Sea Hounds

"One of the non-human races." Toned muscles and strong skin, hidden spikes and sharp fangs, powerful tail and webbed digits. Sea Hounds are the custodians of the oceans, living around the edges of Uropa upon the Continental Shelf that separates land from the deepest abyss. Although once human, the Sea Hounds were plunged into the ocean by an ancient disaster, where they were changed into the shark folk they are today. They have only just begun to interact with the surface inhabitants recently and in very limited numbers.

Legend
The oldest account of the Sea Hounds came from an unnamed Hellenic League philosopher who included a description of their underwater kingdom in a story he never completed. The tale appears to have been written so as to praise the militaristic and unified nature of "Stenagmos," as he labeled the sunken kingdom of the Sea Hounds. Since no record of the identity of this ancient Hellenic author survives, it is unclear how much experience he had with the actual Sea Hounds. But given the amount of accurate detail, historians suspect that – at the very least – he must have known someone who personally visited one of their ocean cities. Within his story he told of a race of sharks that stood on two legs and organized into primordial societal structures. Where the women were larger and stronger and the men more nimble and crafty, both working in harmony to build glorious underwater ziggurats and engage in a complex form of fish herding.

In Grienzland, Sea Hounds were claimed to be a capricious but helpful ocean spirit that would sometimes look after a boat that appealed to them. A Sea Hound was said to take care of a ship, fixing leaks under the water from the outside using a special tar that sealed even when wet. They were believed to have expected payment in alcohol bottles or fine meat, and may have stolen the anchors or rudders of ships that disrespected them or refused to reward their assistance. They especially disliked sailors trying to spy on them and were said to drag any peeping observers under the water, though if this is to kill them or claim a husband is unclear. There were multiple stories of of them finally revealing themselves if a ship was sinking, as they undertook valiant efforts to rescue their favored sailors from the doomed vessel. The overall positive value of being on good terms with a Sea Hound inspired many ship captains to place a carved wooden figureheads in the likeness of one at the bow of their ship in the hopes of attracting the guardianship of a real one.

This friendly relationship between Sea Hounds and humans was not found in other countries, with quite a few tales in Grand Breteyne delving into entire boat crews being abducted under the waves, often at night. These are sometimes claimed to be retribution for bad fisherman who – having caught a young and beautiful Sea Hound in a net – slaughtered and butchered one of their princesses to mix her flesh in with all the other fish meat they caught. No good ever came of that in the legends and yet the practice is believed to still continue to this day. Additionally, among the Brettish colonies there are countless personal testimonies of locals having fought, attacked, or been killed in encounters with Sea Hounds as a result of local cultural traditions of diving deep underwater in search of pearls, ship wreckage, or even Sea Hound artifacts specifically.

And finally in the Rossiyan Federation the Sea Hounds are referred to as Prizrachnyye Aakull, or Ghost Sharks. A common trend in Rossiyan stories about the Ghost Sharks is that a Rossiyan serf will have made a deal with an individual or group of Sea Hounds only to betray and murder them. This then leads to them haunting and frequently killing their betrayer. The most famous story of this story is about a fisherman who agreed to give his daughter's hand in marriage to a young Sea Hound lad in exchange for chasing fish into his net. The fisherman grew successful, but when his daughter came of age, he gave her an iron dagger and she used it to kill the Sea Hound upon meeting her betrothed for the first time. After this the entire lake was said to be haunted, and no one could fish on or near it for long without a great tragedy befalling him.

Description
The Sea Hounds are as much shark as they are human, though they have not lost the bipedal form of their human ancestors. Their skin feels smooth when traced from the top of the head downward, and from the base of the tail to the tip, and feels extra slick when submerged in water. But when brushed in the opposite direction a rough, scraping texture presents itself and can actually cause abrasive injuries if too forceful in the contact. Their coloration ranges from light gray along the stomach and inner thighs, growing darker toward the extremities but bearing off-white spots along the thighs and upper arms and down their tails.

