Sea Wolves of Ardent

Though wolves are renowned for their domination of tundra, grassland, and forest, there are a lesser known subspecies of coastal wolves who eschew the traditional diet of deer and rabbit in favor of barnacle and fish. 

These are the sea wolves, the marine wolves. Smaller than their terrestrial cousins, they have adapted to life in the water. Their pelts are sleeker and more waterproof, holding air next to their skin for warmth and buoyancy. Their diet consists of ocean based life, from barnacles to salmon, to beached whales, even snacking on roe and hunting seals. They are incredible swimmers - they have been spotted on islands eight miles from the nearest land. Even their coloration is adapted to water, with most showing strong countershading in colors of black, gray, and slate - even blue, though the more unnatural the blue the rarer it is seen.

Their entire culture revolves around the sea, even their religion though individual beliefs and traditions vary from region to region, even family to family. The coastal wolves of the North tend toward coastal Inuit beliefs, while Auster sea wolves often show Polynesian religions and traditions, etc.

Physical characteristics vary by region as well. Sea wolves further north tend to have more fat stores and thicker fur, while those in Auster tend to be very short-furred and even smaller and slimmer than their Boreas counterparts, with the regions between running between the two extremes.

Marine wolves rarely venture far from the ocean, their specialized food sources not being found many places inland. They might follow along river routes for a distance inland, and some small tribes have adapted to the freshwater rivers and lakes, but it is by far more common for tribes to remain on the coast.

The overarching cultural similarities between tribes are few, but strong. As previously stated, all sea wolf cultures and religions are strongly influenced by the oceans and rivers they live on, but there are more similarities as well. Regional groups consist of loose confederations of tribes that are further broken down into, in some cases, totemic clans and/or in most cases further broken into extended families. Additionally, sea wolf culture tends to be that of traders and crafters, with crafts tending to be beautifully decorated in addition to their more practical uses. That isn't to say that they are all peaceful traders, and some cultures actually tend to be rather more piratical than others, while some tribes might lean towards artistic endeavors more than others.

So what do you need to adopt one of these marvels of modern science?