Scylla: Origins

A Storm Is Brewing

When Scylla hit the water, she didn't know what to expect. Mermaids were creatures of the sea and were therefore capable of breathing perfectly underwater. Humans were not, and therefore could not breathe underwater. She expected a betrayal of some sort, perhaps a blade into her gut as the sea claimed her as its own. She did not expect one of the mermaids to swim up to her and plant a kiss on her lips. It was nothing sensual, just enough for the magic to take effect.

She pushed the mermaid away, taken completely by surprise. "What the heck was that for?! Is this some tradition I'm-" and then she realized that she was breathing underwater.

"As children of the sea," Kym began as she swam to Jill's side, "we are capable of bestowing the gift of aquatic breathing onto those we deem deserving of it. Now come. Poseidon's Trident is this way." She swam away, her tail propelling her faster than Scylla's human legs could ever hope to. Scylla was an expert swimmer, having once swum for three days straight before reaching dry land, and she managed to outswim several of the other merfolk on the path to the Trident, yet Kym was always faster than her. She is something else, Scylla thought as she tried to swim through a maze of coral and sea life.

Meanwhile, aboard the Black Kraken...

"So, if the captain doesn't come back, what then?"

4-Fingered Finnigan sat on a barrel on the Black Krakens deck, feeling the chill of the wind on his face. He and a small group of others had stayed behind to keep an eye on the captive. At first, they had felt rather proud to have been chosen for such an honor. Now all they felt was boredom.

"Well I suppose we take the ship," Finnigan replied. He had never liked the captain. For one, she was a woman pirate. In his mind, only men should be pirates. Women only got in the way. And she was no exception. She got in the way of the killing, the looting, and everything else that made being a pirate fun. He did not like her one bit. "Then, we'll continue her... legacy, raiding and stealing in her name." He acted honorable in front of his crewmates, but it was all he could do to hide his glee at the possibility that their captain was dead.

"Huh. And what about her?" another pirate asked, gesturing over to the mermaid girl that had been left behind.

"Well, that Kym lady said that if something happened down there, we could do whatever we wanted with her, right? Well," he began to answer, a toothy grin growing on his face, "we'll do just that."

"Pigs." It was so quiet that Finn almost didn't hear it over the growing winds, but had the mermaid just said something?

"What did you say, Miss?" Finnigan asked, turning to the mermaid.

"I said you're pigs, the lot of you." The mermaid looked up into the sky, transfixed by how the clouds rolled against the darkening sky. "You humans spend your entire lives looking for easy wealth to obtain, never having earned any of it for yourself. Then at the first chance you get, you stab anyone who helped you in the back and steal it all for yourself. You're despicable."

"Oh. Is that so?" Finnigan asked, having to call out his words to be heard over the strong winds and the rumble of growing thunder. "Men, I think this one needs to be taught some manners. Wouldn't you agree?"

The men smiled, each one having their perverted ideas of what to do with the girl. But as the first drops of rain fell onto her cheeks, the girl smiled, her teeth falling from their gums as sharpened fangs emerged to take their place. Her nails grew, elongating into sharpened claws made for tearing into flesh.

Before the men could react the woman threw back her head, unleashing a sound so vile it cannot be put into words. It was the sound of a thousand widows crying out as they learned of their husband's demise. It was the sound of a thousand pirates' blood spilling into the sea. It was the sound of bodies hitting the water, the final screams still resonating in their throats. That is what emitted from that woman's mouth, and it shook the men to their very core.

"Shut up, ya sea-spawn!" Finnigan cried out as he strode towards the mermaid, battling with powerful winds to merely approach her. He raised his hand against her, but when he swung it, he realized he had lost a lot more than another finger.

Blood gushed from his wrist as he fell onto his backside in fear. "MY ARM!" he screamed in terror. "SHE'S TAKEN MY ARM!" The girl smiled, her forked tongue lapping up his blood from her cheeks. "YOU! YOU'RE EVIL!"

"No," the girl said calmly as she swiped at Finnigan's throat. "I'm quite merciful."

...

The seas turned red with the blood of the pirates supposed to keep her contained. They were pitiful creatures, with no sense of honor or pride in any of them. They made her sick.

As the mermaid plunged into the calming waters of her home, she turned to see the incredible form of Charybdis sucking the ship below the surface, the whirlpool tearing it asunder in seconds. A smile appeared on her face. By the time the other pirates realized what was happening, it would already be too late.

Below the depths...

"Halt," Kym ordered, holding her hand up in a fist. They had arrived at an undersea Greek Pantheon, possibly centuries old. Its stone archways had begun to crumble from erosion, reducing it to a shadow of its former self. And yet, it still somehow maintained an air of superiority. Probably due to the mound of treasure at its center. There was enough treasure there to make the poorest beggar the richest man in the world. Not only that but at its peak...

...stood The Trident Of Poseidon.

It stood at a meter-long, and whilst made of gold, was adorned with several different jewels of varying colors and sizes. Its three prongs penetrated the golden pile, its handle the only thing exposed for a treasure hunter to grasp.

"The Trident." Scylla could only grin as she hesitantly approached her final reward. "It's real."

"Indeed it is," Kym replied. She swam towards the Trident, circling it several times, before gripping it and pulling it from the pile.

"Wooah." Scylla gasped in surprise and awe at the movement before her rationality returned to her. "Wait, I thought you were supposed to protect the Trident?"

"You are right," Kym replied. "Protecting the Trident is our main goal. Including preventing greedy, boisterous humans from stealing it." As she spoke, her facade began to fade away. Her once beautiful skin began to pale and flake off of her body. Her blue eyes, once the blue of a calm ocean, now thundered with the force of a thousand storms, and her red hair was now the color of spilled blood. Her teeth fell from her gums, fangs sprouting from their roots as she twirled the Trident around her head, summoning all manner of creatures from their slumber.

All around her, Jill saw all the other merfolk shedding their disguises, revealing them as the revolting creatures they truly were. Their claws clicked together, their fang-filled mouths smiling in anticipation of the kill. In the space of a second, the crew of the Black Kraken went from being surrounded by mermaids most beautiful to being surrounded by sea-bound assassins of the highest caliber.

"What... are you?" Scylla could only whisper her words, her fear of this abomination too great for any mortal to withstand. The creature that was Kym looked down at Jill and sneered at the filth before her.

"I am Kymopoleia, goddess of storms and unruly tides, and daughter of Poseidon. I will protect my father's trident from all who seek to steal it, including you! Now die!"