Draug

## The Draug

The draug are undead creatures from old legends and mythology. Some explain them as ghosts that live in the graves of Vikings. Others say they are the reanimated corpses of mariners who died at sea and therefore lacked a proper burial. Denied their eternal rest, they haunt the nearest shore as fleeting apparitions. In folklore, they are harbingers of death.

In Kingsmouth, the draug are corporeal and pose an immediate threat to the struggling survivors of the doomed island. When the fog surrounded Kingsmouth, most of the population walked mindlessly into the sea. The drowned then rose again from the waters, driven forward by pasty, seaweed-covered humanoids.

These creatures are the draug.

Physically, they are humanoid in form, but nonetheless differ from people in many ways. Larger than the average person, they are covered in the red seaweed of the Sargasso, as well as in shells and other aquatic growths. Their bloated forms are often scarred by marine carrion-eaters and parasites.

Heavily mutated with sea life, most draug have taken the shapes and attributes of myriad sea creatures - the body of a tuna or marlin spliced with tentacles, claws or flippers. Some draug have even developed a mental command over crustaceans and will actively use them as minions and weapons when hunting. The crabs, lobsters and other shellfish will live in symbiosis with these draug, making hives and nests in the seaweed or in their decomposing bodies.

While perfectly adapted to life in the ocean, draug on land will always be betrayed by their awkward movement and foul smell. The putrid stink of rot and decay follows them up from the bottom of the sea.

Excessively aggressive, the draug will use any means to kill. They will strangle the living with seaweed, crush them with their enlarged bodies, use their mutations as weapons and spew toxic waste. There is even a recorded instance of a draug dragging a kitchen sink up from the discarded depths, and using it to bash the brains of its victim. In short, the draug like to kill.

Like most other undead creatures, the draug do not have feelings of mercy or empathy, and they have few physical weaknesses. They are not destroyed simply through defeat in combat. When slain, they dissolve into water, which then trickles to a nearby, larger body of water, where they rise again.

There are primarily five kinds of draug haunting the shoreline of Solomon Island.

The spikers and maulers are the warriors. They have large corals attached to their bodies which they use as weapons. Their sickly flesh is sinewy and tough enough to blunt blades. While their wounds and abscesses may make them appear fragile, they are actually formed from the inside pushing out, as they constantly mutate new muscle structures to support their deceptively clumsy-looking body weapons.

Another type of draug is the witch. Masters of powerful, dark magic these vicious females most often fight from a distance. Some have long, slimy tentacles growing from their chests and stomachs that they use to lash out at anyone within range.

Fewer in numbers, but more powerful, are the queens. Bloated and enormous, these organic cauldrons carry inside them the enzymes from which new draug are made. Seeping tainted water and steam from every pore, their presence can drive other draug to a frenzy. By applying their will they can rally warrior draug and induce gestating pods to release their terrible offspring.

By far the largest of the draug are the tanks. These are the vicious, elite warriors of the sea dwelling race. Much tougher specimens, they are heavily mutated with various sea creatures that have fused into their bodies. They have thickened to become unbalanced goliaths formed of armoured flesh and ridges of coral gristle.

Finally, there are the lords. Sinister architects and engineers of the grand designs of their race, the lords wield powerful magic. They are found wherever the draug draft their darkest schemes, around important pods, or near the mine. These creatures have shed all semblance of humanoid appearance; shifting columns of flesh support tentacled heads, made up of the mixed material of all draug types, which allows them to innately sense and direct their kind telepathically.

Their telepathic control isn't limited to draug. By some unnatural means, the draug also control the zombies of Kingsmouth. They use the mindless walking corpses not only as slaves and foot soldiers - to stalk the shore of Solomon Island and attack anyone who comes near - but also for reproduction.

Zombies are rounded up along the shore and used as a grotesque form of incubator. An embryo is placed inside the rotting corpse, where it gestates until it's big enough to be removed from the host body and placed in shallow water to grow in a protected egg sac or pod. Zombies have been seen hauling these fetid pods around Kingsmouth.

An unquestionably powerful and horrific race, the draug are not randomly invading Solomon Island. They too seem to be controlled by some unknown force whose ultimate design remains a mystery. Sometimes they can be seen staring out to sea, their bodies swaying gently, heads cocked as if listening to a voice. This voice doubtlessly belongs to someone - or something - that has little love for Kingsmouth.