Xevea

### Affiliation(s)

Juena's Fin, Rousea, Santanea, Icepoint, Mistward, Whiteholde, Rivverrun, Miracle, Heartlight, Crystalgulch

### Area(s)

Enas Ocean, Kriqora Sea, Enela Sea, Agitas Ocean, Strubera Strait, Wrilune Sea

### Language(s)

Amtosa

The Xevea were the first group of **Oril** that **Juena** had set her sights upon in order to protect the oceans.

## Settlements

**Juena's Fin** - The first **Oril** settlement and considered the main settlement of the Xevea, founded by Aene. The settlement is within the sand banks of the **Enas Ocean**, close to the shoreline of **Eulazus**. It is purposely placed here so that the Xevea can control the currents and waves, keeping the weather calm for those on the land. The homes for the Xevea are built onto the side of the drop off, the entrances covered with colorful corals and seaweeds.

**Rousea** - A settlement deep within the **Enas Ocean**, towards the tropical waters of **Kropari**. The water around this settlement is tinged pink, due to the high numbers of shrimp and krill in the area. The Xevea living within the settlement take on pinkish tones and decorate their buildings and homes with pink coral.

**Santanea** - A settlement that is built partially onto a volcanic made isle near **Kerris Mountain**, within the **Kriqora Sea**. The Xevea within it build their homes onto the small isle, claiming it as a part of their settlement and building into the waters surrounding it.

**Icepoint** - The coldest settlement for the Xevea, located in the **Enela Sea**. The beings that reside here have thick blubber and rubbery skin that shields them from the cold. There always seems to be a large abundance of natural sea lights here as well. The Xevea here have a natural hatred for the **Ceardian** who live on the land, sometimes hunting them for sport.

**Mistward** - A settlement that seems to forever be surrounded by mist. This settlement is located close to the northern shore of **Eulazus** as a defense mechanism, since most people other than **Oril** don’t even know that it is there

**Whiteholde** - A settlement within the **Agitas Ocean** known for its pure white sands. The Xevea within it trade with the races on land to get marble, building their homes out of it.

**Riverrun** - A settlement built alongside an underwater river that stretches out from the **Strubera Strait**. The homes are built out of kelp and driftwood, with some of them being dug into the ground or against cliff edges.

**Miracle** - A settlement previously named Lochness deep within a kelp forest in the **Kriqora Sea**, known for being the location of many of **Italus’s** murders and attacks. The settlement had been abandoned as a result of the murders and belief that it was haunted, but a group of Xevea soon returned and began to rebuild it. Once it was brought back to a healthy state, Xevea moved back into the city, swearing to keep it peaceful and welcoming to all. The settlement was renamed Miracle as a result.

**Heartlight** - The Xevea settlement located in the middle of the **Agitas Ocean**, which is surrounded by the natural sea lights of the waters. It is a landmark for travelers, since it marks the halfway point across the ocean and the bright lights are able to reach the surface.

**Crystalgulch** - A large amount of crystal formations that naturally grow underwater. They are used to make artificial sea lights for the outsiders that want a similar glow in their houses or cities. Xevea living within the settlement enjoy carving their homes into the crystals. Located in the **Wrilune Sea**.

## History

**Juena** had sought out large groups of sharks and dolphins within her oceans in Year 124. Juena watched the two species from afar, seeing how they had done their hunting and attacking, impressed with their strength and determination.

Approaching the groups, Juena began to speak to them about her cause. She spoke of the war happening over the oceans, informing the creatures of the dangers **Ter'ot** was in and her desire to prevent the oceans from reaching the same fate. Without hearing the creature's response first, she set them into a Trial of Strength to test if their strength was truly at the level she desired.

The Xevea were set through several trials, including confronting large whales and attempting to take them down. The first Xevea to succeed in her trial was a tiger shark by the name of **Aene**. Aene had demonstrated exceptional strength, taking on large whales and squid with ease. Despite Aene’s strength, Juena turned her eyes towards a different Xevea, a sailor by the name of **Italus Inu**. The large orca’s strength matched that of Aene’s in all regards, except for the fact that he moved quicker than her and was much crueler with his methods, and he proved to be much more insistent towards the Celestial on his own abilities. Juena, seeing that cruelty as the perfect way to protect her oceans, took up Italus as her **guardian**.

Many years later, in Year 991, Juena quickly realized her mistake. Italus had used her blessings to ravage the villages on the lands, using his power and authority to get what he wanted out of the **Oril** and to justify his killing for fun. Despite Juena’s warnings, Italus continued taking advantage of his title, which was soon stripped from him.

It’s unknown where Italus had gone. His final words towards the **Celestial** was that she would regret her actions, with it being a common belief that he sought out **Vyros** after his departure.

## Physical Appearance

Xevea range anywhere from 4' (121.92 cm) tall to upwards of 98' (2,987.04 cm) tall in extremely rare cases. Male Xevea are often noticeably larger than the female. Their sizes and girth often represent the area that they prefer to live within.

Their appearance can vary, but most of them don a dorsal fin, as well as normal fins on the sides of their bodies. A lot of the Xevea look almost the same, with their snouts and spots primarily differentiating them amongst their brothers and sisters.

Most of the Xevea are grey or black in color, and have smooth, rubbery skin. In rare cases, Xevea can have pinks, whites, blues, and faint yellows on their skin as well. Some even sport spots and stripes.

Most Xevea typically just go nude, due to them not viewing their bodies as inappropriate or shameful. However, when they do wear clothes, they typically opt for something similar to a bikini bottom, with a tight shawl or crop top along their chest. Some may also choose to wear dress-like outfits that tightly hug the body, similar to a mermaid tail wedding dress. Others have also been seen with loose clothes wrapped around their bodies for decoration, along with jewelry on their fins. Their arms and legs are always left bare to aid in swimming.

