"All Roads Lead to Zenithstrand"
STORTO DI COA
The Kraken Tribe
SCAVENGERS
The Kraken are a mysterious tribe, set apart from all the other Tribes of Coa due to a fundamental disagreement that goes back centuries. The Kraken believe that when Coa sacrificed herself to prevent the worst from occurring during the Shattering, her sacred grove slipped into the seas that surrounded the new isle of Zenithstrand. They took the seas to find and defend it, and consider all those than gainsay this deeply-held belief to be heretics. There they live out their entire lives on living ships, grown and shaped with powerful magics thought lost to the other tribes of Coa.
KRAKEN TRIBE WILD ELVES OF ZENITHSTRAND
HISTORY
The Kraken find their origins in an ancient warrior society that had sworn to guard the shores of Zenithstrand in the days of Coa. Their name and many of their ancient rituals are lost to time and the Shattering, but it is known that the Shore was a sort of sacred threshold, the border between the paradise that Coa had built, and the exploitative barbarism of the outside world. These early Kraken served as the defenders of this paradise, the guardians on the threshold.
When the Shattering came, they were too far from Coa’s grove to take shelter within the forests, and thus they fled to the relative safety of their ships. When calm began to reassert itself they learned that the worst had occurred, their great matriarch was dead and the sacred heart of their realm was lost. The shamans of the Kraken spent much time in spiritual contemplation before they felt a familiar pull, coming from somewhere within the seas surrounding their destroyed homelands. They concluded that Coa’s grove must have slipped into the waters, but that their sacred duty had not changed. They were the guardians of the threshold, those who protected this sacred place from the outside world. If Coa’s grove had taken to the seas, then so would they. More ships were grown, laws were set down, and gradually the ways of the Kraken solidified into their current culture.
In recent years, the Kraken have laid claim to a new sacred place that they claim to be the site of Coa’s Grove, after it had slid into the Ocean during the Shattering. It is not whole, the Shattering saw to that, but there is still a great deal of sacred power present at this place. The Kraken have taken to calling it “Coa’s Cove” and meet there each year for their Coa’s day celebrations and rituals. The Kraken do maintain a guard of at least two ships there at all times, and thus no non-Kraken wild elf has been able to verify these claims. The shamans of the other tribes usually dismiss the Kraken as fools and liars, but even the most skeptical of them would likely make the pilgrimage to this place, if they could.
TRIBAL TATTOOS
The Kraken are marked with the tentacles of their aquatic namesake. They typically begin near and encircle the right eye, although the exact size and shape of the markings varies from person to person. Most Kraken are marked with a single tentacle, while those that captain their own ship are marked with a second tentacle sprouting off from the first. An Admiral (a Kraken leader who commands at least 3 captains) typically adds a third tentacle to their markings.
CULTURE
The entirety of Kraken culture is centered around two very important concepts, their duty as the sea-bound guardians of Coa’s legacy, and their total adherence to a strict naval hierarchy. A crew serves their Captain, a Captain serves their Admiral, and if a decision is too much for one Admiral (usually this is if the matter at hand involves the entire tribe), the Admirals will meet in a Council, which decides the matter with a unanimous vote.
Once a Kraken child reaches adolescence, they are assigned a position and responsibilities by their Captain, and are expected to go about their duties without complaint. The life of the Kraken is hard, and the continuation of their culture and sacred duties requires what may seem like an overly regimented lifestyle to land-dwellers. While aboard a vessel, the Captain’s word is law, and they can be expected to be obeyed in all things, unless countermanded by an Admiral. If a Kraken shows promise beyond their station, the Captain may reassign them for special training, otherwise that is the role they will play until death claims them. Those who do make it to old age (which is quite rare) are often allowed a modified form of retirement if their body has failed them, and are valued for their wisdom by all Kraken.
The Ocean is everything to the Kraken, and it holds a special place of reverence within their society. When they are born, they are anointed with salt water, and when they die, they are left to sink beneath the waves. They respect it, defend it, and in turn take what they need to survive from it. They take no fresh water from the land, instead using magic or alchemy to purify what they require. Though they do have small farming plots aboard their vessels, these only have the captivity to supplement their diets, and thus the Kraken depend on vast harvests of fish and aquatic plant life to sustain themselves.
