Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5914541-20131019153409/@comment-5914541-20140116010236

Pierre Hoffstommer was a notable Grimm who lived from 1759 to 1846. During his life, he rarely slaughtered Wesen, like his colleagues surely did, instead he used his abilities to study Wesen and his reports are considered some of the most comprehensive on Wesen ever written. Hoffstommer had a facsination for the ocean and his career as a Grimm often melded with his career as a marine biologist and boat captain. Pierre's studies focused primarily on aquatic Wesen species, that is to say, not Wesen that just resemble aquatic animals but Wesen that actually live either primarily or totally in the water. He did many studies on Naiads and even discovered some related species. Pierre discovered the Pacific Sea-Maid, a beautifully rare creature that can be found swimming around grand coral reefs, but rarely on land (although they do have a human form and appear to woge, thus they are considered Wesen); he also discovered the Caribbean Mermaid, which is more often seen on land because they live close to the Caribbean coast, where they lure men to their death. A third species discovered by Pierre is the '''Atlantic Sea King. '''All three of these species have very extreme woges, but they can only woge underwater because they lose their legs. Pacific Sea-Maids have seahorse-like tails and extravagant finnage as well as green and blue skin colorations, they look like a humanoid mash-up of many tropical fish species. Caribbean Mermaids have shrimp-like tails and beautiful fins. Atlantic Sea Kings have long, tapering and scaly bodies as well as lionfish-like fins on the head and arms.

The following entry from Hoffstommer's personal journal describes an event that greatly disturbed him because his life was almost ended by the ocean.

April 6, 1839

"THEY'RE DEAD! They. Are. Dead. My entire crew! How could I have let this happen? Let me start from the beginning.

''This was not my first journey to Greece, but by far the worst. I was piloting my ship and crew through a series of small and jagged islands not far from Mykonos. We came to a very narrow straight that we had to pass, but I was not worried for my crew was very experienced. I got a strange feeling before entering the straight, I sensed Wesen. There were no Wesen in my crew, but I still did not worry, I assumed I was sensing a school of Naiads swimming somewhere near the boat, I had seen many schools in the area. In the narrowest portion of the straight, we sailed slowly past a massive, dark cave, it felt dangerous. I kept my head forward until I heard shouts and other loud noises. I turned to witness members of my crew fighting with long-necked monsters and more of the creatures were jumping onto the boat from the cave. ''

''I have studied the ocean and sailed all my life. I know that the fabled sea serpent is no fable and that giant squids, bigger than boats, truly do thrive in the deep. I also know that there are Wesen that resemble these monsters. I have encountered a Fidi-Thalassa, a hulking sea serpent creature that swims through the oceans with a long, muscular body, eating Naiads and sharks. A Fidi-Thalassa is one of the only Wesen I have ever rightfully killed, when the monster crawled onto the shore and woged into a seemingly normal human, miniscule compared to its monster from, intent on killing the weakest members of the nearby village.''

''These beasts that were attacking my crew were not Fidi-Thalassa, nor any other serpent Wesen that is commonly seen. However, I did recognize them. The dark green scaled bodies, long necks, sharp fangs, glowing red eyes, faces snouted like a crocodile. What I was witnessing was a Varka Epidromeas attack. These monsters attack so quickly and effectively that they have been romanticized as a single entity, a monster called Scylla.''

''I killed many of the Varka Epidromeas, for they are surprisingly easy to behead if you have the refexes of a Grimm, but they continued to stream from the cave. After they had killed much of the crew, one of them showed their human form after realizing I was a Grimm and then promptly alerted his brethren before I could lop off his head. I was cornered by a group of five in a lower deck and they subdued me before dragging me to their cave.''

''The Varka Epidromeas community was carved from stone deep within the earth. A group of approximately 200 lived in homes carved into cavern walls and the entire society thrived off of what was raided from passing ships. As far as I know, I was the first outsider to have a glimpse at one of these unique Wesen cities and survive. I was abandoned in a small room to await the sacrifice, but the creatures had understimated my strength. I was able to untie my bounds in about fifteen minutes and then had to break down the thick wooden door, most likely taken from a cargo ship. Kicking the lock caused the door to collapse outward and I navigated a series of stone corridors towards safety, killing seven Varka Epidromeas on my way. I sailed away quickly, all alone.''

For the past two weeks, I have refused to talk to anyone, but I realize that I will have to overcome this tragedy at some point."

I had this idea today, sorry it's so long.