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Description

Gezora

Intro: Tales of sea monsters have prevailed throughout human history. Among the most infamous of these beings was the kraken; an enormous cephalopod-like monster whose tentacles were able to drag down whole ships to their doom. Among the most perplexing incarnations of this myth could be found on the island of Selgio, in the South Pacific. The vanished culture of this very remote island had erected large stone statues, similar in construct to the Moai of Easter island. Their subject matter, though, was quite different, depicting erect, squid-like beings. The culture that built these strange monoliths is long gone, most likely due to ecological collapse after prolonged isolation. The few neighboring islands that remember them whisper vaguely of a sea-god, or monster, that came upon the island long ago, hence their reason for avoiding any route that passed near the cursed area. Today, the statues of Selgio remain one of the oddest mysteries of the ancient world, and a noteworthy destination for seekers of strange places.

Since 1954, after myths of ancient monsters were no longer made so light of, the island was researched extensively by FATHOM. No solid proof of an ancient kaiju encounter was uncovered, though linguists were able to deduce the name given to the statues as “Gezora”. In the decades between the discovery of Godzilla and his revelation to the general public, there were dozens of cases of sudden, baffling ship and plane disappearances at sea. Godzilla’s location was monitored extensively, and was eventually ruled out as a possible cause. It was speculated that other, undocumented sea monsters may have already begun to activate. Nothing definitive was ever proven, though, and it almost became a joke within FATHOM to refer to any unexplained disappearances at sea as the work of the alleged “Gezora”. The following years would prove these conjectures were no laughing matter…

Story: After thousands of years, the living island of Mu had returned to the surface, stranding several naval ships, which were formally engaged with the escaping Komodithrax, upon its back. After communication was lost, a rescue operation was prepared. Over the next few days, a multinational fleet amassed around the super organism. This included the Atragon, an experimental anti-kaiju armored submarine. The rescue/recon team itself would deploy via aerial/submersible mini-transport, Super-X.

Shortly after launch, however, contact was lost with one of the subs patrolling beneath the living island. Then, more subs began disappearing, though scans failed to pinpoint the threat. It was when the Atragon itself was attacked, and alone among the subs survived, that a proper warning was sent to the surface. Unfortunately, it came too late.

The rumored cephalopod god, Gezora, literally flew to the surface, taking out a few aircraft with his entrance. What followed was one of the most chaotic, confused, and disorganized battles against a single kaiju so far. Gezora seemed to pursue the rescue team as they made their way towards Mu, but was distracted by the larger vessels firing upon him. After destroying three ships and crippling several others, the kaiju was gone as abruptly as he had arrived. In spite of the fleets’ losses, the rescue team successfully landed on Mu.

The team hiked across the living island’s surface for hours, noting the rapidity of the ecosystem’s terrestrial reestablishment and the relative docility of the kaiju organisms. The marooned ships were located one by one, but no trace of any crewmembers was found. Soon, though, they found themselves under siege by a horde of Ganime. They became trapped between these and the island’s alpha Kamoebas. But the Ganime were not just attacking, they were running away…

Gezora reappeared upon Mu’s surface, having slipped up through the island’s internal caverns. He engaged both Ganimes and Kamoebas in battle, almost appearing to toy with the smaller kaiju. But soon, larger kaiju, including Komodithrax began to arrive, forcing the cephalopod to retreat once more. During the confusion, the rescue team appeared to be “rescued” themselves by the native Seatopians. They were taken beneath Mu’s surface, to the mutated humanoids’ home, where they were to be given a message and meet the true native gods of Mu…

Abilities: Cephalopoda include some of the strangest and most biologically ingenuitive lifeforms on Earth. Gezora takes this to the extreme. Though he resembles a squid, evidence of a reduced rostrum may indicate a belemnite ancestry, though exact phylogenetic placement may be impossible. His body is highly elastic, able to stretch and compress to a degree proportionally much greater than that of other cephalopods. His nervous and muscular systems are so intertwined that they are practically a single organ, giving him very swift reflexes and fine motor coordination.

That coordination is used to swim with high speed and agility with both fins and jet propulsion, which can sometimes launch him out of the water at considerable heights. Prey is snatched via a pair of retractable arms that greatly extend his striking range and bear several rows of lethal hooks. Nearer the body, ten sucker-lined tentacles, each rimmed with teeth, make for difficult opponents, as each one is able to act independently. He has also been observed moving these appendages in such a way as to generate whirlpools on the surface, throwing prey off-balance. His razor-sharp beak is able to slice through metal hulls like eggshells. He can modulate his body temperature into order to avoid heat-detection, but also, by a chemical process still poorly understood, soften his beak and talons for added flexibility when hiding.

