Els'thaan

General
The Els'thaan are an aquatic race of people. They are followers of the water goddess and have remained extremely reclusive, only interacting with water elementals on rare occasions, and with sailors on even rarer occasion. Recently, due to unknown reasons, be it excessive mining, an ancient entity stirring in it's slumber, or even possibly natural occurrences, fissures have left many Els'thaan settlements in ruin, and pushed them from their ancestral sea caverns, much like the prophecies of their seers from generations past. "'And the earth shall stir, opening the sky, shattering the seals. The gate of bridges will be opened.'"

Appearance
Els'thaan stand a little taller than humans on average, and tend to be a little pudgey from insulation and water absorption, though as with all races, their height and weight vary. They have legs which are covered in smooth, soft scales from the waist down to below their knees. These scales thin out and gradually becomes skin. The scales typically match their skin colour, though with deeper colouration. Their ears are extend from the sides of their head. These ears consist of multiple spines with webbing in between. This allows them to hear underwater as well as out of water. They have five digits on their hands and feet, similarly to humans, but webbed and elongated. Mostly all Els'thaan are live born, though according to history, some anomalies have occurred. These egg born children are always grey skined and have a very different appearance. Their skin tone ranges from deep to fair greens and blues, and coral-like pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows are not entirely uncommon. (and again, on the extremely rare occasion of egg born, grey) Hair colours vary greatly and include blacks, browns, and sandy blondes, with tints of purples, greens, blues, pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows. Eyes generally have no visible pupil (though biologically they DO have them), appearing as gradient, one colour shading into another, and are typically very bright. Green/yellow are among the most common colour, though almost any other bright colour isn't unheard of. Their eyes are covered in a glossy membrane that allows them to focus when submerged and keeps them from drying out when above water.

Other biology
They breathe air, and are warmblooded, though their lungs are capable of absorbing oxygen from water, it isn't as efficient, and they will grow fatigued after a prolonged period. When in dryer environments, their lungs form a mucous membrane, to hydrate the dry air. This causes them to dry out faster, quickening their need to return to water. Their layer of adipose tissue is capable of storing water in addition to energy for prolonged exposure to dry climates. Typically, they can remain in a dry area for almost a week before needing to return to water, if water consumption is frequent and plentiful. Els'thaan are strong swimmers and able to move quickly through the water. They are able to remain completely submerged for hours on end, but as mentioned before, oxygen absorption from water is significantly less efficient and leads to a quicker fatigue.

Communication
Their language is Aquilian, which is a combination of Nature's Tounge and Ancient Els'thaan. This language was developed during a time where Water Elementals and the Ancient Els'thaan interacted frequently. It would be considered an underwater "Common Tounge." Since that time, Ancient Els'thaan has been forgotten. Aquilian can be spoken both under and above water, though without magical means, it's near impossible for races who are not able to breathe water to speak under water.

Trivia
-When returning to water from a dry area, Els'thaan rapidly expel their mucous membrane, which floats to the surface and forms a bubbly foam. This is likely where the myth of "mermaids" turning into seafoam comes from.