Strips of flesh lay on the crystalline table, illuminated by an ethereal light from below. Their forms cast shadows on the ceiling and walls, while the table they lay on scattered blue light around its foot. While resting, the edges of the flesh were stitched together by an unseen hand, knitting them together like pieces of cloth. A strong bone crossed through the center of each piece, and fitted on top of each other like pieces of a puzzle.
The pile of corpses in the corner of the room told of previous attempts at this design. Near the bottom lay simple fish, whose faults were evident at a glance. Though deeply flawed, these served as excellent learning tools for their designer. Despite the grueling hours spent building each one, they were never given life.
The higher one searched in the pile, the more elegant the corpses became. Above their awkwardly shaped brothers lay fish who were given life, but no consciousness. Their movements were tested as a series of reflexes, allowing for faults to be easily spotted and safely dealt with. Their designs became increasingly extravagant as one searched the top. Here, design limitations were pushed as fully functional life forms struggled through their short lives. Flaws were located and removed, until none were left.
With the knowledge gained from all these bodies, one final design remained to test.
Finally stitched together and awaiting life, the body of a monstrous sea creature lay limp on the lab’s table. Its body was large and heavy, armored with protective scales which weighed it down even more. Devoid of limbs, it was long and flat. Despite the large scales protecting it, all of the body was flexible save for its head. Like a slab of rock, its only moving parts were its jaws. Empty eyes lay hidden behind a clear scale, allowing it to see clearly at all times.
Zorael manipulated the body with his heavy claws, looking for any unfinished seams. Looking like a giant armored eel, it was by far his greatest work. Along with displaying his newfound mastery of skeletal structures, breakthroughs in musculature and neurology made it stronger, faster, and more mentally complex than his other creations.
Marveling at his work, he sparked it to life, and rushed in some water for it to swim in.
It moved flawlessly. The bone structure held, the muscles supported it well, and its mind steered it with no problems. Like a flag blowing in the wind, it circled elegantly in the limited space it was given.
Zorael realized quickly one mistake in his design. It was so large, it would be a shame to let it sit out its life in such a cramped room. He looked out to the clear, untouched water surrounding his lab. Since the dawn of time, nothing alive has stirred those waters. And Zorael could not think of a better creature to do so than the sublime beast circling atop his table.
He melted a circle off the walls of his lab, and siphoned a tube of water to the wall-less tank at the room’s center. Sensing an escape, the armored fish rushed through the tube into the watery world outside. Free of its confines, it glided through the waters like cloth in the wind. Its slow motions were captured by the light beneath it, sending its shadow to the surface to double its every movement.
While enjoying the sight of his newest creation, Zorael glanced at his lab to prepare for his next project. He frowned as he saw his pile of materials, running dangerously low. Between the body he was inhabiting and the armored fish swimming outside, he had used up a large amount of resources. Even recycling the bodies at the other corner, he still wouldn’t have an adequate supply for another large project.
While keeping his gaze on his simplistic fish, he searched his memory for inhabited planets. He filtered out ones he had stolen from recently, and searched for a rich, healthy planet. Still adoring his newest creation, he absentmindedly scanned the planet for a corpse. He quickly found one laying out in the open. Half chewed on and reeking of decay, he none the less grabbed it and dropped it through a portal.
The body emerged next to its sun. Its rays burned the corpse as it drifted, killing any parasites feeding on it. After the flesh had dried, it floated through another portal. This time, it reappeared above Zorael’s lab. Guided gently by streams of water, and falling slowly with the planet’s low gravity, it landed softly in the lab’s corner. Here, Zorael shred it apart, sorting different materials into different piles. And all the while, he watched his fish glide through the water.
Drops of water tore through the air, which hummed an ethereal blue. Depositing their payload of base materials, they continued their assault. Light danced through the room as water distorted its far away source. And a heavy armored creature gazed out its window at the wavelike movements of a newborn monster.
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I like the idea of light coming from below, I think it would be fun to swim in water like that. We always think of "the ocean depths" being dark and mysterious, but on Zorael's planet it's brighter the deeper you get.
The light gives the planet a very ethereal feel, it's a very cool mental image.
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