Mother Squall
Hag • Sea Hag • Chaotic Evil
Age: Unknown
Gender: Female
Languages: Common, Giant, Primordial
Occupation: Weather witch
Location: sea caves • storm-battered cliffs • tidal pools
Adventure Hooks: offers safe passage through a coming storm... for a price • seeks an item lost beneath the waves • promises favorable winds in exchange for an unusual favor
Appearance.
Mother Squall is a gaunt sea hag with pale blue-green skin stretched tightly over sharp bones and long strands of tangled white hair that drift as though underwater. Her seaweed-covered robes drip constantly despite never seeming wet, and barnacles cling to her shoulders and crooked staff. Her cloudy eyes flash with pale blue light whenever thunder rolls overhead, while the air around her always smells of salt, rain, and rotting kelp.
Personality.
Patient, mocking, and delightfully cruel, Mother Squall delights in watching hope rise just before it is swept away. She speaks softly, almost kindly, as though comforting frightened travelers, but every word carries the promise of misfortune. To her, storms are honest; they favor no one, and she believes people should be reminded of that whenever they grow too confident.
Backstory.
Legends claim Mother Squall has haunted the coastline longer than the oldest lighthouse has stood. Fishermen blame her for ships driven onto hidden reefs, while sailors leave offerings in forgotten coves hoping to avoid her attention. Whether she truly commands the storms or merely follows in their wake, no one can say with certainty, but few dare risk finding out.
Motivations.
She delights in shattering the illusion that mortals can tame the sea, taking particular pleasure in humbling the arrogant and overconfident. She also enjoys collecting promises from desperate sailors, knowing that fear often makes people bargain away far more than they intended.
Flaws.
Mother Squall becomes fixated on anyone who remains calm in the face of overwhelming danger, treating them almost like a puzzle that must eventually be broken. She also struggles to resist turning every bargain into an elaborate game, sometimes allowing clever victims opportunities to escape simply to prolong her amusement.
Secrets.
She secretly keeps mundane shells from every coastline she has ever visited, carefully arranged by color inside her cave. Although she would never admit it, she has an irrational fear of dolphins and refuses to remain near them longer than absolutely necessary.