Simeq Riva

Simeq ('Simic Hybrids'). The aquatic Simeq elves are a culture of Lamannian drow, who live in the city of Simeq Riva in the Phoenix Basin. They use bioengineered creatures and their own mutable forms to thrive in the rebuilt ruins.

Ruins Reborn. The Simeq live in the aquatic ruins of Simeq Riva, which lie within the Phoenix Basin. The former City of Silver was one of the five bastions of the Sul’at League. The port was a hub for trade and diplomacy, and handled the fire giants’ foreign affairs. Within the vaults of Simeq Riva lie the funds of the League, as well as treasures gleaned from the Cul’sir, Group of Eleven, and beyond.

When the Moonbreaker was fired, the backlash caused massive collapses around the Skyfall Peninsula, plunging Simeq Riva into the sea. With their masters destroyed by their own creation, it was their subjects who claimed it. In the years since, the City of Silver has been transformed into a thriving metropolis both above and below the waves. Entire towers have been converted into districts and connected by scaffolding and hanging gantries, while the ruins below are populated by locathah and other oceanic peoples. The Simeq make frequent contact with the Súlatar drow to the southeast, trading Sul'at technology and oceanic goods in exchange for transmutation-related arcana and metal forgework.

Simeq

The most famous of the Sul’at League’s mortal experiments are the drow, but they were not the only ones. The bioarcanists of the League performed many experiments on ‘lesser’ humanoids, with the aim of pushing the boundaries of evolution. Some drow were altered to be assassins for their rebellious kin; the Simeq were created as aquatic soldiers. Known to sailors as ‘Simic Hybrids’ for their appearance, these elves were transmuted with the features of aquatic animals, and sent to guard the League’s shores - a role impossible for a society of fire giants.

Every Simeq has a different form as a result of ancient Sul’at magic; This ranges from gliding wings, to prehensile tentacles, to hard carapace. The result are sea elves unlike anything known to Aerenal. Ruins Reborn. The Simeq live in the aquatic ruins of Simeq Riva, which lie within the Phoenix Basin. The former City of Silver was one of the five bastions of the Sul’at League. The port was a hub for trade and diplomacy, and handled the fire giants’ foreign affairs. Within the vaults of Simeq Riva lie the funds of the League, as well as treasures gleaned from the Cul’sir, Group of Eleven, and beyond. When the Moonbreaker was fired, the backlash caused massive collapses around the Skyfall Peninsula, plunging Simeq Riva into the sea.

With their masters destroyed by their own creation, it was their subjects who claimed it. In the years since, the City of Silver has been transformed into a thriving metropolis both above and below the waves. Entire towers have been converted into districts and connected by scaffolding and hanging gantries, while the ruins below are populated by locathah and other oceanic peoples. The Simeq make frequent contact with the Súlatar drow to the southeast, trading Sul'at technology and oceanic goods in exchange for transmutation-related arcana and metal forgework. Culture Simeq society is heavily influenced by their mutable physiology. Every Simeq is, in essence, a Lamannian drow, with their aquatic characteristics a result of ties to the Endless Ocean layer of the plane.

As such, different Simeq have the features of different aquatic animals, and can gradually alter their bodies as they age to adapt as they wish. By combining this trait with the inherited transmutation magic of the League, the elves have created a society where change is both an adaptation, and a way of expressing oneself. Fashion is not the clothes one wears, but the form one takes. Form & Function. This is tied to their primal faith, which sees the animal forms they take as blessings from the spirits of the sea. Simeq druids train to fully take on the forms of the spirits they connect to, driving off predators and tending to the shoals of fish and crustaceans that sustain their people.

Meanwhile, merchants and travelers train to change their forms between visits to different peoples, allowing for easy diplomacy. These Simeq have a similar ability to shapeshift as changelings, but lack the Wild Shape of their kin. To the pirates of the Thunder Sea, these shapeshifting ‘tidelings’ have a reputation for trickery - a belief borne from warnings meant to keep the dryskins away from Simeq Riva. Wide Biomancy. Industry in Simeq Riva is almost purely organic. Simeq biomancers have magebred different ocean creatures to act as livestock and biological engines, working underwater where traditional artifice can’t.

Bioluminescent sea slugs and kelp light up the avenues of the city, while scouts patrol with the help of color-changing sharks and dolphins. Giant mantis shrimp are used for excavation and construction, while many homes have clusters of tube worms that superheat the water inside their shells, acting as living ovens. This industry is fed by expansive farms of different planar kelp, as well as farms for fish and massive crustacean livestock.