Iku Nagae as she appears in Kaijusokyo (alternate touhou universe, I've been working on).

Worshipped as a deity of thunder and lightning, Iku slithers through the clouds above, her immense eel like body creating rolls of thunder as she approaches. To the humans who live on the Lost Continent of Primordials, she is a goddess of the storm and they give her sacrifices to appease her and to show their thanks for calm weathers.

Beyond the worship of human mortals, Iku is second of the 3 Heavenly Dragons, the highest ranked of the Divine Beasts that were once close allies of the Angels during the early ages of Kaijusokyo. She is of a race of Sky Fish that can only be found in heaven, born of the union between a Sky Eel and a Sky Oarfish. The early years of Iku can date back to the birth of humanity, her earliest interactions with mankind being in the form of a child when she fell from the heavens when she was learning to fly. The humans, unsure of what she was, believed the gods had dropped her from heaven and was testing them. For this reason, they took the sky eel in and took care of her. Iku would, in return, protect the village from lightning with the use of her powers. Eventually, Iku would take to the sky years later and has since been seen as a god of lightning by the humans.

Years later, the Celestials (who were born of both Angel and Human blood) invaded heaven and usurped Sariel of her throne, casting her into the depths of Makai thereafter. With most of the Angels fleeing heaven to attend to their former master. The Divine Beasts were put under the command of the Heavenly Dragons were employed by the Celestials as Gatekeepers and overseers of the once holy domain. Each Dragon commanding a choir of Divine Beasts to help protect Heaven from would be invaders. Iku herself is the second highest ranked of the Heavenly Dragons and watches over the 5th, 6th and 7th Grotto Aethers of Heaven.

One of the many ancient texts of Heida no Akyuu states, however, that once Sariel rises again from Makai (her visage ushering in a great war between the Angels and the Celestials for control of Heaven), is the beginning of the Endtimes for Kaijusokyo. It is written that Iku was tasked with cleansing the Grotto Aethers of Celestialkind by use of her powers of divine lightning. The purge will take the form of an immense storm cloud Iku will conjure and spread it across heaven, the lightning destroying all Celestial life and leveling their civilizations to be rebuilt by Sariel. Below, these storm clouds will darken the sky like the blackest of shadows and will bring forth lightning of untold amounts of destruction.

The Lamprey at Iku's flanks can suck the life and electricity from all things, sending what energy they absorb into Iku's belly. The electricity however has a tendency to convert itself into excess body fat and thus an Iku whom is overcharged with lightning appears fattened.

Please login to post a comment.