Atlantean

Only recently, in the past century, have the Atlanteans made thier presnce known to the surface world. Inheritors of a shattered empire’s legacy, they hold their proud traditions close but still surface to seek aid from the rest of the world.

The aquatic humanoids of the Gilded Sea share a somber and burdened history. Most refer to these aquatic peoples as gillmen or sometimes scale-skin, though these are now hated terms among the Atlanteans. While they are often reclusive and skeptical of strangers, they ambitiously seek to defy negative perceptions and prejudice laid against them. They regard the water as their home, but still are intrigued by societies along the shore.

Atlanteans appear as regal, athletic humans. Their soft, hydrophilic skin ranges in tones from pearlescent white to pinkish, greenish, or brown tones reminiscent of coral. Atlanteans with hair are somewhat rare; many sport fins or scaled ridges on their heads instead. They often have violet eyes. Their aquatic lineage is obvious thanks to the sets of three gills on either side of their necks, as well as their webbed hands and feet. Azarketis have been known to live longer than humans, although they mature at about the same rate.

Some Atlanteans prefer to foster connections with the surface-dwellers. Living in ports, river towns and along the shore allows Atlanteans a greater scope of opportunities not afforded to exclusively land or sea peoples. Although integrating with land society can be difficult, Atlanteans manage by forming bonded communities. Members will often have fond familial names for one another, regardless of actual relation. The Atlanteans are in a crisis, as their population is in decline. The only city left of their once great civilizations, Atlantis, is the last bastion of an ancestry on the brink of extinction.