CULT OF THE SEA
Moonlight danced on crashing waves, their thunderous energy spent in frothing fury on the face of the unyielding cliff. A wave receded, revealing the slender tip of a sinewy tentacle, clinging tenuously to the jagged wall of dripping stone. The full orb of the glowing moon was the irresistible lure, summoning the creature from the deep with a primitive urge. Another wave rushed in, buoying a dark shape upward from the murky depths. The water ebbed, and now three tentacles grasped for purchase, powerful suckers holding fast to the glistening rock. Straining, the appendages pulled, hefting the creature’s rounded body from the water. It was a misshapen blob, mottled black and green, perhaps four feet in diameter. A dismissive glance might fashion it as but a common squid or octopus, but closer inspection would reveal …