Dr Embers Presents - The Selkie Tail - Sarah Turpin

“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours; if it doesn’t, it never was.”

In this episode of Verse & Tales, we step onto the shores of myth and memory to explore the haunting legend of the Selkie — beings caught between land and sea, love and freedom.

Through this tale, we are asked a timeless question:
 can love ever truly exist where there is captivity?

Tonight’s story is an exclusive excerpt from a novel currently being penned by Sarah Turpin, who not only offers us a glimpse into her world, but lends her own voice to guide us through it.

Her work captures the quiet sorrow and enduring pull of the sea — a reminder that what we try to hold too tightly may one day slip beyond our grasp.

You can find more of Sarah’s work here:
 Instagram: @sarahturpinillustrator

So come, draw closer to the fire…

and listen carefully — for the tide is always calling.”

The Fire is Lit!

Follow the journey on Instagram: @Doctor.Embers
Speak with me directly: doctor.embers@outlook.com

If something you hear stays with you,
 you are always welcome to share it —
 a thought, a reflection, or even a story of your own.

Join the circle — like and subscribe,
 so you never miss a chance to journey with us.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:39

If you love something, it is a free if it comes back. If it doesn't, it never works. Emotionally, socially, or psychologically. We either seek to cage another. For the Selki's tale.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

The Selkie's tale. Shimmering moonlight on salt water is the home of the Selki. These semi-immortal creatures are shape-shifting daughters of ocean and moon. For three nights, when the moon is fullest, from thunder moon to sea lavender moon, the Selki nymphs shed their sealskins and dance on the shore clothed only in its silver light. They sing ancient songs of shipwrecks and heartbreak in wild voices that ride the wind. Flexible and agile in the water, their moon-led dance echo these movements on land. A Selki must find a human male to breed with, but this is a dangerous undertaking. The enrichment of the male makes the seal maids vulnerable to the devilment in men's souls. If a man tries to steal a Selkie skin, the maids will grab their skins and quickly return to the waves. If a man tries to steal a Selkie skin, the maids will grab their skins and quickly return to the waves. Sometimes a determined man will succeed, and the sea nymph that has caught his eye will be compelled to follow him, her snow white skin shimmering with ethereal light. Their silky skins are the means by which the seal women can return to the sea. Without the sea water, they all wither and die. If her skin is destroyed, she will die. If it is not found before seven years are complete, she will age and eventually die. She cannot swim in the sea or dance in the moonlight. She will age and then die. A selky death is slow and painful. She will dry out and eventually be cast to throw herself. A dry husk in the wind from the nearest cliff to become salt spray and sea foam. Their human-like skins need the effinescence of moonlight to restore them, and therefore they will follow the lunar calendar in a cyclic dance as old as time. This is part of their enchantment. Their selenic skin shines like a clear winter night, but also they are finely shaped, willowy and strong. They have rounded hips and full breasts that appeal to most human men. Their sad, yearning eyes, surrounded by long lashes, their flowing hair and silent ways, all appeal to the prideful, dominant male. The vulnerability of the Selkie in human form means that many a pitiless man would steal her skin away, plundering her body for release, offspring, and housework, at the eventual expense of her beauty and longevity. Some allow the sea wife a little freedom to swim and, if lucky, occasionally dance in moonlight. Fewer would return the skin to her before taking a new wife. Seldom would a man willingly return her skin and set her free, however many children she had borne him, or how well she had loved and cared for him. It was the rarest of human men yet that loved their Selkie bride enough to free her before her beauty faded. Her eyes dried, her skin lost its glow when her soul skin could still save her. It is the nature of Selkie to be feminine and gentle. Yet the human male choosing a bride from their kind risks much. They are stronger than they appear and have survived centuries. Many choose to seduce a man in the dunes, rocking him into an ecstasy that fertilizes her, leaving the empty shell behind as driftwood on the shoreline. Children, born of these unions, are Selky through and through. They enter the world moon ripened and resilient, always female, always Selky. Children, born of the union of subjugation, however, can be either male or female. It is the girls that carry the Selky blood. They can choose before they turn fourteen to remain human or become a seamaid. Sadly, nowadays, many more choose a human life, seduced by the glamour and glitz of the modern world, its ease and throw away promises. Often a Selkie will fall in love with the male, and then there is no saving her. Their call is like a siren song, driving their chosen lover into their arms, and they choose unwisely, which many do. They lose their sealskins forever to live a mortal life of sadness and regret.