Lexicon:Modern/Ramvach
| Ramvach | |
|---|---|
| Stage | Modern CLT |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɾam.vax/ |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Etymology | from Middle Ramvākē, from Proto ram-vak |
| Related words | Long Reach, Naevmastra, Kroeenra |
Ramvach — the deep-water beast that strikes hulls.
Notes
Enormous, heavy-bodied and blunt-headed, with a reinforced skull and no visible eyes to speak of. It is never seen whole. What a crew sees is a shape below the hull and then the strike.
Territorial, and holds particular stretches of deep water rather than roaming. Experienced navigators know the zones and route around them, and the direct Long Reach passes through at least two of them, which is one more reason that route is dangerous beyond piracy.
A clockwork hull monitor picks up the pressure wave perhaps thirty Teich before impact, which is enough to brace and not enough to turn. The strike cracks planking and rarely sinks a sound vessel outright. What sinks ships is the damage working open in the next heavy weather.