Who Is Great White North?
Suspect elimination cache 8
7 o’clock: The Wreckers (water)
Water is one of the four elemental runes along with earth, air, and fire.
Narrative
“Narrowly escaping a frozen death in that desert, I made my way back to Poseidon, and found a berth on a homeward ship. Caught in a terrible storm, we seemed to find salvation in an unexpected signal light. Steering toward it, we soon learned it was false—placed by the denizens to lure ships to their doom on the jagged reefs. They plundered the cargos and abandoned the crews and passengers to the icy waves. I was the only survivor.”
Commentary
The symbol looks like waves, or rough seas, and that’s what “The Wreckers” is about. The protagonist’s ship is caught in a hurricane and it sees a beacon of light, so it steers there in the hopes of finding safety. But the light is a trick and the ship is destroyed on unseen reefs and only the protagonist survives. Neil has said he had in mind a small band of Englishmen hundreds of years ago who lived on the southwest coast of the country. They would set up a light in a dangerous part of the coast to attract ships at night caught in stormy weather seeking safety. The ships would crash on the unseen rocks, and the Englishmen would plunder the ships of anything of value. In this tale we get a glimpse of the depths of human depravity.
The Wreckers
NARROWLY ESCAPING A FROZEN DEATH IN THAT DESERT, I made my way back to Poseidon, and found a berth on a homeward ship. Caught in a terrible storm, we seemed to find salvation in an unexpected signal light. Steering toward it, we soon learned it was false - placed by the denizens to lure ships to their doom on the jagged reefs. They plundered the cargos and abandoned the crews and passengers to the icy waves.
I was the only survivor.
The breakers roar on an unseen shore
In the teeth of a hurricane
We struggle in vain
A hellish night - a ghostly light
Appears through the driving rain
Salvation in a human chain
All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary
Of a miracle too good to be true
All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary
Everything in life you thought you knew
All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary
'Cause sometimes the target is you
Driven aground, with that awful sound
Drowned by the cheer from ashore
We wonder what for
The people swarm through the darkling storm
Gather everything they can score
'Til their backs won't bear any more
The breakers roar on an unseen shore
In the teeth of an icy grave
The human chain leaves a bloody stain
Washed away in the pounding waves
All I know is that memory can be too much to carry
Striking down like a bolt from the blue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUZnRX8hgNE
