Hofun, Scourge of the Yddian coasts

In the early days of the Vrenidi expansion, the first major triumph achieved was against the collection of kingdoms and tribes to the South-West of the Yddian desert. So thorough was the subjugation of these lands that they are still collectively known as the Subsidiary Districts, a minor power on the continent with little ability to impact the wider world.
 

The Pirate

  However at one point this did not seem to be case, as the legend of Hofun shows. Hailing from a small coastal village near the modern day Urelli Gulf, a boy known only as Hofun grew into a feared pirate king, commanding a vast fleet of marauding brigands which terrorized an unprecedented area, claiming the seas from Urelli gulf out to the Aberrant Archipelago as his own. To this day this region is known collectively as Hofun's Waters. Every king in the Subsidiary Districts paid tribute to this pirate, with even some coastal Manaran settlements being forced to accept his demands for tithes.
  Yet Hofun, despite his charisma and amassed power, was but a man, with no more magic than the common person, and for all his vain struggles death came to him all the same in his advancing age. What remained however, was the myriad tales and fables surrounding his exploits, propping up his memory and feeding into the belief that he was in fact a vengeful sea demon, a myth he himself propagated in his later life. This would prove to be a disastrous mistake, as the sheer number of people that believed this to be true, in addition to the variations and differences between populations around the Yddian coasts, resulted in an up-swell in the Arcane Currents, all this residual magic being directed to the sea, where a dread Manifestation began to form.
 

The Scourge

  Tales of fishing boats and pirate ships being swallowed without a trace first began traveling around the Subsidiary Districts a few centuries before the first Vrenidi invasions of the area, with some accounts claiming it was the work of an unknowable abomination, a monster that was heralded by the coming of the maelstrom and a darkness that oppressed all senses. This entity was of course a rogue manifestation, an embodiment of the fear Hofun had instilled throughout his life, which had now amassed enough collective belief to pose a threat to entire villages on the coasts. The appearance of this manifestation was ever-changing due to differing accounts by different cultures, creating an unstable flow of Arcane Current which allowed this visage of Hofun to shift its form depending on the area, though it was most often described as having the body of a whale, coated with writhing tentacles and a tooth-filled maw which could be mistaken for a great black wave when opened. Some interpretations even made it so it could sprout a snake-like neck which housed a head in a demonic likeness of the pirate king himself.
  Driven by instinct, this abomination continued to terrorize the seas of Western Yddian and the Aberrant Archipelago for several centuries, preventing ships from fishing and trading, severely traumatizing many populations to a point that they forsook the bounty of the seas entirely, abandoning their maritime traditions and homes in order to move further inland to the oppressive jungles or mountains. At one point, "Hofun the Scourge" assaulted and destroyed one hundred cities and villages in the span of a month, with no shaman, druid or any other persuasion of mage capable of matching its might.
 

Har

  All seemed hopeless after this event, with no civilization willing to stick around Hofun's Waters, save for the lone kingdom of Har on the island of Tegenay. Valiant seafarers, the people of this nation were always resistant towards Hofun's influence when the man was still alive, even more so now that this manifestation had appeared. Constantly harrying the monster when it appeared in their sleek war-ships, the mages employed by Har were the masters of ocean manipulation, able to keep the winds favorable for ships so as to out-outmaneuver the beast when they clashed. However the men of Tegenay could never destroy the manifestation, only force a temporary withdrawal from Hofun, who would constantly return and attempt to obliterate their port capital of Im-Haren.
  It was then in 3011 M.E that the prince of Har, Urelli, devised a method to destroy Hofun for good. Although a respectably potent mage in his own right, Urelli knew far stronger had tried to challenge Hofun directly and none had succeeded. Instead, Urelli ordered every mage available, from the most renowned to the lowliest of recluses, to accompany him and his war-host out to sea. Taunting the monster to appear, the 7000 strong force in their boats waited for three days and nights for the foe to reveal itself. On the fourth sunrise, it did just that.
 

