Symptoms
This peculiar pigmentation comes with added risks to the baby, as they can't breathe as easily after birth and require clear, coastal air and must be kept outside until they have settled into their bodies (which takes a few months) and can then breathe normally. It is even said that the process may be sped up if the newborn is given access to water and allowed to float in it for some time.
Papatūānuku by Jarhed
Seaborn children actually can withstand being in water for much longer than others, and if exposed to it enough at a young age, can even breathe underwater. Their blue skin takes in the water just as their lungs take in air, with a membrane that filters it into the body.
In some children, this comes out wrong, turning some of their bones or organs into a watery mush that prevents them from moving. The filter comes in on the inside, not letting them breathe at all or filtering their blood, and prematurely ending their lives. It can be dangerous enough as is, but the way it's viewed makes it even more deadly for those born with seaborn.
Causes
Some blame the Nereids for doing something to these babies, though no known Nereid magic can do something to an unborn child. Others say it must be the Curse Mage, but this condition has appeared far from their known locations with no direct ties, also making it unlikely.
The most common thought that holds any weight is that
Papatūānuku, Goddess of the Sea, is to blame in some way. She may want to prepare some people for the possibility of
Selene's Fury happening again, or she may simply think more people should live beneath the waves. Others ascribe malice to her actions, saying that she curses these children with a condition that condemns them to a terrible fate, though that torturous treatment is man-made, not divine.
Other than that, it may just be a natural condition that some children are born with because of their parents, their surroundings (it doesn't appear too far inland, particularly with
Detser Gnomes at the center of the
Uncharted Desert).
Cultural Reception
Different cultures have treated seaborn babies differently, particularly during the
Age of Plague. Before that, Humans had considered the condition a rarity with no particular malice to it, having only seen one or two a generation. When
Dragon's Doom sent the world into a panic about all kinds of diseases and conditions, however, it caused many to become overly cautious and leave seaborn children out, fearing they carried some other kind of plague that would spread to them. This fear has continued after the era has long since passed, though since the Age of Justice the amount of abandoned children has gone down considerably.
Though Humans only came across the condition around then, and
Halflings have followed suit in their treatment of the seaborn, other species had dealt with it for far longer.
Elves saw it as a blessing from the Gods, to bestow them with a mark of divinity in the form of their skin color. Despite this, they did not like to raise seaborn children and deal with the complications (though some of that may have been the typical Elven prejudice keeping them from caring for a child of a different skin tone). This is said to have been the origin of the Sea Elves, who Nereids, Merfolk, and other sea peoples took in and raised. Since then, other Elves have simply made deals to hand their seaborn off to the Sea Elves so they might be raised in better conditions.
Dwarves and
Gnomes have similar traditions when it comes to the seaborn, as they don't have much access to any ocean. They give them the care they can, but in those species it is far more likely for a seaborn baby to die early without the proper steps taken.
As for
Orcs, they don't give much special treatment to the children. They have noticed they do better around the sea, but due to the common
fear of the sea in most Orcs this only goes as far as letting them breathe the sea air and maybe touch it, but they are not submerged in it or allowed to float. These Orcs are then painted green, not because there is a hatred of their skin tone, but because most Orcs simply think there's a simple mistake with them that makes them less likely to see themselves as the same as others. The paint helps seaborn Orcs gain a sense of belonging that they may not otherwise have.
Mature Seaborn
Seaborn do not always get the chance to grow up, whether it's due to the violence around them or the dangers of the condition, but when they do, the results vary.
Most keep their blue pigment and, if exposed to the sea enough to become used to it, can breathe under the water. For
Elves, this has resulted in the creation of Sea Elves, who live beneath the water and are, generally, forbidden from entering
Camor and mingling with the High Elves unless on official business. Few seaborn Dwarves or Gnomes live to adulthood, but when they do, they are treated with awe and often made into sideshows or (when the Gnomes are brought to
Lebalos) raised to be some of the most popular bardic acts in
Elone.
As for seaborn
Orcs, they are painted green and allowed to do as they please. They rarely embrace the sea due to Orcish cultural scorn toward the water, but they may find it later in life.
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