Merfolk

Merfolk have had a long history with Man, long having been fascinated by tales of mermaids and their deadly beauty. Though throughout the ages, despite this interest and desire, there is little in the way of true understanding of these creatures. Some members that should be associated with the grouping of Merfolk have in the past been discounted and grouped as something entirely different. The prevailing thought was that these members were much older, perhaps even originating from other creatures entirely and couldn't possibly be related to a more visually agreeable relative.
Merfolk started off as fishing hunter-gatherers living around the shores and islands of Norrain and Rionne and what would eventually become Mimmiri. Unlike their cousins, the Nymphs, Merfolk would use tools and actively hunt within the oceans using a new invented type of inter-species magical relationship: Contracts.
Tribes of Merfolk quickly split between those that contracted with fish and cetaceans. Those that contracted with fish are from the Pescegen group and quickly diverged as their bodies changed to resemble a more fish-like appearance. The heavy use of contract magic varied between these groups would vary in intensity between the four groups that emerged. The Mer group associated with cetaceans. They were considered more beautiful fish, but just fish. Their scaleless, sleek skin and jointed tails would be ignored for simple classification. The Mer, emerging from the land into the ocean tens of thousands of years after the Pescegens with a greater understanding of contract magic used it in more moderation. Both groups used the contract magic to help themselves get used to hunting and eventually living in the water. From a cursory glance at each species of Merfolk, it can be seen that Siyokoy, Samebito, Arragouset and the Mer Merrow species can all breathe underwater. Pescegen Shiofuki, Mer Sirena, Selkie, Ceasg, Kataw and Mermaids have varying lung capacities. It might be easy to mistake these differences and similarities as showing closer common descent, though a look into their daily and hunting habits may prove the reasons why there are overlap with breathing habits.

Shiofuki
Shiofuki are small and very fish-like in appearance. They have slick, hairless green and white speckled skin and thin, fin-like floppy ears. Their long arms have short webbed fingers at the end, and may be used to grab and hold their prey for consumption as well as for swimming. Their most distinctive feature are their long proboscis-like mouths they use to squirt salt water from. They are rather diminutive and reclusive creatures that live far away from land. As such, their mannerisms and habits aren't well studied by those living on land. They seem to be a prey species for the other Merfolk but aren't without their forms of defence. Their water squirting is used to hunt for birds, fish and insects on the surface of the water. Likewise, it can also be used on larger predators to temporarily stun them, giving the Shiofuki a head start swimming to safety. At one time it's been observed some sort of Shiofuki festival with an impressive show of synchronized swimming and fountain squirting.

Siyokoy
Siyokoy are close relatives of Shiofuki, though are completely carnivorous and highly aggressive. They are much more fish-like in appearance with green and red skin, and bone protrusions overtop the skin that resemble hard, armoured scales. Their teeth are long and sharp, similar to eels or anglerfish. They also have adapted what was left of their facial hair into whiskery barbels. Due to this, it was thought Siyokoy were a completely male species, often coming on land and forcibly taking human women as mates, or that more visually agreeable Mer were their female equivalent. Neither are necessarily true, though cross-breeding is known to happen. Females have rounded catfish-like heads with large, round eyes for foraging in darkness. Their barbels are much fewer in number compared to their male counterparts, who have display spines derived from what's thought to be the remainder of their hair on their heads. Older males may also develop thick tentacle-like barbels around the neck like a beard. Males retain a more human head shape with larger fin-like adaptations around their sunken in ears. Their feet are flatter and webbed, with reduced toes, their big toes branching out far from the others with a thick webbing skin to provide the main thrust in water.
Siyokoy are fast swimmers and formidable hunters. While their main source of food are creatures of the sea, they have been known to hunt in the shallows near shore and prey on land creatures, including humans. Despite their fishy appearance, they give birth to live young and females nurse their children with milk from breasts that have receded into the chest, but inflate to resemble reduced breasts during breeding seasons. Siyokoy live in small tribal groups segregated mainly by gender. It's not uncommon to see groups of female Siyokoy living with a handful of males, but for the most part males and females live and hunt in different areas, often in periphery of each other's territory.

