Voidmaw, Leviathan's Dread, by Sylizar on DeviantArt
Note: The following description and information about Voidmaw is written by Sylizar, the girl who created this brand new sea monster last night.
Second Note: Added the link to the source in the comment section.
"I have faced many terrors in this oceanic hellhole. Sharks that can tear battleships in two, whales that make our largest vehicles feel small and even Leviathan's monstrous tentacles. But none of them, none of them scare me like that...thing."
Leviathan's Dread is an impossibly massive creature native to the Leviathan Zone. It is approximately x feet at the tip of its dorsal spines, 3,500 feet in length and weighs an estimated 1.5 to 2 million tons.
These figures remain provisional, as Voidmaw has never been safely measured in its entirety. Even the most conservative estimates place Voidmaw among the largest non-Primordial organisms yet documented anywhere within the Zones. Its sheer scale is difficult to conceptualize; fully extended, it would be comparable in length to a major metropolitan district, while its largest anatomical structures are themselves larger than many TriZen facilities.
Yet its size is not what makes it so feared. It is the combination of that size with an apparent ability to disappear from detection, move through the abyss with remarkable efficiency, and consume organisms that should be physically impossible for anything of its size to approach that has made Voidmaw the most dreaded entity in the entire Leviathan Zone.
Like many of the largest Leviathan-class organisms, Voidmaw appears to spend the overwhelming majority of its existence within Leviathanβs Trench, where conditions remain almost completely inaccessible to conventional exploration. Its body is elongated and serpentine, tapering gradually from an enormous armored head into a lengthy posterior that eventually divides into several massive, tentacle-like tails. The entire body is protected by overlapping bony armor, with enormous spines projecting from the dorsal surface and smaller spikes covering much of the creature's exposed anatomy.
Several broad fins extend from the body, including a particularly enormous pair positioned approximately halfway along its length. These structures have never been adequately studied, but their flexibility suggests they may function as both stabilizers and powerful control surfaces. The head itself is almost completely eyeless in appearance. No functional external eyes have been observed, though TriZen cannot determine whether Voidmaw genuinely lacks conventional vision or possesses eyes deeply recessed within its armored skull. No operative has volunteered to approach closely enough to find out.
Instead, the creature appears to rely heavily upon the numerous sensory tentacles surrounding its mouth. These appendages are capable of detecting minute disturbances in the surrounding water, allowing Voidmaw to locate potential prey even within the absolute darkness of the Trench.
Its feeding mechanism is perhaps the most horrifying aspect of its anatomy. Voidmaw possesses an enormous mouth occupying most of the forward portion of its head, filled with numerous rows of serrated, needle-like teeth. These teeth vary considerably in size and arrangement, suggesting that the creature is capable of tearing, crushing and stripping apart a remarkably broad range of prey. The jaws themselves are triple-hinged, allowing the mouth to expand far beyond what its normal skull dimensions would suggest. A thick but apparently elastic membrane connects the tips of the jaws, preventing the entire structure from separating when fully extended.
When Voidmaw begins feeding, the result is less like an animal opening its mouth and more like a section of the ocean suddenly becoming a drain. The surrounding water is violently drawn toward the creature, creating a powerful vortex capable of pulling objects from distances approaching one kilometer. Smaller organisms are effectively helpless once caught within the strongest portion of the current.
Larger Leviathan-class animals may resist briefly, but the combination of suction, teeth and the creature's enormous jaw aperture makes escape extraordinarily unlikely. The expanded mouth is believed capable of swallowing organisms approaching half of Voidmaw's own body length, although this behavior has never been observed closely enough to establish a reliable upper limit.
Voidmaw does not appear to be an indiscriminate filter feeder or opportunistic scavenger. Available observations indicate that it is an active predator, apparently specializing in other large Leviathan Zone organisms and feeding directly upon concentrations of Primordial energy within Leviathan's Trench. Several unexplained disappearances of Leviathan-class animals have occurred shortly before Voidmaw sightings, leading researchers to suspect that the entity may actively hunt other giants rather than simply consume whatever drifts into its path.
Its hunting strategy is exceptionally difficult to study because of another anomalous property: Voidmaw appears capable of suppressing or concealing its own detectable signature. Radar, sonar and several experimental biological detection systems have all failed to reliably identify the creature at distances where it should have been unmistakable. Other large animals with extremely sensitive sensory systems have likewise been observed failing to react until Voidmaw is already within striking distance.
In several incidents, the entity appeared to approach directly beneath an occupied submersible without producing a recognizable sonar return. On other occasions, observers reported seeing the surrounding water distort or the creature itself seemingly refract the light around its body, making visual identification difficult even when it was technically visible. Whether this is deliberate camouflage, an anomalous manipulation of light and sound, or simply an extreme biological adaptation remains unknown.
The entity's behavior outside feeding events is equally mysterious. Voidmaw appears predominantly solitary, with no confirmed evidence of social behavior, coordinated hunting or reproduction. Given the enormous territory presumably required to sustain an animal of this size, this is unsurprising. Most sightings occur during rare ascents from Leviathan's Trench, with these movements appearing irregular and impossible to predict.
Some may be associated with feeding, while others seem to involve nothing more than movement between unknown territories. During these ascents, Voidmaw has demonstrated an unsettling lack of concern for its surroundings. It has passed through enormous schools of organisms without reacting to them, only to suddenly change direction when a suitable target is detected. Its intelligence cannot currently be established, although the precision with which it selects targets and the apparent ability to conceal itself from detection suggest considerably more than simple instinct.
