Godherja Encyclopedia

False Kraken (animal)

The false kraken, or "whaler's bane" is the largest known species of devouring brittlestar in the world, its titanic proportions allowing it to pose a threat even to mid-sized ships. Native to the northwestern isles of the Shattered Coast, the creature is a nocturnal predator that emerges from its abyssal habitat during nighttime to hunt more shallow-water fauna such as whales, sharks and unwitting ships (likely due to a simple case of mistaken identity) before retreating to its dark abode come morning.

Luring a false kraken to the surface is a relatively straightforward business - one must do so during night time while operating over known whale hotspots, all the while trying to dump as much bait into the sea as possible. In fact, the much larger problem is usually finding a suitable ship whose captain is willing to embark on such a dangerous quest - after all, false krakens have earned their name for a reason.

After days of night-time sailing and tossing pieces of whale carcass into the sea, we seem to have finally managed to attract the attention of a false kraken - our ship suddenly rocks so hard that it nearly tips sideways, and soon several huge tentacles rise from the sea and begin writhing across the deck. The crew of the ship frantically begin fighting back, and I brace myself for combat.