Saltborn Stalkers

The briny depths of the Boundless Sea sometimes twist large groups of merfolk into swarms with vicious rows of teeth and sharp claws known as saltborn stalkers. Saltborn stalkers hunt in groups, using their drooping, tentacle-like appendages as bioluminescent lures, posing them as wisps or bubbles of planar energy to draw unsuspecting prey into clever ambushes.

THE RITE OF SALT AND STONE

When a merfolk joins the ranks of the saltborn, they undergo a secret rite known only to other saltborn and the brine dragons of Kelizandrika. The recruits are encased in graves of salt and ice and left at the floor of the Boundless Sea to claw themselves free. Those who overcome the trial are never truly rid of the salt from their tombs, which covers the body of every saltborn stalker.