Skald

• always has his coat, but it can change appearances
• very tall....
• can turn into an orca
• --

Skald is very kind and caring, and has a very big soft spot for lost people. He likes going out of his way to help, though sometimes he can be overbearing about it. He has no education- save for what his wife has taught him about medicine, but he gets by well based on his life experiences. He loves his family very much, and doesn't do well when he's apart from them for a long time. He needs social structure in his life, and values his relationships with other people highly.

Meredydd was born in the sea to a family of selkies that could turn into orcas. One of five siblings, he and his family would travel the sea, hunting and protecting their territory. One day, he was separated from his pod by a storm, and ended up in a part of the sea they had never traveled to before. In a new strange place, Meredydd began to panic. He was near the coast, but lingering too long caused issues. A whaling ship hunted him down, and attacked him. He managed to escape, but passed out and washed ashore, losing his whaleskin. Bloody and beaten, he was found by a young woman. She took him back to her home, and treated his injuries. She introduced herself as Amelia, a healer for the nearby fishing village, and she nursed him back to health. As he started venturing out to find his whaleskin, the villagers nearby began to call him Skald for the stories he liked to tell.

Skald began to forget about his skin, consumed with the new life he was experiencing. He grew closer to Amelia as well, and he would help her gather herbs and take care of sick and injured villagers. One night, he decided to tell Amelia the truth, and she revealed that she had found his coat. She gave it back to him, and the two became even closer. For a time after, Skald would travel to the sea every night, always returning to Amelia at morning. The village began to gossip about the giant black whale that would appear at night, some of the fishermen identifying it as the one they had tried to catch. He became a legend, and Skald took advantage of it, telling stories of the blackfish and the luck it would bring the village. Skald made good on his stories of the blackfish protecting his village, and whenever raiders or pirates would drift too close, the whale would destroy the ships, killing any who dared to try to reach shore and cause harm to his people. The two became closer than ever before, and soon Skald asked Amelia to marry him. He gave her his skin and told her to hide it away, and that as long as she kept it he would be unable to return to the sea. He would belong to her, and the sea would no longer call so strongly to him. They married, the village having a huge celebration filled with song and dance. Afterwards, Skald would help Amelia with her work as a healer, or assist those in the village with various tasks. At night, Skald would tell Amelia special stories- ones of swimming across oceans, diving deep, and of his family.

About four years after their marriage, Amelia became pregnant. Skald was excited beyond belief, and they had a daughter. She was tiny and precious, and could fit right in one of her father’s hands. Within hours, her coat appeared, and Skald knew that she was just like him. They named her Sakari, and she grew up on her father’s stories of the sea and the guardian whales that swam through it. He kept her blood a secret however, wanting to wait until she was older so he wouldn’t lose her to the call of the sea. He would bring Sakari with him to the village when he told stories, and he would walk on the beach with her, collecting shells. She was curious and kind, with a gentle heart like her mother and a desire to explore like her father. After some time, Skald and Amelia were expecting another child, and excited to welcome in a new member of their family. One day, Skald went out in the morning to hunt and gather herbs for Amelia. He was successful, and was going home by early afternoon. When he reached their house, however, it was in flames. Half of it had collapsed, and Amelia was on the ground in front of it. Skald ran to her, but it was too late. He tore his burning home apart looking for his daughter, but was unable to find her. Determined to find her, he buried his wife by the sea, and dug out his whaleskin from the ashes of his home. He left the village and his home, disappointed by humanity and vowing to return to the sea after finding his daughter.