The main feature that has been consistent across stories is that krakens seem to be part crab, part lobster, and part squid. They have a long carapace that is hard enough such that not even a cannon ball could pierce it. The front of their body is equipped with several long crab-like legs that help them move along the ocean-floor as well as across land. Finally, the kraken's maw which resides in its front is easily visible to greet any who unfortunately have to fight this monstrosity. Usually there's over a dozen tentacles, and the power of two alone could easily rip a man in half.
Stories suggest that krakens on the smaller end are about forty feet long from front to back while the largest kraken is supposedly over six hundred feet in length without counting the length of the tentacles attached to its maw.
There are an innumerable amount of stories told about krakens. Some believe that there is one single kraken that lurks the northern seas and that it was a gift the
Maker bestowed upon
her people to fight the wretched Tevinter Imperium. Others believe it is but another beast... a monstrous, feral beast whose only motivation is to drag poor sailors down to the depths of the ocean for Maker knows what.
Throughout history, krakens have served as a primeval force who wields the power to obliterate the greatest achievements of civilization as if they were castles in the sand. Galleons and warships vanish when its tentacles uncoil from the deep, the kraken breaking their masts like kindling before drawing down ships and crew. Its mere existence has made certain trade routes impossible to use and has made all but the foolish sailors fear its very existence, even if they have never bore witness to it.
Appearances in Rivaini Culture
The Kraken and the Witch
Just inland from Rivain's eastern coast lies a mountain range filled with some of the most fertile grounds in all of Thedas. This land was not always like this. Instead, supposedly, it used to be arid dry-land where not a single form of life could be found. Stories told by Rivaini seers tell that before man had ever even understood how to record history, a volcano began to grow in the middle of this arid land. At the start, the volcano wanted nothing other than to be alone so it began to puff black smoke into the air. The people who occupied the land now known as Rivain saw this black smoke, but refused to leave their lands behind. This enraged the volcano, so it began to constantly spill black smoke from its peak until the entire sky was eclipsed in darkness. Still, the people did not leave. In its rage, the volcano erupted in black fire that then rained down from the sky. The people were forced to take their ships and leave, fleeing to isles in the north.
In one small coastal village, a family of five was forced to flee but their boat could take only four. The father and mother agreed that the eldest son was needed for the father was too old to rebuild a home from scratch and the youngest daughter was needed for she was not tainted by
magic unlike her older sister. The middle child, the eldest daughter, was left alone. After three days, she ran out of food. On the outskirts of her village was an altar where she had seen shamans supplicate towards the sea. As she reached the stone outcropping, she saw it was lit by the black fire. Feeling hopeless, she fell to her knees and began to beg for mercy. Moments later, the sea rose before her and extinguished all the flames within a mile of her. As she looked up, she saw the single eye of a massive squid extend outwards for miles. The creature raised one single tentacle and crushed it from Rivain's northern peninsula to southern coasts. In so doing, it trapped the volcano. Immediately the black skies faded around her.
The kraken called out to her, asking to understand her pain and grief for it did not understand such concepts. In her confusion and desperation, she manifested her magic and bound this creature to her. In this way, the kraken now understood her emotions but lost all of its own autonomy. Swearing that she would seek vengeance upon her family and all sailors, she had the kraken rip off the one tentacle and then took the both of them to the depths of the ocean where they two would plot until the end of time. Thus was born the Witch of the Northern Seas.
By the time anyone returned, the tentacle had petrified itself but not before spreading sea waters unto the land and fertilizing it. All that was left behind was a hardened, fertile mountain range. The sister, however, was never seen again.
For those Rivaini that believe this tale but have to leave home, it is not uncommon for them to keep a pouch of dirt from this mountain as it is seen as a good luck charm.
The Tale of Asha Campagna
Ask any Rivaini and they'll be able to tell you the tale of Asha Campagna, the woman who at the young age of 20 openly inspired the coastal people to revolt against the Tevinter Imperium. At the time, the land now known as Rivain was only another region of the Imperium. The tale comes to a climax when Asha devises a plan to defeat her enemies, despite them being far more powerful. All on her own, she goads all of Tevinter's warships into the Venification Sea whereupon the sea begins to lift itself up as if coming to life. The water shifts each and every way only to reveal that a single kraken is tearing apart over two dozen of humanity's strongest ships all on its own.
With this story being such an important piece of cultural knowledge, it is unsurprising that Rivaini children have a strange obsession with the kraken. Many fear that it will one day crawl out from out of the waters and devour their land whole. Historically, there isn't much precedence for this but adults traditionally let the kids believe that just such an event might happen. The symbol of the kraken has also become the insignia of some Rivaini craftsmen who may also stylize their works to contain etchings or markings that resemble the appearance of this creature.
The Festival of Shelter
In Rivain, some villages have an interest in this creature that goes beyond just story-telling. They see it as a force of nature in a similar vain as a hurricane or tornado. However, it is also acknowledged that krakens are different because they are living beings. At one point long ago, there was a well-respected holiday known as the Festival of Shelter that the people of Rivain celebrated. The kraken was meant to be the central idea of this festival. Over time the purpose of this festival has become deluded however, especially with there being no well-respected central authority in Rivain anymore to guide tradition. Instead, each village has their own traditions which govern this festival. Some villages celebrate the kraken's existence and see it as an entity that reinforces their spiritual views. Others villages spend the festival performing the actions that could be considered "spiting" towards the kraken, showing their disdain or fear for the creature.
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