Gezora is a master of optical illusions. His skin is coated with a highly complex pattern of chromatophores, photophores, iridophores, and leucophores which enable him to become practically invisible in the deep blue sea. Amazingly, the skin seems to redistribute and absorb sonar and radar pulses as well, making him nearly impossible to track. His skin is also able to reflect patterns of light in such a way as to create three-dimensional illusions, like a biological hologram. Gezora may use this ability to appear larger, smaller, in a different location, or in multiple locations at once. This level of coordinated camouflage takes a great deal of concentration, though, and he usually must reveal himself directly before an attack.

Optical tricks aside, Gezora can also produce a cloud of dense ink while retreating. The thick mucus in this cloud will retain an imprint of his bioelectrical signature, forming into a pseudomorph capable of limited active motion to best distract an enemy while the original escapes. As a last resort, the swiftly-changing patterns of his skin can induce seizures. His eyes also seem to have hypnotic effects up close, but what purpose this may serve is still a matter of debate. As his nervous system is evenly distributed, Gezora can regenerate from incredible amounts of damage given a source of radiation.

Character: Gezora is a fickle and unpredictable kaiju whose motives are often impossible to determine. He can be ruthless in pursuit of what he deems as prey, sometimes even going so far as to lumber his way onto land. Despite this, he almost seems playful at times when bewildering prey or enemies. He usually prefers to live under the radar, though he usually has no problem being noticed when he wants to be. He appears to make a game of pushing the boundaries of engagement with larger foes in particular, though he has enough experience to know exactly when to retreat.

Though his occasional aggressive tendencies mark him for termination, some FATHOM experts warn of the possibility of asexual reproduction via bodily fragments. Unless a method for complete destruction can be assured, Gezora is to be closely monitored to the best of our abilities and engaged with drone-subs whenever he wants to play one of his “games”.

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Gezora is copyrighted by Toho

Description

Gezora

Intro: Tales of sea monsters have prevailed throughout human history. Among the most infamous of these beings was the kraken; an enormous cephalopod-like monster whose tentacles were able to drag down whole ships to their doom. Among the most perplexing incarnations of this myth could be found on the island of Selgio, in the South Pacific. The vanished culture of this very remote island had erected large stone statues, similar in construct to the Moai of Easter island. Their subject matter, though, was quite different, depicting erect, squid-like beings. The culture that built these strange monoliths is long gone, most likely due to ecological collapse after prolonged isolation. The few neighboring islands that remember them whisper vaguely of a sea-god, or monster, that came upon the island long ago, hence their reason for avoiding any route that passed near the cursed area. Today, the statues of Selgio remain one of the oddest mysteries of the ancient world, and a noteworthy destination for seekers of strange places.

Since 1954, after myths of ancient monsters were no longer made so light of, the island was researched extensively by FATHOM. No solid proof of an ancient kaiju encounter was uncovered, though linguists were able to deduce the name given to the statues as “Gezora”. In the decades between the discovery of Godzilla and his revelation to the general public, there were dozens of cases of sudden, baffling ship and plane disappearances at sea. Godzilla’s location was monitored extensively, and was eventually ruled out as a possible cause. It was speculated that other, undocumented sea monsters may have already begun to activate. Nothing definitive was ever proven, though, and it almost became a joke within FATHOM to refer to any unexplained disappearances at sea as the work of the alleged “Gezora”. The following years would prove these conjectures were no laughing matter…

Story: After thousands of years, the living island of Mu had returned to the surface, stranding several naval ships, which were formally engaged with the escaping Komodithrax, upon its back. After communication was lost, a rescue operation was prepared. Over the next few days, a multinational fleet amassed around the super organism. This included the Atragon, an experimental anti-kaiju armored submarine. The rescue/recon team itself would deploy via aerial/submersible mini-transport, Super-X.

Shortly after launch, however, contact was lost with one of the subs patrolling beneath the living island. Then, more subs began disappearing, though scans failed to pinpoint the threat. It was when the Atragon itself was attacked, and alone among the subs survived, that a proper warning was sent to the surface. Unfortunately, it came too late.

