Chapter

Sea Serpent

The stevedores at the port of Varberg spoke of many sailors meeting their end in the maw of the Kattegat Serpent. They say it dwells deep in the murky waters outside Læsø. I readily admit that these horror stories disturbed me, as we were set to board the wet deck of the schooner in the morning. But my journey to Amsterdam and the Tulip Kingdom could not wait. I can only hope that this sea serpent and its grisly deeds, like the fabled existence of the Great Lake Monster, are but stories from the thirsty throats of drunken travelers.

— Carl Linnaeus, August 21st, 1735

Sea serpents, or sea monsters, are strange creatures hiding in dark waters. They live in caves and crevasses around coasts and fjords, beneath windswept islands, or in the depths of mountain lakes. As long as there have been humans in the North, there have been stories about these creatures – from the Norse myth of the world serpent Jörmungandr, to the legendary monster of the Great Lake. They are intelligent creatures born out of magic who can enthrall an entire crew with their hypnotic gaze, or break masts and sink ships with their sheer size and bulk.

Ritual

Sea monsters are shy and solitary creatures who will attack anything seen as a threat. They can be tricked into biting their own tail and paralyzing themselves. This requires that they are led around in tunnels or cavities so the tail is mistaken for an enemy. They will then sink to the bottom of the sea and disintegrate into a murky sludge of fish scales and guts.

Hide ritual

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