Charis Ioannou was a fishwife making a living in Ithaca. One fateful day her vessel underwent a vicious attack by a creature whose appearance hurt the mind. She had nearly made it to shore when a tentacle snagged her ankle. In the last few moments before she was delivered unto the thing's maw, it was sundered to pieces and a beautiful voice that reminded her of a calm sea offered her strength to last through the ages. This strength, though, came in more limbs than she cared to count, skin with an alien texture, and hair akin to seaweed. She watched her family, but she never dared approach. She returned one day after carrying out a charge to find the small home on the coast completely wiped out; nothing but bodies remained. Her ‘god’ had done this, it said, so that she could focus on the tasks at hand. Standing on the shore, she clenched the strange limbs and screamed for the strength to burn away her ‘benefactor.’ And again, strength was offered to her. Again, she took it gladly. But this she would never regret.
Worlds are best when they feel heard
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