The Kraken Society was a secretive group that maintained a vast network of information across the North and the Trackless Sea. Their violent tactics ranged from simple thuggery or kidnapping to torture and assassination, resulting in their growing infamy in the mid-to-late 14th century DR—however, given their focus on the sale and control of illicit knowledge, they also came to be known as the Heralds of the Sea.[1][2]
Led, in truth, by the kraken mage, Slarkrethel, the Tentacles of the Deep Lord were feared by both the islanders of the Trackless Sea and the settlers of the Savage Frontier. Countless sailors, be they Northman or not, whispered uneasily about the King of the Trackless Depths while traversing his territory, though none who had seen him survived to tell the tale. Therefore, many discounted Slarkrethel's existence, believing the Krakenar to be an alliance of thieves' guilds, albeit one with an extravagant reputation.[1]
Activities[]
The retrieval of information was the primary goal of the Kraken Society. They maintained that the right information gave them power over those outside the group, and, as such, subordinates were often directed to infiltrate important positions—on land and in the sea—where they could readily gather confidential knowledge and relay it to their superiors. It was then put to use, benefiting the Krakenar's goals on an individual and organizational level, and could even fund the Kraken Society further once parts of that secretly-obtained information were sold.[1]
Motives[]
The motivations behind the Tentacles of the Deep Lord, however, could vary. Though they existed, ultimately, to fulfill the wishes of Slarkrethel, many of their members were motivated by simple greed, as the network of information proved highly beneficial to their coffers and personal influence. This was a massive, but clandestine, advantage over any rivals they had in their quotidian lives. Among the Krakenar themselves, only a small number were able to glean the goals of the King of the Trackless Depths, mysterious as he was, and those that did knew better than to talk about it. They let themselves be unbothered by the consequences of their actions.[1]
In truth, Slarkrethel wished to retake the power long ago lost to the kraken race. He manifested this desire in two primary ways: building a kingdom beneath the Trackless Sea, and researching ways to achieve apotheosis. This twofold goal was served by the Kraken Society's many schemes, which orchestrated or influenced affairs to the empire's benefit, and informants, which located esoteric knowledge on the rituals, relics, and artifacts needed to become a god. The Tentacles of the Deep Lord, though they acted both within and without his borders, weakened his potential enemies and strengthened his own rule, seeking to encompass not only the vast depths of the ocean but also the coasts that bordered it. By the late 14th century DR, the Kraken Society's exploits had given Slarkrethel so much power and hoarded knowledge that ascension was almost within his reach.[1]
Tactics[]
To better obtain and spread illicit information, the Krakenar required particular skills. Some were practiced spies, with a talent for infiltration, whilst others were simply diviners, but it was common among members of the Kraken Society to learn how to read lips, disguise themselves, and be keen observers. Given the roots of the organization, they were also known to become proficient swimmers, and speakers of at least one underwater language.[9]
Tactical differences could also be found between the two types of Krakenar cells: those based underwater and those based on land. The former were more militant, filling their ranks with monsters or warriors who were trained in the ways of undersea combat, and favored conquest above subtlety. The same was not true for the latter cells. These ones, which behaved like guilds of assassins or thieves, preferred abduction, murder, and torture. To exploit what secrets they knew, they might whisper them into the right ears, or subtly adjust the words of an official letter.[9]
Base of Operations[]
The Tentacles of the Deep Lord stretched far, both above and below the ocean. They considered anything north of the Gull Rocks to be in their reach—from the isle of Tuern, to the west, and the Dessarin Valley, to the east. Therefore, under their purview fell the countless ships that sailed the Trackless Sea. This also included the many ports they hailed from, be they the Frozenfar's Fireshear or the Sword Coast's Baldur's Gate, as well as the many islands that dotted the vast, dark waters. Among the Kraken Society, these last were even known as the Jewels of the Kraken's Crown.[10]
