The Deeper Blue
Origin of Sea Horrors
| Difficulty | 4/5 | Threshold is highly treacherous and full of dangers. |
|---|---|---|
| Entity Count | 5/5 | Entities litter the entire ocean. |
| Chaos Gradient | 2/5 | The above ocean may leak massive waterfalls downwards. |
| Basset-Frazier Index | 3.667/5 | Threshold is mildly anomalous. Main dangers are the creatures inside. |
Description
The depths of our oceans have always intrigued us. With every voyage, we go deeper in search of answers. The deeper we go, the more questions we ask. Our oceans have small pockets that defy all of our knowledge of the world and the laws of the universe. Beasts that resemble only our worst nightmares, cities lost in a different flow of time, and places that only answer questions with more questions. Perhaps all of our oceans are one big combination of enigmas. One of these enigmas of the sea is a world in a perpetual nightmare yet no one sleeps. This place is known as “The Deeper Blue”.
The Phantasmal Jaws
fig 1.0 The Phantasmal Jaws
The Deeper Blue has no exact location, rather it is a moving space far below the surface of our oceans. Entrance into TDB is only possible by being swallowed by “The Phantasmal Jaws” a vibrant and sickly green massive whirlpool that forms every new moon. The Phantasmal Jaws have had no rhyme or reason as to where it decides to form. Every ocean has had The Phantasmal Jaws formed at least once. Interestingly shortly before forming, signs of its arrival begin to show themselves. The air begins to harshly chill, the winds begin to howl, and all marine life scurries away as if they know the terror that is about to appear. At the moment The Phantasmal Jaws form, a choir of screams radiate from its epicenter. The Phantasmal Jaws last for exactly 55 minutes every appearance. Upon the 55-minute mark, the whirlpool dissipates instantaneously. Any marine vessels within the vicinity of the jaws will surely be swallowed within minutes as the gaping jaws are stronger than any motor and engine. While it would seem that being swallowed would lead to the destruction of the marine vessel and the death of its occupants, a fate worse occurs. Being swallowed by The Phantasmal Jaws transports you to The Deeper Blue.
fig 2.0 The Deep Blue.
The Deeper Blue at first looks like the surface of our ocean. The water is calm and deep blue in coloration. Then you see the sky. The sky of TDB is another ocean that somehow is suspended in the air. The sky ocean looks identical to the surface ocean besides several hundred glowing lights. Upon closer inspection, the glowing lights originate from countless species of bioluminescent marine animals not found in Baseline. The sky ocean has not been explored or even touched because of the difficulty of reaching it. The horizon of TDB is a darker blue color than the water and stretches off seemingly infinitely. With just this information, TDB doesn’t seem too awful if just a bit peculiar. However, beneath the calm waters resides living nightmares. The myths of Baseline pale in comparison to the beasts of TDB.
In addition to the terrors of the sea, an enigma occurs in TDB. First is that all life within TDB is incapable of sleeping. Attempts at sleeping are fruitless as the mind perpetually remains awake. The body and brain both still lose energy from being conscious so after around a week of staying in TDB humans begin to become groggy and think much slower.
Entities
Every ship that has returned from TDB has recorded new monstrosities of the sea. There are theories that the area in which The Phantasmal Jaws form may lead to different zones of TDB. This would explain the differing sightings around the world.
There are too many abominations to list in this document however, a few have been selected as they truly represent the horrors of TDB. For a full list of encountered creatures in TDB refer to The Deeper Blue Fauna list.
The most commonly encountered monsters of TDB resemble that of human hands. These abominations are referred to as “Grippers” because of their appearance and behavior. Grippers are simple-minded creatures that cling to any objects on the surface of the water. They will remain to cling presumably forever. Waves of Grippers try and grab ahold of ships and work together to keep afloat. Knocking the Grippers into the sea causes them to screech and flail. Dissecting Gripper's corpses reveals them to be hollow and filled with blood. DNA analysis of the blood has been found to belong to humans from centuries ago.
While several species move between the sky and surface seas, one species seems to have evolved specifically to excel at traversing between the two seas. This species is known as the “Needlewinged”. The Needlewinged have an alien appearance that resembles that of golf balls with four pairs of wings made of thousands of needles. The Needlewinged propel themselves at an incredible speed between the seas skewering through anything they collide with. Flocks of Needlewinged create clouds of blades as they puncture through the waters. The Needlewinged don’t seem to have a purpose for their actions. They don’t eat or sleep and if captured will stop moving. Analyzing these collected Needlewinged has only brought more questions. The sphere that makes up their main body is impossible to break and the wings are made of billions of minuscule needles. The Needlewinged are strange enigmas that resemble drones more than living creatures.
