Sea Hollowed

If it had ended there, it would've been easy. He might've become part of the sea, his body pickings for the rest of the life sitting deep in the Desdin—eventually a bigger fish would come along and swipe him, half-decomposed, up in its jaws and that would be that. Only a few fraying scraps of cloth, or a shoe perhaps, might be left and even those would fall to loss or decay over time. So easy, and he would be at peace because he was no more.

But such is not the fate of a drowned arcanist. He had never died before, and so this death was only a prerequisite for further torture.

-Callahan Fallen, S. Claughdon

There are two main locations in the known world considered amenable to hollowed arcanists, and the depths of the Desdin serve as a relative haven for hollowed spectrals. The ocean floor holds what is likely the largest arcanium deposit on the globe, ironically inaccessible to all humanity - except the dead.

Because arcanium is so scarce on land, and so vital for the survival of hollowed arcanists, spectrals along the western coast will request their bodies dumped into the sea upon their first death so that they might stand a chance at retaining some semblance of their humanity whilst in a hollowed state. Of course, the 'life' of a sea hollowed is not by any means a decent one, but it is a touch more freeing than the endless starvation that the continent might afford them.

Those spectrals who find their end underwater, and in proximity to siginificant arcanium, are able to adapt and undergo body system changes in order to accomodate an oceanic life. They often spend the remainder of their life as a hollowed underwater, though many cases allow for a more amphibious lifestyle as well. Not much is known about sea hollowed, as most do not regularly interact with common or orvon folk, and up until about 1330-50 they were thought to have minimal intelligence and humanity consistent with other hollowed forms.

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Arcanists, upon their first death, do not truly die. Their heart and lungs stop, but the arcana within their body still continues its flow, and slowly takes place as the interim life force sustaining their body. This state of life is most commonly refered to as 'hollowed' after the historical belief that the body is emptied of its soul and humanity during the first death.

by mirescosmo

Becoming Hollowed

Image CW: light body horror

From the moment a spectral ceases to breathe, it is a race for the inherent arcanium to revitalize their body before any oceanic predators take an interest. Typically, the initial revitalization process takes one to five days - this is significantly longer than other hollowed, as the arcanium must develop aquatic respiratory structures.

While the body will continue to mutate under certain degrees of stress, significant damage to the body will render it unresuscitable. However, once consciousness is achieved, the hollowed is capable of defending and attacking at the most basic level, and will begin to seek out arcanium in order to sustain themself. This is often at the expense of any higher functioning, and so most sea hollowed spend the majority of their time and energy in search of this sustenance.

Relations

by mirescosmo

There are few instances of recent interaction between sea hollowed and humans, and relations between the hollowed and Protectorate mariners are tenuous at best, occasionally resulting in violent conflicts over territory and/or arcana. Some indication, however, has been found regarding relations between several Cravvik Isle settlements and sea hollowed during the later period of Imperium hegemony, with various commodities traded between individuals - supposedly one of the plants involved in Imperium coming-of-age originated from the Desdin and was harvested and traded by the sea hollowed.

Sea hollowed are solitary creatures to begin with, and typically only affiliate with one another in instances of attacking larger prey, or mating. There are no recorded cases of actual reproduction despite the incidental behavioral displays, nor have sea hollowed been seen to cooperate with other oceanic species.

Song of the Dead

Sea hollowed often, though not always, retain their arcanist capabilities and those with auditory manipulation have garnered a savage reputation for their tendency to trail Protectorate vessels, slowly maddening the crews with their songs. The reports of such events are severely contrasting - some survivors speak of the songs as beautifully enchanting or lulling, while others describe them as shrieking wails.

by mirescosmo

Callahan Fallen

Even worse than the uncertainty of death, I think, is the knowledge that it will sicken you, turn you into something monstrous. When men were slaughtered during the Imperium's fall, there was this propaganda that our souls would be stolen and used against us. I suppose it was this idea on which I pivoted CF's sea hollowed - the 'fish-man', so to speak. The possibility of life, rich and untethered, after death is so. . . so hopeful.

_{- S. Claughdon, 1357}

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Sea hollowed became more widely known and studied following the initial serialization of Callahan Fallen in 1322. The pulp depicts sea hollowed - or rather one hollowed individual in particular - as intelligent, oft-misunderstood creatures who may regain their lost humanity and memories through certain circumstances. The series gained immediate popularity across Beourjen and Ethana, however critics argued that it grossly romanticized beings that are essentially 'swimming corpses'.

Nonetheless, the publication was heavily responsible for scholars' questioning of sea hollowed's lives and psyches, and for the reexamination of a number of Cravvik Imperium texts regarding the subject.

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Under the Sea Flash Challenge Entry

This article is an entry to the unofficial Under the Sea Flash Challenge.