Selkath

Dwelling in the foul humid swamps south of Maternia Jungle, where the magic of those woods runs out and flows into the sea via a river that grows sicker the longer it flows, Selkath watches in the dark waters, eyes poking above the fetid surface, lying in wait for new secrets and magic to discover. The almighty shaman of the Mangsa Gillman clan, Selkath is both feared and revered by his people, who tell strange stories of him but are grateful for the powerful magic he provides. For unhinged Selkath can hear secrets in the waters where he waits, revealing the location of shipwrecks and lost travelers for his people to raid, and warning of when frenzied pirates come to steal their hordes buried deep in the swamp sludge. All that is truly known of Selkath is that his name is not actually Selkath. In fact, his true name is another secret, and to ever speak it is to bring great woe on the clan. He is a member of a clandestine order that speaks only in secret words and cerGhorzaies, celebrating the mystery of knowledge and determined to keep its power to itself. He will lock himself away in his secret hovel for days at a time and emerge with blood on his teeth and new powerful magic. On the rare occasions Selkath has been challenged by the bolder and less suspicious of his tribe, he has smiled and promised to let them into his secrets. He then leads them to the bottom of the ocean where it is said a great beast lurks that can only be heard from the surface as a distant rumble. Selkath then emerges alone, and his power is once again unchallenged for Selkath knows all the deadly secrets of this realm. Such is the respect his tribe has for him he is routinely brought unpopular members of the tribe as sacrifices for his magic. He will write a name on a rock outside his hovel for his intermediaries to read, prompting them to bring him whoever is requested. He favors the arrogant and the stupid. What he does with these victims is uncertain, but it is likely they are used in his magic for his precious magical staff is made from the skull of a Gillman. And so Selkath the Swamp Sorcerer emerges from his hovel, stays in the swamp waters, and absorbs the magic of Maternia Jungle, listening for new magic and secrets from the deep and the land.