Abyssian

Abyssians are aquatic, humanoid and sapient, and were once the most militarily advanced race of all. As with all militarily advanced races, this led to many wars against Talica's residents when they figured out that they could probably conquer it.
It was thanks to the (admittedly unwilling) spillage of Abyssian blood that Tiberius Emberhand won his throne after the Battle of the Burning Blade.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Abyssians have blue-ish or purple skin, with gills on their necks and webbed toes. Some were known to mutate, growing fins, teeth and even pincers with fearsome size. Those, however, have gone extinct ever since Tiberius I decided the world was better off without them.
The current Abyssians are still able to both walk and swim, breathing both underwater and above the surface, and do so thanks to how adaptable their lungs are. Their naturally slender bodies let them swim faster than any other race, and their athletic prowess is nothing to be laughed at on land either.

Genetics and Reproduction

Much like the Kral, Abyssians hatch when they are born. The process has thankfully not been very explored yet, but the eggs seem to need relatively little time or warmth to hatch. A female technically tends to lay one or two eggs at a time.

Growth Rate & Stages

Taking less than a decade to fully mature, Abyssians enjoy lengthy lives in primarily the same shape. Given their regenerative abilities, loss of non-vital limbs does not alter this at all (although regeneration rates dwindle as they age).
Depending on how long they spend underwater, their scales and gills can become thicker and more noticeable or shrink to the point of being almost invisible.

Ecology and Habitats

Abyssians never stray too far from the shoreline, unless it is to plunge into the depths of the ocean, a place no other race really wants to follow them into. They cannot bear extreme heat, and require constant contact with water to stay alive. This was particularly useful during their invasion, but maybe not for them.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Abyssians prefer fish to meat, and will gladly munch on algae that no sane man would touch without spending 30 days in a desert first. While they can catch exotic squids and other such creatures that can be considered delicacies, Abyssians are by no means picky eaters, and if something with fins wiggles at the end of their spear, they will most certainly eat it.

Biological Cycle

Abyssians seem able to last a surprisingly long time. Their vitality ensures most of them live on to natural deaths, which usually take hundreds of years to arrive.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Elders are greatly respected among Abyssians, male and female alike. Practictioners of magic also get their own distinction, as the race is aware of how rare their gift for Hydromancy is.

Domestication

They can trade with us. Let's be happy they are even willing to do that.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The greatest use the Abyssians ever had was uniting humans, elves and orcs and kickstarting the Emberhand Dynasty. Everything else has been secondary so far, really.

Facial characteristics

Expect Abyssians to have pointy chins and aggressive eyebrows. Their eyes are almost always black, but can gain a pale blue glow if they belong to a common practicer of Hydromancy. Their faces and bodies are very rarely fat or chubby at all, because their metabolism has little use for fat in the first place.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Currently, the only known Abyssians reside on top of Laachiia, their mobile home, circling Talica and trading with any port they come across.

Average Intelligence

While the Abyssians of old were described as unspeakably cunning, their new counterparts seem intelligent enough to understand economics, but not dangerously smart. Okay, they will swindle you every now and then, but that is generally considered traditional in the world of commerce, rather than malign or particularly clever.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Abyssians are the only race capable of mastering the magic school of Hydromancy. While many humans are able to become cryomancers, all attempts from non-Abyssians at Hydromancy have failed to varyingly embarrassing degrees.
Asides from their arcane gifts, Abyssians can see and hear impeccably underwater, in such a way that no aquatic predator ever sneaks up on them unless they want that to happen.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Abyssians enjoy using double vowels, single Rs, Xs and short, shoutable names (strident-ness is optional). Examples include: Fleern, Meeril, Xaa, Mooran. Shorter names may be hyphenated with other ones.

Major Organizations

The Laachiite merchants are the only known Abyssians in the modern world. (And enough, in most people's opinion)

Beauty Ideals

As expected, men and women with brighter blue or purple skin are more likely to find mates. Green or paler versions of the former colors tend to hint at bad health, and are seen as unattractive.
Leg shape is particularly important to Abyssian standards of beauty, as their lower limbs are what enable them to sprint and swim as fast as they do. This means muscular legs are generally seen as the most attractive feature in potential mates.

Average Technological Level

While never truly caring about profit, ancient Abyssians did invent piracy by attacking fishing ships and raiding seaside villages. Most people could have done without this breakthrough, though.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The Abyssal Tongue is a near-dying tongue only spoken among the Laachiite, as ancient as the people who speak it. For trade they can, luckily for everyone involved, resort to the Imperial Tongue.

Common Dress Code

As very warm-blooded creatures surrounded by nothing by their kin, Abyssians tend to wear no clothes at all. Their women have no breasts to cover and neither males nor females feel too prudish about their sex to cover it. Depending on their port, they might put on the slightest attire to cover up, but most of their time at sea is spent without clothing.

Common Taboos

Don't talk about Tiberius Emberhand around them. Trust us.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

They see most other races as fine. Not really worth marrying, breeding with or letting inside their community, but at least they don't seem too hateful towards anyone. Not even humans!

Lifespan

At least 300 years. It doesn't help that they regenerate from almost every wound.

Average Height

1.9 to 2.3 meters

Average Weight

55-70 kg

Average Physique

They might not be much for war anymore, but Abyssians can still sprint and swim with impressive speeds. Their nimble bodies and quick webbed feet are not to be underestimated.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Blue, purple and slight tones of green are always common sights among Abyssians. How lively the color is depends on age and health, but deep blue is still the most common one. Stripes on their thighs or arms can also be expected, each Abyssian having a pattern unique to himself.

Related Ethnicities

• Laachiite