Imberhollow

The Imberhollow reside within the Tempest, a sea between the Northern Expanse, Worburn, Xuslon, and Akraphis. They guard the Precipt Rift, a portal between the Elemental Plane of Water and the Material Plane, to ensure that nothing is able to get to either side in an attempt to ensure the tranquility of the world.
Origin The Imberhollow were originally descended from the water genasi as the protectors of the Precipt Rift. The genasi were able to form marvelous structures beneath the sea in order to better defend their charge by allowing them to stay nearby rather than having to travel from the nearest landmass hundreds of miles away.
Appearance Traditional Imberhollow, those directly descended from the original Genasi settlers of Thalatesh, bear the traditional blue and green skin of their ancestors. Beads of moisture frequently pool on their skin and hair, the latter of which always seems to be floating freely as if constantly underwater. Some have voices that resemble the creatures of the water, such as deep, whale-like tones or that of trickling water. Some even have slight webbing to their hands and feet, and there are those who will have their skin altered to have this webbing as a status symbol.
In the present, the appearance of the Imberhollow are as varied as the stones of the seafloor. Given that anyone is welcome to join their culture, there is no longer one set of appearances for the Imberhollow.
Culture Despite their isolation in the sea, the culture of the Imberhollow is as wide and varied as anywhere else in the world. It is one that is not necessarily born into; they are just as ready to welcome a newcomer to their culture as they are a newborn.
Language A variety of languages are spoken, including Elvish, Gnomish, Dwarvish, and Primordial. However, most of the Imberhollow tend to stick with Common due to its widespread usage.
Traditions The Imberhollow borrow from all different walks of life for the traditions that they follow, allowing for any race among them to feel welcome within the halls of Thalatesh.
A traditional rite of passage for those born on Thalatesh is known as Kuprathi. When an Imberhollow turns 11, they are given mythfrond, a plant from just outside the Precipt Rift that renders any who ingest it unconscious. They are then placed within the Chamber. Here, the floor of the room is open to the waters with a net of cords covering it. They are submerged with just their face above the water, and they experience an out of body experience where their soul is transferred into the Elemental Plane of Water, just to the other side of the rift. There, they see what they are protecting, what they are to guard with their lives, in order to understand exactly what is at stake. They see the leviathan creatures that dwell within the infinite depths, that which would destroy their world if given the chance. After an hour, they come out of the effects of mythfrond exhausted but enlightened. This rite of passage is also open to those who travel to Thalatesh, though it is not a requirement to join their city.
A major festival for the Imberhollow is the Empress' Lights, where the Imberhollow will host a festival in honor of their unseen Empress, taking turns entering her chamber -- under the strict watch of the Arcadel -- and drop offerings into the waters. The festival is so named because of the way the offerings will sparkle as they gently sink to the bottom of the ocean. Those outside the chamber are able to watch as it makes its way down. Most stalls and shops will be closed for the week of celebrations in order to take part in the festivities which include a variety of games and food booths that spring up out of seemingly nowhere.
An important tradition for the elders of the Imberhollow is to pass on the history of Thalatesh to their children and grandchildren. Rather than maintain an sort of written history -- which could be easily destroyed by a simple leak in the city -- the more magically inclined came up with a rather ingenious method of storing the history within pearls utilizing a similar spell to that of sending. Some of those among them will dive to the bottom of the ocean where there are a large assortment of clams and bring the pearls back to the city. They will be enchanted to hold up to an hour of speech and distributed to any of the Imberhollow who desire to tell a story into it, whether it is a personal history or a fictional tale.