Races: the Feresi
Persai Persai translates roughly to water-fairy, reflecting the aquatic lifestyle, habitat and marine origin of their race but further insight into their history remains undisclosed to outsiders. These creatures differ in physical appearance as do the variations of fish within the rivers through and oceans surrounding Vennadore but share a few common characteristics; all Persai possess twin breathing mechanisms, gifted both with gills and lungs allowing survival beneath and above water although the latter is strictly limited. All possess webbed hands, flowing tails of numerous colours and have developed enormous eyes speckled with flecks of light resembling a night sky, allowing greater vision within their dark and cavernous surroundings and reflecting their increased activity under the influence of moonlight. The Persai are strong and territorial but surprisingly weakened against most metals save for gold and silver to which they possess a dangerous affinity; pirate treasure is found and fought over, and their closest enemies in turn hunt them for their skins which are refined into a valuable form of leather. As a form of defence, this race has adapted warrior-like techniques and resources and from necessity also the skill of healing.
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Qadini The Qadini appear to originate from human-kind as opposed to the Persai's marine. In both appearance and behaviour they still clearly resemble their ancestry; no uniform hue for any feature exists within their ranks however typical of their kind does run the almond-shaped eyes paired with flowing hair curling in soft waves kept long by women, clipped short by males. These enchanting creatures share the Persai's capability for breathing through either gill or lung but display an enhanced strength for the latter thus increasing their above-water tolerance. Legend behind the race's more recent creation tells of conflict and dishonour between deity and human, punishment for the unmentionable crime seeing banishment of a lover to the depths of the lake waters and the offender choosing to join her asking mercy for his soul and to this day although legend faded to myth, closer inspection of a Qadini's single-coloured tail shows extremely faint outlines resembling potential legs and feet beneath the scaled exterior. Younger than the Persai, the equally territorial Qadini feel constant need to justify their existence and prove their worth leading to a highly competitive and defensive attitude; their strength however lies not in physical fight but intelligence and academics. Their humanistic love for material possessions including jewels and silks draws makes their presence more noticeable drawing many watchful gazes, only some of which are admiring.
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Pescis A mystical tale whispered by pirates, the Pescis are the sirens of the sea, living in the ocean as water-bound creatures, and singing the stray traveller into a trap, and, ultimately, their death. They display themselves as beautiful, irresistible mermaids, the stuff of a man's legend, but when their victims realize that they are hopelessly lost, these sirens reveal their true nature: hideous faces, scaled bodies, long and bristly hair, and razor-sharp fins and a screech that could blind anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby. The Pescis lure lost souls for both sport and necessity, hunting them down, taking their goods, then devouring them for food.
