The Lindmortis

There is a malign legend of an enormous, aquatic creature which dwells within the shadowy depths of the Indian coast. Necessarily, no man traverses into these treacherous waters, had they been forewarned of its concealed dangers. Unfortunately, there is the ever-present soul who scoffs these grave premonitions, and comes to spend a night within the coastal oceans. Naturally, only the claps of the waves and the solitude of the quaint currents seem only noticeable. Perhaps a large fish or two at moments; though, the quivering shock of a sea snake brushing passed their leg can bring about an unsettling realization. Amongst those who trespass into these hellacious waters at day's end are girded by India's common sea snake: the Beaked sea snake. These species of sea snake are described as highly aggressive and nearly savaged, marine reptiles. Their venom is highly potent, and have the potentiality to even kill. This enough is a fair warning to flee from the waters. Yet... there is always a foolish mind who would think otherwise. Thus the true terrors of the waters would come to arise.

A carcase is said be seen drifting aimlessly amidst the hollowed currents. Mangled, decaying, absolutely bare; the body is riddled with blackish spikes and cysts, its entirety stricken with severe livor mortis. The corpse's pinnacle characteristic is the freshly cleaned skull, completely stripped of flesh and muscle, only with a tan coloration left. The weary soul who stays this far typically investigates this eerie case of a dead man's float. As they swim further to the floating cadaver, it is the last sensation of peace they experience before the nightmare begins. Violently, they would be dragged into the dark waters, a spinal agony arising from their back as ebony spikes impale into them. They would hear a sickeningly snap of their spinal cord, either killing them on the spot, or throwing their entire self into paralysis. A quick death is the common wish, as this would be the desired fate than to gaze into the deathly eyes of their gigantic assaulter. The stifling exhale of the beast's mandibles is nearly unbearable, as the leviathan is a living, breathing creature of pure pestilence. Those brought beneath the waters meet face-to-face with the Lindmortis.

The Lindmortis is a gigantic sea serpent, with such minor fish features as fins. It is said to have the body of a dragonfish alongside its terrifying similarities to an angler fish's jaws. Though, such testimonies are only feeble before the true alien and otherworldly appearance of this marine nightmare. The Lindmortis has a sadistic preference to overkill. They use the darkly crimson ends of their fins to inject a highly potent venom into the body, from the mixture of hollowed spikes clustered about them. The main fins atop their scalp are shrouded over the sides and back of the Lindmortis, having the overlapping fin appear as an enormous cowl or hood. No other predators can outmatch the sea serpent, not with its ability to dash throughout the waters at lightning speeds. Through this the likeability for any approaching fish or other marine life of being slashed by its spiked underbelly, or simply poisoned by the sharp edges of its fins, is highly possible. The Lindmortis normally hunts for prey during the night, for when humans are distracted by the sea snakes it uses as a trump card to its sinister hunting methods. Its growth on the side of its serpentine body is typically the remains from displeasing meals. The Lindmortis has the decaying corpse become a part of itself, having its ebony underbelly grow over it till its rendered a complete part of the sea serpent. For the time being it proves to be its most successful method of attracting human prey. A particular characteristic of the Lindmortis is the glowing insignia that is seen in the middle of its forehead. This insignia is one of the numerous symbols of death. It is told to be the very last image its surviving prey peers upon before being devoured by the Lindmortis' twisted fangs.

Though, in terms of the Lindmortis' survivability within its environment, it normally stays within the water, absorbing the water's oxygen into its bloodstream through the thousands of hidden gills clustered about its wrinkled body. It normally dwells within the abyss, protected by jagged rocks or underwater caverns, typically riddled with remains of drowned or devour humans. The Lindmortis sleeps most of the day and comes out to routinely swim about its hunting grounds at night. There is only a sole Lindmortis, though, it reproduces by going on consistent hunts outside of its waters, to compile numerous mortalities back with it. It builds these corpses together by gluing them with the blood within its bulging veins, which upon its coming death, the corpse amalgamation absorbs the blood into their bodies, and slowly mutates into a larval Lindmortis. This newborn Lindmortis hunts smaller prey such as children, before it finally matures into an adult Lindmortis. It is then the vile cycle of the Lindmortis continues, marking man as its favored meal.

This was an entry made for Snafu's Art forum's Challenge Yourself Contest. The challenge was to make up your own sea creature. So I did just that, with a malign touch of my own. Idk if I won't any of the winning three places yet, but I figured I'd post this as an artwork, than as some evidence of victory. Sorry. I'm just to modest for that.

Enjoy!

The Lindmortis (c)