### Life Span

Xevea average lifespan is 300 to 400 years, with their average age of death being around 300. From the ages of one to 12 they are children, 13 to 19 they are adolescent, 20 to 150 they are adult, and 151 and on they are considered elderly.

## Culture

Despite their stereotypes, most Xevea are not hostile. In fact, Xevea are an extremely playful race. Some will jump out of the waters just for fun, or to move faster when swimming. Many will make bubble rings and swim through them with their friends, or have little competitions on who can make the biggest ring. They do tend to be a little bit brash by nature, due to their worship of **Juena** and what has happened to their **Celestial** in the past. They believe that their former **Guardian**, **Italus Inu**, is a still out there and preparing an attack onto the **oceans** once more.

Most Xevea are close range fighters, with a small number of them preferring to fight from a distance. They are very good defenders, and usually only take to violence if it is absolutely necessary. Xevea are considered a highly social race, living in large societies of their own kind. The two types of Xevea often feel wary of each other, but will still share the same settlements and tolerate one another’s presence. They are one of the sub-races of **Oril** that are able to go onto land, though due to the negative stereotypes put onto the Xevea because of Italus's actions, they typically stick to the waters.

Xevea have a lot of strength and are considered the best swimmers out of all the Oril. They're able to reach high speeds of upwards of 35 mph (21.748 km) and shoot out of the surface of the water to catch flying birds, sometimes reaching heights of 30 feet (914.4 cm) during their breaches. As well as this, Xevea also have extremely good hearing, with even a blind Xevea being able to navigate the oceans and pinpoint locations with ease. Many Epreans say that it is impossible to sneak up on a Xevea, because even if your footsteps are silent to you, they will hear each one.

Xevea are able to withstand a large variety of temperatures, with many of their kind being found in the arctic regions, as well as the tropics. Others may also live much deeper in the oceans than their kin, preferring to navigate within darker regions and feasting on deep sea creatures.

Many Xevea believe in not leaving anyone behind, and will stay with even their smallest and most fragile members to make sure they will be nursed back to full health.

Despite their efforts and beliefs, the Xevea are among one of the most feared **races** on Eprea. Xevea who pull themselves onto the beaches in order to interact with those on land will often find themselves in a situation where passersby run from them in fear. As time goes by, more Epreans learn about the Xevea and their peaceful intentions, but many are still wary. The Xevea have taken on a type of body language to convey to the land races that they're friendly, involving them squatting down and holding their arms out, their palms out, so that the Epreans can see that they are harmless. Once a Xevea has successfully shown that they're peaceful, they're very quick to get to know the Epreans they stumbled upon, getting along with the groups almost immediately. A common phrase in Eprea is that there's no friend quite like a Xevea.

Most Xevea are fiercely loyal, and will do what they can to protect those that they hold close and dear to themselves. This includes quickly getting into fights if they believe someone close to them may be in danger. One of the Xevea's biggest flaws is their tendency to jump to conclusions, which is primarily what had started their stereotypes to begin with.

However, despite most Xevea trying their best to be as peaceful as they can, there is still a rogue group of Xevea who embrace their stereotypes and roam the oceans as a predator to all races. This group of Xevea have nicknamed themselves **Juena's Fangs**, believing that they are honoring the Celestial by attacking anyone who goes out of line within the oceans.

### Food

Xevea are primarily carnivorous, with their diet consisting of krill, crustaceans, fish, squid, and octopi. One of their favorite dishes is **octopi over seaweed**.

When hunting in a pack, the Xevea will sometimes target much larger prey, aiming to get a meal that feeds their entire settlement. These types of hunts are extremely rare among the Xevea, however, due to the high fatality rate that they often face when hunting dangerous targets.

Xevea also have a habit of collecting sponges in order to forage for **pufferfish** or anything else that has stingers, using the sponge as a type of glove to protect them against it.

### Trade

Xevea typically spend their free time gathered in the hubs of their cities, crafting colorful and pearl-decorated jewelries to trade to those on land.

### Worship

All Xevea typically worship **Juena**, with a select few worshipping **Pafella** as well. Those within the **Juena's Fangs** will look towards **Tozra**, due to Tozra's war-like mindset and tendencies.

### Romance

Xevea courtship involves a mating dance, with one of the Xevea showing off their agility and dexterity by doing quick flips in the water and breaching the surface. If the Xevea succeeds in courting another, they will typically stick together for life, only breaking away from each other if they feel they're unable to meet the other Xevea’s demands. Xevea do not typically get married, allowing the freedom to leave a relationship with ease.

Despite their social bonds, it is common for male Xevea to get into public brawls within their settlements when trying to court another Xevea. It is a common saying within the Xevea community that the older the Xevea, the more scars they bear. Sometimes, if a Xevea has repeated acts of aggression, they will be cast out from their community and exiled.

### Childcare

Although they typically partner with other **Oril**, it is possible for a Xevea to have children with all of the **races** of Eprea, other than **Jorfea**.

Xevea who lay eggs instead of doing live birth are locked to having children with **Manna**, other Oril, **Ceardian**, **Zogardian**, and **Vlennite**.

### Death

When a Xevea has passed away, their body will be carried by their loved ones to a deep trench. Once there, they tie heavy stones to the body, letting it float into the trench and slowly make its way to the bottom.

Many Xevea have a hard time handling death, due to them believing **Eiryot** is unable to carry their dead to the afterlife due to them living under the water.

Xevea often fear death, since they are unsure of what will happen to them once they go.

### Language

Xevea means “Predator” in the Eprean language.

The Xevea interact and speak with each other in their own language, which consists of a variety of clicks and laughing-like sounds. The language is called **Amtosa**, and is strictly only spoken with no forms of writing for it.