PERSONALITY / SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
The Kraken tend to live highly regimented lives, at least when compared to other Olagot’Thalan. Survival without relying upon the bounty of the land is difficult, and each Kraken is expected to serve their Captain faithfully at their assigned roles while aboard their ships. Thus, the Kraken tend to be respectful of authority, and work best while within well-defined hierarchies. Ambition and independence are rarely found in members of the tribe, and those that cannot accept their lot most often enter a sort of voluntary exile. They are not banished from the tribe however, and are still Kraken through and through. These exiles are often expected to provide intelligence and other aid to the Kraken tribe at large should it be requested, but aside from that they are generally left to their own devices.
As a whole, most Kraken tend to be dismissive, if not outright hostile, towards any non-Kraken. Wild Elf or no, the Kraken hold themselves as superior to them all. To protect themselves, the Kraken have cultivated a strong sense of strength and naval superiority, counting on their fearsome and mercurial reputation to win or avoid battles and conflicts they may not truly desire to engage with.
The Kraken also tend to be quite reverential of the Ocean, even those that do not follow a higher power that claims dominion over the Ocean maintain a healthy cultural respect for it and the way of life it enables. Their tribe has adapted to life aboard their ships, and the thought of going ashore is considered to be distasteful, something that is only done when necessary.
ARTISTRY
The Kraken are generally not a tribe devoted to the pursuit of the arts, with one very notable exception. This being the creation and further shaping of their living ships. Every inch of these ships, from stem to stern, is a magnificent work of art. Not a single nail is used in their creation, for each new ship is grown from a very rare seed and carefully tended to for years by the Kraken shamans experienced in such matters. Each ship grown this way is a little different, but they are all uniformly graceful and elegant, almost to a fault.
COA'S DAY
On Coa’s day every ship that can will gather near the waters that surround Coa’s Cove. Most of the day is spent on what would seem to be a typical festival. The Kraken feast, share news and gifts, many a young Kraken has taken this opportunity to move to a different ship or to find a mate. However, when the sun begins to set, all celebration stops. The Shaman of each ship has an important task to perform. Coa’s Cove must be kept cleansed of the corruption that once plagued this sacred place, and thus each Shaman leads their crew in the sacred rites of cleansing and renewal. This is a somber and sacred moment for all Kraken, and is performed with the utmost sincerity and care.
RELIGION
While individual Kraken do occasionally find that their calling is with another God or Dragon, the adherence to the Firstborn Physignathus remains a central pillar of their seafaring culture. Her laws and ways are ingrained into the very fabric of their culture, even those that have found themselves forsaking the Aqua for Eindridil often find themselves struggling to slay a whale or lay claim to seabound treasures. The Kraken are a strong and independent people, and often struggle with the submission that is required of those that follow the Gods.
While the majority of the Kraken still follow Physignathus, a significant portion have begun to follow Eindridil. Those that do are expected to find their own ships to sail, for the Admirals will not permit two groups that are so diametrically opposed to crew the same vessels.
GRUDGES / ALLIANCES
The Kraken have no permanent alliances, they are a force unto themselves. They will trade or make temporary arrangements with other races when they feel the need, but beyond this they rarely have cause to interact with other races and nations. They simply keep to themselves and their ancient duties.
Scavengers
The Scavenger tribes have learned to make themselves scarce when a Kraken ship is in the region. The Kraken have been known to raid coastal settlements in the past, descending upon them in a furious horde, leaving, slaying, and plundering anything not nailed to the ground. In the eyes of the Kraken, the only difference between Scavenger and Kuduz is relative strength, they are all tribes built upon a lie in their eyes. The Coyote and Jackal tribes are a small exception, for the Kraken respect their lack of regard for the Overgrowth itself and will often trade with these tribes.
Kudzu:
The Kraken feel naught but scorn for the Kudzu tribes, they are worthy foes at best, and dangerous heretics that spit upon the legacy of Coa at worst. Central to this animosity is their belief that Coa’s grove is not found within the Overgrowth, but rather sunk into the Ocean during the Sundering. They see themselves as the only true inheritors of Coa’s legacy, and thus actively despite all other tribes. Like the Scavengers, any Kudzu operating or settling within sight of the shore risks the attention of their raiding parties.
ROLEPLAY TIPS
The Kraken are first and foremost a proud people, for they are the sole tribe to truly respect the legacy of Coa. Maintain a sense of pride at all times.
Respect the ocean as the mother of all life, she is both your provider and your sacred home.
Show strength at all times, the Kraken are surrounded by enemies, and weakness is death.
Your crew is your family, your fleet are your allies, everyone else is a potential enemy. Guard yourself around strangers until you are absolutely sure that they can be trusted.
CONTRIBUTORS
Cory Cass
& Anonymous