You may have heard the old story of

the Chosen Four, the one about the

four children that saved the world
from destruction long, long ago; but
you may not be aware of a different
story that originates from about the
same time about a very different
hero. Whats more, this story takes
place right here in our very own
nation of Scarabi. I would like now
to recant this story so that it is
not forgotten and may survive amongst
our people for many more generations
to come.
It was a dark and stormy night, as
most nights were back then, and not a
person would dare venture outside.
Why? It was fear you see, fear of
what was lurking outside, just on our
very doorsteps, that foul beast of
the sea, I speak of course, of the
Kraken. You must have heard the tales
of the Kraken? The humongous, fire
breathing monster with the gigantic
fangs that could rend a man in twain
with a single bite, which lurked our
seas any moons ago? Yes? Well, this
was the very same.
Of course, with such a ferocious
beast on the prowl and with everyone
powerless to stand against it our
people found themselves confined to
their homes, cut off from the outside
world, even from Toto, our greatest
trading partner. Yes, things were in
a bad way those days.
That is, until that dark, stormy
night. For the first time in what had
seemed forever a familiar noise had
been heard above the wind, a boat.
But what of the Kraken? Had this
sailor no fear, did he not know of
the danger he was in, or had he
simply no sense? Whatever was going
through his mind, he was there and
people from across the nation
gathered at the edge violent sea to
see this spectacle, a sight once so
common, but now almost alien.
It was dark, the wind was whipping up
a storm and there were waves crashing
in at ten-feet high, visibility was
low to say the least. But despite
this, a small ship could indeed be
seen outlined on the horizon, its
light shining out like a beacon in
the darkness, which, in quite a
literal sense, it was. Also dimly
seen was the outline of four
children, hanging on for dear life to
the vessel as it was pounded about by
the sea. Little did they know that
their troubles were only just
beginning
For at that moment, it happened. As
the ship neared our shores, the ocean
burst asunder and the mighty head of
the Kraken shot upwards, snarling
down at the innocent children
beneath. It had been a while since
humans had dared to trespass on its
domain, it would make an example of
them.
Our people stood beside the sea,
frozen with both fear and morbid
curiosity, unable to turn there gaze
from the horrific spectacle that was
sure to unfold before them. And, sure
enough, the kraken lunged forward,
baring its terrible fangs, the
children would be dead in an instant
and the boat, like so many other
would disappear into the murky
depths.
Except, it didnt. For that moment
one of the children pulled out a
large stick and attacked the Kraken
in response. Clearly not expecting
any retaliation the beast recoiled
slightly in shock before launching
its next assault. Its not to clear
what happened next as all anyone
there could see were flashes of light
against the darkness and dim
outlines. It appears that the four
children had launched into a
desperate struggle against the Kraken
and were quite miraculously
succeeding in keeping the monster
somewhat at bay.
What was clear however, was that no
matter how admirably these small
figures battled, it was hopeless. It
was only a mater of time before the
Kraken fried their flesh and sunk his
jaws into their supple young frames.
This grim truth was all to obvious as
the childrens screams and the
creatures roars could be heard above
the storm, accompanied by the sound
of SMAAAAAASH!!!
But then, nothing, the four valiant
figures were all seen to collapse,
one-by-one onto the sodden deck with
nothing more to do but await deaths
sweet embrace. The fight was over;
the Kraken had emerged victorious
and, with a last horrifying roar
thrust itself upon the ship. Except,
it did not, once again it was
distracted, but this time, by a
miracle.
A startling light burst forth from
within the vessel, near blinding all
who gazed upon it, not least of all
the Kraken itself, which recoiled in
horror at the sight. And amidst this
glorious, heavenly light stood a
solitary figure, a man, tall and
strong, silhouetted in the night. The
whole of Scarabi watched with baited
breath as the man leapt forth toward
the stunned Kraken, clutching
something in his hands as he did so.
His words could be heard clear as
day, booming out across the sea, some
say they were heard as far away as
Eagleland to the west.
YOU SHALL NOT HARM THESE CHILDREN!
he thundered, TAKE THIS! And with
that he hurled the objects he had
been grasping with full force,
directly into the Krakens horrific
visage. It was a sight to behold, the
Kraken let out a sickening,
bloodcurdling screech, flailing in
purest pain and disappeared, thus
writhing, into the deep darkness of
the ocean from whence it came,
churning up the waters as it did so.
But then, absolute silence. The
Kraken had completed its final death
throes, the beast was no more. And
gone with it also was the storm, the
moon shone out bright as the sun, no
more than the gentlest of breezes
passed through the air. A loud thump
could be heard as this god-like man
landed upon his deck, he was seen
helping up the poor children, stunned
by their ordeal before making his way
back into the cabin and directing his
boat onwards towards our fair shores.
The people of Scarabi, who had
remained speechless up until this
point, let out a thunderous cheer,
thanks to this wonderful hero, no
longer would they have to live in
perpetual fear of the ocean and what
lurked within, they were free! The
once great nation could become alive
once again! As the ship pulled into
dock and the man emerged, swathed in
his striped sailors shirt and
carrying the mightiest of beards, he
was greeted as true hero, with every
man, woman and child heaping all of
their praise and admiration upon him.
But, befitting a true hero, he acted
with modesty and restraint,
concerning himself only with the
wellbeing of the children upon his
ship. They had all fallen unconscious
once again from their wounds and
fatigue and were in dire need of
immediate medical attention. We
helped him disembark the children and
took them into the care of our good
doctors. Do not worry about their
fate though, they were just fine,
they awoke the very next day and
despite their ordeal insisted that
they must leave. They were last seen
disappearing into the desert and no
trace of them has ever been recorded
since.
Just who were these children, who had
survived nothing less than an assault
from the Kraken? Unfortunately, this
information has long since been
forgotten. History gives us no
greater clue to their identity that
they were three boys and a girl,
nothing more has ever been said of
them. Some theorists claim that they
were no less than the Chosen Four of
legend, as they too were a group of
three boys and a girl. Its a nice
idea, but I do not believe this, that
the legendary destroyers of evil were
bested by a simple beast such as the
Kraken does not ring true in my ears.
What became of them also, is a
profound mystery, some say that they
simply perished in the desert, others
claim that they were captured by the
pharaohs curse and remain sealed
inside the pyramid to this very day.
Me? Personally I like to think that
they managed to traverse the desert
and pyramid before finally joining
forces with some kind of dungeon
man and eventually departing in a
yellow submarine. But thats just me.
But, in the grand scheme of things,
the children are not really
important, after all, it was this
mighty man who defeated the Kraken,
not them. After the children had been
safely taken care of we held a
gigantic feast in his honour where he
revealed his identity to us. He was
but a simple ships captain, hailing
from the land of Toto across the sea.
His name he revealed to be Superman
McAwesome (quite a typical foreign
name I believe), the Krakenslayer. He
had grown tired of living in the
shadow of the beast and his wifes
Stoic Club and, when asked by a
group of children for passage to
Scarabi he readily agreed, in spite
of the terrible danger he knew faced
him.
And how did he fell the beast, with
bravery, strength, quick thinking and
his secret weapon. Slippers. Who
would ever have guessed that footwear
was the Krakens greatest weakness?