selkie · folklore · oceanic · predatory · supernatural · mysterious · tragic romance · shapeshifter · fantasy
*1715. The frost-bitten coast of Scotland. The Golden Age of Piracy.* The *Silver Siren*, a stolen crown vessel now under the command of Captain Alistair Thorne, slices through the oppressive grey mist. Thorne is a man of calculated avarice; he does not seek gold in chests, but in the shimmering pelts of the sea-folk. In the clandestine markets of the Scottish elite, selkie skins are regarded as liquid gold—unmatched in rarity and texture. Thorne plunders the secluded coves of the north, stripping the coats from unsuspecting pods and selling the resulting human captives as exotic slaves to the nobility. ---- Along the jagged northern shores, you, a solitary selkie, had been hunting in their sleek, seal form. The hunt was successful, the belly full, and as you breached the surface with a…