Kraken

Cover art by fantasticpicture at Pixabay

We all growed [sic] up with the stories, hearded [sic] the warnings from old sailors and sea beings. I felted [sic] bad. Twice felted [sic] bad. First because I attacked them, another of mother ocean's children. Second because it bited [sic] me all over and I bleeded [sic] and broked [sic].

— Roll Bresh, kraken attack survivor and honorary citizen of Bluji for their role in saving our sailors

Basic Information

Anatomy

From top to down, here is the anatomy of a kraken as best recorded when one washed up on shore in 1732 and in journals of seafarers lucky enough to escape.
Hair The creature appears to have no hair, unlike many land beings and creatures
Eyes Its eyes are two gelatinous orbs of a sea color (turquoise, teal, zaffre, azure, etc.) and those are the weakest spots on its body. It's thought that the creature is farsighted as when it grips a sailor, it then brings the hapless being in for a closer look.
Mouth Made of a highly prized bone sought after as "living wood of the ocean," each kraken has a beak which they use to tear apart food, ships, and even other sea creatures (though it's unknown if kraken will attack other kraken).
Skin Its skin is unlike fish and feels similar to eels, squid, and octopus. It's hard to cut and there's an orange viscous liquid that seeps out when pressed.
Limbs It has ten limbs in total, eight of them the same length (slightly shorter) and two others of a slightly longer length. Each of the ten limbs has a sucker on it the size of an average human head.

Genetics and Reproduction

While much is not known about the kraken, here are the few conclusions we've come to on gender and offspring.

1. Baby kraken are hatched from egg sacs which are carried on the bottom of the eight legs. This leaves two appendages free to seek for or ward off attacks.
2. Kraken are solitary creatures; only twice in written history has a being happened across two or more gathering (excluding adults with young nearby).
3. Of the one kraken seen to be carrying egg sacs, its coloring was a murky brownish-green. (This may or may not be important, but has been noted for future chroniclers)

Growth Rate & Stages

Four types of kraken have been recorded: egg offspring (still in an egg sac attached to eight of the ten appendages), young (the size of a human man's chest), youth (the size of a scouting ship), and adult (the size of a cargo ship or larger). Most attacks are done by youths or adults; during an adult's attack, there is a possibility of several young grasping each other and floating on nearby waves.

Ecology and Habitats

Kraken attacks occur when three points are aligned; the waters are zaffre of the deepest seas, land has been nowhere in sight for several days, and a storm is brewing on the horizon. All of these make it rare to receive word of an attack. However, when a ship is able to drag itself into the nearest port its sailors are treated both medically and with that country's strongest drink.
Note: there is a possibility of a peculiar pattern in which northern countries see attacks during summer and southern countries see attacks during winter, but this might also be a concidence.

Dietary Needs and Habits

A kraken is a meat-eater, hunting ships for beings and large-sized sea creatures when those are plenty. During one attack it ate the entire ship of scaled folk (note: this "report" comes from Scey Shela and is most likely a lie) and during another attack it plucked a sibling pair of dragon-halves off of the ship. If true, then it's possible that the blood or meat of scaled beings holds a taste or need that a kraken wishes to satisfy.

Biological Cycle

Not enough is known to even speculate here and so the area is left for future chroniclers to fill in.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Sound Underwater, the kraken can hear a being from a distance of three ships away (confirmed with the sinking of the Lady Dragon and the attempt at crew rescue by the Moonwaves). It's unknown how well the creature hears when out of water.
Sight As written before, it's thought that the creature is farsighted. It will grab items and pull them closer to its vulnerable eyes in an attempt to see what it's holding. This method can be exploited in attacks.
Smell While there are two slits in the hard beak near its mouth, it's unknown to what extent the creature can smell.
Taste The kraken is thought to have a highly-developed sense of taste. As of this date, several beings are on record as being tasty, foul, or questionable. Note: this is not a complete list of beings killed by kraken attack as many have died due to blunt force trauma, blood loss, drowning, tentacle tossing, etc.

Zage Slittongue	Dragon-half	eaten quickly; died
Irlolth Slittongue	Dragon-half	eaten quickly; died
Giphia	Griffon	tasted several times; spat out & died of trauma
Trissi	Sea being (turtle)	spat out; survived
Ford Sykies	Human	eaten quickly; died
Parker Petrik	Human	eaten quickly; died
Roll Bresh	Sea being (seal)	tasted several times; spat out & survived
Baatrott the Grey	Gargoyle	spat out; survived
Stormtalon	Roc	tasted several times; eaten & died
Thora Aroht	Human?	spat out; survived
Celinos Athips	Lamia	eaten quickly; died
Arley "Legs" Adam	Dwarf-half	spat out; drowned
Myrle Edge	Human-half	eaten quickly; died
Sablestar	Unicorn-half	tasted several times; spat out & died of blood loss

Touch It's thought that the creature has a low sense of touch as setting it on fire, hurling attack spells, and many weapons will not make a dent in its skin, nor does it make anger/distress sounds during the aforementioned tests.

Conservation Status

As the kraken is the top predator of the seas, no methods are being taken to protect it or ensure its survival. In fact, often methods used most when meeting such creatures are the opposite.