What role could sea dragons have in my world?

[Peregrine]

I am fascinated by sea monsters. Especially by huge sea serpents, but I don't know how to involve a sea serpent into the story. What role could they have? They are sea-dwelling creatures, but most of the story takes place on land.

 

[Orc Knight]

Unless the serpents go beyond the sea and can be found in lakes, great lakes and the greatest lakes (and lochs) then it may be hard to get them into the overall story. It wouldn't be out of the question, seeing the mythological and folkloric versions appear in those sorts of places. Could also have them in underground lakes and rivers too. Just like seagulls, they aren't actually limited to the sea. They're just not as likely to be found in dumps.

 

[Insolent Lad]

I managed to slip a sea monster into my most recent fantasy novel (Tsar of the Empty Lands), what is essentially a remnant mosasaur that hides in deep fjords and hunts by ambush. I've no idea whether actual mosasaurs did that sort of thing but it seemed plausible enough. This makes the creature, which I dubbed the 'itzo,' the 'shadow of the deep places,' a threat to small boats along the coast so I didn't have to go out to sea any distance to incorporate the creature into a tale set mostly on land.

 

[Yurinii Gallon]

You might like something similar to the Behemoth. They dwell in deep rushing rivers though. They basically something like Argentinosaurus, but prefer to cool off in large bodies of water. There's Leviathan as well, they are commonly known as sea monsters. But they have a tendency to come to land. There are two types of Leviathan, the ancient description and the modern style leviathan. The ancient type is something similar to the Hydra, while the modern type has only one head.

 

[skip.knox]

>They are sea-dwelling creatures, but most of the story takes place on land.

First suggestion: write a different story, one that takes place at sea, or maybe on a small island.

Second suggestion: decide if they're intelligent. If they're a force of nature, that's one sort of story. If they're intelligent, even if just whale or porpoise intelligent, that's a different sort.

Third suggestion: Decide the tech level. Sea dragons in a world of wooden ships are a different sort of threat than in a world of nuclear submarines.

 

[Miles Lacey]

In Maori culture there is a belief in the taniwha. These creatures live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves and at sea. Legends often speak of battles between warriors and taniwha both on land and at sea. They often patrol areas deemed to be tapu (sacred or off limits for some practical or spiritual reason) and will attack people who enter such places or cause a disaster such as an earthquake. Their exact appearance is a matter of debate as they are represented in different ways by different tribes or whoever is telling the story but they often resemble a shark, whale or serpent.

 

[Lou Bill]

I would use them as chaos beasts, like tanninim in Hebrew mythology. There is also surprising variance in sea serpents, such as some with sealish heads and yellow polka dots.

 

[Futhark]

Perhaps as guardians of certain islands. I’ve always liked the idea of being able to tame them or control them somehow, and use them as transport or to pull ships.