Even more alien than the Needlewinged is the “Unfolders”. Unfolders are small plain white cubes that float on the surface of the water. Unfolders have strange effects on their surroundings. All light sources flicker in tune with a loud slow-clicking noise that emanates from the Unfolder, living creatures flee the area with haste, the winds begin to still, and time starts to slow down. When the Unfolder finds its prey it will levitate towards it. Upon reaching its target, the Unfolder will begin to unfold itself revealing a rotting human heart. The process of unfolding lasts an extremely long time. Once completely unfolded, the Unfolder clamps shut instantaneously with a blinding light. After the light dissipates, the Unfolder and its prey are gone. Unfolders have been found to hunt ships and their crews. No crews or ships that have been targeted by Unfolders have ever been found.
The next two are the most human yet but are far from humane. The first of these is the “Blue Kings”. Blue Kings resemble human statues similar to mannequins. However, the Blue Kings are made of jagged bluestone and are very fragmented in design. Somehow, despite their weight, the Blue Kings can walk on both the surface sea and sky sea. In the latter case, the Blue Kings are upside down yet remain attached to the sky sea. Little is known about the Blue Kings besides their strange properties and composition. The only observed behavior of Blue Kings is when they are threatened, Blue Kings will wail loudly whilst flailing their arms wildly. Within minutes of wailing, nearby sea creatures will arrive and defend the Blue Kings. Rarely, corpses of Blue Kings can be found resting on the surface of the seas like when they were alive.
Finally, the “Scavs”. Scavs are the only intelligent life found in TDB and resemble that of Baseline crabs. Scavs are capable of speaking a variety of languages, however, most commonly they speak Spanish. Scavs can be found on makeshift islands and marine vessels made of trash, wreckage, and bones. These shelters can house hundreds of Scavs at a time. Scavs are cautious around humans and will not try to attack or communicate with them. The largest Scav shelter found was made of several marine vessels from different eras including Caravels, Galleons, yachts, and modern cargo ships. Also peculiar, some Scav shelters have ships that don’t match that of any known cultures or civilizations of Baseline. A Scav named Cortés has shared a large amount of information about the Scav culture and TDB. Thanks to Cortés we have learned about the history of TDB.
fig 3.0 Wreckage of a previous exploration team.
According to Cortés, far below the surface of the water is a barren land. This barren land used to have all sorts of animals including humans living there. Back millions of years ago the barren land was covered in lush vegetation and had flourishing life. The sky was similar to the sky ocean of TDB, yet the life below was unaffected. One day the land began to wither, and life began to die. An attempt to bring the water from the sky ocean down to save the land was made. In their attempt, the entire sky ocean fell onto the land. This massive amount of water crushed all the remaining flora and drowned the terrestrial fauna. The only survivors of this event were marine life. Cortés also claims that some humans tried making a giant boat to escape in case the sea fell, however, the humans or the boat were never found.
Conclusion
By piecing together everything that has been found, the creatures, the shipwrecks, and Cortés’ story a big picture of what TDB is and how it has affected our world has been formed.
The Phantasmal Jaws have been forming for as long if not longer than humanity has been exploring the sea. Thousands of ships across all of humanity have been swallowed in the jaws never to be seen again. Countless mysteries of ship disappearances may be linked to The Phantasmal Jaws.
fig 4.0 Blue King in Baseline.
While a considerable amount of the creatures of TDB are exclusive to TDB, a few have been recorded in Baseline myths. Several of the monsters of TDB have been recorded to be found in Baseline including Krakens, Sea Serpents, and Blue Kings. Perhaps these creatures were taken out of TDB in a similar manner to how we leave TDB. In any case, TDB would explain a majority of the sea myths of Baseline.
Access
Entrances
Being swallowed by The Phantasmal Jaws leads to The Deeper Blue.
Exits
Water spouts of intense force may launch marine vessels into the above sea which leads back to Baseline.
However, a secondary one-way exit also exists. Whirlpools may sometimes glow vibrantly as if made of shining stars. These whirlpools lead to Thalasso.