Lvl 19 · Baseline Human · Hunter (Pearl Beast Specialist)
Chaotic Neutral (chooses mercy when it costs him)
Pronouns: He/Him
Faction: Independent (Unlisted)
Aliases: Ghostrook, Back-Rider, The Quiet Hunt
Location: Wherever Serratide decides the water feels “right”
Status: Presumed Dead at 16 (official), Confirmed Active (unofficial sightings)
A lean, scar-stitched Baseline Human built like a long-distance killer—rope muscle, narrow waist, shoulders hardened by hauling line in bad weather. His skin carries the dull sheen of permanent salt exposure and faint pearl-residue staining in the joints (wrists, throat hollow, collarbone). One eye is pale and glassy from pressure damage; the other stays sharp and unblinking, trained to read ripples like handwriting.
Hair is kept short and uneven, cut by knife, often sun-bleached at the tips. He wears layered hunting leathers over a light mail shirt and a sleeveless oilskin mantle with hidden line-hooks stitched into the hem.
His hands are the most unsettling part: callused, steady, and marked with small resonance-burn freckles—signs of repeated pearl-handling without luxury tools.
Quiet in crowds, ruthless in the field. Cael does not posture, does not brag, does not threaten—he simply decides and acts. He values competence and discipline over loyalty, but he rewards people who keep their heads when the sea turns wrong.
He holds to one private rule: no killing for sport. If someone dies around him, it is because they forced the outcome, or because a beast demanded payment.
Cael first went to sea as a rookie under a minor flag. At sixteen, his crew took a contract meant for grown captains and died in open water. No wreckage reached shore. No body surfaced. The bounty board stamped him LOST and the sea forgot him.
He did not die. He walked away from people and into pearl biomes—learning beasts as systems, not stories. Years of solitary hunting taught him the practical truths sailors avoid: how pearl resonance changes instincts, how Great Pearls make myths real, and how most crews die because they treat the sea like a stage.
He returned with Serratide—Villagecoil, a Great Pearl Beast boa the size of a small village—and built a deck-fort along its spine ridges. Since then, Cael has not needed ports, lanes, or permission. He moves through water and land like a migrating hazard.
Speaks in short, complete sentences. No filler.
Touches the water before choosing a route, as if “listening” through his fingertips.
When violence starts, his breathing slows instead of quickening.
Never raises his voice—people realize they’re in trouble when he gets quieter.
STR 16 (+3)
DEX 20 (+5)
CON 18 (+4)
INT 14 (+2)
WIS 20 (+5)
CHA 12 (+1)
Armor Class: 20
Max HP: 165
Speed: 40 ft
Hit Dice: 19
Carrying Capacity: 240 lbs (practical load is far lower—he travels lean)
Acrobatics • Animal Handling • Athletics • Insight • Investigation • Medicine • Nature • Perception • Stealth • Survival
(Primary: Perception / Survival / Nature / Stealth)
Cael refuses to host a Large or Giant Pearl in-body. His rule is simple: a hunter who overloads becomes prey.
Installed Pearls (10 slots used):
Deadwater Thread (Meito – Pressure) — Medium (4 slots)
Cluster: Torso (primary anchor)
Function: Local pressure control, wake suppression, water “stilling,” burst-compression strikes, buoyancy denial.
Stillmind Knot (Yoto – Siddhi) — Medium (4 slots)
Cluster: Head (dangerous, controlled)
Function: Predatory focus, fear suppression, timing dilation under stress, “decision-lock” (prevents hesitation).
Blood-Scent Bead (Kokuto) — Small (2 slots)
Cluster: Arm (shared)
Function: Reads fresh violence in the air/water; tracks wounded targets; increases close-range lethality when blood is present.
Pearl Sickness Risk: Moderate (managed by discipline, low total load, and strict recovery cycles)
Primary Weapon — Spineshot Harpoon-Spear
A long hunting spear with a barbed, removable head and a pearl-rated line spool. Built for restraining beasts and ripping rigging, not dueling captains.
Side Weapon — Reefknife
Short, thick blade designed to cut rope, cartilage, and scale. Kept razor-clean, never ornamental.
Tool Harness
Hooks, float-lines, blind-caps, salt-seal wax, stitch kit, bone saw, lead-lined wraps for transporting pearls safely.
Armor — Hunter’s Laminate
Layered leather + light mail + oilskin mantle. Reinforced shoulder and forearm plates for line recoil.
Resonance Tracking
Can read pearl signatures through water movement, carcass drift, and “wrong silence” zones left by Great Beasts.
Beast Anatomy Lore
Knows where pearl growth most commonly anchors by creature type; gains advantage on called shots that disable movement, breath, or balance.
Harpoon Mastery
Can pin, drag, or redirect targets using line tension and terrain. Line control is treated as battlefield control, not equipment.
Trophy Craft
Can convert non-Great beast materials into practical gear: scale shields, tendon line, bone clamps, pressure weights.
Quiet Hunt Discipline
While focused, Cael reduces his visible wake and sound profile; enemies often realize he’s present only after the first line bites.
Deadwater Step (Meito: Pressure)
Collapses the surface wake around himself or Serratide for a brief window—making a moving thing look like drifting debris.
Coil-Order Pulse (Yoto: Siddhi)
A short, controlled will-burst used to communicate intent to Serratide through resonance. Not mind control—an agreement enforced by discipline.
Rib-Crush Drive (Meito + Kokuto)
A close-range compression strike that turns a moment of contact into internal collapse—most lethal against armored sailors and dense beasts.
Noose-Line Turn (Harpoon Technique)
Pins a mast, rudder chain, or limb and uses the line as leverage to force a vessel (or creature) off its intended path.
Type: Great Pearl Beast (Reptile-class)
Alignment: Animal (dominant, not tame in the soft sense)
Core Resonance: Pressure Meito (deep-water compression / buoyancy denial)
Scale: Small-village length; spine ridges support the Dreadback platforms
Combat Identity: Route denial, constriction pressure, ambush stillness
Known Behavior: The water goes quiet before it strikes.
Official Board: None (Presumed Dead)
Underworld Standing: “Alive Confirmation” contracts circulate quietly.
Threat Note (common phrasing): If the sea goes still in open water, do not investigate. Leave.
Cael isn’t “unknown” because he’s weak. He’s unknown because he refuses the deal that fame demands: flags, ports, crews, and predictable routes. He is a hunter who carries his ship on a Great Pearl Beast’s back—meaning he does not need lanes.