Shalarin

Shalarin  (also called fins, finheads, wild-tiders by merfolk, and skelar by noble malenti) were an undersea race of graceful humanoid swimmers.

Description
Shalarin were hairless humanoids with smooth skin like that of a dolphin. They were the same general shape as humans or elves, although they are closer to the lithe elven body type. Both genders were generally around tall, with elongated fingers and toes and webbing between the digits. Most adult shalarin have a lighter-colored dorsal fin that rises from the bridge of their nose back across their skull and down their spine to their tailbone. The tip of the fin is about on top of their head and fans out for  behind them at the shoulder. The colored markings on these fins clearly show which caste an individual belongs too. Should a shalarin become a magic user, their fins and webbing would take on a permanent glow. While most shalarin were a silvery color, they could also be a wide range of other colors including ivory, red, orange, midnight blue, or jade. Bronze was noted to be an unusual and highly attractive coloration. Their eyes were dark and had no iris.

Like most aquatic races, shalarin rarely wore clothes due to the drag it created while swimming. Most wore nothing more than a belt or harness made of woven kelp, sea snake skin, or eelskin. These would be used to carry necessary weapons or equipment. Shalarin nobles would sometimes wear clothes while at court as a mark of status, but these were generally very sheer and silky.

Physiology
Shalarin were highly resistant to the water pressure found at the bottom of the ocean. While the majority of their settlements were within the Upper Depths of Serôs between and  below the surface, they were able to comfortably descend to  feet and able to function at even greater depths for short periods. Very few creatures were able to surpass them, namely tritons, krakens, and some whales.

The shalarin were some of the most skillful swimmers in the Inner Sea. Beyond their webbed digits, their dorsal fins gave them increased stability as well as a great amount of maneuverability due to their ability to flex the fin while swimming.

While many aquatic humanoids retained eyes like those of surface races, shalarin had eyes more like fish and cetaceans, being completely black or, more rarely, a very dark blue or purple. They had a nictitating membrane that cleaned and protected their eyes. These membranes also allowed them to see the "natural bioluminescence" of objects and creatures up to, essentially functioning like the infravision of surface or subterranean races but being unimpeded by the water as the sight of non-aquatic creatures would be. This membrane automatically receded when there was enough light to see a short distance without it. Living at some of the deepest and therefor darkest depths of the ocean, their eyes were very sensitive to light. Even on a cloudy day the light of the sky was uncomfortable to them, and full sunlight was blinding. As such they would not happily approach the surface during daylight hours.

Shalarin were oviparous, laying eggs instead of giving live birth.

Psychology
Due to their caste-based culture, shalarin have a very exact concept of their status within their own society, and know instantly upon recognizing caste markings how an interaction between themselves and another shalarin must play out. Outsiders prove challenging to their normal instinctual understanding as they often cannot be immediately categorized by their appearance. Furthermore, castes strictly limit what activities shalarin can perform, and the idea of performing a task outside one's caste is nearly unthinkable. While a elf warrior might also be a gifted poet and a skilled cook, in shalarin society those are three separate roles that cannot overlap. When put in a situation where they cannot determine caste for an outsider, shalarin can rapidly become confused with how they are meant to interact with that person. Despite this, they are a generally polite people.

Despite having lived in Serôs for nearly three millenia and being firmly established by, the shalarin still did not completely consider the Sea of Fallen Stars their home. The Faiths Caste in particular had difficulty adjusting to and accepting the situation.

The Passings
The shalarin were originally found in the Sea of Corynactis, located to the west of Maztica. Unknown to the shalarin, the demon lord Dagon made a plan to subsume the power of the gods they worshiped there. He enacted this by cutting the deities off from their followers, then used magic to create the Wildtide Gate, a one-way portal to Serôs. A large number of shalarin were swept through the Gate in what became know as the First Shalarin Passing, at which point an army of merfolk and aquatic elves led by followers of Dagon was meant to slaughter them. The cultists were nearly succesful, slaughtering 70-75%  of the arriving shalarin, but Dagon's plot was foiled when the Dukar Orders and the other races of Serôs drove his armies off. However, despite the loss of his forces, Dagon continued to use the Wildtide Gate every 720 years to remove those most resistant to his influence from the Sea of Corynactis. Still ignorant of Dagon's role, Serôsian shalarin believed this to be the fulfillment of a prophecy which would bring them to a "new world" five times, each of the first four times prioritizing one of the Great Castes. The fifth would bring judges who would determine whether the shalarin were worthy of being reunited with their kin. The shalarin looked forward to this with great anticipation.