Sea Hounds have extremely pronounced sexual dimorphism greater than any other Race. Fully grown females stand 30% taller than males but take longer to mature. A female Sea Hound is 7'3" tall by age 22 when she is considered an adult. The average male Sea Hound stands at 5'7" and is thought to be fully matured at age 16. Part of the reason for this dimorphism is that Sea Hound pregnancies last 20 months before giving birth to babies that are able to walk and manage basic speech patterns. They give birth to three to six infants at a time so even with their considerable size, female Sea Hounds are largely incapacitated for the last third of the pregnancy.

The most striking difference between Sea Hounds and humans is the shark tail that emerges from their backs as a continuation of their vertebrae. This tail never stops growing in length and so a shorter tail is a sign of immaturity, but upon reaching adulthood it is usually 3.5 feet long for males and 4 feet long for females. While this tail helps greatly in both steering and propelling a Sea Hound underwater, it does serve a purpose beyond balancing when walking on land. Along the top edge of the caudal fin at the end of the tail is a hollow barb that can inject a non-lethal but extremely painful venom. Their feet sport similar spurs that emerge from the first metatarsal bone, appearing to be an additional toe but able to deliver venom with a kick. Sea Hounds are immune to this venom's effects.

Capabilities
On top of their ability to inject attackers with venom, Sea Hounds have an incredible number of capabilities that makes them apex hunters in the ocean and formidable combatants even on land. Their skin is far tougher than a human's, as their epidermis is covered by a layer of extremely tiny interlocking placoid scales. While the texture is indistinguishable from a human's by visual observation, these scales explain why a Sea Hound's skin feels rough when touched "against the grain." In addition to reducing water resistance while swimming, these microscales also provide incredible resilience against lacerations in a way similar to scale armor of old.

Sea Hounds also possess a sixth sense similar to but not as refined as the Night Ravens' Essence Sight. Called Essenoreception, this sense is provided by hundreds of tiny Essence-sensitive gel-filled canals under the skin on their face. These are mostly located on their cheeks, in the location where a human's maxillary sinus cavities are. These allow them to very precisely detect the presence and flow of the energy of life around them. This ability has many uses but it's especially helpful for detecting attackers before they can strike, as well as pursuing prey and – at short distances – even predicting movements slightly before they happen.

The Sea Hounds possess several other shark-like abilities. For example, they have the natural ability to rest only portions of their brains at a time, allowing for a form of sleepwalking that permits movement and basic reactions even during resting hours. Also, their livers are capable of storing very calorie-dense fat which allows them to go long periods of time without eating, up to a week when well-fed before hunger pangs begin to grow overbearing.

Perhaps the most incredible ability of Sea Hounds comes to their mystic connection with "quicksilver," the element of mercury that runs through their blood. Mercury builds up within a Sea Hound's veins across the years, accumulated through dietary intake and never dissipating. Through a subconscious reflex, a sufficiently experienced Sea Hound can manipulate the tidal movement of quicksilver within their own blood to create a sympathetic reaction in water, giving them control over flow of water around them. Its effects are quite limited and require intensive concentration resembling a meditative state, but can cause water to maneuver in otherwise impossible manners, even running uphill.

And finally, on a more widescale usefulness perspective, the move to underwater prompted the Sea Hounds to investigate and master alternative forms of metal alloys and forging methods that could prove extremely useful to human metallurgists. They have brought with them a metal known as Thalassimi, or Sea Silver, an alloy made by slow-hardening a mixture of mostly aluminum with magnesium, manganese, and platinum. The resulting metal gleams with a pearlescent luster, but more importantly has very low density but considerable strength, and resists corrosion. Grienzen aviation engineers have already begun applying this alloy to great success in the airship trade, and with the war looming, additional applications for a lightweight, durable metal are already being investigated.

Limitations
Although their skin is particularly tough and they have considerable musculature, Sea Hound skeletons are made of cartilage rather than bone aside from their teeth and the bones in their fins. This helps to reduce their body weight, due to the lower density of cartilage, but means their skeletons are not as strong as a human's. Thusly, they are particularly susceptible to fractures as a result of accidents or trauma.

