Seagull

stormcalmer of Seaton

Graham was born near Seaton. He apprenticed for his uncle, who was the village weatherworker, a small-time spellcaster that divines the weather, wards boats, casts mending on fishnets or healing word on small cuts; half of it real, the other half quackery. Witnessing all the dubious nonsense his uncle’s customers believed in, Graham developed a skepticism towards the existence of gods. He started weatherworking on ships, although ship crews call that profession windbringing. 

He got married and had a beautiful blonde boy named William, who adored his father and aspired to become a windbringer himself. Unlike his father, William deeply believed in the gods, and prayed to Procan—the god of sea, salt, and sea weather—to protect his father. 

On the first fishing expedition that Graham brought William along to learn on the job, they ran into the grandmother of all storms. Four crewmates were swept overboard to their deaths as William prayed to Procan for salvation. When the sea god did not appear to hear through the roaring storm, he climbed up the main mast to get closer to the heavens and pleaded with Procan to turn him into a bird. This way he could fly up where his voice would easily reach his god’s ears. In exchange for saving his father’s life, William would stay as a bird by Procan’s side and serve him until death. But the god still didn’t seem to hear any of it. 

As Graham yelled at William to get down, the ferocious winds finally broke the mast, and William fell into the ocean. A broken Graham collapsed in a catatonic state as the rest of the crew went below deck to await their fate. 

Behind the stern, a pure white seagull flew out of the waters and soared straight up into the storm clouds. It squawked and sang and chirped and talked to the storm, miraculously calming it down. It then landed next to Graham, shed a tear, and vanished into the clouds. 

From the galley windows, the crew saw the gull come from where Graham was, calm the storm with its calls, and disappear where they later found Graham again. The fantastic tale of Graham as Seagull, Stormcalmer of Seaton, was met with both reverence and skepticism at port. 

Mad with grief, Graham’s wife stabbed him as he slept, but missed his heart, before throwing herself off a cliff. Graham now loathed Procan. He had to acknowledge the god’s existence through his hatred. He embraced the nickname Seagull, for he savored his bitter disgust of Procan every time he heard that moniker.