Physically, swans are of medium stature and slender in body, rarely reaching 5 feet (excluding the neck) in height. White is the dominant and almost exclusive color of their entire plumage, while the beak is a mixture of black, yellow, and orange, which varies for each individual. They don't have wings but instead have fleshy, featherless legs (from the knee down) and arms (from the elbow down), both of which are gray-black with three large webbed fingers. Their chicks are born ovoviviparous, meaning they hatch within the mother's body, and families usually has no more than 3 or 4 chicks throughout their life.

The Swan people are based on the concept of poleis, which are more or less independent city-states. Each poleis is ruled by a king or an oligarchic senate, which is either elected or hereditary, and many poleis form close ties through political, commercial, and/or military agreements. They usually live in large stilted residences called oikia, which are scattered throughout the vast network of river deltas. Their architecture is particularly elaborate, with large wooden and clay dwellings in which they live, but also with a wide market area, called agorà, and a monumental temple area, called acropolis, both built entirely on stilts, often in the center of lakes, supported by huge dark wooden columns.

Swans are a vegetarian society that only raises livestock necessary for useful materials, such as sheep for wool, and they do not hunt or fish, although some have learned to do so in order to engage in this type of trade. Almost everything in their daily lives is made of wood or plant materials, and they excel in any kind of craft involving hemp, papyrus, clay, and carpentry. They undoubtedly have mastery over literary, artistic, magical, and philosophical culture, counting on masters renowned on many continents. They are also capable in combat, with fierce armies from some poleis, and huge naval fleets that they can assemble in the event of joint attacks.

As said, Swans are entirely white in plumage, and therefore, black swans are considered such a rarity that they have been linked with myth. There are only two black swans known in their history: Prince Astraios, who embodies the most rampant aspect of the swans, and young Corelia who, just a century before the Tale, offered her life in sacrifice to save her people from a volcanic eruption, turning into a black swan while dying. Being born as a black swan or becoming one later is considered a divine act, which brings great responsibilities but also enormous misfortunes

They speak the Aevar language, a subtle and melodious language able to make even a dull and narrow text harmonious and poetic (perhaps a Spanish gibberish).

Religiously they are mostly devoted to Ayrus (deity of time and prophecies), Rowana (deity of love and family), and Sia Mori (deity of arts and dreams), but other cults also thrive here and there, like Mizame (deity of drunkenness and lust), Azlean (deity of medicine and peace), Ekoari (deity of commerce and science), and Dekar (deity of pride and wealth).

Their ancestral princes were Astraios and Phaidra, who taught their race of the importance of living serenely, of respecting the waters that give them life and everything beautiful in it, but also of never holding back in combat. If one fights to protect one's land and loved ones, then there is no reason not to explode with anger against opponents.

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