We do not know when and where the tentacled first started hunting the great beasts of the ocean. Most tentacled tribes tell a fantastic story of a desperate fishing village, but the details are different for each tribe and confederation, and we cannot take it as anything other than an embellished tale. Monster catching appears to be a long tradition of the tentacled, spread to the humans, and one with much pointless danger and peril, best left to those tribes willing to take the risks to obtain the exotic goods.
The Story
The ocean currents had shifted for several years. Like most nearby villages, the summer was a time for bounty, as hordes of fish for catching swam off the shore. But the ocean was moving differently, and the few fish had made themselves available that year, and the thinned stores from previous years had grown thin. With the storm seers predicting more years of barrenness, the desperate villagers decided to risk the deep ocean, where monsters were said to swim.
In their storage boats, the fishers sailed out into deeper waters, and set their lines. For three days they would sail out of sight of their village, over the abyss of the deep ocean. There they would bait the lines, wait for fish to bite, wrestle them into the storage boats, and when the boats were full, sails back to the village. For days, the others in the village would wait patiently for the fishers to return, worried about what might catch them.
The first couple of catches went well, and the deep ocean fish were preserved and stored. but the smell of fish was calling to the great sea beasts, and in the third trip, the monsters appeared.
As the fishers were preparing their first catch, removing fish from the lines and swimming them to the boat, a dark patch appeared below them. As the patch rose, growing larger, the fishers recognized it: a fearsome Kraken. Sensing the fish in the storage boats, the kraken rose to the surface, its tentacles, uch larger than those of the fishers, felt the water and the boats, curling around the hard caught fish and pulling them under. The fearsome beak bit off some boats while, swallong several days worth of catch on a few bites. Frightened, the fishers abandoned many boats, and swam away from the hungry kraken's feast, making it home with little to show.
On the next two trip, the fishers traveled to a different part of the sea, and again set their nets. But the kraken's smell is powerful, and after a day of catch, it would find the fishing spots and once again steal the catch. The fishers were again sent home in despair.
The fishers tried again, covering their boats with hide to mask the smell. And once again, a kraken appeared. But the fishers also attracted another monster: a greater booming whale, (called the sperm whale or cachalot by other beings, for they have never experienced up close the horrible sound the creature makes.). And they have certainly never experienced the greatest of these whales, almost twice as long and far larger around than most of their kind, claiming these are nothing but stories The whale feasted on the caught fish, plucking them off the lines until none were left for the fishers. Once again they went home in despair.
The fishers made one more try, but the kraken and booming whale were hungry, and both appeared again as the fishers set their lines. the two great animals made as if to fight, but soon as if by agreement swam away from each other, the whale to pluck from the deeper lines, the kraken to feast from the boats at the surface. Once again the fishers returned home.
Facing starvation, and giving up all hope of any catch, some villagers suggested begging for food from nearby villages, or even submitting to a warlord nearby and accepting a life as hard laborers. Their stores were running lower by the day, and a hard decision would need ot be made soon.
But two of the fishers argued for one last fishing trip. Phislee and Youlin had been part of the previous fishing trips, had seen the monsters, had heard the legends of these sea beasts, and had a plan to survive them. The plan required using some of the precious fish stores remaining, and the two fishers argued long and hard for their use, but the desperate villagers soon agreed to allow it, either convinced that it would work, or that one more try would do little harm.
The fishers, once again, sailed for several days to the deep ocean, and prepared their gear. But they had also brought a boatload of preserved fish, tightly wrapped to seal the small, and several spears commonly used to fight raiders. When they reached the spot in the ocean, they set lines and prepared to fish.
Once again, the great booming whale sensed the fish, and began plucking the fish from the lines. This time, the fishers agitated the whale, attacking it with spears. The work was dangerous, as the whale tried to eat the tentacled as it would a squid, but the tentacled were fast, and darted away. The booming deafened many fishers for a short time, and some began to doubt the plan. Soon for fishers left, and began to resume feeding.
