Fury From The Deep

Within the immense lands of this darkened world lurk horrors that even the immemorial years of boundless time scarcely recall. In the remotest recesses of these accursed realms live creatures that assume forms much unlike those of men. Over the unending ages, these creatures struck fear and horror into the hearts of the bravest men. Wandering nomads murmur queer tales of unspoken morbidities. Some speak of damp, stinking marshes where humans with fish heads dwell. With frantic expressions on their faces, the nomads depict the forms of these marsh natives; scaly, muscular bodies with a bedazzling, radiating blue color. The nomadic folk continue by claiming that the queer race have fish heads, with slits for a nose and gaping gills stretching over their slimy necks. In addition to that, it is said that the half-fish half-men have webbed hands and feet reminiscent of those of frogs. It is also said that they have claws and teeth sharper than the sharpest swords.

At the confessions of the nomads men of science laugh and claim that the nomads are maddened by the heat of the sizzling deserts. The nomads seem to be insulted, for they insist on the veracity of their strange stories. Once, in a forgotten village so old that no living man knows it's name, a violent confrontation broke out between a group of nomads who believed in the existence creatures and the villagers who denied it. The nomads spread weird warnings and unknown messages across the village, with the phrase "THEY WILL RISE AGAIN FROM A GRAVE SO DEEP!" recurring very often. At first, the warnings were neglected by the villagers, who dismissed the nomads as "mad wanderers with false esoteric teachings", but a while later, when the nomads started increasing in number, those warnings became a real threat.

The violent confrontation continued for months, bringing blights and bloodshed into the miserable land. The bloodshed only increased with the passing of time, for many of the villagers joined forces with the nomads. Many came who tried to settle the conflict peacefully, but none succeeded. Their wise words weren't as strong as the sharp edges of the warriors' swords. So it continued brutally for more and more years, until a wise man arose from the ranks of the villagers army. As soon as he gained the leadership of the village, he called for a hasty meeting between the warring sides. When they were gathered, he said that the war was meaningless and pointless, and could be simply ended. Many of the leaders found this claim unsatisfactory, but they allowed him to speak. He then said that the matters could be settled if the villagers challenged the nomads by asking them to take them to the marshes where the creatures dwelt. This request angered many of the leaders from both sides, yet many others found it clever and beneficial. After hours of reluctant pondering, both sides accepted the request and decided to end the war with it.

It seems that the absence of the villagers' usual skepticism cost them a lot, for their blind belief that the creatures were unreal led them into their demise. The group that was sent into the marsh that the nomads designated as the nest of the beasts never came back. Yet the villagers waited. They waited for what felt like long years, but when desperation started to triumph against their patience, they formed an armed group and embarked on a journey to the marsh. To their utmost dismay, the first group wasn't there at all. What they found was a pile of burnt flesh clad in silver armor - the villagers' armor. The flesh was found beheaded, bloodied and desecrated on the shores of the exact marsh the nomads had told them of.

Taking that observation into account, what happened is somehow obvious, but not entirely, because not many know that the nomads were bathing in the marsh when the first villagers arrived. Because not many know that the whole nomadic army disappeared after the massacre. Because not many have read the note inscribed in blood on the villagers' rotting cadavers:
"WITH OUR AID, THEY WILL RISE AGAIN FROM A GRAVE SO DEEP! WE HAVE FORSAKEN THE CRUELTY OF THE FRAIL DESERTS TO EMBRACE THE CRUSHING POWERS OF THE WATERY DEPTHS! THE LORDS OF THE OCEANS HAVE GIVEN US A GIFT SO PRECIOUS! YOU WERE IDIOTIC! WE WARNED YOU AND TOLD YOU TO BOW TO YOUR TRUE LORDS! BUT YOU REFUSED, AND NOW THE LORDS OF THE OCEANS REFUSE YOU! YOU WILL PERISH, ALL OF YOU! YOU WILL PERISH WHEN OUR NICE, NEW TEETH WILL GNAW YOUR PUNY, TASTY FLESH!"