Siren

## Common Knowledge

A Siren is an aquatic creature that appears humanoid at first glance but has large jaws hidden under a false face. They use an unnaturally beautiful song to attract their prey and can breathe above water for a short time. There can occasionally be a significantly more powerful Siren called a ‘Siren Queen’ that appears for no currently known reason.

## Location

Sirens are commonly found in the warmer water areas, often nearer to the easter and western coasts of Orelisle.

## Biology/Lifestyle

Descended from the Merfolk of the Elvic ancestry line, Sirens are creatures of the water and so are incredibly adept at movement through the seas and oceans. They can easily breathe above and below water, though they cannot walk upon the ground for a long time due to the fact that their skin will dry out quickly if not submerged. A Siren’s jaw is hidden under the jaw of a false face that looks like a beautiful Merfolk. The features of this false face are accurate to a Merfolk’s biology but are not functional so a Siren is blind. Thus, a Siren uses echolocation and other senses to determine where they are. They do have olfactory and auditory sensors that are located near but not on the false face, so they can smell, taste, and hear perfectly well. They all have a naturally beautiful voice which their innate magic makes into a hypnotic song that attracts their prey, often wayward sailors and Aquatic races. Due to their ancestry they have a life span of 1000 years, just as Merfolk do. Sirens are carnivores and will eat anything they can, though they like sapient races the most as they taste the best.

Sirens tend to group up in 3-5 being cells called a harmony, but can also travel alone though it is rare. While Sirens do have males and females the majority of the Siren population is actually intersex and there is no stigma about any variation of couples. They reproduce like Merfolk but the lack of fulfillment beyond biologically makes this an uncommon event. There is no strong bond between a parent and child and the child will often leave to find its own harmony once it is grown. However, bonds between partners are very strong as they mate for life and often die if their partner does. If a bonded pair is separated by one's death, and the other lives through it, the live partner will often become what is called a Stranded Bond as they can not join their bonded through mutual death. Their strong survival instincts override their need to be with their partner but the constant mental battle will often drive the Siren into a rabid state and they will attack any living thing within their reach. Thus, a Stranded Bond’s harmony will often kill them before they reach this state, otherwise the lone Siren will die from starvation or violence of some kind.

## Rarity/Power Level

Sirens are uncommon but not rare and have a magically potent hypnotic song that is very hard to break away from once ensnared. They have very sharp teeth and claws and are deceptively strong. It is rare for prey to get out of their grip once caught. They are very fast and can appear, attack, and retreat with prey in the blink of an eye though they tend to let their prey come to them rather than go looking, only those desperate for food will approach and attack a group.

There is the rare occurance of a ‘Siren Queen’ which is a bigger and more powerful Siren. Despite their name there is no actual sex requirement for a ‘Siren Queen’, they may be of any sex. Their hypnotic song can be heard from farther away and the pull is even stronger. ‘Siren Queens’ are always alone and there are legends that a ‘Siren Queen’ is actually a Stranded Bond that survived the madness and became more powerful but there is no real evidence of this. ‘Siren Queens’ have a very strong affinity for magic and can even cast some phantasmal spells as well as use some essence based abilities. There is some evidence in recent years that ‘Siren Queens’ may actually be a sapient being while regular Sirens are not.

## History

Sirens are descended from Merfolk of the Elvic ancestry. They were a slow evolution which birthed a few cousin creatures along the way, like Qalupalik and Syl’wren. There is no current reason for Sirens to not exist for many more years.

## Further/Related Information

* Qalupalik
* Merfolk
* Syl’wren