Hubris [ORIGINAL WORK]

Extract

[ Word Count: 825 - MAX ]

I was born in the depths of the ocean. Deep down, where the trenches run deep and the water flows cold. Shrouded in an undulating darkness, I moved aimlessly within the void, crawling along the craggy ocean floor.

My first slither of knowledge was that of myself - an overwhelming sense of 'I' and 'me' connected to the large mass of limbs that surrounded me, physically foreign and yet so inherently familiar. Curious, and eager to fill my need for stimulation, I reached out, testing how far this 'me' could go.

Met with an underwhelming nothing, I decided to move in the same direction, pining desperately for something new. Higher and higher I hauled myself up until my vision erupted into a crescendo of colour. Light spilled into my eyes and, enchanted by the beauty of my aquatic home, I swam under under a brilliant blue sky.

Up there, on the surface, I had served as spectator to many things. I had seen the birth of beasts so tall they towered trees and cries that shook the sea. I had seen them rule the land and alas I had seen them die.

I had witnessed the birth of another, lesser, species too. Small, primitive things that dragged their paws through the mud, howling at one another and beating their chests. They were not worthy of my interest, I deemed, and soon stopped watching.

I encountered them not long after, though perhaps not in the way I expected. I had been hunting, vigorously pursuing my prey, high on the thrill of the kill. A shape loomed on the horizon, one I had not seen before, and I slowed, abandoning the chase in favour of this new discovery.

I heard them before I saw them. Men, I came to learn. Their voices were rough like the undertow, harmonising together in a song I did not know. The sounds themselves were alien to me.

Like a pack of gulls, they were raucous. Their tongues rolled around in their caverns with no grace, emitting sounds that seemed to slap against the deck like a dead fish.

They seemed unaware of my presence as I swam higher, tentatively poking the strange vessel. The thing jolted when I prodded and heads soon appeared over the edge, swinging frantically back and forth as they scanned the water with cautious eyes.
I breeched the surface, foam bubbling around my eyelids as I shook away the water's remnants. Within the next instant, I felt a staggering agony explode under my skin. It burned like a bite – the thing lodged in my side - and I craned my neck to see the humans wielding more speared weapons.

I screeched, overcome with pain and fury, lunging forward and lashing against the boat with pounding strikes. One after another, I reeled the men from the deck, furling my limbs around their tiny bodies and squeezing until their struggles ceased. Brittle bones cracked beneath my grip, and their screams shifted into strangled moans. I tossed them aside, not even caring to make a meal out of them, watching as they were swallowed into the belly of the sea.

Centuries passed. Fuelled by my rage, I destroyed many more of their wooden vessels as men endeavoured to cross my sea. A necropolis began to form below, occupied with the splintered bones of ships long sunk, and the remains of men who'd reached too high.

But they grew smarter, manufacturing ships that were tougher than scales, shimmering in the sunlight like mother of pearl. The first hit I had landed on one did nothing, merely clanged against its side, the noise reverberating across the waves.

I hissed in frustration, striking again. The vessel shuddered but did not break. Enraged, I snatched the ship and curled myself around it, encasing the men in a coffin melded by their own hands. The metal groaned, resisting my tug as I heaved it below the water's surface, silencing the muffled sound of panic coming from within. There reached a moment where the vessel manifested into a lead weight, sinking of its own accord, drawn into the watery grave.
But again, men grew smarter. They constructed ships that could sail across the sky, ships that soared like birds! But even as I extended myself past my limit, I could not seize them. I felt as though I had been duped, tricked by an unfair opponent in a twisted game.

The sea was a capricious creature, I knew that well, but it became apparent to me that men were too.

In time, I mastered their slippery language and took great pleasure in listening to their fearful tales. I learned of the beast that lurked beneath the water's surface. That thing with fifty eyes that watched from down below; the formless shadow that stalked their ships, squeezing them until they die.

Yes, up on their ships I could hear them:

"His name is Kraznak and he is a god."