Perhaps the most obvious of drawbacks the Sea Hounds suffer when living outside the ocean is the dryness of the surface world. Although they retained their ability to breathe air, the absence of sea water can inflict serious stress on a Sea Hound's physiology. The easiest way to stave this off is to indulge in daily hour-long soaks in salt water as well as drinking plentiful fluids. Going several days without soaking can cause muscle aches, painful dryness, fatigue, dizziness, and confusion, with death often resulting after 10 to 14 days from fatal dehydration.

And finally, Sea Hounds are still extremely rare in terrestrial society. While there have been more interactions with them in the past 40 years, that process has been very slow due to the language barrier and the physical divide between the surface and underwater. As such there many among the other races who still don't even believe Sea Hounds exist, and their shark-like appearance can be frightening, to say the least.

Unification Status
Much like with the Burrowers, historical contact between humans and Sea Hounds have been limited to occasional individual interactions for hundreds of years. These relationships rarely surpassed chance encounters and when they did they became the basis for legends, often unverifiable. Unlike with other races, there was not a singular introduction event or an official charter established between representative parties.

In the past 15 years there has been increased exposure due to multiple Sea Hound enclaves accepting accommodations in Upper Luthairingia, Preusvia, Occupied Danmag, and a few places in Bayernia. As of yet they have been largely unwilling to venture too far inland on a more permanent basis, but their presence is beginning to make an impression in coastal cities. Sea Hound cooperation in nautical industries has been tremendously productive, with fishing and shipbuilding benefiting the most. This has been especially helpful with Grienzland's efforts to modernize and expand its navy to match those of its rivals.

The largest hurdle still yet to cross is the rarity of Sea Hounds in more inland regions. While Sea Hounds do stick together in packs, this has made it so that their settlements are often limited to a few number of larger cities, with countryfolk not having ever met one. Their reliance on saltwater leaves them unable to take advantage of lakes or rivers, and smaller villages do not offer the needed infrastructure to provide for the needs of a Sea Hound enclave. Add this to the fear of sharks that many people in coastal regions already experience, and there has yet to be a considerable acceptance of Sea Hounds into the widespread culture.

Humans
"'There is much variety within the Human nations and so one cannot judge them all by the same measure. The Brettish are our ancient foes and the originators of our plight. It is Brettish fishing ships which invade our territory and Brettish destroyers which drop bombs onto our villages. The Grienzens were once our neighbors and kin, and now a common foe may bring us back together. It is entirely possible that our time apart has caused us to drift too far to now join together, but that is not yet clear.'"

Night Ravens
"'They are of the air and we of the sea, making us from two different worlds. They at least think in three directions, as we do, and yet they rise up from the water while we sink below. It could be said that they are our reflection from across the mirror between water and air, so we may be able to learn something of ourselves through knowing more about them.'"

Wolfen
"'It appears that we are compared to the Wolfen quite a bit, though the similarities seem superficial at best. These Land Hounds have not banded together to form their own civilization, but rather live in the shadow of humanity. It appears to be a servile relationship, and one that we have no desire to mimic. But perhaps they can be inspired toward pursuing their own achievements by our example.'"

Dragon Daughters
"'There are enormous creatures in the ocean as well, and they are foul beasts to be avoided or hunted with all possible vigor. These land giants seem far more docile but it may be an act of camouflage. Never confront one without overwhelming numbers, which is difficult to muster on land as of yet. Accordingly, do not get cornered by one and avoid provoking, at least until their demeanor has been thoroughly assessed.'"

Fey Cats
"'There were some of us who went south after the Plunge. And when we last encountered them, they had a feline aura about them as manifested by these Fey Cats. It is an untrustworthy shimmer that twists the currents around them. Be sure to never reveal the location and nature of our homes to them, and stay on guard for any tricks.'"

Burrowers
"'What is there to say? They seem harmless, though it is possible that they hold us in contempt for the loss of their ancestors during the Plunge. Regardless, they have abandoned our people due to their inability to adapt to life under the waves, but there is no bad blood between us on our end.'"