Xuukrax

Description

Appearance

Xuukrax is a massive, terrifying creature—a leviathan centipede whose body once stretched across entire oceans. Its form is serpentine and segmented, covered in dark, shimmering scales that reflect the deep, abyssal waters. Its body is adorned with rows of jagged spines and sharp, powerful legs that allow it to move swiftly through the ocean’s depths. The creature’s head, crowned with bioluminescent tendrils and multiple glowing eyes, radiates malice and greed, always searching for more plunder and wealth.
Xuukrax’s gaping maw is filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth capable of crushing ships and devouring entire crews. Its presence beneath the waves stirs terrible storms, whirlpools, and massive tidal waves that threaten any vessel that dares to cross its path. Sailors feared Xuukrax not just for its sheer size and power but for its ability to summon devastating weather and capsize ships seemingly at will.
While its influence has waned since the Severance, Xuukrax remains a formidable figure in the mythology of Avada, particularly in coastal regions, where it is still feared as a symbol of oceanic chaos and greed.

Personality

Xuukrax is the embodiment of greed, a creature driven by an insatiable hunger for wealth and power. It hoarded vast treasures deep beneath the Ommini Ocean, collecting gold, jewels, and relics offered by fearful sailors hoping to placate its wrath. Mortals who feared the Leviathan of the Depths would offer up gold and livestock in exchange for calm seas and safe passage, but Xuukrax’s appetite for wealth and dominance could never be fully satisfied.
Despite its immense greed, Xuukrax is also highly territorial, viewing the oceans as its domain. When the god Valoorl, the deity of the sky and stars, appeared and began teaching mortals to navigate by the stars, Xuukrax saw this as a direct threat to its power over the seas. Mortals no longer relied solely on favorable winds or offerings to Xuukrax for safe travel; instead, they looked to the stars for guidance. This challenge to its authority over the oceans only fueled Xuukrax’s rage and increased its desire to dominate the seas completely.
Xuukrax is vengeful and calculating. While it can be appeased temporarily, it never forgets a slight. Any who attempt to circumvent its control over the seas, whether through Valoorl’s teachings or by withholding tribute, will face its fury in the form of violent storms and deadly waves.

Symbols

• Golden Hoard: Representing Xuukrax’s greed and its immense treasure hidden beneath the Ommini Ocean.

• Whirlpool: Symbolizing the chaos Xuukrax can summon from the depths, capable of sinking ships and stirring the seas.

• Storm-Tossed Ship: Reflecting Xuukrax’s control over the ocean and its power to bring disaster to any vessel crossing its territory.

Biography

Terror of the Seas and Rivalry with Valoorl

Xuukrax once ruled the oceans of Avada, feared by sailors and coastal towns alike. As the Leviathan of the Depths, Xuukrax was notorious for causing storms, whirlpools, and massive tidal waves, claiming the seas as its own dominion. It demanded tribute from those who sailed the oceans, offering calm seas and favorable winds in exchange for gold, livestock, and other valuable offerings. Many coastal communities built shrines to Xuukrax, hoping to appease the creature and ensure their safety.
However, Xuukrax’s dominance over the seas was challenged by Valoorl, the god of the sky and stars. Valoorl taught mortals to navigate by the stars, giving them a way to travel the seas without relying solely on Xuukrax’s whims or offerings. This development enraged Xuukrax, who saw Valoorl’s teachings as an infringement on its territory and authority over the oceans.
The rivalry between Xuukrax and Valoorl grew fierce, with Xuukrax attempting to unleash storms and wreck any ship that dared to follow Valoorl’s teachings. While Valoorl sought to guide mortals safely through the world by the light of the stars, Xuukrax sought to plunge the seas into chaos, ensuring that no ship could sail without paying tribute to its monstrous power.

The Diathan War and Xuukrax’s Banishment

During the Diathan War, Xuukrax sided with the Odelates, opposing the Diathan who sought to maintain balance and order in the world. As chaos spread across Avada, Xuukrax saw an opportunity to extend its influence and tighten its grip on the seas. However, in the aftermath of the war, the forces of the Diathan prevailed, and Xuukrax’s ambitions were crushed.
At the war’s end, Xuukrax was banished by the Diathan to a new dimension known as the Sea of Black, a stormy, desolate ocean within the Plane of Water. This dark, isolated dimension became Xuukrax’s prison, a place where it could no longer wreak havoc on the oceans of Avada. Though banished, Xuukrax’s influence lingers in the legends of sailors, who continue to fear the leviathan’s wrath, believing that its power might one day return.

The Ommini Ocean Hoard

Legends tell of Xuukrax’s immense treasure hoard, hidden deep beneath the Ommini Ocean. Before its banishment, Xuukrax was said to have amassed vast wealth from centuries of offerings and plundered ships, storing it in the darkest trenches of the ocean. After Xuukrax’s defeat and banishment, many adventurers sought to locate the hoard, but none succeeded. The treasure’s location remains a mystery, and rumors persist that Xuukrax left behind powerful wards or guardians to protect it from those who seek it.
Despite countless attempts to retrieve the treasure, the Ommini Ocean Hoard remains one of the most elusive and coveted treasures in all of Avada, drawing treasure hunters and pirates into dangerous, stormy waters in search of riches that might never be found.

Worshipers

Followers and Beliefs

Xuukrax’s followers were primarily sailors, merchants, and coastal communities who feared the leviathan’s wrath. They believed that offering gold, livestock, and other tributes could buy calm seas and protection from the storms Xuukrax summoned. Many viewed Xuukrax as a force of chaos that needed to be appeased, not revered out of love, but out of fear for their lives and livelihoods.
However, after Xuukrax’s banishment, his direct worship diminished, though his legend persisted. Some pirates and treasure hunters still revere Xuukrax, seeing him as a symbol of power and greed, and hoping to one day uncover his treasure hoard. The search for Xuukrax’s wealth remains an obsession for many, though few have dared to dive into the depths of the Ommini Ocean where his treasure is believed to lie.

Temples and Sacred Sites

Before the Severance and Xuukrax’s banishment, shrines to the Leviathan of the Depths were common along the coasts. These shrines were simple but sacred to sailors, where they would leave offerings in exchange for calm seas. With Xuukrax gone, many of these shrines have fallen into disrepair, though a few remain, tended by those who still fear that the Leviathan may one day return.
Underwater Ruins: There are rumors of ancient temples dedicated to Xuukrax, now long abandoned and sunken deep into the sea. These ruins are said to hold clues to the location of Xuukrax’s legendary treasure hoard, but they are dangerous to explore, guarded by traps and sea creatures left to protect the Leviathan’s wealth.

Legacy and Impact

Xuukrax’s legacy is one of fear, greed, and untamed power. Once the terror of Avada’s oceans, Xuukrax ruled the seas with storms and tidal waves, demanding tribute and spreading chaos wherever it went. Its rivalry with Valoorl, who taught mortals to navigate by the stars, only intensified its desire to dominate the oceans and maintain control over those who sailed the seas.

After its banishment to the Sea of Black, Xuukrax’s direct influence on Avada faded, but the legend of its treasure hoard and the terror it once inspired remains strong. Sailors still tell stories of Xuukrax’s storms, and adventurers continue to seek out the hidden riches that may lie in the depths of the Ommini Ocean.

Though its power has diminished, Xuukrax’s legacy serves as a reminder of the untamable forces lurking beneath the waves, and the danger that comes with defying the gods who once ruled the seas.