An immense, pale-blue, eel-like creature dripping a thick, gelatinous oil rises above the waves. Dozens of tiny eyes blink along its serpentine flanks.
Giant Elementals. One of the more unusual denizens of the Elemental Plane of Water, the ikuchi can also be found in the oceans of the Material Plane, hunting the natural fauna and causing havoc for shipping lanes. Though the typical ikuchi is just under a hundred feet long, rumors abound of ikuchi that are hundreds of feet or even miles in length in the largest oceans and the depths of their home plane. Ikuchi are also known as ayakashi in various lands and are sometimes confused with sea serpents.
Sinker of Boats. More dangerous than even the size of the ikuchi is the oil it produces almost constantly from its body. This oil is thicker than the surrounding water and impedes the movement of any creature moving through it, even those native to the Elemental Plane of Water. The ikuchi uses its oil to swamp small ships by slithering on board and filling the ship with its oil, gradually causing the ship to sink. Why the ikuchi goes to such lengths to sink watercraft is unknown, as the creatures are highly temperamental and are just as likely to ignore a vessel as they are to go after it.