The Leviathan Games

Ikal blinked. He was utterly disorientated by the vivid colors. Coming from the Southern Ocean, he was used to the plain dark depths beneath the pale surface. 

He calmed himself.

It was the opening ceremony of the Leviathan Games. Merfolks across the five oceans congregated at the hosting sites, looking forward to the once-in-a-decade revelry. 

Tens of thousands arrived at the Scarlet Reef of the Western Ocean, where the first game would be held.

The procession toured the city. As a contestant, Ikal stood in front of his kingdom's entourage. He had never been under the watchful gaze of such a massive crowd. Despite his nerves, he tried to maintain a composed and dignified look.

He was here for a mission.

At the town square, Ikal waited as the other nations arrived one after another. 

He was distracted by the nacreous sheen of a carriage, drawn by a school of tropical fish. It was apparently hewn out of a large spiral shell.

Must be from one of the reef nations, he thought.

There were many more extravagant carriages, accompanied by fancy draft beasts of all shapes and sizes. 

Suddenly, the crowd roared with excitement.

Enormous skulls emerged from the colorful parade, sharp teeth and monstrous shapes inspiring awe and fear. Those were the palanquins of the Nomadic Tribes. They were the most formidable warriors.

The contestants gathered at the center, where the team formation took place.

Each team had three or four contestants, selected from different nations. The Games were an event to foster peace among the nations, where their representatives worked together and competed peacefully. 

Ikal was uncomfortable by how he stood out. He towered over merfolks of most nations, being four times as large as the smallest ones. His grayish-brown skin was bare, unlike others who adorned themselves with exotic materials.

"The name's Jerun. I'm from the Amber Atoll." A sprightly merfolk swam up to Ikal. He had bright eyes with slit pupils. Assorted ornaments of iridescent teal scales and carved pearls decorated him from head to tail.

Warily, Ikal looked at their other teammate. She was as large as him, with scars littering her bold gray skin. Chains of teeth and jagged bones wrapped around her muscular frame.

Jerun beamed with admiration. "You must be Lamni, the greatest warrior of the Nomads!" 

Lamni flashed a toothy grin. "Nice meeting you too, little one." She brandished her spear. "Tomorrow, we bring glory to the merfolks."

The Patriarch was a majestic being. He commanded respect from creatures in the Western Ocean, where he roamed for millennia.

He was the star of many previous Games. Countless hunting parties had attempted and failed to capture him. The cunning leviathan always found ways to evade even the most skilled contestants.

"This time, we'll get him." Lamni was determined. 

The teams spread out into the open ocean, each with their hunting beasts. They stalked the Patriarch from afar, carefully approaching him from all directions. 

Abruptly, the Patriarch dove.

Atop their mounts, the hunters pursued at full speed and rapidly descended. 

Soon, it was pitch black. Their luminescent orbs could hardly light the way. They heard eerie noises from strange unseen critters.

There were several hunters with echolocation abilities. The teams merged into larger groups, each with one of them for navigation.

Ikal sent out a sequence of clicks. "This way!" 

A rumble swept through the hunters.

They continued their chase, carefully avoiding rocky outcrops in the treacherous terrain, as the Patriarch had seemingly led them to a marine ridge.

A giant maw struck out from beneath.

Amidst the chaos, the hunters were dispersed. 

"Ikal!'

"Where are you?"

"It's over here, La-"

"We need to-"

Lamni could feel the swirling currents, focusing herself on the leviathan's movements. She was steadfast, unfazed by her companions being devoured one by one. 

She clutched her spear.

With a burst of speed, she narrowly escaped from the gap of serrated teeth as they clamped down. Using the momentum, she swiveled around and plunged her spear into the side of the head.

The leviathan thrashed viciously, but she held fast. 

Growing up, Lamni learned the lore of leviathans from her people. She knew much about the Patriarch. 

Reaching back at her quiver, she aimed a javelin further up the head. Then, she swung herself over to grab it. Atop the leviathan's scalp, she threw a barrage of glowing javelins along the vertebrae.

She saw faint red lights underneath. The traps had been set.

"Jerun! Aim at its spine!" 

A massive harpoon fired at the leviathan, followed by several more, piercing his bones. The Patriarch struggled, but the chains held him down. 

As he died, he let out a long, booming wail. 

It was the end of an era.

Lamni's team was crowned the victor of this round. For months to come, the Scarlet Reef would hold a grand feast. But the contestants and their entourage would soon move on to the next game.

For hundreds of contestants, less than ten made out alive. The rest was lost to the depths. It was an unusually high casualty. Though, each nation prepared many substitutes for its candidates.

Ikal was alive. Lamni was glad yet slightly upset. 

"You were cowering in the dark while we fought." She scoffed.

"I was afraid… didn't know what happened, I-"

 "Enough. Just be less of a spineless wretch next time." 

Lamni stormed off.

She went to join the festivities. Jerun was already there. 

As she arrived, the merfolks clamored over her. She slowly made her way to the crowd of Nomads with Jerun in tow. She couldn't wait to tell her people about the brave little one.

