The Elder

File:Theelder.png
Guide for Elder Encounters can be found in Elder Fight.

## Description

Before all of its spawn, commonly called "tentacle beasts\*, spread out and began infesting the upper layers, before the first ape uttered a word to another, before the first carbon atoms began arranging themselves into complex self-replicating machines that could one day be called cells, there was The Elder.

It's faster than you, smarter than you, and unfathomably large on a similar scale to the Abyss itself. If it so desired, it could unfurl one of its many vast tentacles, reach it up all the way through the Abyss, and crush a Fell Dragon, a Dune Devouring Borer, or a Drifting Swallower with little or no effort. It already knows you're here; it sensed you the moment your body brushed the surface of the water. The only reason it hasn't attacked yet is because travelers this far down are rare enough to pique its interest. It watches you from deep within the stygian gloom, so distant that it's impossible to tell whether the "main body" - if such a concept holds meaning for a creature of this scale - rests somewhere above you or below you. However, you can rest assured that one of its many tentacles is always squirming somewhere nearby in the dark.

After 25 days in this layer, it will begin to toy with you, likely starting with just ripping off a limb, maybe two. If it succeeds, you'll need an immediate medkit to avoid infection and bleeding to death. Even Khemia's master swordsmanship can only do so much against tentacles this fast, huge, strong, and numerous. Even with the Sunbeam Relic, he can only hold them off for so long. It'll barely notice just about any attack you can throw at it - it's simply too huge. An expert barrage of bullets, some explosions, even completely cutting through a massive tentacle - they all amount to no more than light scratches and paper cuts.

You'll need exceptionally creative use of powerful Relics just to stand a chance at enduring its attacks. The alien composition of its body flies in the face of the current understanding of biology, having no blood, brain, vital organs, or really any clear weak points or reliable way of killing it. Even finding the main body somewhere in this layer to begin with would be a challenge. Your best bet is to take all the Relics, supplies, and companions you've gained on your adventure and use them to escape The Elder and endure its attacks for as long as you can.

Be very careful about bringing out any Relics in this layer. It's smart enough to easily work out the function of most of them at a glance, and then can quickly plan circles around strategies involving them with its superior intellect. In fact, don't even think too hard about your Relics, or it might get a good idea of them from the cocktail of emotional response pheromones you leak into the water. If you're hoping for any chance of surprising it, remember that this entire layer is its eyes and ears (as well as various other appendages with no human equivalent.) It already knows all the Relics to be found in this layer, of course.

Even having it lightly play with you is fatal, but it decided when you entered this layer that it didn't want you swimming about for more than 50 days. If you're in this layer longer than that, it'll begin "fighting" in earnest, forcing you into this layer's Habitation option unless you have an incredibly smart plan to somehow defeat this unfathomable enemy or continue avoiding it when it decides to take you seriously. It might end up engaging you seriously earlier if you somehow prove to be a credible threat to it before then.