Founding and Background

Citizens of Aqua are often found around Gaia. They are not always easy to distinguish, except in their usual
attitude – they feel themselves superior and, often, don’t know all of the protocols for dealing with Infection that
the majority of Humanity takes for granted.

As Infection can only affect warm-blooded creatures, one area of Gaia is an obvious choice to live – the
seas. The Citizens of Aqua have established a settlement away from the coast where very few warm-blooded
creatures exist, rendering their civilisation almost free of Infection.

Aqua was originally formed by a small group of Traders who realised that they had everything they needed to
survive on their vessels and that surviving on the sea would be much safer than living on land. Lashing their
boats together, they created a floating city and pooled their resources. Feeding their crews with fish and other
produce gained from the sea, they slowly learned to weather the storms encountered on the ocean, as well
as techniques to grow the additional food they needed. 50 years later, algae farms surround Aqua and the city
prospers, although it maintains strict population control measures.

The Citizens of Aqua firmly believe that they are going to be the last Humans alive on Gaia. They send
individuals out to explore Gaia and establish trade routes, but they assume every trading relationship is likely
to be short-term – with the Infected spreading each year, they do not feel confident that Humanity will survive
much longer on land.

Leadership

The Citizens of Aqua are led by an executive council, which contains the Captains of each of the ships that
originally made up the city – “Firsters”: 7 in total. The position of Firster is passed to a chosen successor – only
one original Firster has survived since the first days of Aqua.

The Council works to ensure the welfare of all Citizens of Aqua, and will often send individuals on various
missions to gain supplies, information, or whatever else they need.

Living Conditions

Although there are several diseases related to a lack of certain types of food (particularly fruit), the population
of Aqua lives contentedly… and totally Infection-free.

The areas of water that they inhabit are Clean Zones and the only threats are large sea mammals, which are
mostly kept away by specialised underwater defences (nets, barriers, etc). However, when creatures do attack,
or a particularly violent storm occurs, they sometimes find themselves with a large amount of damage. On
these occasions, they will often seek aid from the towns and cities of Gaia for repairs.

Their population is strictly controlled, as every mouth to feed is a use of limited resources. As a result, the
Citizens of Aqua that visit the towns of Gaia have gained a reputation as sexually promiscuous – they tend to
seek out companionship frequently when they are away from the strict rules of Aqua.

Recruitment

The Citizens of Aqua don’t allow outsiders to join their numbers unless the incomers bring something with them
that the Firsters agree will make a lasting change to the Citizens’ lifestyle.

Relationships

While most view the Citizens of Aqua as scoundrels and some places accuse them of being Raiders more than
Traders, there are no more criminals from Aqua than anywhere else. They are allowed to mix freely with the
population of Gaia.

When among the rest of Humanity, the Citizens of Aqua are just like everyone else – some fear Raiders, some
work with them, some are converted to the Cult of Progression, others are taken as test subjects by Potestates
and some are enslaved by the Swarm – they are no safer or more at risk than the average member of the
population.