Strolling through the city, Ikal saw workers hauling the butchered carcass of the Patriarch across the streets. His flesh was served on banquets while his bone would become structures for new buildings. 

Ikal saw Jerun's people carving on a massive tooth, fashioning a chariot for their champion.

He closed his eyes.

The convoy set out to the Iron Archipelago of the Eastern Ocean for the next game.

"Lamni, Ikal, look!" Jerun was enthusiastic, pointing at everything along the way.

At the bustling capital, throngs of merfolks scurried around for the welcoming ceremony. The intricate buildings were constructed with pillars of quartz. Everything was embellished with polished corals and colorful stones.

Ikal coiled around the streets awkwardly, careful not to topple anything.

On the outskirts, the other contestants had an impromptu little competition. Lamni threw a dagger at a school of barracudas, earning a round of cheers as it skewered several fish in a row.

The lava serpents were prized for their heatproof hides. The most precious were those of the newborn hatchlings. They were smooth and pristine, with scales like glistening obsidian.

The hunters ventured into the volcanic caverns. 

It was impossible for them to take on the entire colony. The hunters must sneak into the nursing chambers and snatch as many as they could.

The teams went separate ways. It was far too conspicuous to travel together.

Jerun skillfully navigated through the crevices while evading the adult workers. He scouted the area ahead of his larger teammates.

"Soldiers!" Jerun whispered. They must be close.

"I'll...go." 

Ikal swam ahead. He let out an undulating howl and darted into a nearby gap.

Soldiers and workers swarmed in his direction.

Jerun entered the unguarded chamber with Lamni closely behind. The place was aglow with orange magma flowing beneath the rocky surfaces. They were disappointed to find only a few hatchlings.

With a swift strike, Lamni bludgeoned each hatchling to unconsciousness. Jerun then swooped them into his net.

"Let's get out of here with these. We'll come back later." Lamni knew they needed more to win against the other teams, but it would be cumbersome to traverse the caverns with their haul.

As they went back on their path, Jerun noticed that something was amiss.

"We came in from here." He pointed at a wall. It was supposed to be a tunnel. "Wait here, I'll go find another way out." 

Lamni waited for minutes. She felt a brief tremor.

Before long, the very walls shook violently around her.

Rocks collapsed from above. She hastily evaded the danger, holding onto the net until it was too much even for her.

"Jerun!" She swam frantically, lost in the caverns.

"Gah!" Magma rose from the fissures. A rush of heated water scalded the side of her body.

A serpentine form swam towards her. She almost reached for her spear before recognizing the soft brown hue.

"Follow me!" It was Ikal.

They made a narrow escape.

Lamni looked around. There were no others.

There was no victor for this game. The hunting party was entombed by the caverns, save for the Ikal and Lamni, who returned empty-handed.

Nevertheless, it was an honor to die for the Games. A feast was held in the name of the fallen.

For the last game, the convoy moved on to the Lantern Cliffs of the Great Ocean.

From afar, they could see the immense canyon, marring the seabed like a scar. As the convoy drew near, twinkling lights became visible from the darkness.

The merfolks dug out their abodes into the vertical rock face. There were gigantic pyrosomes hung everywhere like tubular flags, each giving off a delicate blue glow.

There was never a shortage of bizarre monsters in the great abyssal depths. As merfolks of the hosting kingdom scoured the canyon in preparation for the Games, they sighted an elusive, unknown creature.

Jerun was replaced by another merfolk of the Amber Atoll. Sela, as this one was called, seemed rather stern and uptight.  

Lamni missed the little one dearly, with all his brilliance and bravery.

The hunters descended into the chasm, engulfed by darkness and crushing pressure. Led by a local, they entered the leviathan's lair.

The darkness was no more.

Bright pulsating green light greeted the hunters. There were strands of large spheres hanging from the ceiling. Thick veins sprawled across the walls, glowing eerily.

Sela quietly observed. This lair was like the inside of a sponge. Holes covered every surface, each tunneling further into the lair. 

She felt a wave of unease.

"We should stay together, no matter what." 

"You're not scared, are you?" Lamni said playfully.

Sela frowned. "We don't know what we're facing. It's best to be careful."

She looked at Ikal, who was quiet as ever. It was astonishing how he managed to look small with that stature.

Lamni shrugged. She didn't mind complying with Sela's suggestion, at least for a little while. It wasn't unusual for inexperienced hunters to have anxious thoughts.

The lair was a labyrinth, but the hunters tried their best to map out the structure, placing tags to mark the locations. Aside from the glowing veins and spheres, it seemed completely uninhabited.

"See?" Lamni gestured at their surroundings. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Sela was unconvinced. She was still shaken by the nigh complete annihilation of the last two hunting parties.

"Aaaaaahhhh-"

She turned her head. To her horror, countless tendrils emerged from the holes, dragging everyone away.

She felt something wrapped around her. There was a forceful tug, and everything went dark.

Finally, Lamni almost rolled her eyes. She was starting to get bored from the trek.

She quickly grabbed onto the tendril as it took Sela and entered a winding tunnel. 

They were brought to the heart of the lair. Piles of bones and half-eaten remains littered the spacious cave. The hunters flailed helplessly about as they fought to free themselves.

