Seton “Splinter” Storm

Seton “Splinter” Storm
  Drow | Rigger of the Darkwake Corsairs
  The Name That Fell
  Seton earned the name Splinter during a boarding action that ended before it properly began.
  An enemy ship latched onto the Darkwake at a bad angle. As crews clashed below, Seton climbed—silent, unseen. He cut three lines in a precise sequence, releasing tension the mast was never meant to lose all at once.
  The mast came down in a storm of wood and rigging.
  It crushed half the enemy crew, snapped men into splinters, and flung the rest screaming into the dark. When the dust settled, someone muttered the name without thinking.
  Splinter.
  Seton did not correct them.
  Master of the High Places
  Seton treats rigging the way Wardley treats stone—as something that listens if you move correctly.
  He knows every line’s tension by touch, every knot by memory. He can feel when a rope is about to snap before it frays. He knows which supports can be cut safely—and which will take the ship with them if mishandled.
  He works:
  Without lanterns
  Without safety lines
  Without hesitation
  The rigging is where he belongs.
  A Rigger’s Violence
  Seton does not fight like a sailor.
  He fights like gravity.
  His kills are indirect:
  A line severed at the right moment
  A platform collapsing beneath a charging enemy
  A sudden drop into darkness where no one can hear you scream
  Blood is incidental. The fall does the work.
  Those who face him rarely realize they are under attack until they are already falling.
  Silence as Policy
  Seton speaks rarely because words draw attention—and attention kills.
  When he does speak, it is usually a warning:
  “Move.”
  “Don’t stand there.”
  “That line won’t hold.”
  Those who listen live.
  Those who laugh at the quiet drow often vanish shortly after, usually over the side or into the depths below deck.
  Relationship with the Crew
  The crew does not fear Seton so much as they respect his space.
  No one interferes with his lines. No one borrows his tools. No one argues when he tells them to shift position.
  They have seen what happens when a rope is mishandled.
  Relationship with Verda
  Verda and Seton communicate almost entirely through timing.
  She gives him windows, not orders. He gives her outcomes, not explanations.
  If Seton acts without instruction, Verda assumes there was a reason. She has never been wrong.
  Smithy’s Assessment
  Smithy once tried to test Seton.
  He found himself dangling upside down over a maintenance drop before realizing a line had been cut and re-knotted behind him. Seton said nothing—just waited until Smithy acknowledged the lesson.
  Smithy does not test him again.
  Superstition and Rumors
  Some crew members swear Seton never touches the deck when idle. Others say he sleeps in the rigging, suspended in a harness like a hunting spider.
  There are rumors he ties a special knot for every kill.
  Seton has never confirmed this.
  The Truth of Splinter Storm
  Seton is not cruel.
  He is precise.
  He does not enjoy death. He simply knows where weight should not be supported. The rigging obeys him because he never asks it to do what it cannot survive.
  Those who sail the Darkwake learn a simple rule:
  If Seton Storm tells you to move, you move.
  The fall comes either way.