were far too alien for them to work. Seeing that none of his magic would work, he decided to search for someone capable of such a feat.

Krakynhal sent spies out across the Westland Empire, infiltrating both low and high society in search of someone well-versed in the field of mind control. Eventually, the search concluded when one of his agents learned of Allentor Dulaholm, a renegade wizard from the Westland Empire who used mind-controlling spells to run a large crime syndicate. When his criminal empire was shut down by the authorities, Dulaholm escaped, though he was still a highly-wanted man with a large bounty on his head.

Krakynhal knew that Dulaholm was the perfect man for the job, and so he sent his men to find and bring the wizard to him. Dulaholm was discovered trying to flee to the east by bounty hunters who sought to kill him. However, what the hunters or Dulaholm didn’t expect was a horde of skeletal pirates who tore the hunters to shreds while escorting the wizard onto a boat, rowing away to one of Krakynhal’s ships.

The Control Stones

When Krakynhal introduced himself to Dulaholm, he proposed an offer to the wizard. Dulaholm would help him devise a method to control the Terrors in exchange for protection and a sizable sum of plunder. Dulaholm agreed, happy to have met someone who would truly appreciate his work. However, the wizard was secretly forming his own plans

Experimentation began immediately, Krakynhal and Dulaholm working tirelessly to perfect a spell to pacify the Abyssal Terrors enough to control them. While traditional methods failed, it was eventually discovered that by pouring one’s willpower into a magically-attuned crystal, one could project their orders into the body of whatever the crystal was embedded into.

With this revelation, Krakynhal sent divers down to the ocean floor to gather whatever gemstones they could. Pearls the size of a man’s head, chunks of quartz large enough to be used as ammunition in a trebuchet, gems of all shapes and sizes were hauled up from the depths and brought before Dulaholm. The wizard was pleased, the generosity of his patron providing him with more materials than he ever had back on land.

Failed Betrayal

The jewels were cut, polished, and hammered into the Abyssal Terrors one by one, each of them containing the concentrated willpower of Krakynhal. He was greatly pleased with this success, but the celebration was soon cut short when some of the beasts began attacking some of the crew. But this wasn’t a mindless rampage like before, it was a deliberate strike, and the one responsible was none other than Dulaholm himself.

The wizard had planned to usurp Krakynhal and take his fleet for himself, waiting until all of the Terrors were outfitted with Control Stones to launch his assault. The fighting raged for days on end, with Krakynhal carving his way through hundreds of the beasts to get to Dulaholm. The wizard unleashed a magical barrage upon the pirate, but Krakynhal had decades of experience on this traitor, using his own powers to overwhelm Dulaholm.

Dulaholm tried to surrender, but Krakynhal was having none of it. He grabbed the wizard by the throat and held him high, thrusting his blade through the man’s chest. Its potent magic sapped the life from him until he was little more than a skeletal husk, with Krakynhal tossing him into the sea when he was finished.

Success at Last

Once Dulaholm had perished, the Abyssal Terrors that he used to attack Krakynhal’s crew suddenly ceased all movement, the bonds between them and their former master having been severed. Krakynhal then used what he learned from Dulaholm to cast a new wave of controlling spells, binding all the remaining Terrors to his will. At long last, Krakynhal had finally managed to perfect one of his most iconic and terrifying creations.

With the Control Stones perfected, Krakynhal could now effectively use the Abyssal Terrors during raids, launching pinpoint strikes against his enemies. Ships were dragged under the wave by hundreds of tentacles, coastal towns were ravaged by swarms of undead, razor-billed seabirds, and mortals all over Haven had yet another reason to fear the seas.

Notable Individuals

TBA