The Watcher, a demonic Kraken
Freshwater kraken normally resided in the pools of the Underdeeps, sometimes, however, they swam into aboveground meres. A creature older and more vile than normal Kraken, the Watcher in the Water resided in the "bottomless" Gate-pool outside the West-gate of Khazad-dum. This thirty-tentacled monster had entered the cool mere, which lay near the headwaters of the river Sirannon, via a submarine passage in the Underdeeps. This extremely deep, primeval fissure led to a vast reservoir that fed the Gate-stream with the mineral-rich waters borne out of the roots of the Misty Mountains. Sixty feet long (including tentacles) and naturally phosphorescent, the Watcher presented an eerie, terrifying visage. His mere presence was enough to scare anyone trying to ascend the stairway to the West-gate. As guardian of Durin's ancient doors, however, the creature was hardly a simple warder. The Watcher's dark role was far more murderous. He lurked by the path at the behest of the Balrog, quietly submerged and ever-hungry, slaying rather than scaring potential intruders. Few if any traces remained of the monster's victims. Thus, the road remained deceptively inviting—and the watery trap remained ever-open. Bred by Morgoth in mockery of Ulmo's great mollusks, he might have been a descendant of Abûth and possessed a broad array of interesting attributes. Its ink sacks contained poisonous green fluid, which the monster used to stun or paralyze its prey, and a thicker black ink that obscured its movements. The Watcher's 18" diameter eyes effectively deciphered polarized light and contained finely-structured retinas, permitting the beast to discern extremely fine details under murky conditions. Its equally-large, serrated beak cut and snapped bone, wood, or even iron with astonishing ease. Fed by the long, grappling, prehensile tentacles, the Watcher's black maw also served as a natural intake valve. The monster adjusted its buoyancy by sucking water or air through its beak and storing the infusion in the myriad flotation sacks situated behind its thickly-hided head, and it occasionally propelled itself by emptying these sacks in one or more sudden blasts. Normally, though, the Watcher maneuvers by undulating its tail and fins, the latter of which were located along the Kraken's rear flanks. No creature rivaled the Watcher in this regard: to be able to sit, float, move nimbly, or explode in any direction with a burst of speed. He was in almost every sense the perfect guardian.
References[]
- Retrieved from [Realms of Arda]; original reference: [ICE MERP 2012]
- Interplay's the Lord of the Rings -Game I