The core of the Krakenar, however, lay beneath the waves. It centered itself around Slarkrethel's massive empire, a realm which encompassed an undersea territory between the Ice Peak and the Whalebones—as its north and south borders—and the Purple Rocks,[10] their primary headquarters,[1][2] and Luskan—as its west and eastern ones.[10] Naturally, within this territory fell the ruins of Ascarle, their main fortress,[2][10] but it was far from the Kraken Society's only base under the Trackless Sea. Others included the Writhing Trench, a fathomless channel more than 40 miles (64,000 meters) long and vaguely parallel to the coast—which sat about 150 miles (240,000 meters) to Leilon's west—or the Seafire Vents, a curving series of undersea volcanoes in the waters south-west of the Ice Peak. This vast region was dominated by the Kraken Society's leader, even those independent colonies, small as they were, that remained.[10]
Upon dry land, the Purple Rocks were the only ones to have been wholly subsumed by the Krakenar, but there were a number of well-established cells on Faerûn itself. The Yartaran cell, for example, made its headquarters in the Three Rivers Festhall, while the Luskar one was based out of Ten Oaks. Similar cells entrenched themselves in the city of Waterdeep, the island of Mintarn, and the town of Triboar.[10]
Possessions[]
The most powerful thing held by the Kraken Society was not a magic item, nor was it even anything physical—it was information. They exploited every secret they gathered to its fullest potential, as though their very knowledge was a weapon. They invested it, selling it to those who desired their information and had the coffers to pay for it, steadily funding more of the Krakenar's operations.[9]
This did not mean, however, that the Tentacles of the Deep Lord were left unarmed. Given the number of shipwrecks that laid along the seabed of Slarkrethel's territory, the Kraken Society could scour their cargo at their leisure, recovering any number of perfectly preserved coins or enchanted items.[9] These included, but were not limited to, the following:
- The Krakengates, enormous portals spread across the Trackless Sea—and potentially the Sea of Fallen Stars—to transport the Kraken Society's vast numbers.[9]
- Paired rings of farscrying, which enabled their members to communicate with both each other and their leader across much distance.[9]
- Rings of mindcloaking, rings akin to those of mind shielding that hid the thoughts and alignment of the more influential Krakenar.[9]
More generally, much of what was owned by the Kraken Society bore its mark as adornment. Rocklander ships distinguished themselves through the use of kraken figureheads, the island temples on Trisk and Utheraal depicted their gods in a squid-like manner, and many of the Krakenar's clothes even integrated the multi-tentacled symbol. These last, however, were only worn publicly in places where the Kraken Society was fully in control, like Ascarle or the Purple Rocks.[1]
History[]
Beneath the Trackless Sea[]
It was in the Year of the Elfsands, 244 DR, that the Kraken Society began to take form, nearly a century after the birth of Slarkrethel, their namesake and leader. When he uncovered the destroyed remnants of Ascarle, an elven city condemned to lie beneath the waves of the Trackless Sea,[1][11] he also uncovered the truth of his heritage; Slarkrethel pored over the ancient secrets he had discovered, including legends which spoke of the krakens' rise to—and fall from—power.[1]
It was thus that Slarkrethel resolved to take back the influence owed to him. He began to make slow progress towards his goals: to build a kingdom of his own and to ascend to godhood. He spent hundreds of years toiling away, and over time, built a network of trusted agents who would feed their leader information and aid in his expansionist efforts. So it was that the Kraken Society was borne. Some undersea humanoids, particularly sea elves, refused to become Slarkrethel's subjects, but others joined the Tentacles of the Deep Lord, becoming the bulk of his burgeoning empire's army. Among them were scrags and sahuagin, kapoacinths and koalinths, and even merrow.[1]
Eventually, the Kraken Society's influence reached its eastern limit: the beaches of the Sword Coast. Even with the vast realm he already controlled, Slarkrethel knew that further knowledge—and so, power—lay in the world beyond the sea, given how much of his own esoteric insight had already been sourced from the sunken ships of surface-dwellers.[1]
At his orders, the Kraken Society began rescuing sailors from their sinking vessels and certain doom.[1] It proved a fruitful tactic, as their captives would either be persuaded to join the Krakenar, becoming spies who owed their lives to the group,[5] or they would reject it, becoming slaves. Those who attempted to fake loyalty met the same fate.[3]
Grasping the Sword Coast[]
The first among these new recruits returned to the Faerûnian mainland in the Year of the Angry Sea, 1148 DR,[1][11] acting primarily in an observational capacity and reporting news back to the King of the Trackless Depths. However, as the Kraken Society grew accustomed to this new frontier, they began to profit off the use of their vast knowledge and resources, orchestrating their plots—both in and out the sea—through the selling of information to a particular clientele.[5]