The Chase

  With the rising sun being blotted out by a thick onrush of murky clouds, the soldiers of Har prepared themselves to spring the trap. Hofun attacked first, rising from the waves and capsizing many ships, with the army retaliating by firing a great volley of arrows upon its hide. Seeking to enrage the beast, Urelli had his best warriors fire at the various eyes found along Hofun's body, blinding it somewhat. After this was completed, Urelli sounded the call to retreat, with his army sailing West at top speed, Hofun in pursuit.
  Despite losing many men as his foe devoured his rear guard, Urelli kept his course and the chase continued for three days, before the key trap in Urelli's plan was sprung. Having pursued its prey for so long and covering such a distance, Hofun was noticeably drained, its effect on the surrounding weather diminished greatly, as was intended. Approaching a reef just off the mainland, the men of Har pushed on, the slim war-ships that bore them able to navigate the shallow water with little hassle. Hofun, with its gargantuan frame, was not so graceful. Crashing into the jagged rock and coral, it tore great junks off its under-belly which fizzled and dissipated into arcane smoke. In an attempt to repair the damage, Hofun began regenerating as it continued its chase, substituting a large sum of its magic into mass. This further weakened it, causing it to shrink in size rather noticeably. Enheartened, the soldiers of Urelli renewed their barrage, all while they crept ever closer to the shore.
 

The Battle

  At this point, the contingent of mages Urelli had gathered were sent to circle around Hofun's rear, where they began combining their magic power in order to pull all the water near the reef and beaches away to a single point. The manifestation at this point was half its original size, having been forced ashore and picked apart by archers and short bursts of magic from Urelli. Sensing it was in imminent danger, the vile creature sprouted various legs, trying to race back into the sea and escape. Not willing to let his quarry escape, Urelli gave chase, using a binding charm to halt Hofun for a brief moment, allowing the prince to scale its legs, slashing at them with his bladed Krutang and causing Hofun to stumble. Giving his signal, Urelli had his remaining men retreat far inland, and took to forestalling the monster as long as he could, while the water pressure rose higher and higher due to the mages constraining the sea.
  Fighting ferociously, the prince buried his weapon many times into the shifting flesh of Hofun, preventing it from advancing past the coarse reef surface. But his power was all but gone, his soul-force expended in the earlier confrontations, and so Urelli was eventually caught by a wild strike that sent him careening over his mages into the deep. Now free, Hofun charged at the mages. This would be the last mistake the sea-demon would make, as the mages collectively released their hold on the water, and the ensuing release of pressure caused a bang so loud it was deafening to the army that had retreated several kilometers inland. The water was moving so quickly it affected the encroaching Hofun as if it had been struck with a drill, rending and crushing its body as it was sent flying back along the beach. The body of Hofun was blown a great distance, landing not far from where the army of Har had paused. As the first onlookers arrived at the corpse, the remains of the Scourge began to disintegrate as most manifestations do when destroyed, but not before the image of Urelli's Krutang lodged firmly in the beast's hide was sighted, half an arm still gripping it tightly despite the absence of the prince's body.
 

Aftermath

  The rest of prince Urelli's body was never recovered, and a great funeral was held in his honour. The royal insignia of the kingdom of Har was then changed to that of a bloodied arm grasping a Krutang, with the Kingdom of Har experiencing an unrivaled period of prosperity of over a century.
  However, as the Vrenidi Expansion finally reached the shores of Tegenay, the fall of Har came swiftly. The Vrenidi priestesses and their solar magic proved insurmountable to the forces of Har, with the pristine city of Im-Haren being all but razed by the scorching power of the Vrenidi war-machine. Yet, some vestiges of the Kingdom of Har sailed away from Yddian, escaping the destruction of their home, before eventually setting foot on Kargenay, the largest landmass found within the Aberrant Archipelago. Here, these vestiges established a new kingdom, one which influenced the many tribes of the archipelago and introduced them to many advances in seafaring and warfare. To this day, the influences of the men from Har can be seen across the Aberrant archipelago, with the various trading kingdoms making use of their forebears peerless understanding of ship-craft.
  As for the Vrenidi, who went on to dominate most of Yddian, they never tried sailing past the continent into the ocean proper, for the priestesses could sense the lingering presence of Hofun in those waters, and they were fearful. So was the might of that demon.
  With this concludes the tale of Hofun, however brief it is, for many current day scholars are doubtful if this story is even true. Others contest such ideas, reasoning that if such a tale were false, it would not have survived thousands of years into the present Era.