Myth of the Crocodile People

Within Alexandria there is a legend told of a dangerous lake in the Empire at which people are known to encounter horrendous crocodile monsters that that take away and sometimes even eat disobedient children and criminals.

Summary

Alexandrians have an urban legend of a lake containing strange malevolent crocodile creatures that do heinous things to those who step out of line. Most residents take it for face value as an old wives tale used to scare children, however sometimes one might come across a supposed survivor of the lake creatures detailing towering "crocodile men" that feed on those foolish enough to approach the lake, but these encounters are far and few between. Very rarely will you hear of the tale of the crocodile lake outside of Alexandria, and it is within Alexandria that this myth generally stays contained.

Historical Basis

The history of the crocodile people has been muddied over the years, as only a handful of people seem to have experienced them first hand, or so they say. The myth has been passed down orally for generations and so it has developed variations from city to city, and since it isn't readily available in writing very few people genuinely know the origins of the legend that are alive at the very least.

Spread

The myth of the crocodile people is known among most people within Alexandria, however outside of there it is only known in passing as few seem to have ever ventured out onto the lake and actually survived, providing some plausibility to the myth.

Variations & Mutation

Depending on the specific area of Alexandria that one finds themself in, they might here a different version of the myth. In a smaller town such as Rivendel, one might hear of the crocodile men that take naughty children away in the night if they misbehave. Unlike Rivedel however, in a lager city such as Celadon might reference the cursed lake full of crocodile creature that take adventurers and travelers into its depths never to be seen again, and that sometimes one might even be unfortunate enough to see the creatures congregate above water and wonder if they really will storm a town and steal the bad children and wrong doers from their homes.

Cultural Reception

Most other large cities and and cultures disregard the myth of the crocodile people as nothing more than an old wives tale and a joke to mock those who would mention it in a tavern. Occasionally a traveler might set out to discover the truth of the lake, however nobody really ever comes back with the truth, or comes back at all.

In Literature

On rare occasions one might find mention of the crocodile creatures that take people away and/or their lake, but few scribes and loremasters find value in an old wives tale and thus very few books can be found that make mention of it.