Settlements
The majority of shalarin settlements were located east of the Hmur Plateau and within the Upper Depths of Serôs, between 600 and 1200 feet below the surface. They were the most common sapient race at this depth. Shalarin had special agricultural techniques that allowed them to grow massive kelp beds even at a depth that normally did not allow enough light for plant growth. They were also known for their ability to cultivating pearls, which they used for both currency and in crafting their special pearl armor. They often used geothermal vents to create forges to smelt and shape metals (a rarity underwater), although settlements were not centered on these vents since the heat caused violent currents and the mineral debris not only limited vision but could also make those who breathed them in very sick with long exposure. Every settlement had multiple hatcheries for its various clans, based in warm underwater caves with muddy bottoms and heavily guarded by the Protectors.

All shalarin settlements in Serôs were part of As'arem (the "Empire of Arem"). The empire which is composed of the four kingdoms of Es'rath, Es'purr, Es'roch and Es'daan.

Culture
The most notable and pervasive facet of shalarin culture was the caste system. Caste was determined before birth by the markings seen on the shell of a shalarin egg, which determine which of the four Great Castes the child would belong to. While eggs were laid in privacy, they were immediately brought to a clan hatchery to be tended and placed with other eggs of the same caste. It was required that children be raised by a member of their caste, whether that was their biological parent or not. Mating and procreation were not restricted by caste, nor was caste directly hereditary, so as long as at least one biological parent shared a caste with their child they could request to raise them. From hatching shalarin were trained in general caste skills. Upon reaching adulthood, a shalarin's dorsal fin would unfold off their spine and the patterns on their fins would determine their sub-caste. They would then receive more specialized training.

The castes were: Secondary to caste were the clans. There were thirty shalarin clans whose membership was comprised of, to some degree, all the castes. Clan did not inherently determine status within society, although some clans did have a higher percentage of Rulers than others which gave them greater political power.
 * Protectors Caste (16%) - called the Hand of shalarin culture, the Protectors were the warrior caste. They were trained to defend other shalarin by learning both standard shalarin tactics as well as the the tactics of their enemies. Honor, even in combat, was a priority to them, and they had a code they were required to follow. They were born from dark brown eggs with a rough texture. A notable physical characteristic was the bone spikes that supported their fins rather than the cartilage of other castes. Their skin could be of any color, but their fins had no specific pattern. There were no subcastes.
 * Provider Caste (70%) - called the Heart of shalarin culture, this caste included both the highest and lowest ranked sub-castes. They were born from light brown eggs with a whorled texture pattern.
 * Rulers Caste (2%) - Rulers controlled governmental roles and are the highest caste. While they were required to serve in these roles when a position opened up, they were also allowed to learn the skills of any other caste they wished to pursue before they took their assigned positions. If a clan did not have any rulers, a proxy was provided by another clan. They had large white spots or stripes on their fins. A ruler born with a completely white fin was destined to play a very special role in society.
 * Eadars - emperors, who wear platinum bracers as their symbol of status rather than a crown
 * Finars - kings, who wear gold bracers
 * Golmars - dukes, who wear coral bracers inlaid with bits of gold
 * Providers Caste (50%) - Providers were the working class and covered all roles that fell outside the other castes. This gave them a degree of choice and freedom other castes did not have since they were allowed to pursue any of the many jobs within their purview, whether that be farming, working in the hatchery, or some other job. They had no special physical characteristics.
 * Servant Caste (18%) - Servants were the lowest caste and their only job was to serve the Rulers, performing chores for them exclusively. Unlike other castes, their fins never rose from their backs and simply lay flat like a long flap of skin. They received no specialized training.
 * Scholars Caste (4%) - called the Head of shalarin culture, this caste was highly educated and was required to maintain shalarin history in some form. They were born from rust-colored eggs with a tightly striated texture.
 * Minstrel Caste (1%) - Minstrels encompassed the poets, singers, and bards of the shalarin. They had bright red edges on their fins.
 * Sage Caste (2%) - Sages were the distributors of knowledge, sharing what they had studied with others as tutors and teachers. They had a red stripe on the leading edge of their fins, beginning directly above their nose and extending to the peak of the fin.
 * Arcane Caste (1%) - Arcanes were the only caste allowed to study wizardly magic. They had red stripes running along the base of their fin along their scalp and spine.
 * Seekers Caste (10%) - called the Currents of shalarin culture, Seekers simultaneously existed both within and outside of shalarin society. Upon the completion of their training they were expelled from settlements and were required to explore the world beyond to gather knowledge of people and places the shalarin did not know. They were born from black eggs with smooth shells.
 * Wanderers Caste (4%) - Wanderers were rogues and explored hidden places in the shadows to discover secrets and lost things. They had solid black fins.
 * Faiths Caste (6%) - Faiths provide truth and purpose from the gods. Previously of the Scholars Caste, Faiths were changed by the disconnect from the gods of Corynactis and had to find new truths among the Serôsian and Faerûnian gods. As such they became part of the Seekers Caste, a move that was physically reflected in their fins. Prior to coming through the Wildtide Gate, Faiths had red whorls on their fins. Faiths born within Serôs had black fins like Wanderers, differentiated by the large red dot that Faiths had at the base of their fin directly above their nose. This was said to be the spot where the gods touched the priest as a child.
 * Clan Names

