sea serpent (lore post)

no porn here. just lore. lorn.

a while ago i designed a sea serpent that would serve as the source for myrddin's blood, and then a little while after that i designed lindwurms and said they were related to sea serpents. (christ i have 3 footnotes and i haven't even got to the lore yet). i've now done a fair bit more development and design work for the lindwurms than i did for the serpents, so i thought i'd revisit these guys with that relation in mind. (and all of this is subject to change once i start actually writing the story that involves a serpent)

sea serpents are, predictably, dragons that live in the sea. evolution is debatable in a world where magic and gods measurably exist, but adaptation is adaptation. they've developed dorsal fins on their back and a large webbed tail to act as a paddle/rudder. they don't have gills, but have incredibly powerful lungs that can hold a breath for hours. their forelimbs are mainly used for climbing onto land to access nesting sites, and for carrying nest objects. they live in warm, coastal waters, and adults hunt seals and seal-sized critters, but will take anything they can fit in their mouths. they don't generally go after humanoids outside of mating season, when males are on the hunt for treasure to present to females. trade ships needing to pass through known serpent territory will throw a tribute over the side to appease males, who might otherwise knock the ship over in search of fine loot (and it would be a waste not to eat the drowned sailors).

like most dragons, the males construct nests of treasure for females, and will draw them there to see it. if the nest is to her satisfaction, they'll mate, and she'll move in to lay her eggs, while the male hunts to feed her. sea serpents are unique in their industriousness--given good nesting sites are hard to find and at the mercy of the tide, males will maintain multiple at once, just in case. this can lead to a lot of forgotten hoards, and outright property theft by opportunistic males (and treasure hunting humans). especially successful males may end up with multiple mates at different nests, and then he's on the hook to feed them all.

sea serpent mating seasons are dependent on mysterious influences in the tides, lunar cycle, and available foodstock, and so can have gaps of years between them. wurmlets are about a foot long when they hatch, and will be led by their mother to kelp forests, large sargassum mats, and coral reefs , where they'll be left to grow up on their own in the safety of the vegetation. juveniles will drape themselves in whatever is available for camouflage, until they're big enough to defend themselves. nesting females may adopt this strategy when guarding their eggs, if the material is locally available, leading casual observers to think females literally grow kelp for hair.

this has been your sunday morning lore post. reminder for the suggestion box