Howard Deepwater
HOWARD DEEPWATER
A creature between tides.
“The sea is neither kind nor cruel.
It simply remembers longer than we do.”
DEEPWATER of the Deep Ones
Humans have called them many things:
Mermaids.
Children of the Deep.
The Drowned.
Monsters.
The Deep Ones consider themselves none of these.
The Deep Ones are an ancient, intelligent fish-people who inhabit the seas, underwater caves, and flooded places. They build homes among the rocks, preserve old stories, create their own tools and objects.
Their bodies are adapted ...
Some records have been damaged or lost.
Reconstruction is ongoing.
HOME BETWEEN WORLDS
Howard’s home is [Data Corrupted]...
Some records have been damaged or lost.
Reconstruction is ongoing.
...
The shelves are filled with things most people would have considered garbage long ago.
Howard does not.
To him, every object may have a story to tell.
So he throws nothing away.
THE TRACE
The Deep Ones possess an ability they call the Trace.
Water can preserve impressions of events.
He calls it the Memory Trace.
If an object has spent a long time in water, Howard can touch it and feel fragments of its history.
THE PRICE OF MEMORY
[RESTORED]
If Howard remains inside someone else’s trace for too long, their sensations begin to seep into his own memories.
Sometimes only for a few seconds.
Sometimes longer.
He may forget where he is.
Fail to recognize his own name.
Feel another person’s life as if it were his own.
That is why Howard tries not to remain inside a Memory Trace for too long.
Although sometimes curiosity proves stronger than caution.
HUMANS
Most humans have never seen the Deep Ones.
To them, they are stories.
Sea spirits.
Monsters.
The Drowned.
Old superstitions.
Some know more.
Some search for them.
Some search for what was left behind by them.
Howard is wary of humans.
But he does not hate them.
Quite the opposite.
Humans seem endlessly strange to him.
They build houses in places where storms occur.
They create objects whose purpose is not always practical.
They eat incredibly sweet and spicy food.
And for some reason, they consider umbrellas essential.
Howard observes.
Studies.
Sometimes steals something interesting.
And goes home.
FAMILY
[CLASSIFIED]
... only hopes that one day his curiosity will not lead him somewhere he cannot return from.
OTHERS
Howard has few friends.
He is not particularly sociable.
But among the Deep Ones, friendship is rarely expressed through words.
If Howard considers someone his own, he may one day silently place a rare found object in front of them.
And explain nothing.
It means:
“I saw this and thought of you.”
That is enough.
THOSE WHO WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SURFACE
Not all Deep Ones share Howard’s curiosity.
Some consider contact with humans dangerous.
To them, the surface should remain the surface.
The deep should remain the deep.
There should be nothing connecting the two.
They do not necessarily hate humans.
They simply believe that two worlds are safer when they do not intersect.
Howard constantly violates that rule simply by being himself.
A TASTE FOR THE SURFACE
The Deep Ones are omnivores.
Fish, mollusks, crustaceans, algae, marine plants, and countless creatures humans have yet to study.
But Howard ... [CORRUPTED]
THE FIRST ONE TO COME OUT
Among the Deep Ones, there is an old story.
[PARTIALLY RESTORED] will be available soon...
THE NAME
***information was hidden***
THE RETURN?
[CLASSIFIED]