Language
Shalarin spoke their own language brought with them when they passed through the Wildtide Gate as well as Aquan. Most also had at least a basic understanding of Serusan and Currentspeak. Some also learned Common.

In shalarin naming conventions, the primary prefix denoted caste, the second prefix denoted clan, and the last root word was a personal name. Each part was separated by an apostrophe (ex. Ri'ola'kirk would have been Kirk, a Ruler of Clan Ola). Similarly, settlements were named by adding a prefix denoting size to the name of the settlement (ex. Us'rath is the capital city of the kingdom of Es'rath). When referred to formally, a secondary prefix denoting the ruling clan could be added (ex. Es'yea'rath is a kingdom ruled by the Yea clan). God names shared the "ri" prefix with Rulers and used the prefixes "daa" or "dea" as their secondary prefix, with "daa" seemingly reserved for deities they viewed as major powers (ex. Ri'daa'trisha and Ri'dea'shela were the shalarin names for Trishina and Deep Sashelas respectively).
 * {| class="article-table"

!Prefix !Caste
 * Ri
 * Rulers/Gods
 * Ka
 * Scholars
 * Po
 * Protectors
 * Tu
 * Seekers
 * Li
 * Providers
 * }
 * {| class="article-table"
 * Li
 * Providers
 * }
 * {| class="article-table"
 * {| class="article-table"

!Prefix !Settlement Size
 * Ys (ees)
 * Town
 * Us (yoos)
 * City
 * Os (ohss)
 * Barony
 * Is (iss)
 * Duchy
 * Es (ess)
 * Kingdom
 * As (oz)
 * Empire
 * }
 * Es (ess)
 * Kingdom
 * As (oz)
 * Empire
 * }
 * }

Religion
Shalarin were generally very private about their religious beliefs and practices. However, upon arriving in Serôs, the Shalarin quickly discovered that: many of their original gods no longer answered their prayers. Following the First and Second Passings, some priests continued to worship these gods without change, believing the silence to be a test of faith. Shalarin born within Serôs did not continue these practices, and they along with those of the Third and Fourth Passing quickly turned to Faerûnian/Serôsian deities. Some recognized these local powers as different faces of their own gods, creating new subcults with unique shalarin practices rather than those used by the mainstream churches. Others simply converted to these new gods. All local gods were given names that conformed to shalarin standards, and they would not refer to them by other names.

Regardless of which view they took, all shalarin recognized Trishina as the major mother goddess of their culture, calling her Ri'daa'trisha. Each of the castes also had another patron deity who they believed ruled with her. Trishina and the patron were also possibly considered the progenitors of the given caste, although the exact nature of the relationships was not clear to anyone but shalarin. Eldath, Persana, Istishia, and Mystra were other popular gods, and around many shalarin had recently converted to the worship of Deep Sashelas (although none were clergy members). Eadro, Milil, and Oghma all had smaller churches as well. Umberlee did have a notable amount of worshipers, however by the cult had largely been abandoned.