Arragouset
Arragouset are the most humanoid of the Pescegen, with finger and foot webbing and thick armour-like scaling that coats the skin of these creatures, giving a resemblance of a highly muscular man or woman. Unlike Siyokoy or Shiofuki, their colouration is mostly blue and yellow-brown. Having similar foraging hunting grounds as female Siyokoy, Arragouset have large eyes. Though out of all of the Pescegen, have the most human looking facial structure. They're smaller in stature than the average human, with females being 4.5 feet and males ranging from 4-5 feet in height. They're the only species that is euryhaline and can live in oceans, rivers or lakes. There are many Arragouset settlements that live near human settlements. Occasionally skirmishes happen.
Arragouset are highly social creatures. They live in villages with rock, coral or hardened mud huts under the water or in underwater caves. They fashion weapons both for hunting and defending themselves against predators like Siyokoy and Samebito. They can occasionally be seen migrating on land to other rivers or lakes. They have a love of music and song similar to Mer, and often venture out of the rivers to join in if they hear festivities in a friendly human settlement. They're also highly empathetic creatures and have occasionally been known to rescue women and children from abusive husbands and fathers, adopting the children and marrying the widows of the men they kill. While some take adjusting to living with Arragouset, their kindness and loving devotion to their new wives and children make it easier for many women to adjust to their new lives. This practice has become less common as many men, fearing this fate may befall them pollute non-drinking water rivers. Advances in technology and higher human populations in many towns mean any invasion from Arragouset means slaughter for them by humans. So they often watch in sadness from afar as their neighbours suffer. Murdering men and marrying and fathering their children aren't the only kind deed they're known to do. They often help fishing expeditions and at times give sunken treasures to men whom they befriend.

Samebito
Samebito are bulky Pescegen that contracted with and greatly resemble sharks. Though carnivorous, they're not always hostile like Siyokoy. They're black or blue in colouration and are distinguished immediately by their shark-like tails coming out of their spines and between their legs. For some, this makes walking on land difficult, and they waddle. Another group of Samebito have lost their ability to traverse on land, their legs regressed to odd fins on their enlarged tails. Samebito have strong relationships with Arragouset and Mer. They are skilled weavers, and their silks are waterproof, making them popular for anyone who swims regularly. Despite their fearsome appearance, they're sensitive and highly emotional beings. Songs from Mer and Arragouset often make them cry. Their tears resemble pearls, but are rune crystals. Samebito often take their crystalized tears and sell them to witches and other Fae for magical jewellery, wands and staves.
Being highly fearful of many creatures, most humans have a negative relationship with Samebito. Due to their ferocious appearance and carnivorous nature, they're often seen as dangerous and are sometimes hunted. While generally docile and soft, they can be ferocious warriors and will go to any length to avenge fallen friends and loved ones, taking any being they feel that has wronged them, drowning or strangling them in the sea and devouring their corpses. They normally don't hunt land creatures.

Adaro
Close relatives of Samebito, the temperament of Adaro couldn't be more different. Adaro are highly aggressive and carnivorous. It is unpredictable when an Adaro will suddenly take interest in something to hunt it. They hunt using toxins, their nails secreting a waterproof venom. They also gather heavy fish in nets, using them to attack prey above the surface with blunt force. They superficially resemble mermaids, their bodies resembling a shark body from the waist down, where the Samebito have legs and a tail. Their spines had to adjust to the vastly different way a shark moves compared to a Fae, resulting in the mid-section where the torso connects with the tail to be stiff and immobile. This allowed for the Fae torso to keep a different spinal curve at the cost of the adaro's flexibility. It's impossible for them to make sharp turns, becoming torpedoes in the water. They live in small tribal families, with the males forming patriarchal hearts, and females will seek out new families when they come of age. Sometimes young males will strike out on their own to form their own families, gathering females who are looking for new family groups. They are wary of other races, and they're very difficult to partron with because of this. Their magic usually surrounds high pressure attacks and boiling water.

