Sirena
Playable Sophont
Fading Glory
Beneath the murky waves of the Blacksea rests the hidden world of the Sirenas, a tenacious race of aquatic humanoids living in sequestered undersea settlements. These Sirenas are noble people with roots stretching back to the time of the First Dawn before their mortal enemy, Shadiym, came to Solith and laid waste to their civilization. Now Sirenas cling to what cracks will hold them and pray for a day when the Tyrannical Serpent recedes from the skies and waves, and they may claim their kingdom again.
Sirenas are best known for their natural inclination towards magic and their free use of it in everyday life. Among Sirenas, you are as likely to see a man conjure fire to light his path as you are to see him pull out a lantern. Their skills at manipulating the weather have become legendary across Solith as they travel its coastlines caring for the many warding shrines to Shadiym.
Sirena History
Long before Humanity came to Haven and even before Solith was lush and green, the Sirenas lived in the waters surrounding the continent. Sev, Godbeast of the Sea, began her brood in the gentle waves and shallow waters of the western coast, and there her children flourished. Their civilization was vast and stretched across the sea, unbeknownst to any in the world above. When Shadiym came with his torrential rains and chaotic currents, the Sirenas warred against his unstoppable force. He ripped their cities from the seabed, sent monstrous creatures to swallow their people, and their efforts to resist became futile as his mighty jaws swallowed even their gods. For survival, the Sirenas fled into hiding, withdrawing into sanctuaries built within sheltered coves and hidden, coastal caves.
In their hidden shelters, the Sirenas vowed to see their tormentor banished from these fertile shores. The Sirenas would not know defeat; they learned to adapt beyond their limitations and survived the harsh waters of Solith to become its masters. To many, their undersea domain is a warped mirror of the surface world with tools formed from coral, enchanted bone, and Crystal, not iron and wood. Armor fashioned from scales, chitinous plates, and woven seaweed, not cured leather and hammered steel. Surrounding it all is the Sirenas reverence for magic, which they used to improve nearly every aspect of their lives.
Today most Sirenas are found either in the Helmont sanctuary or serving within the Zephyr Priests in cities like Shardholm. All Sirenas share an unspoken bond forged in a life spent in opposition of a great and destructive force. Many adventuring Sirenas are those who have stepped away from their religious duties or pursue them in their free time as they explore the land above the waves.
General Information
Lifespan
100 years old, reaching maturity at the age of 15.
Average Height
4 to 5 feet tall.
Average Weight
90 to 120 pounds.
Related Ethnicities
Naming Schemes
Most Sirena names have only a few syllables. Their first names weave their syllables together like water and typically end in a vowel. Sirena surnames are taken from their home sanctuary, with the name formed by adding "zath" to the first syllable of the sanctuary's name.
Zephyr Priests
Description
Sirenas spend their lifetime swimming through the strong currents of the oceans, leaving adults athletically muscled and built to survive crushing pressures. They stand no taller than most humans and resemble them closely, save for their finely-scaled skin and seaweed-like hair. Sirena hair resembles kelp or seaweed and comes in shades of green, blue, and purple. Meanwhile, Sirena's skin can range anywhere from grey or blue to green or silver and is often slimy to the touch. From their skin, versatile fins sprout from every Sirena's forearms, calves, and even their spines, which gifts them with incredible speed while swimming. To complete the Sirena's aquatic adaptation is the set of gills found on either their neck or torso that allows them to breathe underwater.
While on land, Sirenas thrive surprisingly well, but many who have lived their lives underwater believe life on dry land to be a dull, tiring task. The greatest oddity about the Sirenas is their bizarre aging process, as they mature quite quickly at the age of 15 and live at that peak fitness until their hundredth year where they die of rapid aging. Sirena's spend the last year of their life settling one's affairs before simply swimming out into the ocean and allowing the deep to take them.
Undersea Lords
When creating a Sirena, remember that though you may breathe air, you are practically from another world. Your people are masters of the waves, but on rocky sand of the Black Sea Coast, you step through a portal to a world of harsh air and even harsher people. Adventuring Sirenas brave the surface world on great personal quests, journeying to fulfill lifelong goals or perform harrowing tasks before returning to serve their people.
Society
Sirena society is a fractured and broken thing acting as a mere echo of their long lost glory. Forced from the sprawling seafloors, the noble people of the depth crawled into its deepest cracks and crevices. You can best see Sirena heritage among their varied arcanists, made famous for their grand works of ritualized magic. Among the Sirenas of Helmont you are more likely to find a sorcerer or warlock than anywhere else on Haven. Very few other Sirena settlements are accessible to surface dwellers, some requiring hours of swimming through utter darkness in tight, tidal caves even to reach.
These Sirena sanctuaries live in symbiotic union with the undersea world, blending the lines between civilization and nature with their coral constructions. Sirenas live in harmony as lords of their watery domains, as they rule as the undisputed king of their reefs. This air of superiority tends to follow Sirenas out of the water and into the social halls of airbreathers. You can see this superiority in many Sirenas, especially when dealing with those not gifted with arcane talent or those too weak to contribute as Sirena society has no concept of the weak and unable. Due to the Sirenas' unique aging process, they never care for their elderly like other races, and very few, in fact, ever fall ill.
Penitent Walk
When entering a Sirena settlement, it is customary to receive the blessing of the town's leader before interacting with any inhabitants. This practice referred to as the Walk of Penance, dates back to when Sirena's first began to walk the ocean floor. Many Sirena families practice a similar but smaller ritual when inviting strangers into their homes. Thus it is viewed as an insult to enter a home without an express invitation.
