The Shattered Seas

Cane is an elderly man, but his eyes are sharp, and his posture is surprisingly straight despite his apparent age. His skin is leathery from constant sun exposure, and his hair, white and wild, appears to be in a constant state of being tangled by the wind. He wears a faded sailor’s coat, its once-vibrant colors now reduced to sea-worn patches. His most distinct feature is the array of glass bottles—each containing a trinket or odd object—that dangle from his beard. His coral walking staff is twisted and covered in seaweed.

Cane speaks in strange, cryptic riddles that are often unsettling but somehow resonate with truth. He’s perpetually drunk, though he maintains a sharp mind and an unnerving calm. His eccentricity makes it difficult for people to decide if he’s genuinely an oracle or just a madman. Cane will speak of ancient oceans, lost civilizations, and the future of the seas in a way that confuses but also feels oddly insightful. Despite his oddness, he has an air of authority that draws others to listen.

Cane’s origins are unknown, as he has lived so long that he can no longer remember where he came from. He was once a sailor who navigated the treacherous waters around the Freeports, but after a mysterious accident at sea, he was stranded on an island for several months. There, he claims to have been “visited by the tides themselves” and granted the ability to see the future—or at least, to see the strange signs that precede it. Since then, he’s wandered the seas, offering prophecies to anyone willing to listen, though not all of his predictions are beneficial. Cane has recently been muttering about “the Black Sea” rising from beneath the world—an event that would herald the end of the known oceans and bring an era of endless storms and monsters from the deep. His cryptic prophecies are gaining attention from powerful factions who are desperate to understand his predictions. He’s been speaking about a lost city that might hold the key to stopping—or embracing—the rise of the Black Sea.