Those who operated on land, for example, were able to direct certain magical artifacts onto ships—ships that would then be targeted by the Krakenar's undersea counterparts. The loot, artifacts included, therefore fell easily into the hands of the Kraken Society. Their subterfuge also allowed them to rob various great kingdoms along the Sword Coast, themselves sabotaged by the Krakenar in their midst.[5]
Especially tight did the Tentacles of the Deep Lord coil around the burgeoning ports of the North, which threatened to grow too powerful for Slarkrethel's liking. To stifle the rise of a rival empire, the Kraken Society molded the region's coastal settlements into city-states, stunting and isolating them.[5]
In the Year of Many Bones, 1278 DR, a little over a century since first stepping onto land, the Krakenar also made a tremendous discovery: the site of fabled Gauntlgrym, a lost city of dwarven make. To recover the ancient lore kept therein, a company of Slarkrethel's agents was gathered to explore the abandoned halls. There, in its depths, the Kraken Society unearthed another secret—the city of Gauntlgrym was not truly deserted. Its bowels were now occupied by mind flayers, a community with an elder brain at its center.[5]
The Krakenar skirmished with the illithids, attempting to steal the elder brain's vast knowledge, but managed only to harm it. Despite this, the Kraken Society considered the raid a victory of sorts, for, during the attack, they had taken captive at least one of the mind flayers themselves. Unfortunately, this expedition earned the Krakenar a new enemy. The strife between the two groups continued for many years after, perpetually revenging themselves upon the other in response to this first assault.[5]
Intrigues in the Era of Upheaval[]
Almost a century afterwards, while the rest of Faerûn reeled from the events of the Time of Troubles, the Kraken Society made a powerful ally. Back on the Trackless Sea, in the coastal waters near the island of Trisk, manifested an avatar of Umberlee.[5][11][12] Through this mortal form, the goddess held a secretive meeting with Slarkrethel, one that ultimately earned him a divine patron—essential to his goal of godhood—and a massive expansion to his powers—powers that were, already, incredibly vast.[5] By autumn of that year, the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, it was known to the Umberlant clergy that the King of the Trackless Depths had been named their Bitch Queen's seraph.[5][11][12] In exchange, the Kraken Society now shared their information with the church, giving them a great insight into the countless hauls and ships which sailed over Slarkrethel's territory.[5]
He and his Kraken Society were further called upon to compromise the power of Iakhovas, a consort Umberlee had imprisoned thousands of years ago, who had escaped only four years prior, in the Year of the Bow, 1354 DR. By crippling what valuables he still held, secreted away beneath the waves, the Tentacles of the Deep Lord could ensure that Iakhovas was unable to wrest control of the oceans from the Sea Queen.[5]
This did not mean, however, that the Kraken Society forewent their own machinations. Notably, in the Year of Maidens, 1361 DR, these led to an orchestrated conflict between the island of Ruathym and the sea elves of the nearby waters—one wherein both groups, the Ruathen and the aquatic elves, were deceived in equal measure.[5][11] They had each suffered terrible barbarities, and believed the other was to blame. It was the Krakenar's hope that the ensuing hostility would greatly weaken Ruathym, encouraging the grasping hands of Luskan, a port city of the Sword Coast North, to invade it.[5]
Luskar control of Ruathym would then give the Kraken Society an opportunity to subjugate both the island and its conquerors. This would grant the Krakenar access to even greater holdings,[5] including headquarters in either territory—but the conspiracy failed, in large part, due to the intervention of Liriel Baenre, a priestess of Menzoberranzan, and Fyodor, a berserker of Rashemen.[5][11] Their actions further destroyed an ancient gate, which linked the Krakenar's base in Ascarle to the ruined fortress of Inthar, near Ruathym, and allowed the fighting sea elves, as well as their triton allies, to storm Ascarle itself. Beyond the fact that they helped many of the Kraken Society's slaves escape, however, the battle was brief and relatively inconsequential.[5]
This was far from the Krakenar's sole focus, however. A handful of years later, the waterbaron of Yartar, one of the Savage Frontier's inland cities, was a key member of the Krakenar's intrigues in the Dessarin Valley. It was, therefore, another setback when the man, Baron Alahar Khaumfros, was conspicuously killed by four mind flayers in the Year of the Staff, 1366 DR—a price he paid, allegedly, for his having swindled them during one of the Kraken Society's pecuniary dealings. This made him the most obvious casualty of the ongoing feud between them and the illithids residing in Gauntlgrym.[5]
They weren't ready for what the Krakenar could unleash.
