Broadside Whales

a species of blackpowder-infused whales, once common throughout the Bindkelp Sea though now in a state of considerable rarity.
although Broadside Whales resemble the gentle giants they are related to, reaching up to 50ft in length and living mostly on tiny organisms in the water. however, amidst the barnacles that dot their sides are foot-wide outgrowths that superficially resemble the fauna that clings to them. when the whale is threatened, however, they can detonate blackpowder charges that form in cavities within the growths, blasting outwards in deadly jets of hot gas and shell-like fragments. the direct inspiration for cannon, the natural equivalent is far more deadly, able to reduce a large ship to matchwood in a matter of minutes.
Their immense attack power was the backbone of the first Blackpowder Coast Cartel, who succeeded in taming and training these creatures to accompany their fleets as attack and defence forces. however, once the Cartel's price-control policies fell apart and the system collapsed, some unscrupulous merchants turned upon the whales as a source of quick, high-quality blackpowder. Though this was some 850 years ago, numbers have yet to rise appreciably in the meantime, especially since the creatures have gained such a violent reputation that they are mistrusted across their entire range.
the price these whales pay for their deadly infusion is that they must breed along the Blackpowder Coast, in areas where the water is rich in Blackpowder Barnacles.
Broadside whales never successfully carried to the Reach - or at least, never established a breeding population. Only one is ever recorded there - a lonely singleton who went on a rampage once released.

Origin/Ancestry

Blackpowder Coast