Crafting
Shalarin often used tridents, notable for being smaller than those of other races and having an angled shaft so they could use them effectively with either one or two hands. The tridents also often had barbed tines to do more damage to their targets. They also used specially-crafted crossbows, which were a rarity underwater since the water resistance negated most ranged weapons.

Shalarin commonly crafted two types of armor, which was uncommon among undersea races due to the restrictions in mobility that generally accompanied armor. The first type was silverweave, which was less like traditional armor and more a tough but flexible fabric formed from silver coral fronds. It was generally only worn during war times, and even then was generally restricted to a pair of leggings, since a wounded leg would take away one's ability to swim. They also made a more ornamental kind of plate armor that was made of pearl. Tritons were the only other species who knew how to craft these armors.

Relations
Shalarin were generally well liked by others as they almost always acted with complete respect and manners. Tritons viewed them as somewhat naïve due to their open and diplomatic natures, though they were close enough allies that the shalarin were the only other race the tritons shared their iconic tapal weapons with. Shalarin were the only race the locathah did not naturally fear, since they were also the only race who had never enslaved them. Due to the very nearly successful attempts of the Aryselmalyn to slaughter both the First and Second Passings, shalarin are very wary of aquatic elves. The Nantarn Alliance led to the improvement of relations to some degree between all involved parties (including aquatic elves, merfolk, shalarin, and morkoth) as they worked together to drive Iakhovas the Ravager out of the Inner Sea and restore Myth Nantar. By, aquatic elves and shalarin were working to restore Alsyrrt and jointly ruled the settlement of Lyrathil, although this was still noted to be uncommon. Shalarin despised ixitxachitl and would attack them on sight. Their opinion of morkoth was little better.

Hippocampi found the shalarin very interesting, while selkies avoided shalarin if possible for unknown reasons.

History
The shalarin were originally from the Sea of Corynactis, which was rumored to be on the planet of Kapri but was actually located on the opposite side of Toril from Faerûn, west of Maztica. The demon lord Dagon made a plan to subsume the power of an entire pantheon of sea gods worshiped by the shalarin by first cutting off the gods' ability to respond to their followers, then sweeping large amounts of shalarin through a portal to the Sea of Fallen Stars where his followers would slaughter them. Each successive "Passing" would remove those most opposed to the progression of Dagon's cult.

In the First Shalarin Passing occurred as the "Wildtide Gate" opened, depositing the stunned shalarin into the middle of the Third Serôs War. These shalarin were immediately attacked by the combined forces of the aquatic elves and a merfolk army led by the mad kings Essyl Merynth and Kyron, respectively. The two kings were Dagon's servants and had been given a deadly artifact known as the Emerald Eye to help serve his aims of destroying the shalarin. They were very nearly successful, killing between 70-75% of these first shalarin before the merfolk nation of Tivaan, the morkoth nation known as the Four Arcana of Humbar, and the Dukar Orders united to defend the shalarin. Following the end of the war several years later, the shalarin survivors established the city-state of Es'krin.

The Second Passing occurred in, and many of the new shalarin settled in Es'krin, although some moved farther east. Unfortunately, the current coronal of the Aryselmalyr Empire of aquatic elves, Vaequiss II Merynth, was incredibly paranoid. She decided to attack Es'krin, beginning the Fifth Serôs War. While she was eventually defeated, this war resulted in the destruction of Es'krin, as well as the Four Arcana of Humbar. Following this devastation, the shalarin move deeper underwater, replacing the destroyed morkoth nation to establish Es'rath. They allied with the Dukar Orders to keep Aryselmalyr at bay.

Following the collapse of Aryselmalyr in and the resulting Sixth Serôs War, the shalarin became one of the major powers within Serôs. In, Es'rath became the target of the morkoth Theocracy of the Deep Ones in the Seventh Serôs War. This war was surprisingly short, lasting only two years and ending when tritons appeared from the deep trenches of the sea. The tritons remained in Serôs afterwards and aided the shalarin in defending against future morkoth attacks.

In the the Third Passing occurred. For the first time, the new shalarin arrived in a time of peace and were not attacked upon arrival. This allowed them to rapidly establish the kingdoms of Es'daan and Es'purr, who united with Es'rath to form As'arem. The shalarin now ruled most of the Inner Sea from the Hmur Plateau to the eastern coast. Serôs and the shalarin remained at peace for 388 years. At that point, the shalarin and merfolk drove out the ixitxachitl of the Paolan Reef in the Eighth Serôs War, solidifying shalarin control of the north-eastern waters.

