Turmoil
Re-posted here as requested, please discuss and ask questions. Here is the initial concept for the creature.
Image:
Name:
Turmoil
Frequency:
Medium
Threat level:
Their pack behaviour causes them to be a High risk for anyone in the water. Though they will not attack boats of any reasonable size, a small wooden canoe, rowboat or ships boat can easily be in danger of being targeted and sunk by a pack of squid (via biting holes in the hull).
Abilities:
Discharges large volumes of mucous filled, Djed charged ink.
Usually releases ink in globs about the size of the squid itsself, these act as doppelgangers which confuse prey (and predator).
Most common in:
Middle Suvan Sea, they follow their prey with the climate, heading far enough north to be spotted north of Kenash in the summer and far enough south to be spotted on the north coast of Eyktol during winter. Svefra intervention is the main reason for them not spreading further north as they are becoming more and more invasive.
Physical characteristics:
- Coloured a dark, almost black blue.
- Four metres in length (Including head and tentacles).
- Large fins on the head used for extremely swift maneuvering.
- The outer surface of the tentacle is covered with a plated shell, short, round plates overlay each other up the tentacles and around the mouth. This maintains flexibility while allowing the squid to lock its tentacles in front of its body when swimming, for an extremely aquadynamic shape
- As a result of the shell, these squid have no suckers on their tentacles
- They do however, have hooks all along the inside of their tentacle shells
- The ends of their tentacles hold a sharp spike with a backward facing barb for spearing and holding prey. These are often used to lethal effect on any perceived weak-points of the prey once it has been caught, stabbing at eyes, gills and necks.
Social Structure:
Packs consist of around 5 - 20 members with no discernible leaders or alphas and will fight and eat other packs if they come in contact though will not actively hunt them. When a pack war is going on, all members of each pack will release as many doppelgangers as they can. The difference in numbers at this point seems to multiply considerably and the lesser pack is usually driven away.
Miscellaneous:
The squid moves using four large sacs around its body which it fills from four separate inlets on the tentacled side of its body but squeezes through one hole at the tip of the head. This outlet is also attached to the two large ink sacks and mucous glands of the creature. They move at about 30kph and can speed up for extremely intense bursts when attacking
The Turmoil hunt in relatively sophisticated packs, confusing prey by squirting sticky mucous filled and Djed charged "living" ink into the water. These ink doppelgangers confuse the prey into thinking there are more squid in one direction than there actually is, allowing a single squid to “herd” a school of fish into the maws of his real pack.
Although the squid are good at herding schools of small fish into the shallows where they can be pressed and as many taken as possible, they are opportunistic hunters and will happily attack a lone dolphin or a smaller pod, sharks hunting alone may also find themselves prey to these ruthless squid.
They kill by propelling themselves into their prey at high speeds, spreading their tentacles at the last fraction of a second before collision and wrapping them around, piercing the prey with the barbed tentacles and then tearing into them with their sharp beaks. The beak of the creature carries enough biting force to crack human bone.
Turmoil flesh is chewy but both it and the ink of the creature are delicious. The ink is a very dark sheen of blue and is useful in drawing, if taken directly from the ink sack it can be applied thinly to paper, or if squeezed from the creature it will mix with mucous making it thicker and stickier, allowing it to be applied like a paint to surfaces such as stone, ink can be mixed to produce lighter hues of blue.
When spooked by a large predator, the packs have been known to squirt out their entire ink reserves at once, resulting in a truly massive black squid doppelganger charging at the predator. This is a fear tactic and doesn't have much physical effect on the predator, but can obscure its vision and be extremely intimidating (this sometimes happens as a response to large ships).
The squid cannot be fished with lines as they will bite and break them or jet away and pull the line with them, an extremely durable net would be needed to net them or they will simply bite through. Because of this, accidentally trapping squid with fishing nets can be devastating to a fisherman. Spears or harpoons are necessary.
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