Amidst the tangled mess, the leviathan was revealed.

It was a grotesque, vermiform beast.

Lamni cut the tendril, releasing Sela with it.

A much larger tendril flung at her. Bracing herself against the impact, she held her spear out as it pulled her towards the gaping maw.

She jammed the spear between the mandibles and pushed through the gullet with great force. Within the leviathan, she unsheathed her blades and sliced along the length of corpulent flesh.

She emerged with a triumphant smile.

The Leviathan Games concluded with Lamni's team as the grand champion.

Her people looked at her with pride. She would be celebrated for years to come.

Lamni's feat was unprecedented. She survived where hundreds had perished and almost single-handedly brought down two leviathans.

A feast was held. Though, not everyone looked forward to tasting the giant sea worm. The leviathan's body was ingrained into its lair. Whatever parts they managed to yank out were too mushy to be made into anything useful.

What the merfolks found enchanting were the plentiful luminescent orbs grown in the lair.

They were big and radiant, pulsating in everchanging hues of vibrant green. The merfolks brought them back to their respective nations as fancy gifts.

After the Games, more would be harvested and exported.

Years later, disaster struck.

The 'orbs' hatched, unleashing horrors to the merfolks.

The larvae were voracious and unstoppable. The nations were weakened, having lost most of their best warriors in the last Games.

Gorging themselves with flesh, the larvae swelled into massive forms, wreaking havoc on the cities.

The surviving merfolks fled their homes. The once-great civilizations reduced to wandering pariahs, picked apart by beasts of the seas.

Lamni watched in despair. 

Not long ago, she was the hero of her people. In truth, she was the catalyst to their downfall.

A familiar presence visited her.

Ikal swam towards her, still wearing that gentle, demure smile. But this time, she saw something sharp in his eyes.

"It was you!"

Ikal's smile turned into a grin. 

Ikal was born in the Southern Ocean. He was orphaned when the warring nations destroyed his village.

For weeks, he wandered alone in the frigid waters.

When he almost met his end from hunger, he saw stars.

It was beautiful. Like a galaxy in the night sky, but so much brighter and warmer. 

A leviathan saved him. 

He lived with her ever since. The leviathan was like his grandmother, ancient and wise. She taught him to hunt for food, starting from krills. As he grew, he moved on to larger prey, like icefish and penguins. Eventually, he could hunt seals and colossal squids.

Ikal liked it the most when the leviathan taught him the songs of her kin. She was always amused by his various efforts to mimic the different vocalizations, from low rumbles to high-pitched chirps. He had a certain talent for this.

Together, they traveled the vast seas.

One day, the hunters came. Brandishing their weapons, they chased the leviathan into the harsh depths.

Ikal tried to stop them, but the hunters seized him.

Eventually, they drove her into a massive brine pool.

He gasped in terror as he saw the leviathan convulsed from toxic shock. Then, there was blood spilling like dark clouds.

The hunters returned to the city, taking Ikal with them. Bound by barbed chains, the merfolks paraded the leviathan around the streets.

They reached the town square. A dozen merfolks lined up at the center with an assortment of tools nearby.

The crowd watched as the merfolks methodically cut into the leviathan, dividing her into pieces. It was almost like a performance.

Her life slowly slipped away, snuffing out the countless pinpricks of bioluminescence on her body bit by bit.

Ikal struggled against his captors. His screams were muffled by a gag.

He would never forget this.

For years, Ikal trained. He became skilled enough to be chosen as a candidate for the upcoming Games.

All the while, he feigned compliance.

He made the merfolks believe that the leviathan abducted him, that he was glad to be freed.

Discreetly, he visited the leviathans of the five oceans.

He spoke to the Patriarch, who had grown old and weary, wishing to end the constant abuse.

Then, he spoke to the queen of lava serpents. The colony would wipe out the hunters after they entered their nest.

He learned from many other leviathans.

Eventually, he found out about the abyssal worm. He just needed to entice the canyon kingdom into investigating it.

The Games began. Ikal's plan was set into motion.

As the hunters focused on pursuing the Patriarch, Ikal commanded creatures of the depths to take out the echolocating merfolks. He snuck up to the rest, killing them in the dark. 

He was able to click in a frequency unheard by others. His slender body produced minimal disturbance in the water as he swam. With his size and strength, he had no problem slaughtering most merfolks.

In the volcanic caverns, he worked with the lava serpents. They would block tunnels and jostle walls, trapping the hunters.

One by one, he would pin the hunters down and feel them squirm. Then, he would gut them with his dagger, watching with glee as the innards spilled into the water. 

It was almost as entertaining as their frenzied swimming when they were being boiled alive.

He effortlessly evaded Lamni as she lunged at him, knowing that the toxin had spread through her system. He didn't think that Lamni deserves a warrior's end, so he simply poisoned her.

He traveled the seas, surveying the ruins of the merfolk nations. The worms wouldn't survive as adults in shallower waters. He must make sure that the other leviathans destroy the merfolks before they had a chance to recover.

He let out a great wail, mirroring the one from the Patriarch in his death throes.

The tyranny has come to an end.