Whispers from the Depths

Along the coastline, every sailor knows that they must avoid the deep waters.
The Sea turns unnaturally calm at certain times during the summer months, it's a silence that presses you like a weight as if the ocean itself is holding its breath. The local sailors will say that this is when the Whispers from the Depths begin to be heard.
In the local taverns dotted along the coastlines, it's possible to find an old sailor, hugging a mug of ale, sitting in a corner telling stories about the Whispers in a hushed tone. They will tell that it starts small, like a faint murmur that can be heard in the distance, impossible to make out and many will just dismiss it as the wind or the creaking of the ship. The only thing is, there is no wind as everything around the ship falls silent, except the whispers.
Once the whispers have begun, they rise slowly, as if drifting up from the dark waters under the ship, it's like voices that no longer belong in the world of the living and it is not just one voice calling out, it's a chorus of them, no one can ever tell what they are saying but you get the feeling that the voices are pulling you.
The first time you hear the voices, you will just brush it off, sailers tend to do it the first time, it's only when the tightening in the chest comes and that strange hollow sensation, that one realises that something is very wrong that voices get their grip in you, you will find yourself leaning over the railing peering into the water, trying to listen for more.
That's when they have you.

Saw it happen to a lad just a few years back. We were sailin’ a calm stretch of water, not a wave in sight. Next thing I know, the poor fool’s leanin' over the rail, starin' down like he’s lookin’ for somethin’. Before anyone could stop him, he just… stepped off, quiet as can be. No struggle, no shout. Just let the sea take him. We never saw him again. And we didn’t dare look too long into the water afterward, either.

- Old sailor Maros

There are stories of entire crews lost this way. Ships found adrift with no one left aboard, as if the entire crew just vanished. Some say storms took them, but those who know… they whisper about the calm nights. The too-still waters.
The only way to survive, they say, is to never listen. When the sea falls silent, tie yourself to the mast if you must, but don’t lean over the side. Don’t let the whispers get into your head