But in the commotion, once of the fishers had firmly attached a rope to the great whale, unnoticed. The whale was now fastened firmly to the boat containing the preserved fish above. Several of the fishers trailed the whale, observing it as it appeared to move toward the surface. At a signal, the fishers near the boat, uncovered it, exposing the smell of fish to the rest of the ocean.
It didn't take long for the kraken to smell its food. As the booming whale reached the surface, the kraken feasted, pulling the boat towards it to better feed. But the booming whale felt these pulls, as a sudden pain towards its back. Sensing the kraken nearby, it turned to fend off this creature.
The kraken obliged, backing away from the whale, and watched as the whale began to swim away. But as the whale distanced itself from the kraken, the boat with fish was dragged as well, and the kraken lunged forward to keep a hold of its food store.
The rope was taut at this point, and the whale felt a searing pull. Turning around, the whale saw the kraken again feeding on the boat, but its motions were timed with bursts of pain coming from the whale. Believing the kraken was the source of the pain, the whale swam towards it, thinking the kraken was somehow attacking from a great distance away.
The kraken did not recognize this connection between itself and the whale. On seeing the whale moving for an attack, it now saw the whale as trying to steal its food, and turned to face the other giant.
Both monsters now believing they were victims of an attack, both defended themselves vigorously. The whale was first to hit, diving below and ramming the kraken near the surface. The kraken, dazed, grabbed the whale with its tentacles, attempting to restrain the lager beast. But the whale was too powerful, and bit the kraken hard, ramming it again.
The fishers watched the battle from a distance, as both creatures churned the water. The kraken sought the drown the whale, grasping over and over with its tentacles, while the whale sought the ram the kraken, bashing it with its tail, and ramming from all sides. Several times, the kraken grasped the whale, only for the whale to bite the tentacles, and fling itself around and once again rise for air. The kraken was dazed over and over. Blood and ink filled the water..
After hours of fighting, the whale, covered in welts and slashes, tried to swim away from the kraken. But the fight had taken a toll, and the whale was now tired and slow, barely able to swim. The kraken, which had fought so long to protect a meal, now saw the whale as an opportunity, and lunged at it again. Once again, the battle was joined. As the kraken grasped the whale and pulled it under, the beast's tail flew out of the water and splashed hard, forming a giant wave that was said to have hit the village several hours later. The fight continued.
After some time, it was the kraken's turn to try and escape. Barely able to move, it was mossing a tentacle, and others were bitten and bruised. Its body had been stunned and bruised by the whale's ramming. barely able to move, it expelled a small puff of ink, and slowly pushed itself away from the large beast. The whale, tired, covered in welts and punctures from the kraken's tentacles, and bitten many times, swam towards the kraken as if to mount a chase, but only as a final warning to the creature.
But now, the fishers sprung into action. Armed with spears and axes, they swarmed the great beasts like scavengers. Where the two great beast could once have eaten the tentacled as easily as a large squid or fish, they now could do little as the fishermen stabbed and hacked the giant creatures, cutting great slices of meat. As some guarded against sharks and other scavengers, other fishers cut chunks of meat from the giant creatures, and more stabbed until the last wisps of blood finally left.
With the kraken and the sperm whale dead, the fishers now packed their bodies with light reeds. Some meat was sliced off, and stored in boats once used for fish. Other meat would be cut from the creatures and preserved when they reached shore. It was said that sea creatures stayed as far as possible from the carcasses as they were dragged towards shore. After all, the kraken and booming whale are two of the most fearsome creatures in the sea; how much more fearsome must the beasts be that killed them?
The ocean is vast, and the villagers had little idea what was happening out at sea, apart from strange waves rolling in. The storm seers knew that the waves were unlike any other, but did not know of their origin. As the fishers returned over the horizon, 7 days after they had set out, pulling the floating beasts along with them, the villagers spirits filled with triumph, and cheers rose as the fishers drew closer. Villagers swarmed the water, the the carcasses of the beasts were spread on the beach, carved, and stored.
It is said that the village feasted for a several months off the two beasts, and that the carefully stored meat allowed them to last another year, until the ocean currents returned to normal, and the shallow water fish returned. By than, the story had spread, and other tentacled, and later humans and other beings, learned to hunt and catch the great beasts of the sea.
