Sirens
According to mythology, the Siren's once cheerful songs turned toward mourning. Men, already attracted to the music, would literally dive off of cliffs to try to get to the women and soothe the aching sadness of their songs.
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Appearance: Sirens can appear as striking mermaids, though very often with an inhuman quality to their beauty. Some have the tails of great sharks, others are those of scaled fish and some are much more serpentine in appearance. Their colors also vary widely. They love to adorn themselves with valuables of every kind and will even barter with humans for them, bringing up items from submerged wreckages to swap for pretty things. Sirens tend to be a little wilder in appearance than their mermaid sisters, and this can become exaggerated as their hunger increases (particularly for blood). Some sirens' eyes will change color and shape depending on their thirst, growing more cat-like as their instincts and desire to hunt take over. Others have claws, sharp teeth, and other natural weapons to assist them in the hunt. All Sirens are infected with a disease called Sirenum. They can be born with it, or can be infected later in life through the bite of a Siren. Infection through a bit is intentional, meaning a siren must intend to infect their chosen victim. This leads to an incredibly slow and painful progressive change process. Only Humans and Merfolk may be infected this way.
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Personality: Sirens are the most vain of all sea creatures, save perhaps Tritons. They absolutely adore being verbally praised and stealing the attention of males from many races and pride themselves on being more attractive than other females around.Sirens are capricious creatures whose singing can enchant other races (literally). Sirens are not necessarily cruel, but they do enjoy enchanting and controlling others. They have a tendency to look down on other races, with the exception of elves, who they have a grudging respect for. Sirens do not get along well with many races, with the exception of elves, who have a resistance towards the siren's music. They are usually chaotic neutral with a tendency towards evil. Sirens tend to be very territorial of places, people or things that catch their attention. Competitive by nature, they will get along well with fellow sirens until there is a limited resource to be won. When sirens are in good spirits, they can be extremely affectionate with one another, to the point of making others nervous or uncomfortable. When sirens have been without blood for an extended period of time their temperments grow more turbulent than a tempest in hurricane season and others would do well to stay out of their way. They become less and less aware of themselves as their hunger takes over, even attacking friends or loved ones if provoked. Not all sirens are female but a majority of them are. Typically this is because sirens are more likely to prey upon men and convert women into helpful sisters. Male sirens are often loners and compete directly against small shoals of female sirens.
Strengths: Sirens live much longer lives than their original race; multiplying the expected lifespan by a factor of 3. They age incredibly slowly. Natural Born Sirens age at a normal rate until their first breeding season (for roleplay purposes in alignment with sim rules, this is 18 years of age). After that, the aging process slows down. Natural Born Sirens typically live about 1,500 years. Sirens have a land form that can have vestiges of their merfolk heritage, including scales, ear fins, and other small traits. Sirens possess the heightened senses of a predator: keen eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell. Sirens can be up to 1.5 times stronger than a human in merform.
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Weakness: Sirens are perpetually haunted by a hunger for blood. While they may eat other things, and even enjoy rather normal and varied diets, blood is an absolute necessity. They must consume it in small amounts regularly. The more sentient the creature from which blood is taken, the longer they can go between feedings. Older or more Magical creatures are often sought out, as the time between feedings can last longer. Failing to sate the hunger results in a slow and painful physical change in Siren. Initially it is like severe hunger pangs, and a Siren may be more irritable or combative. Then the siren may become more animal like in form, long claws growing from the fingers, the skin may changing in color. A siren in the full throes of Hunger is a horrible thing to see, half mad, absolutely murderous, with no recollection of emotional ties or seeming coherent intelligent thoughts. They become entirely about satisfying the now agonizing hunger that has consumed both body and mind and can go on murderous rampages attacking and killing everything and everyone around them until the Hunger decides to release its hold. If the Siren is restrained and prevented from sating the hunger, they can actually go completely mad and starve to death. They are easily manipulated when their vanity is appealed to or when provoked into a competition.
