Humans - Seafarers
Those who bear the strongest resemblance to any given Earthly Human would be the Seafarers – traders and port folk, islanders and craftsmen that live along almost every waterway. Every ship’s crew is at least half Human, though the northern sea’s ships are almost exclusively Wyldkin. Their skin tends toward tan and brown, but like all Human groups, they vary from black through pale, and all typically expected shades of hair and eyes are found among them. The bulk of Seafarers, at least the adult men, have plentiful scars – each coming with its own long and often embellished story. Tattooing is common but is often of lesser quality than those found among other cultures, and certainly most ship-bound Seafarer tattoos fade within a few years.
The Seafarers are expert traders, merchants, money-counters and travelers. In terms of their skills, they often have excellent math, history and geography knowledge, as well as astronomy and cartography. These people rarely hunt on land unless they’re port-born, otherwise they make their most meals from the bounty of the sea. Whittling, carving, knot-tying and weaving are common crafts for the women, and far more women remain on land than go to sea. Their men-folk are sturdy, and often the women are quite buxom, and this fact is pondered at great lengths during most voyages.
Widely traveling the world, only the Seafarers truly know the extent of Dragondeep’s cultures. By trading and shipping goods, they get a close look at the merchandise and wares available. Some family homes of experienced Seafarers are simply packed with trinkets, furnishings, and items they’ve collected over the years. Obviously a favored port would be the Orchid Peninsula, where any pleasure can be had for a price. But some prefer the sedate Reed ports, and even the haunted northern Shrouds. They do have their share of rituals regarding when they first pass the True Beacon or survive the difficult Stormbreak Reef. Most Seafarers circle the Blessed Trades and rarely go farther than the Compass Citadel, but some weathered sailors have been around the world numerous times.
Their own townships dot almost every section of the coastline where there are no other restrictions (they would not set down on forbidden Dragon territories, nor where they can’t easily reach or leave port). Their cities are in the form of harbors and bustling ports, some capable of docking hundreds of ships. Anywhere the waters are safe to do so, usually becomes another port, often fit with a small community or a trade hub. There are very old port cities which have universities, libraries and magic schools, along side taverns and prostitution houses. Very few cities that are run by old Seafarer families make any distinction of ‘upper class’ in terms of whose houses are where. Life in a Seafarer port is challenge enough, and most uppity rich-folks of other cultures would hardly find it to their liking.
Though their towns can grow to be quite large and ramble up cliffs and inland, often the populations of those are more broad than merely Seafarers. At any given time, half the population of this widely distributed and highly varied subset of Humanity are on the sea. Their ships are usually welcome everywhere. Most craft are fishing boats, though plenty serve as cargo and pleasure craft. Those who do pull in any amount of sea life for food or trade, however, almost invariably have a Dragonkin aboard to make sure that they aren’t over-fishing, or hunting in waters which are forbidden or dangerous. It is also common for a smaller breed of Griff to be aboard larger ships, as their incredible eyesight as well as their ability to fly to safety are both valued for sighting storms or avoiding wrecks.
Though usually referred to as ‘he’, the Captain of any ship might be male or female – not in equal numbers, but there are no odd superstitions among most of the Seafarers regarding who can and cannot command a ship. It is worth noting that some of the most infamous pirate Captains have been female, though many tales are told of brash mutineers put down by their bonny Cap’n as well. Their occasional combat with Wyldkin ships around the Nightglimmer Sea have thankfully never erupted into full scale war, but it’s almost an inevitability that they will some day use more than two or three ships with their large cannons or even magic to tip the balance.
Though they don’t have superstition regarding having women aboard a ship, they certainly have cautionary tales of everything else. They are not fearless regarding the seas, but they’re often not found on land for a wide variety of often nonsensical (to outsiders) reasons. They sport a healthy fear of Demons and Fey, and perhaps the only broadly accepted and pervasive ship-board restrictions they carry are regarding the summoning of anything while on board. They use magic daily on their boats, but Summoners are sternly warned against disrupting their travel with even casual magic.
Most Seafarer families have a patriarch as well as a maternal line that serves almost the same purpose as the Nomads: the women are the ones usually at home to relate the tale of how their family lost great-grandpapa to a storm or monster. More often than not, a Seafarer’s family name will include ‘of port x’, since many older families have established lines all over the world. ‘Glendora of Mutiny’s End’, ‘Pelson from Glenfalls’, ‘Ardienne Brightfeather of the Purewell Brightfeathers’.
Seafarers forms of government include almost every type you could imagine, from chaotic mob rule to orderly bureaucracy, and monarchy to fiercely defended democracies. It just depends on what part of their trade route you’re on, who will be in charge at the port. Every ship, however, is ruled by the Captain – and he in turn by his love, the Sea.
Popular Seafarers of the Era
(none at present)
