Legendary Profile — The Kraken
“I first saw the thing from a distance. Within a breathless minute it had approached the ship. The setting sun was blocked out, giving us a moment of dark and silent peace before its tentacles hit home. I remember the screams of the crew, and I remember how the ship snapped like a twig, but for the life of me, I cannot remember how I survived the Kraken. Perhaps the beast left me with a curse, a curse to tell the tale.”
-Vyrkov Pummelswain, only known Kraken survivor
The Kraken
Splinter — ΛZMΛRÉ
Class — Humongous Tank
Size — Scholars and math mages have attempted to calculate the size of the Kraken, but both the task and the monster have proven impossibly huge. With such a large amount of weight, the simple fact that the Kraken can swim is evidence of its sheer strength and power.
Lifespan — There may be more than one Kraken, but two have never been spotted at the same time. Legend has it that each Kraken lives for a thousand years. Near its natural death, the Kraken lays a single egg, which it then spends the remainder of its life protecting. By the time the new Kraken egg hatches, the parent has died, so sadly, the Kraken never knows its mother.
Habitat — Because of its immensity, there are many waterways that cannot handle passage of the Kraken, such as the strait that runs between the Burning Lands and Mortis. It mostly stays in the deeper waters of the Outer Ocean, surrounding the Splinterlands. Once in the fifth century AS, the beast somehow found its way through the Darkwater into the inners of ΛZMΛRÉ, where it wreaked utter havoc until freeing itself by destroying the gates of Port Anenon. The visit must have been no more pleasant for the Kraken than it was for the people of ΛZMΛRÉ; it has never wandered so close to civilization since.
Weapon — It is like a small Human to think of weapons in regard to a monster as big as the Kraken. It is so massive that the sea itself is its weapon. In one of the Kraken’s favorite attacks, it pushes itself powerfully toward the surface, leaping out of the water. When it lands, the wave is so large that surrounding sea creatures can be easily beached, then picked up by one of the Kraken’s tentacles, some of which extend for miles.
Diet — The Kraken enjoys a diet rich in seafood… a diet of entirely seafood. Many more traditional large sea creatures eat vast quantities of small fish, but the Kraken eats the biggest fish that it can find. Whales, sharks, whale-sharks. These are mere appetizers for the Kraken, when it feels like snaken. One of its favorite meals is the greater decapus of the deep water, a gigantic mollusca that makes a giant squid look like a child’s bath toy.
Allies — In its immense face, the Kraken shows signs of an almost diabolical intelligence, but it does not communicate with any others in the Splinterlands. The only species known to have the ability to communicate with the Kraken are the Mer. They are the ones who were able to convince the monster to leave the bounds of ΛZMΛRÉ when it became trapped there years ago. So the Mer would be considered friends of the Kraken, but the Merfolk are always far away from where the Kraken resides.
Enemies — The Pirates of ΛZMΛRÉ have sailed further than anyone else in the Splinterlands, and some would say further than anyone should. Many ships that fly the Pirate flag have met the Kraken in the wild open sea, and the encounters have never gone well. Pirate captains always think they can best the Kraken. One brave pirate even climbed into the Kraken’s mouth once while it was float-sleeping, attempting to take a chip of a tooth as a trophy. He was of course eaten. Through the years, the Kraken has come to dislike the Pirate flag of ΛZMΛRÉ.
Pastimes — One of the Kraken’s favorite pleasure activities is floating. It is uncanny that the thing can actually float leisurely across the water, but it has been seen by hundreds. The Kraken fills its whole body with air (the Kraken’s body is like a giant lung), spreads its tentacles and closes its mouth. Then it just drifts for hours on the water, never noticing tiny ships in its path.
