Ardent

The ardent are the Wildsea form of the human race, the descendants of those humans that survived the verdancy and lived through the harsh years that came after. They are ethnically and culturally diverse, although in recent years have begun banding together to form trade partnerships, military alliances and fledgling nations.

The ardent are human in appearance, but with a genetic tendency toward looking and being rough, sinewy and weathered. Even the weakest of the ardent are still far better suited to the world of the Wildsea than their human ancestors.

Carved by the Waves

Though the changes from their ancestral human stock may be minimal in terms of appearance, they run far deeper than the surface - the ardent excel in sheer survivability, with even their souls clinging tenaciously to the material realm after death. The poisons and plagues of the rustling waves seem to pass them by, and even simpler hazards like spoiled food are easily ignored.

Ancestral Echoes

The ardent are far from the only creatures on the rustling waves to have a connection to the more spiritual side of existence, but theirs might be the most curious - spirits bonded to family lines, offering wisdom and aid to those that listen. Different ardent cultures and groups interact with these spirits to varying degrees, but it’s rare to find one that ignores or denies their existence completely.

Questions to Consider

When you incorporate elements of the ardent into your character, consider the following questions…

• How far back can you trace your ancestry? Do your family still tell tales of those that fled to the mountains, or were trapped in broken architecture as it rose on branch and wave?
• To what extent does the spiritual side of your bloodline affect your life? When your ancestors contact you, what form does it take?
• What pushed you toward the life of a wildsailor? Was it something you felt born to be, or a choice that became clear due to some happening or event?

Alternate Presentations

Perhaps the most obvious alternate interpretation of the ardent would be to cast them as true humans, clinging on to existence in the wake of the verdancy without having undergone the adaptations noted in their fiction. The aspects presented could also work very well to represent a more bestial character, a humanesque individual that draws from other mammalian concepts.