The rumored cephalopod god, Gezora, literally flew to the surface, taking out a few aircraft with his entrance. What followed was one of the most chaotic, confused, and disorganized battles against a single kaiju so far. Gezora seemed to pursue the rescue team as they made their way towards Mu, but was distracted by the larger vessels firing upon him. After destroying three ships and crippling several others, the kaiju was gone as abruptly as he had arrived. In spite of the fleets’ losses, the rescue team successfully landed on Mu.

The team hiked across the living island’s surface for hours, noting the rapidity of the ecosystem’s terrestrial reestablishment and the relative docility of the kaiju organisms. The marooned ships were located one by one, but no trace of any crewmembers was found. Soon, though, they found themselves under siege by a horde of Ganime. They became trapped between these and the island’s alpha Kamoebas. But the Ganime were not just attacking, they were running away…

Gezora reappeared upon Mu’s surface, having slipped up through the island’s internal caverns. He engaged both Ganimes and Kamoebas in battle, almost appearing to toy with the smaller kaiju. But soon, larger kaiju, including Komodithrax began to arrive, forcing the cephalopod to retreat once more. During the confusion, the rescue team appeared to be “rescued” themselves by the native Seatopians. They were taken beneath Mu’s surface, to the mutated humanoids’ home, where they were to be given a message and meet the true native gods of Mu…

Abilities: Cephalopoda include some of the strangest and most biologically ingenuitive lifeforms on Earth. Gezora takes this to the extreme. Though he resembles a squid, evidence of a reduced rostrum may indicate a belemnite ancestry, though exact phylogenetic placement may be impossible. His body is highly elastic, able to stretch and compress to a degree proportionally much greater than that of other cephalopods. His nervous and muscular systems are so intertwined that they are practically a single organ, giving him very swift reflexes and fine motor coordination.

That coordination is used to swim with high speed and agility with both fins and jet propulsion, which can sometimes launch him out of the water at considerable heights. Prey is snatched via a pair of retractable arms that greatly extend his striking range and bear several rows of lethal hooks. Nearer the body, ten sucker-lined tentacles, each rimmed with teeth, make for difficult opponents, as each one is able to act independently. He has also been observed moving these appendages in such a way as to generate whirlpools on the surface, throwing prey off-balance. His razor-sharp beak is able to slice through metal hulls like eggshells. He can modulate his body temperature into order to avoid heat-detection, but also, by a chemical process still poorly understood, soften his beak and talons for added flexibility when hiding.

Gezora is a master of optical illusions. His skin is coated with a highly complex pattern of chromatophores, photophores, iridophores, and leucophores which enable him to become practically invisible in the deep blue sea. Amazingly, the skin seems to redistribute and absorb sonar and radar pulses as well, making him nearly impossible to track. His skin is also able to reflect patterns of light in such a way as to create three-dimensional illusions, like a biological hologram. Gezora may use this ability to appear larger, smaller, in a different location, or in multiple locations at once. This level of coordinated camouflage takes a great deal of concentration, though, and he usually must reveal himself directly before an attack.

Optical tricks aside, Gezora can also produce a cloud of dense ink while retreating. The thick mucus in this cloud will retain an imprint of his bioelectrical signature, forming into a pseudomorph capable of limited active motion to best distract an enemy while the original escapes. As a last resort, the swiftly-changing patterns of his skin can induce seizures. His eyes also seem to have hypnotic effects up close, but what purpose this may serve is still a matter of debate. As his nervous system is evenly distributed, Gezora can regenerate from incredible amounts of damage given a source of radiation.

Character: Gezora is a fickle and unpredictable kaiju whose motives are often impossible to determine. He can be ruthless in pursuit of what he deems as prey, sometimes even going so far as to lumber his way onto land. Despite this, he almost seems playful at times when bewildering prey or enemies. He usually prefers to live under the radar, though he usually has no problem being noticed when he wants to be. He appears to make a game of pushing the boundaries of engagement with larger foes in particular, though he has enough experience to know exactly when to retreat.

Though his occasional aggressive tendencies mark him for termination, some FATHOM experts warn of the possibility of asexual reproduction via bodily fragments. Unless a method for complete destruction can be assured, Gezora is to be closely monitored to the best of our abilities and engaged with drone-subs whenever he wants to play one of his “games”.

----------
Gezora is copyrighted by Toho