A Fisher’s Last Cast

“The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about…” I tried to stem the tide for so long, but now the flood of pain subsumes me. As the last vestiges of my humanity evaporate like sea foam, I know that the time has come to reflect on the event that led me to this chair, this incurable injury, and this great sense of loss. Ages ago, my brother fished. You think I am good, you should have seen him. The Fisher King, we called him. He could catch a sturgeon with a stepladder. He could fill a net before you had a chance to sit down. He kept his heart in a tackle box. Together we served King Artorius. You've heard of him? Good, then I need not tell you he was the finest king Aeternum has ever known. One day, my brother and I went fishing like usual, casting our nets in service to the kingdom. When out of nowhere, we hear something emerging from the depths. I will never forget that sound, like impending doom. In my darkest nightmares and my brightest hopes I hear it. You will see why. A monster, like a seething wall of muscle and slime blasted out of the water, smashing our boat like a child’s toy. My brother was next to me. the next, I see a gaping maw, pulling him in like a riptide, and then, gone, swallowed behind a row of teeth. No! I swam after him, but the teeth slammed shut on me. On my leg. The pain was indescribable. I barely managed to survive with my life, but I haven’t been whole since. The wound refuses to heal, no matter how many times I am reborn. And every time it grows worse. It’s a vicious cycle. But this is nothing compared to the loss of my brother. He was never seen again. Something about that cursed fish prevents it. But I know he’s still alive. And I will find him. Gladys, somehow I know that is her name, that hellish sea beast, is almost impossible to track. You hear that sound, and then it is too late. But I have been following her for ages and I have finally figured out her pattern. I know where she will reappear next. Alas, I am too weak to go. To whomever reads this, go to the attached location, and if my timing is correct, she should appear shortly. If you are skilled enough at fishing, perhaps you can succeed where I failed, and catch her. My brother, I fear that our years apart will soon be stretched into the eternity.