The Riven Lands

A weather-beaten human whose skin is pierced by living barnacles that grow directly from his bones, marking him as property of the abyssal depths. His salt-and-pepper beard moves with unseen tidal currents even in still air. Wears a captain's coat made from the flayed skin of his former crew, with brass buttons carved from their teeth. His compass tattoo bleeds constantly, pointing toward the nearest source of despair rather than magnetic north. His blue eyes have been replaced by miniature whirlpools that reflect the screaming faces of everyone he's fed to sea monsters.

Strategic but morally bankrupt, viewing all relationships as potential sacrifices to the dark entities that now own pieces of his soul. His maritime knowledge comes tainted with whispers from drowned spirits who demand blood payment for their assistance. Takes twisted pride in operations that require precise timing and supernatural navigation, often using crew members as living compass needles by slowly bleeding them to death. His gambling addiction has evolved into wagering crew members' souls in games with devil captains from sunken ships.

Third-generation ship captain from a family cursed by sea witches, Torrhen's career ended when dark temptations led him to sacrifice his own crew to abyssal entities in exchange for favorable winds. The ritual backfired, binding his soul to the tides and marking him with barnacles that grow through his flesh. Stripped of his captain's commission after investigators found the crew's gnawed bones in his cabin, he discovered his cursed knowledge of tidal magic and blood sacrifice made him invaluable for maritime theft. He maintains contacts throughout the shipping trade by offering their names to hungry sea demons in exchange for information about valuable cargo.