Klabauter

The stories are clear: the sea, in her infinite power, creates spirits to wander the world - pieces of herself given form, if only a little. Their only purpose is to travel, to explore, to learn of the world and the things that live in it. Then one day they'll return to the sea and she'll know all the more. And so her power will grow. 
But these spirits of the sea - klabauter, they're called - once they leave the ocean, they forget where they come from and what they are. They wander the waves, sometimes walking until their loneliness consumes them. Those that can manage it will inhabit a boat they encounter, taking up residence in its ropes, wood and sails - but never in a ship made of metal, such as those made by goblins. 
Some would have you believe the way the sailors treat the boat from the moment the klabauter takes residence is what shapes the kind of spirit they become. Others say that its the treatment of a ship that attracts certain klabauter in the first place. What everyone can agree on, however, is that klabauter vary in nature - some are benevolent, some malignant and tricky, and a sad few know only sorrow. 
A klabauter is said to be able to influence the way a ship sails. Those so inclined steer a ship towards rocks and reefs, or have the sails rip and the ropes snap in the midst of a storm. Sailors who love their ships are rewarded by klabauter who keep the rudder true in fierce waves, who wake the crew at night when fire breaks out on deck, and who repair what they can with tiny, wooden mallets. But you should fear the day you spot your ship's klabauter doing any of the above. For they only shows themselves when the ships they call their homes are doomed. Seeing a klabauter in person is an omen of death for sailors.
see also: Sailor Superstitions, Will-o'-the-Wisps
Category:Undead