Qotrophay

In the religious tradition of the Eleven Cities, Qotrophay was a mighty sea monster created by the elder god Tychos to aid him in his battles against his rebellious children.

Narrative

In The Spring of Many Waters, Jalens of the South describes Qotrophay as being snakelike in form, but the size of an island, and suggests that the rowing of his mighty tail (Jalens is very clear that the monster is male) stirs up catastrophic swells, while his roaring summoned terrible winds and rain poisoned with salt.
The god Zargyod took responsibility for handling this monster, sailing out to meet him in the western environs of the Sea of Jars in a small boat. Qotrophay's waves overturn the boat, pitching the god into the water. Zargyod nevertheless keeps hold of his brass sword and is able to cut a gash in Qotrophay's side that is as long as he is tall and climb inside the monster, from whence he proceeds to wreak havoc on his internal organs, making him scream for mercy. Zargyod pauses in his labours, explaining that the battle is nothing personal; it is simply that the time for creatures such as the serpent is over, and that the sea will serve the rational, human universe from now on. With that he plunges his sword into Qotrophay's heart, killing the beast.
Zargyod emerged from Qotrophay's belly and swam to the shore of Phalenqos, pulling the corpse with him. There he broke out the monster's teeth and threw them into the sea, where they became the Serpentine Reefs.

Literary/artistic tradition

The canonical version of the story appears in the fifth poem of The Spring of Many Waters by Jalens of the South. The imagery of enormous swells towering over Zargyod's boat is a striking example of Jalens's capacity for describing natural phenomena in very precise and vivid ways, one that cause some scholars to question whether The Spring of Many Waters really was written by the simple, poorly-travelled farmer Jalens claims to be. The notion is that such imagery could only be conjured up by someone who was either extensively educated or had first-hand, probably extensive experience of sailing in stormy conditions. Running against this is a competing body of opinion arguing that no experienced sailor would ever put to sea in such conditions and that Jalens was simply possessed of a robust imagination and a respect for the power of nature.
The story is also told, in fundamentally the same form, in the preamble to the extensive chapter of The Book of Favour dealing with maritime trade. The discussion appears only in pre-Wesmodian editions of the book, having obviously fallen out of favour after the Wesmodian Reformation. Some editions of the book produced in the last century or so have included it for historical interest. These editions are copies of the original book kept at the Chogyos Customhouse. 
The myth is likely to be the source of the tradition of bordering the pages of copies of The Book of Favour with depictions of roiling serpents. 

Commentary

The myth clearly cements Jalens's perception of Zargyod as a god of the sea rather than the god of luck, fortune and commerce he eventually became. It is also an interesting and rare example of Zargyod engaging in direct physical action, crawling inside his foe and destroying them via physical force. Thaumatologists with an interest in the sea, salinity, and the magic of battle and beasts often find themselves referring to this myth.