Whisper Terns

The Echo of the Drowned
Filed under: Salt Hollows Fauna | Avian Omens | Dream-Crossing Fauna
Contributor: FDG Field Archivist No. 5
Last updated: May 2025

Overview

The Whisper Tern is a slender, saltborne seabird native to the liminal zones between coastal fae thresholds and the open sea. While biologically similar to earthly terns, its behaviour, lifespan, and vocal abilities classify it as fae-linked omen fauna.

Unlike typical birdsong, the Whisper Tern’s cry is not learned—it is inherited from the dead. Their calls reproduce the final words of the drowned, replayed with chilling accuracy.

These birds do not just mark death.
They carry it forward, and sometimes carry it back.

Appearance

Wingspan: 2.5–3 feet
Plumage: Bone-white with grey tips; subtly glows under moonlight
Eyes: Jet black, unnervingly intelligent; lack avian twitchiness
Feet: Never observed touching land; always seen in flight or circling over water
Flight Pattern: Erratic circles, sharp dives that halt inches above the water; appear weightless even in high winds

Behaviour and Abilities

Cry of the Last Breath

The tern’s cry mimics the final spoken sentence—or final thought—of a drowned human or fae soul.
Often heard just before, during, or hours after a drowning event. May also cry years later, near places of unresolved loss.
The cries are:
- Spoken in the voice of the deceased
- Often distorted by water or air, but emotionally exact
- Sometimes layered—multiple cries sounding together

Dream-Crossing Presence

Whisper Terns appear in the dreams of those they have marked.
In dreams, they:
- Perch above beds or float in open sky
- Speak intelligible phrases tied to the dreamer’s guilt or loss
- Sometimes mirror the dreamer’s voice

Never-Landing Phenomenon

Whisper Terns are never seen at rest.
Some believe their legs are bound by an ancient pact—if they touch ground, the soul they echo is truly lost forever.

Folklore and Signs

“Say Nothing Near the Tern”

Old fishermen’s advice warns: if a Whisper Tern circles your boat, say nothing aloud—it may carry your last words before you’ve spoken them.

The Widow’s Flight

A tragic folktale tells of a woman who followed a Whisper Tern out to sea after hearing her husband’s voice from its beak. Neither returned. On still nights, two terns are seen flying side by side over the bay, repeating the words: “I’m sorry. I tried.”

The Featherless Curse

Finding a Whisper Tern feather is considered a bad omen. It means you were meant to drown, but something interfered. Survivors often report dreams of dark water, familiar voices calling them back.

Effect on Earth and Human Minds

Mild Exposure

Sense of familiarity or déjà vu on hearing bird cries
Emotional spikes (sorrow, longing, guilt)
Short dreams involving the ocean, or standing on water with unseen voices beneath

Prolonged Exposure

Auditory hallucinations of loved ones calling
Prophetic dreaming involving maritime tragedy
Compulsive behaviours: returning to water, revisiting sites of loss
Sleep disturbances: including drowning re-enactments and somnambulism toward coastlines

Summary for Field Operatives

Trait	Detail
Threat Level	None physical. Moderate to high emotional destabilisation risk.
Signs of Presence	Circling seabird overhead despite no land nearby. Sudden wind shift. Hearing familiar words from an unfamiliar mouth.
Containment Risk	None; cannot be captured, caged, or contained. Removal efforts fail. They vanish before restraint.
Engagement Advice	Do not respond to the tern’s call. Do not speak aloud your fears, regrets, or names of the dead in its presence. If a Whisper Tern speaks your voice back to you, file a Dream Risk Report and enter quarantine for psychic cross-referencing. Remember: it has already chosen the words. You only get to decide whether you’ll say them.

“It said her name. But not how I say it now.
It said it like I did when we first met, when I still loved her. Before I ruined it.
That’s what broke me. That old tenderness. I hadn’t heard it in years—not even in my own head.”
—Field Report 328-A, Operative J. Kline, Saltmouth Bay Incident