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The Fantasy Kraken: The Powerful Leviathan of the Sea
Sunfire
CONTENTS
Overview
Many stories in fantasy feature at least one part where the protagonist travels across the sea. Some lean deeply into life on the ocean, highlighting how sailors survive and receive sustenance as they navigate the world’s seas whereas others explore a darker side of the ocean. The seas are known for vicious monsters that have a reputation for attacking travelers such as sharks but they all pale to that of the fearsome fantasy kraken.
The kraken is known for its gargantuan size. It is the story of legends and its sporadic appearances throughout decades and centuries only adds to its mystique. This colossal squid is considered the master of the sea and even the mightiest shark knows not to mess with such a vicious beast.
The fantasy kraken doesn’t just rely on its massive size to get what it wants, it boasts an array of formidable powers which it uses to devastating effect. Powers such as its long tentacles are capable of effortlessly splintering a ship’s hull to pieces, causing it to capsize in a number of seconds and leave all of its crew flailing about in the water. When angered, it throws its whole body upon a ship, instantly annihilating everything onboard, including the ship and its crew.
In terms of the story, the kraken takes center stage in the scenes it appears in and it isn’t just because of its size. It’s because it is a rare, powerful beast that can destroy anything at a moment’s whim which makes it a very dangerous adversary for the protagonist and his allies to confront. The kraken is known for terrorizing the seas, making maritime travel treacherous, especially during storms and hurricanes.
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The Colossal Size of the Fantasy Kraken
No matter which world and story it appears in, the kraken has several key features that people associate it with. The most important one is that of its ginormous size and smart creators make excellent use of it to tell a compelling story using it as a villain. To many people, this squid-like creature is not to be trifled with, lest they get crushed into oblivion.
While many stories showcase the fantasy kraken in varying sizes, it is nevertheless still presented as a formidable creature. Some tales have it as tall as a row of ships lined up from front to back whereas others have it as high as a building that has five or more floors. The tentacled terror knows perfectly well that its great hulk is an advantage and it makes great use of it.
The typical kraken has two eyes though in some places, it may have more. Some with four or more have their eyes strategically placed, as if to survey everything around it, ensuring that nothing can sneak upon it without it noticing. Their eyes are capable of spotting even the smallest object from a far distance, enabling it to pounce upon it without it being seen.
People generally assume that the larger a creature is, the slower it is to move because it requires more energy for it to move. Not so for the fantasy kraken. As the master of the ocean, it has complete control over the water and it uses it to propel its body forward or backward. In fact, it can even expend energy to generate powerful waves using its great body and still have plenty left over to swim.
When up on the surface, it emits bloodcurdling sounds that send chills down the bone of the even the sternest sailor. It howls, screams, and snarls while its tentacles and body make crashing noises as they grind the objects they strike to dust. This beast uses the sounds it makes to immobilize sailors and make it easier for it to grab and consume.
The Powers the Fantasy Kraken Wields
The leviathan creature known as the kraken boasts an impressive arsenal of powers it uses when engaged in combat whether it’s a boat or another sea creature. Should a person muster up the courage to fight such a fearsome monster, he needs to know what it is capable of doing so that he can guard against such attacks. It could literally mean the difference between victory and death.
The first power the fantasy kraken makes great use of is its body. It throws its body upon its target, using its sheer size to break it into pieces. Even the greatest battleship in the world couldn’t withstand such crushing pressure and will go down in defeat, becoming nothing but broken pieces.
Besides its body, the kraken adroitly uses its tentacles. The number of tentacles it has varies by world; in some worlds it only has eight whereas in others it has ten or more. Each tentacle packs a devastating punch that will send someone flying or being ground into dust. The mythical sea fiend uses them to strangle its prey, break objects, and even bring it into its gaping maw to consume.
One of the scariest weapons the kraken has at its disposal is its mouth. While it’s primarily used to consume food in order for it to survive, the monster has no qualms about using it offensively. Besides emitting horrifying sounds that make people’s hair curl, its mouth can chew anything, from the toughest wood to steel due to its razor-sharp teeth as tall as a man to a pulp. Its tongue pulls in people foolish enough to be too close to it.
While all octopuses have the ability to shoot ink, the fantasy kraken is capable of doing it as well. The ink it generates is designed to discombobulate its target, leaving it in a state of confusion while it moves in for the kill. Due to the beast’s massive size, the amount of ink it shoots can knock a person to the ground, leaving him vulnerable to attack.
How the Fantasy Kraken Impacts the Story
No matter when it appears in the story, as a major villain or minor one, the kraken leaves a memorable impression on both the protagonist and the audience. No, it just isn’t because of its colossal girth though that might be part of it. Rather, it’s because it is such a formidable monster that is notoriously difficult to defeat much like dragons.
The fantasy kraken effortlessly takes center stage simply because of the challenge he poses to the hero character. This is a leviathan lord of the sea, armed with powers far more lethal than the numerous creatures that populate the world and the hero has but his trusty weapon and that might not even be enough to slay the oceanic fiend.
Long before the audience sees it for the first time, they’ve read or heard about stories people utter about a sea monster that terrorizes seaside communities and besiege shipyards, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake. They learn that this monster is powerful and they see the fear in people’s eyes whenever they talk about it.
Whenever the fantasy kraken makes its first formal appearance in the story, it is a sight to behold. The protagonist and the audience bear witness to its amazing power as they watch it savagely destroy an object like a ship in just a number of seconds. They recognize that this is a beast not to take lightly though they wonder if there is truly a way to end the threat this monster poses to the seas.
From unraveling the mystery of how to vanquish it to finally mustering up the courage to face it head-on, the protagonist and kraken are intertwined in a tale that will be told for ages afterward. A surface dweller squaring off against the lord of the sea is the stuff of legends and successfully defeating it only makes the hero character stronger and have more resolve than before.
There’s a reason why the fantasy kraken is one of the best creatures of the genre. It is not just a terrifying monster but a behemoth of the depths that can ravage anything in several seconds. Should you deign to bring this monster into your own story and world, take full advantage of what it offers and you can create a timeless tale with it!
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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
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