Two years later, in 1368 DR, the Harpers also attempted to strike out at the Kraken Society. They sailed the Maiden's Defiance towards Ascarle, but, unfortunately for them, Slarkrethel capably sunk and destroyed the ship once they were close enough to Trisk.[11]
It was some years after Khaumfros' death that the Kraken Society was, once again, free of their duty to undermine Iakhovas. Slarkrethel's last responsibility came in the Year of the Tankard, 1370 DR, when Umberlee bade him gather the wereshark's artifacts and return them to sea's hidden and unfathomable depths. Even with the threat gone, the Krakenar did not lose her sponsorship, as their leader's desire to become a demipower of undersea monsters could, potentially, bolster Umberlee's strength in turn.[5]
For a handful of months before Kythorn of the same year, the Kraken Society lurked around the home of Aborana Startoucher, a woman living in the village known as Calling Horns. Their members hoped to get their hands on the Tome of Twelve Seals, which Startoucher owned—and, indeed, the enchanted tome was stolen at some point prior to Kythorn 27. Surprising both Aborana and her would-be burglars, however, it was not the Krakenar who had taken the book. They knew not who had obtained it, nor did Startoucher.[13]
The Post-Spellplague Years[]
The Kraken Society's far-reaching organization began in the cities of the North.[14]
Some time after the War of the Silver Marches in the late 15th century DR, the dragon Iymrith contacted agents of the society for aid. Slarkrethel ordered its followers to go along with the dragon's plans, by slaying the storm giant Queen Neri and capturing King Hekaton.[14]
Members[]
The ranks of the Kraken Society accepted many agents, including:
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More monstrous races were also allowed membership, with the Krakenar making full use of their unique abilities. Alongside merrow, koalinths, kapoacinths, sahuagin, and scrags, the Kraken Society was also known to foster nereids, sirens, and malenti among their ranks. Though not as humanoid, water weirds, morkoths, kelpies, and even the cruel aboleth, could all be found contributing to the Tentacles of the Deep Lord.[9]
Appendix[]
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References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 81. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Jason Carl, Sean K. Reynolds (October 2001). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 154. ISBN 07-8691-989-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 81–82. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ Jennell Jaquays (1988). The Savage Frontier. (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 0-88038-593-6.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 82. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 100. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ Jennell Jaquays (1988). The Savage Frontier. (TSR, Inc), p. 9. ISBN 0-88038-593-6.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Jason Carl, Sean K. Reynolds (October 2001). Lords of Darkness. Edited by Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 155. ISBN 07-8691-989-2.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 85. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 86. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Brian R. James (December 2007). “Grand History of the Realms: The Moonshaes”. Dragon #362 (Wizards of the Coast). Archived from the original on 2009-06-01.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 142. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 17. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Christopher Perkins, et al. (September 2016). Storm King's Thunder. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 13. ISBN 978-0-7869-6600-4.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ed Greenwood (January 1993). Volo's Guide to Waterdeep. (TSR, Inc.), p. 188. ISBN 1-56076-335-3.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (January 1993). Volo's Guide to Waterdeep. (TSR, Inc.), p. 187. ISBN 1-56076-335-3.
- ↑ Christopher Perkins, et al. (September 2016). Storm King's Thunder. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 215–219. ISBN 978-0-7869-6600-4.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 84. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.
- ↑ Obsidian Entertainment (November 2008). Designed by Tony Evans. Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir. Atari.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 83. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.