Regarding the Inhabitants of the Coast of Storms

Description of the Kraken,from De Natura Celeftii

Regarding the Inhabitants of the Coaft of Storms, of whom many have fpoken in Ignorance, the inveftigations of a Natural Philofopher may at laft be reveal fome Facts. For this Philofopher has ufed fuch things as the Gods have given him to Examine, and lived among the Creatures, that they might be better underftood. Thefe Kelp-Men, as the vulgar call them, or Chlorophraftus aquaticus to the learned, live in rude Dwellings along our coafts, and there tend to Gardens of rare Shellfishes. It is true that they are fashioned much as we, with between fix and ten Limbs. Thefe Limbs, lacking in Bones as the body of a Leech or Lamprey, possess ftrength enough to wield fimple Tools, and fupport the bulbous mass of their Body. This Body, being filled with a briny Humour, muft be maintained with Moifture, elfe the Creature shall die in two days time. Arranged in a Radial pattern are narrow Grooves from which a vifcous Oil is extruded. By means of this oil, diverfe fcents are created, which ferve to them as a fimple Language. But this terreftrial form is but the juvenile ftate, which lafts two to three Years, and then ends in an extraordinary Migration.

When the eaftering fun rifes to the higheft point of its Ecliptic, along every barren Coaft the mature C. aquaticus returns to the Deeps. There this Philofopher followed them, allowed by diverfe Alchemies to breathe the very Waters, and maintain a fubterfuge againft detection. The yearlings fwim to a Depth of forty or fifty Fathoms and blindly find, by fome inner fenfe, colonies of their Kind. For their maturation depends upon Union with thefe Colonies, like in fize to the Lesser Leviathans, and each with many living parts as a fmall Town. There are areas for the growth of Shellfish, tended by the young; rings as fpheric Fortifications, made from the Bodies of elder, yet ftill living Beings, their bodies ftiff and sharp with accumulated Minerals; and rows of Tendrils, a hundred ells or more in length, which ferve as Oars, Tethers, or hunting-Lines, and are made from thofe Beings in their flattened, intermediate ftage of Growth. From thefe Masses, as like to a fingle Leviathan of many parts, comes haunting Mufic, with many Harmonies fuch as Mathematicians defcribe. By this Mufic many such Colonies communicate, gathering againft Calamity or for War. But they fear few Difafters, for unless a Colony is wholly eradicated, or fwallowed entire by a Greater Leviathan, it regenerates with marvelous fpeed. New Kelp-Men are coalefced from a vitreous Jelly, collected from hidden Pores in the center of each Colony, and where my Gaze was not welcome....

From the Liber Thanaturgea

Many potent reagents may be brewed from the bodies of that being, called Devil's Weed by some, or Thorn Dryad by others. A word, first, on harvesting, for the vegetative and dormative powers of these plants is greatest in the living creature. They are not easy to hunt, being possessed of foliant camouflage in summer, and thin, wiry, and serpentlike in deep winter. Hunt only those that have wandered far from their earthen villages, and go not harvesting into the woods on any of the seven Equinoxes, for those are their holy days. Avoid also the farms where meats are grown from trees, for there will be many hidden sentinels.

Of the leaves, these will be permeated most with the powers most prevalent in the heavens upon the harvest. The red or gold, taken in autumn, reflect the ascendance of the dry stars, and are possessed of a Dormitave Property. Mixed with the Sweet Oil of Vitriol, they make a sleeping potion. Similarly, the light greens of spring reflect the ascendance of the wet stars, and have a Leptic Property. Mixed with antimony, a distillate will bring seizures upon one with a phlegmatic disposition.

Of the rootlets, these store the Vegetative Property. If ground and mixed with a single drop of Living Mercury and honey, then incubated under Aqua Dolens for forty days without the admission of any light, a Serpent-Golem may be grown. The stalks, body, and many tendrils are of no use to the Thanaturgist, save as dangers when one dismembered limb forgets it deadness and coils about the neck of the unwary.... Note also that the crimson blossoms of a gravid female should be carefully removed, for they have a potent Sanguinous Property, and may bring inappropriate demonic attention if stored too near Mercuria Ardens or any of the Noble Metals.

Most praised of all their properties, the Devil's Weed has a unique bond to the Adversary that allows them to sleep very lightly in death. It is well known that in time of war, the great bramble-fields that are their graveyards stir to new life and, as an army of a thousand thorned serpents, advance against their enemies. This is the Renascent Property, and resides in the tap roots of a sessile elder. Although nearly impossible to obtain, the tap root may be ground together with Aqua Deimos into a balm that will restore the dead to life. Even a single limb may be restored with this balm, or the very ancient dead, although the condition of the body may further deteriorate.