The Fourth Passing arrived in the, and while the Ninth Serôs War occurred shortly afterwards, the shalarin were largely uninvolved. The shalarin did take part in drafting the Laws of Battle with the merfolk and the Dukar Orders, which were rules to avoid genocidal violence within Serôs.

In the the merfolk kingdom of Hmurrath collapsed after seven different civil wars began within it. The fall of this major nation pulled in all the sentient races, and the shalarin fought both merfolk and aquatic elves during this war. The war continues for more than 40 years, during which a huge influx of surface elves fleeing the fall of Myth Drannor were transformed into aquatic elves, bolstering the current population substantially. Very few of the other races, the shalarin included, were pleased with this development, as they believed it would lead to the elves attempting to reestablish Aryselmalyr. Despite this, they were too focused on the war to do much about it at the time, allowing the aquatic elves to establish several new kingdoms. Shortly after the war, the mermaid oracle known as Selana prophesied that the merfolk and the shalarin would one day be great allies, and that at some point the shalarin might even share their world with the merfolk as the merfolk had shared theirs with the shalarin. Most dismissed this as nonsense since the shalarin had recently taken part in the destruction of the merfolk kingdom.

The next several hundred years were generally quiet for the shalarin. In, the shalarin of the Fourth Passing established another kingdom called Es'roch. As'arem was also part of the alliance that put down the brief aquatic elven attempt to reestablish Aryselmalyr in 936 DR. Another peaceful era followed for the next several centuries.

In the, the Twelfth Serôs War began after Iakhovas the Ravager destroyed the Sharksbane Wall and led an army of sahuagin into Serôs. While the shalarin were initially reluctant to get involved after so long without trouble, they were forced to participate after a large sahuagin force attacks the hatcheries of Es'rath, killing 200 shalarin and shattering over 1000 unhatched eggs from the Ola, Aya, and Yea clans. This attack also resulted in the death of the heir to the empire, sending Eadar Ri'ola'con into a deep depression even as he named Ri'ola'kirk his heir and moved to join the Nantarn Alliance (fulfilling part of the prophecy of Selana). The shalarin armies stood at Myth Nantar with the other members of the Alliance to battle Iakhovas and his army, giving the High Mages of Myth Nantar time to cast the megalodon out of Serôs with a massive Whirlpool Gate.

Following the war, the Dukars are restored and many people join them for training, including several shalarin. In the, Eadar Ri'ola'con died under strange circumstances while staying at the imperial palace in Es'roch, which caused the highly political shalarin of Es'rath to accuse the shalarin of Es'roch of murdering the eadar. This prompted vicious discourse between cities and clans in the following years, made even worse upon the discovery that the eadar was in fact poisoned.

The Fifth (and final) Passing was due to happen on the Feast of the Moon in the, and according to prophecy was to include a so far unknown caste of judges who would either deem the Serôsian shalarin as worthy of rejoining with their distant kin in the Sea of Corynactis or cut them off forever. As such, there was a great deal of excitement and trepidation as they prepared. When the Passing occurred, the Wildtide Gate suddenly became permanent, linking the Sea of Fallen Stars and the Sea of Corynactis. The Serôsian shalarin worked hard to keep this a secret, being afraid that one of the other races would try to take advantage. They were also disturbed to discover that the Corynactisian shalarin had almost entirely converted to the worship of Dagon, having abandoned their increasingly unresponsive gods. The shalarin of the final Passing were the last to resist the demon lord's advances. The Serôsians cut off the majority of contact with their kin on the other side of the gate, hoping to prevent the corruption from spreading to their own culture. Unfortunately, they were too late, and Dagon cultists had already begun to work within As'arem to grow their numbers in secret.

Notable Shalarin

 * Tu'uua'col: A male shalarin Dukar who served as an advisor and was a close friend to merking Vhaemas of Eadraal. Despite his wisdom and good nature, he was mistrusted and envied by the other king's advisors. He foresaw that the merfolk of Serôs would have to collaborate with the other underwater races in order to stop Iakhovas.

Appearances

 * Queen of the Depths
 * Sea of Fallen Stars
 * the Sea Devil's Eye