For my story on the Kraken, I am thinking of having the story take place on a cruise ship that is of the same design as the Oasis of the Seas. It is the largest kind of luxury cruise ship there is, reaching nearly 1,200 feet long and 236 feet tall. Based on these estimates, this ship will be roughly six times the size of the Kraken. One of the questions that will be explored in the story is how does a two hundred foot sea monster take on a ship that is six times its size? Like I said in my previous posts, cephalopods like octopus are highly skilled problem solvers, which means the Kraken will find a way to take on this big ship.
I have been brainstorming on the potential setting my Kraken story might take place in. The original legends of the Kraken came from ancient Scandinavia during the Viking days. With that in mind, I toyed with the idea of having the story take place off the coast of either Norway or Sweden. Then my mind turned to the Bermuda Triangle, which is a place full of haunting mysteries. Then I thought about the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest and least explored part in the world’s oceans. There are trenches and canyons down there that are deep enough to hide Mount Everest. If there were a place where a giant sea monster would hide, it would be the Mariana Trench.
The Kraken is often depicted to having tentacles that were long enough to reach the top of the mast of a ship. In order for its tentacles to do that, they would have to be at least one hundred feet in length. When you take those numbers into account, the rest of the Kraken’s body would have to be around the same length as its tentacles. That would mean the Kraken would have to be two hundred feet in length! Can you imagine being on a boat and running into a two hundred foot sea monster with strength to match, the weaponry of a colossal squid, the intelligence of an octopus, and the aggression of a humboldt squid. When you put those traits together, you get yourself the ultimate sea monster. That is the leviathan I intend to depict in my story on the Kraken. No wonder the fisherman’s tales of old were scary.
There have been cases in real life when squids were extremely aggressive to humans. One example is the humboldt squid, which is found in the Gulf of Mexico. Humboldts are medium-sized squid, reaching nearly five feet in length. They have an infamous reputation for being aggressive towards divers. There was one case where a diver was wearing armor plating and chainmail that was meant to protect him from sharks. He was attacked by a humboldt squid that wrapped his torso with its spiky tentacles. He said he could feel his chest plate move as the squid’s beak violently ground against it. Because of its red coloration and aggressive nature, the humboldt squid has been nicknamed by the locals as “The Red Devil.” That is from a squid that is nearly five feet long. Can you imagine the chaos and mayhem a Kraken would cause if it was as aggressive as the humboldt squid? That would be beyond terrifying! I am definitely going to include this in my Kraken story.
There have been conflicting myths regarding the Kraken’s appearance. Some say it looked like an octopus while others say it looked like a squid. For my story on the Kraken, I am thinking of making my beast look like a mixture between squid and octopus with features from both species.
I thought of some fearsome weaponry to give the Kraken in my sea monster story. The colossal squid and humboldt squid have been known to possess rotating hooks on their tentacles. This allows them to impale their prey while their suckers gain a more secure grip on their victim. Imagine a hundred foot tentacles that are equipped with hooks such as these. That would be terrifying to think about if one were grabbed by these hooks.
One thing to consider about the Kraken is that it might be a super intelligent animal. Cephalopods such as squid and octopus are very intelligent creatures. Octopus, in particular, are highly skilled problem solvers and escape artists. I watched in the news that talked about how an octopus escaped from its tank in an aquarium and slithered its way back into the sea. Another example involved an octopus being presented with a piece of fish that was sealed tight in a bottle. The octopus felt its way all the way around the bottle, analyzing every nook and cranny before finally removing the cork, reaching inside, and eating the fish. If you take those two examples of cephalopod intelligence and apply them to a Kraken, then you would have one terrifying sea monster indeed. That is what I am thinking about for my Kraken story idea.
I just had a frightening idea for a future story and it involves one of the most infamous sea monsters in history: the Kraken! I am thinking of having the story be about a family who go on a cruise ship only to discover that their ship is being stalked by the Kraken. Imagine being on a cruise ship and being hunted by a beast that is as big as your boat. Such a thing sends shivers down my spine! I am planning to give this story a feel that is similar to Jaws or The Meg.
The halberd originated from Switzerland before becoming refined and further weaponized in Germany. It was the weapon of choice for the Pope’s Swiss Guard. There was one instance where the halberd was used by 189 Swiss Guards against 20,000 mercenaries that invaded the Vatican. The halberd was a multi-purpose weapon. It could be used as a quarterstaff, it has an ax blade, a spike that can be used as a spear, a hook in the back that can disarm enemies or pull cavalrymen off their horses, and the metal butt at the end of the halberd can be used to jab at enemies. The halberd will be commonly used weapon in my new fantasy book series.
The dirk dagger is an evolution of the 16th century rondel dagger. It was commonly used by the Scottish Highlanders during the 18th century before becoming a ceremonial weapon in the 19th century. I have seen the dirk forged and tested in the History Channel show known as Forgedin Fire. I have decided to include the dirk in my new fantasy series because I am of Scottish descent and I want to reconnect with my roots.
Grady P Brown - Author 