Storm Skimmers

Edda is surrounded by turbulent waters. While most of the oceans between the nations are mostly calm depending on the season, once you sail past the usual borders of the nations, it all starts to churn worse and worse with larger and larger creatures lying beneath the depths, and that's before getting to the Wild Magic Zones that encase Edda. However, that doesn't stop many intrepid ships from trying, and it doesn't stop courses from being blown aside.
This chaos and turbulence can shred most ships, and rougher storms can tear up shores and toss their materials into the wider oceans. This is where Storm Skimmers make their bounty. They venture out into the oceans chasing after the debris to salvage, or after lost treasure from destroyed ships. Most of them are independent contractors, but some work directly for certain kingdoms, especially Atalanta, to recover and recycle ship materials. Even the independent ones usually get big payouts from local governments, though.
Some Storm Skimmers are even more ambitious treasure hunters, venturing to the far edge of the Wild Magic Zones to catch the rare debris that makes it from the outside, or to where long-lost debris and artifacts of sunken islands and underwater temples get churned up by the wild waves. Many of these sailors don't make it back in one piece, but those that do are filled with the ever-hungry thrill of adventure.

---

---

Career

Qualifications

Storm Skimming is a dangerous job, as they follow in the wake of deadly storms to pick up what's left behind. Therefore, to handle the shaky waves, only experienced sailors are properly hired. Proper captains will only take on those with at least a decade of prior experience, or similarly impressive credentials. Less-than-legal groups take in anyone who won't be a liability but don't necessarily care about turnover rates.

Career Progression

Storm Skimming is merely a particular task using ships, so the ranks among them often mirror the ranks and positions you'll find on any well-manned ship. Storm Skimmers themselves gain more notoriety the more dangerous the expeditions they go on, with only three surviving ships in all of Edda reaching the Wild Wall and bringing something from the other side back with them.

Payment & Reimbursement

Officially sponsored Storm Skimmers are a salaried position, and the captain gets a percentage of the total hauls sale rate to give amongst the crew. Less official branches are mostly commission based, and take larger percentages of the haul, if they don't keep the spoils just for themselves.

Other Benefits

To be a Storm Skimmer is to sail into some of the only unexplored areas of Edda. It's a dangerous, heart-pounding, once-in-a-lifetime chance to see mysterious signs of ancient history, lost relics, terrifying beasts, and if you're lucky a rare glimpse into the alien wider world of Arcanoterra. To be a Storm Skimmer is to risk safety for posterity, and to experience things no one else ever could.
Most ships also offer dental and health programs as you need to be right as rain to properly sail and man a ship.

Perception

Purpose

While the profession got started as simple treasure hunting, it's evolved into something that helps clean the ocean, reuse damaged parts, find cultural artifacts, and even rescue people thrown overboard in storms.

Social Status

Most people only tangentially hear of Storm Skimmers, and often find them to be adrenaline-seeking fools. Those who can think of the benefits find it a more noble profession, but upon meeting them often gain the same idea of their rambunctious ways.

Demographics

While there aren't any stark majorities in the population of Storm Skimmers, many aquatic-aligned species enjoy the oceanic career. Merfolk, Ocean Elves, Water Elementals, and various aquatic Beastfolk love working on the water, and getting the chance to gain glory, wealth, and adventure at the same time. Who could resist?

History

The concept behind Storm Skimming has existed for as long as boats could go far from their shores. While that differed for each nation, there were always people who would go further than they should, pay the price, and someone eager to get some spoils of their own would go out searching for them. While different fields would evolve, allowing for better accomplishments this way, it was still a pretty sparse thing, with the few who consistently performed the task being known as treasure hunters or vultures.
The solidification of Storm Skimmers as a profession came with the Isolated Era, -400 EE to -201 EE. The inciting incident in -415 EE was the sudden appearance of a curtain of Wild Magic manifesting at what is now the borders of Edda. It was a sudden storm metaphorically, as chaotic leylines created a variety of deadly effects across the belt, and literally, as the waters and sky churned and crashed violently. Aside from locking Edda inside of its own space, and ruining what burgeoning outer relations were just starting to form, this also ruined scores of ships and settlements that existed in the wake of the barrier when it rose.
When debris by the ton began to wash up on various shores and get in the way of other ships, leading to more than a dozen sinkings within the first week, those treasure hunters saw the gravity of what was happening and knew something had to be done. The first among them was Captain Albin Forest, an accomplished sailor and scavenger. As he was starting to feel the effects of age, he wagered this was the right moment to do something with little to lose.
So, he took the largest ship he had available and pushed out to sea without a moment's hesitation. Within a week, he was sailing back with a massive haul in tow, and the next time he launched off he had three more ships sailing with him. This continued to grow and grow, even as the backlash to the Wild Wall created more and more storms, causing waves that'd be enough to drench a giant. Artifacts, pieces of ships, and even people who had somehow managed to wade through the madness were all brought ashore wherever they could be.
Within a year, the oceans were largely free of this debris, even though some of the ships that had gone out would become a part of it, and the wider consensus of Edda grew fonder of these sailors, giving them the title of Storm Skimmers for their actions. It also marked the beginning of the duty as a profession, and government sponsorship of the task. For his work in spearheading this activity, and inspiring the mass cleanup that would've polluted Edda's waters otherwise, Albin was given a full title of honor by the King of Atalanta, just before he went on one final voyage, from which he and his ship would never return.

Operations

Tools

Storm Skimmers often use various oceanic compasses to find their way through the rough waters. One particular kind of compass, the Al Marjan Compass, is an Afallon creation that uses intricate divination enchantments to inform the user of all sorts of directional factors about the waters, including if and when magic is present or will spike. Many also use magnetic directional devices to get the pull of various lost metal items.
In the past, strong nets and the tides were mostly used to get the debris safely on board, and while those are still frequently used in the modern day, advancements in artifice, engineering, and magic have also created a variety of other methods, such as small cranes or telekinetic pulls. Ships with enough resources or the right crew to utilize magic also often have some sort of space-saving storage option, so that large hauls won't weigh down the ship too much.

Workplace

Storm Skimmers often use large, durable ships to go on their runs, ones that can weather the harshest storms and carry the weight needed to get back anything of value and note. Some of the larger, often state-sponsored, groups also have warehouses and restoration businesses back on shore, where they keep and repair most of their retrieved loot, either to make them usable or sellable.
The process of sailing out for debris also takes its crew into areas they wouldn't otherwise go, like far off parts of other nations, sparce islands that don't even appear on full maps, and distant oceanic ecosystems.

Dangers & Hazards

The entire job is built around hazards! Pirates, sea monsters, chaotic storms, Wild Magic storms, and the daily risks of just being on open waters. It's a risky position to be in, but many of the people who go out to sea are just the kind who'll relish in it.

Alternative Names

Death Chasers

Type

Raw Materials Gathering

Demand

Moderate, Specific

Legality

There are state-sponsored Storm Skimmers (say that five times fast!), but there are just as many independent operations that run the gamut from well-intentioned yet reckless to full blood-thirsty pirates.