Jonah and the Big Leviathan

It was the burning of loose rope coursing across his gripped green hand that had caused Jonros Vipersteel to jolt awake. As his eyes fluttered awake he noticed a pounding ache at the back of his head, and heavy rain falling across his body. He wasn’t sure what had knocked him unconscious, but with blurry vision, he had come to realize the chaos surrounding him. Thunder cascaded like a bombardment throughout the sky. Lightning crashing down into the mile-high rouge waves surrounding the Lady Vengence. Crewmates falling over the rocking ship into the watery depths. No, not falling, dragged. Void-like tendrils had emerged from the sea, wrapping around the vessel and any crew they found. Screams of agony and terror joined the cacophony of the storm. With a roar, a voice boomed through the air. “Hold steady boys! This is where you become men!” Captain Cyrus Gearsworth then jumped from the high deck, landing with scimitar and pocket watch in hand. He began slashing and casting violent spells towards the oily tendrils having them flee momentarily back into the sea. Jonah then arose with inspiration, charging into battle, mind thinking back to when he had first met the captain.
Having been born in the north of Samarya, Jonros had one day gotten swallowed by the lands around him. Lost as a child, he could only feel but one call, that of the sea. It drew him to the north, where he first gazed at the glistening crystal waters of the Bay of Samarya. Entranced, he drew closer, until he saw a silver chest on a moored rowboat. Moving to open the chest, he saw inside a plethora of silver coins and jewelry. He picked up a bracelet of silver and ivory but was quickly struck down, bludgeoning and tearing his lower left lip.
“Well look at this pipsqueak ere.” “I reckon we coul ave ‘im chopped up for a goo schtew.” “Blimey, coul jus’ eat ‘im raw, simple as.”
Voices of large and tall men swarmed about him. “Cut it.” With those two booming words, the voices stopped. Jonros then looked up to see an elegantly dressed sea elf with a long thick and bushy black beard. He spoke elegantly to Jonros, learning of his current plight, but always seeming to look down at his pocket to watch every time one of them spoke. “You need not fear being lost anymore young one, for the ocean has called you home. My name is Captain Gearsworth, and it would appear that you have just joined my crew. After all, you need to pay me back for stolen property” He said with a grin, gray eyes glistening.
(Include stories from piracy days here to fluff it up)
Jonros flew into a rage, slashing back appendage after appendage. The ocean surged, and tower tall tentacles breached the surface, encapsulating the ship. Jonros was thrown high up into the air, getting caught in netting. He looked down and saw the ship begin to cleave in twain. At the center was an inky circular maw, circled with pearly white razors. A whirlpool formed, dragging the entirety of the ship into the dark. Jonros then lost his grip, and fell.
Impacting the water, he was tossed and turned, until there was nothing but darkness around him. He waited for an eternity, but nothing came. Until, he looked down and saw a creature grander and more magnificent than anything anyone had seen, rise from the depths opening its jaw and swallowing him whole.
Jonros then awoke on a white sandy beach, slightly dazed, and different. He was Jonros Vipersteel no longer, but Jonah. All that remained was a broken pocket watch, permanently telling the time of ten past two. A single name was emblazoned in his mind, Avandra. Jonah would then travel throughout the land, seeking answers to his questions, and getting questions to his questions, until arriving in Panalo, where he trained to be a paladin for 8 years. Through this he began to change more, attempting to move past his ways of piracy to honorable deeds. Notably, he was adopted by Umar, lovingly called uncle.
(im struggling for a reason for why this adoption would happen pls help)
After years of training, it was time for Jonah to begin helping the towns around him. His first mission, to protect merchants from Panalo on their trip to Serafan. A very simple, and easy task. What could go wrong?