Selkies

Selkies

Naiad & Faun Hybrid Wildkin

• Common Name: Selkie
• Other Names: Seal Pae, Wildkin

Physical Description

• Height: Seal form: 5-6ft; Humanoid form: 4ft
• Body Structure:
  • While wearing their fur skin in the water they become seals, having every body adaptation a seal would.
  • Once on land and the fur removed, they looked like a beautiful but featureless Pae- having no wings or distinctive features to set them apart.
  • Males are muscular but females are not. Females are smaller than the males.
• Skin: Seal flesh with skin on, human like skin when off.
• Distinctive Features: Humanoid form their eyes are notably large and expressive and their hair has a silky, water like texture.

Abilities & Powers

Physical:

• Resistance to cold & pressure
• Agile
• Enhanced abilities to aid in hunting in the water: sharp hearing & vision.
• Sharp teeth and a vice-like bite in seal form.

Main Abilities:

• None.

Racial Abilities:

• They can shed their sealskin to reveal a very attractive Pae'il.
• Aquatic Adaptation - they can easily move from the land to the water without the need of gills or breathing apparatus.
• Water affinity: They have a special connection and longing for the water and don't like being away from the waters for very long. This is an instinct all Selkie have and will be required for all characters.

Weaknesses:

• Taint (to be expanded on later)
• If their skin is found and stolen by another pae'il, they are 'owned' by the other pae and bound to their whims.
• If they find their skin after having lost it, they return to sea immediately. They can only stay on land if another pae possesses their skin.
• Separation from the sea or lake can cause depression.
• On land, their senses aren't as acute.
• Weak-minded on land and easily susceptible to mind manipulation powers.

Reproduction

• Method:
  • With Skin: Seal like
  • Without skin: intercourse
• Gestation Period: Two seasons
• Average Number of Offspring: 2-3

NOTE:

• Babies are called pups.
• Male Selkie who bear children with a female who is not a Selkie will have kids that are the same are the female.
• Inter-species relationships only produce 1-2 children.
• Females always produce other Selkie.
• Babies are live-born, fully covered in seal fur.
• Children are fully covered in seal fur and cannot remove it.
• Teens - Their fur hangs loose, and they are fully able to remove it, but their bodies are very frail.

Diet

• Primary Food Sources: Carnivores
• Hunting/Squid Farming: Selkie aren't into the vegetation or fish farming like their Merfolk counterparts. They instead are built for hunting but some will take on squid farming since they're such a delicacy.
• Dietary Needs: Protein & fat

Behavior & Society

Social Structure:

• Telrunya: Queen Tariel, Consort Turin, Queen's Council, Queen's Guard, Hunters, everyone else.
• Lucandria: Duchess Nomia, Mika nobility, Common Mika, Tide Keeper

Communication: Water Runes, clicks and whistles in seal form

Cultural Practices:

• Selkies live in tight knit pods of extended family or close allies. They are led by a head called the Tide Keeper. They are generally chosen for their wisdom & ability to navigate challenges. They represent the pod in larger Selkie gatherings, resolve issues within the pod, and preserve oral traditions.

They are a musical story telling group, generally stories of the past or ones made up. These storytelling sessions are a mix of storytelling, musical ballads, and movement. It sometimes is a play or a dance.

• This has led to many joining the ranks of APOP due to their love of movement. Most are recruited as dancers and well beloved by their Mika fans just like the APOP Merfolk.
• A Selkie's skin is revered. Every Selkie is taught the importance of never losing it, always protecting it.
• They believe the waters is a living entity with its own spirit. Thus each pod has a Wave Shaman who interprets the patterns of ripples, currents, or reflections to divine the future or seek guidance.

Customs & Traditions

• The Anointing: When a Selkie teen is able to pull off their skin for the first time, it is anointed and rubbed with fine oils in a right of passage ceremony.
• The First Dive: Children Selkie are taught at a young age how to swim, eventually learning how to dive great depths in order to hunt. Their first hunt alone is considered celebratory and called 'the first dive'.
• Soulbinding Ceremony: The couple agree to bind their souls for eternity, showing their certainty in this by exchanging a piece of their seal skin with each other in order to sew it into their own. This causes the loss of a skin to be even greater because the possessor then has a way to find the other Selkie- so any Selkie participating in this must have great faith in each other. This ceremony includes song telling and dancing.

History

Origin: When a large group of Pae were sent to Lucandria, what few Naiad and Faun where there intermingled. Their hybrids have evolved to become what are now known as the Selkie.

Major Historical Events

• After the first Merfolk was introduced as the water duchy's APOP star- some Selkies came forward to showcase their own talents, especially for dance. They were quickly accepted and added to the fold, bettering their lives quickly.
• The first APOP group goes on tour. Though the Water Duchy has warmed up to wildkin entertainment, much of the other Duchies were still closed off to the idea. Once the entertainment groups offered to start coming to the nobles they gave it a shot- it was an instant success.
• APOP stars were moved into a beautiful palace built within the lake where they were given many amenities common Mika would have. They still do not live like the nobles, but its definitely better than other Wildkin. Those Merfolk who are not APOP stars don't have as many amenities, but they do live comfortable lives thanks to the APOP stars who send money home.

Interaction with other Species

• Mika enjoy them for their entertainment quality and the Selkie will sometimes begrudgingly agree to their terms in order to better their lives.
• They work hand in hand with Merfolk due to their close proximity in the waterways. They're probably the closest to this species outside their own.
• Other Wildkin don't always look favorably on them due to their elevated life styles thanks to the APOP stars

Other Information

• Languages Spoken: Common & Ancient Miaki; chirps and whistles in the water as seals.
• Religious Beliefs: Respect for the water that gives them life.
• Technology Level: Everyday Selkie live like most Wildkin while APOP stars have many more luxuries with the manastones they are provided like electricity.
• Tools & Weapons: Everyday Selkie would use the bones of fish and other sea life to fashion their tools. Weapons are less common.
• Allies: Merfolk, Mika-ish
• Enemies: None.
• Current Status: Thriving