Most disturbing of all are the reports suggesting that Voidmaw may possess additional anomalous capabilities that have yet to be properly documented. Several expedition logs describe changes in local water pressure preceding sightings, while others report unusual distortions in sonar, light and even the apparent direction of surrounding currents. One expedition reported that every external sensor simultaneously registered the surrounding ocean as empty moments before Voidmaw emerged directly beneath the vessel.
Another reported hearing what sounded like a distant vibration through the hull despite no detectable acoustic source. These accounts remain unconfirmed and should not be treated as established biological characteristics. What is established is enough to warrant extreme caution. Voidmaw cannot presently be tracked reliably, cannot be safely approached, and cannot be meaningfully confronted by conventional TriZen assets.
The greatest fear among Leviathan Zone personnel is not just encountering Voidmaw itself, but encountering it without realizing that it is there. A research vessel may believe itself to be studying another organism, mapping an unexplored trench or simply travelling between facilities, only to discover that the darkness below them was never empty. It was watching. By the time the first sign appears, the enormous jaws may already be opening.
Field Notes
TriZen Operative Observation
βThe first thing that happened was every fish around us disappeared. Not scattered. Not frightened. Just gone. Then the sonar went completely blank. We thought we'd lost the array. Then something moved underneath us. I didn't see the whole animal. I don't think anyone did. I saw a spine. One spine. It was taller than our sub.β
Deep-Sea Research Log
βWe were following a Chorus Whale when its behavior changed. It stopped singing. Every smaller animal in the area began moving away from the same direction. We initially assumed a predator was approaching. We were correct. We were simply catastrophically wrong about the size of the predator.β
Expedition LZ-441
βThe water started moving backward. That is the only way I can describe it. We weren't moving. The current wasn't moving. The ocean around us was moving toward something behind us. Then we saw the teeth.β
Engineering Report - Submersible Damage
βNo collision occurred. There is no impact deformation consistent with collision. The vessel was pulled approximately 600 meters off course in under twelve seconds. The crew reported seeing a circular opening below them. The opening subsequently closed.β
Deep One Relations
"Even the Deep Ones and their gods fear this thing. I don't whether that is a good thing, or something truly terrible."
Significant Record
The Empty Sonar - 2051
Location: Leviathan Zone, Upper Trench
Status: Survived
Casualties: 3 personnel
Assets Lost: 1 deep-sea submersible, 4 reconnaissance drones
Expedition LZ-441 was conducting a long-term behavioral study of a previously documented Leviathan-class predator when all four reconnaissance drones simultaneously lost contact.
The crew initially assumed an equipment failure. Approximately nineteen seconds later, the submersible's sonar system also stopped detecting the surrounding ocean.
A researcher reportedly asked why the sonar displayed nothing despite the vessel being surrounded by thousands of marine organisms only moments earlier.
The answer arrived from below.
Voidmaw breached the seafloor beneath the vessel.
The submersible was not struck. Instead, the entire surrounding water column began moving toward the entity. The vessel was dragged approximately 600 meters downward before the crew managed to activate emergency ballast systems.
Three personnel were killed during the resulting structural failure. The submersible survived long enough to reach the surface. No trace of Voidmaw was detected afterward.
The recovered sonar recording contains approximately eight seconds of complete silence immediately preceding the attack.
TriZen has designated the recording RESTRICTED.
Operational Addendum
Threat Rating: Cataclysmic
Engagement Status: PROHIBITED
Primary Risk: Predation, anomalous detection suppression, extreme-scale feeding vortex, destruction of underwater infrastructure, potential uncontrolled ascent.
Recommended Protocol: VOID PROTOCOL
TriZen personnel are forbidden from deliberately approaching, tracking, provoking or attempting to capture Voidmaw. Any confirmed detection within operational waters requires immediate cessation of nonessential activity and withdrawal from the area along the shortest verified safe route. Submersibles are to avoid rapid changes in depth, unnecessary sonar activity and any behavior that could potentially attract the entity's attention.
No conventional weapon system is considered capable of reliably incapacitating Voidmaw. Engagement is therefore prohibited except in circumstances where immediate civilian survival is otherwise impossible.
Should Voidmaw approach a populated Leviathan Zone facility, personnel are to initiate full underwater evacuation and seal all external access points. Do not attempt to lure the entity away**.** Previous simulations indicate that such a strategy would have an unacceptable probability of attracting the entity toward another facility instead.
Public Protection Measures:
Voidmaw has never been confirmed beyond the Leviathan Zone, and its dependence upon the immense depths and Primordial-rich environment of Leviathan's Trench makes surface emergence considered highly unlikely.
Nevertheless, because the consequences of such an event would be catastrophic, TriZen maintains continuous monitoring of all major connections leading toward the LZ. Deep-water sensor arrays are positioned to detect large-scale movements before an entity can approach inhabited regions.
Should anomalous pressure disturbances or unidentified Leviathan-class movement be detected near the LZ's borders, the Zone will immediately enter Black Lockdown Protocol. All civilian and nonessential personnel are evacuated, access points are sealed and maritime traffic within the surrounding region is suspended.
No attempt should be made to physically block Voidmaw.
If Leviathan's Dread reaches a the surface, the priority is evacuation, not containment.
Deviant Field Note
As Voidmaw appears to be a singular entity, deviation is entirely impossible.
