Part 9: Hydrus, the Seventh Colossus

Blip - With commentary (Polsy) | No commentary (Polsy)
Youtube - With commentary Part 1, Part 2

Hydrus' location on the map: D-1

Artwork/Pictures -
Hydrus Centerfold, left page (Artbook)
Hydrus Centerfold, right page (Artbook)
Hydrus (Artbook)
Hydrus (Artbook)
Hydrus (Concept art)
Hydrus (Concept art of earlier versions)

Dormin's Hint -
 "Swim on the lake surface to draw out the colossus..." 

Notes -
- Hydrus is a  sea-dragon, or a leviathan! He is roughly 280 feet (85m) long from head to tail. 

- The name Hydrus is derived from the Greek word "hudros", which translates to  "water-snake". Hydrus also is the name of a constellation, which is a male water-snake. There is a feminine version of its name that is located nearby, and she's named Hydra! For the stargazing goons, you can read up on it here and a lighter version of it on Wikipedia. 

- Our colossus du jour makes a racket similar to  a whale. 

- While our previous two colossi had some fuzziness about their mythology, this guy is a frequent customer to several legends and tall tales.  Loosely, the word Leviathan translates to twisted or coiled, like a snake. In spite of this, it was used in the past to just mean sea monster, like a whale (see: Moby Dick). It's mentioned both in the Christian and Hebrew Bibles. Demonology itself pegs Leviathan as one of the princes of hell, as well as its gatekeeper.

Interestingly enough, the Leviathan also has ties to Sumerian mythology, which also cites a god whose physical form is that of a bearded bull. Familiar? Probably just a coincidence, but I like these little connects  

-  At the very end, you'll see a pretty noticeable fade that I couldn't do much more with. He submerged just before I could finish him, so basically there was an extra minute or two of me waiting around, then running up along him and planting the finisher. I saved you guys that bit of tedium, since nothing interesting happened up to the point where I fade in. If I hadn't botched the location on the first stab, I probably would've gotten him. 

-  I had to time my stabs to just before he'd slip underwater, because that would interrupt the motion entirely. He's quick to dive (and even quicker on hard mode), unfortunately.