Sirens

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Sirens are fishtailed, subnautical creatures that live in just about any body of water, but primarily in the open Sea. It isn't actually determined whether they count as living beings, spirits, or undead. =====

Physiology and Appearance

A Siren typically has a humanoid upper body, and a mighty fin in the place of legs. Their teeth are sharper and longer than a regular person's, evoking the image of a vampire.

A Siren's skin is stripped of all warm undertones, as are their eyes, leaving most of them with either only a greyish shadow in place of pupil and iris, or entirely white eyes. Their hair can have just about any color, from traditionally natural shades, to bright neon colors, but they usually closely match the color of their scales.

When shapeshifting a pair of legs to walk on land, a Siren will have no genitalia, unless they decide to.

A Siren will require an average of six hours of sleep a day, forcing them back into the water, as they'd stop shapeshifting when asleep, causing them to dry out.

While they can consume just about any type of food, the only thing that sustains them is living blood, primarily adrenaline, which is why they drain their victims while drowning them. A Siren feeds about once a week, but that varies depending on the individual.

Every Siren used to be a member of a land-dwelling race. They are unable to reproduce among each other.

Abilities

Sirens are, by default, stronger than any land-dwelling creature, and move with astounding speeds while in their natural habitat. They are able to navigate even the deepest waters by emitting supersonic cries, much like bats.

In addition to retaining any individual skills, a Siren will be capable of basic hypnotic spells and water manipulation.

When well fed, a Siren will regenerate even from lethal wounds, and is generally expected not to die of old age.

Social

Sirens live in swarms of 20 to 40 specimen, and share a type of telepathic network, which they use to communicate. Once in range of another swarm, Sirens will be able to rapidly exchange information among each other. Swarms are not believed to have any sort of hierarchy, and operate more like a collective than a pack.

They practise a form of religion, seeing the Sea as a sentient being that loves and cares for them often referring to it as their Mother.

Sirens, even the most violent and vengeful ones, will always respect one another, generally seeing any other Siren as a sibling, and adressing them as such. The only crime among them is to hurt and/or kill one of their kind, which results in being cast from their own, and any other swarm, which is little more than a death sentence.

Sirens are incredibly social creatures, and isolation proves physically fatal to them. Once abandoned, and cast away, a Siren's body will begin to decay, which can be combatted by feeding and thus, regenerating, but will ultimately lead to death.

Outlawed Sirens are known to seek company on land, sparing land-dwelling beings in favor of finding a new "Swarm-mate" in them, and thus, stopping the decay from dstroying their bodies. They prefer seafaring folk as their new companions, obviously, becoming powerful allies to both pirates and the Lionguard.

Origin

The first Sirens are believed to have appeared in Tyria during the rise of nautical warfare and trade, as the only known way to become a Siren is to die violently at sea, and harboring enough resentment to forgo death that way.

Most Sirens were cast overboard, or died during naval battles, but even victims of murder being thrown into the Sea, and people committing suicide by drowning themselves have been known to become Sirens after death.

The Sirens' belief in the sea as a loving, maternal deity stems from this, as they felt themselves saved and healed in times of great peril.

Living on land

Be it out of curiosity or necessity, Sirens occasionally walk the land again, and interact with its people. They do this by shapeshifting their fishtails into legs, and almost appearing like their original race again.

Allthough, a Siren will struggle when stepping out of the Sea for the first time, as they may not be able to remember how to speak, not having used verbal speech among their kind at all, or completely have lost the ability to do so. Their bodies, accustomed to water pressure, and moving in a completely different way, will need a lot of time and practise to get used to the land again, especially when it comes to dealing with gravity and balance.

Most land-dwelling Sirens return to the Sea to sleep, but there are also cases of perfectly adapted ones that simply sleep in a tub, or a landlocked body of water.