Selkie
Selkies are the only Merfolk that resemble their close cousins, the Nymphs, to a certain degree. On land and in their underwater cavern villages they are regular looking humans. In the waters, they swim and hunt as seals. Instead of using their contracts to change their appearances permanently, they used the contracts on seal skins, originally from slain seal friends, and use the skins to transform. Selkies are mostly female, with the majority of births being female. Selkie women often go onto land to seek human mates for a greater chance at birthing males. Though this method there is an even chance the baby born will be a regular human. Of those born from pure Selkie parents, they are doted on and become spoiled. When they grow up, they marry several Selkie maidens, stealing their skins and order them to use their embroidery, knitting and pottery skills to make money to send back to him. If the wealth stops, he comes ashore and beats them severely that they're bedridden for many days. The stress, fear and negativity age the Selkies from beautiful maidens to tired hags.
It is desired they find husbands in male Selkies born from a union with a human, or find a human husband herself. Though many men find the beauty of the Selkie maid irresistible, they hide her skins to keep her permanently on land in the hopes of turning her human. In only a slightly better position, many Selkie women fall into despair and longing, torn between their love for their families and the longing for the ocean, a strong instinctual pull that drive many to insanity or to make the hard decision to abandon their families to live alone for the rest of their days. It generally takes men of understanding and compassion and trust to not hide the skins of their Selkie wives, despite fears of abandonment, which occasionally has happened. Selkie men often come on shore to seek out unsatisfied women. They are considered as handsome as Selkie women beautiful. Sometimes it is said that their beauty was magical and enchanted women under love spells. Whether the Selkie parent be male or female, the human children will still have Selkie traits. Namely, webbed hands and feet and an affinity for water. For a long time it was thought this was the origin of merfolk.
Selkies come on land to give birth, sometimes to sleep, either at night or bask in the sun, and to dance. Selkies love dancing, music, and all sorts of frivolities. When not hunting or making trade with other creatures, they spend their time enjoying themselves.

Merrow
Merrow have an odd blend of fish and whale traits. They have full whale-like tails instead of feet and green hair and webbed fingers. Females have a light pink, light red or soft green skin while males have much bolder greens and blues, rendering many humans to refer to them as ugly. But apart from skin colour, males and females have no discernible differences. Their ears have fanned out into fin-like protrusions, and their faces are slightly square that jut out more than a human's. Both male and female merrow often wear red caps or capes, similar to the Powries on land. Though unlike the Powries, the red caps and capes are magically imbued with a spell to give them legs when they haven't made a contract with a witch or other land-dwelling Fae. Beaching themselves, they'll take off their caps and stash them somewhere safe before going about their business. Much like Selkies and their skins, stealing a cape away from a Merrow traps them in this human form, perhaps giving them a strong longing to return to their watery homes and families until they find their capes and can live out that dream.

Kataw
Kataw are the most human looking of all the Merfolk. They used contract magic the least. Most contract magic was used to breathe longer and swim better under the water. Kataw stopped contract magic after accomplishing this, keeping an almost entirely human appearance save for gills on their sides, and long fins sprouting from their arms and delicate webbed fingers and toes. They are haughty and proud creatures, hoarding their unique magic to themselves and generally doesn't associate themselves with other races or species of creature. Fiercely territorial, they'll whip up storms of any magician sailor who comes near their cities and drowns all aboard. They've also been known to drown fishermen that rub them the wrong way. They often get into conflict with Sirena, who are more gentle and altruistic, and their bad tempered natures often give the other a bad name and are feared among many land-dwelling creatures. Their nails have small amounts of toxin, mainly used to subdue and kill smaller prey, but can paralyze most Fae not immune for short periods of time. This is usually enough to cause an unfortunate victim to drown on their own if the Kataw doesn't pull them down.

Sirena
Sirena, Ceasg and Mermaids are all nearly identical in looks. They're so closely related it's sometimes debated whether they should be considered separate species or races at all. The main difference is location and slight colouration variations. Sirena for instance can range in skin colour from a milky white to a medium brown and their hair ranges between black to a brownish blonde. Their tails have the most colour variety, more so in females than males, who keep to darker blues, greens and purples. Sirena are native to the waters between Rionne, Pajukil and Aegshra and Norrain, though they can be found all over the world's oceans. Their territories overlap with Kataw, whom they have a sour rivalry with. Sirena are gentle, empathetic creatures. While they hunt fish, they aren't hostile to many other creatures, and get along with many. They're especially fond of land creatures, and stop Kataw from drowning humans, witches and other Fae if they can. Most of the famous mermaid rescue stories come from the Sirena. Like their close relatives, Mermaids and Ceasg, they're fairly innocent creatures. Apart from dealing with Kataw and Siyokoy, War isn't in their nature. Most conflicts are resolved with dance, sex, contests and arguments.

Ceasg
Ceasg are mainly freshwater mermaids with a fondness for games. Though they are known to live in the ocean close to rivers. If a land-dweller manages to capture a Ceasg, he or she will grant that person three wishes with their magic. They are highly affectionate and loving creatures, many of their unions being with other creatures, including witches and humans. Even if they return to the sea, they'll look after any offspring they've left behind, protecting them from elements and storms. The main interesting thing about Ceasg is their similarities with Kitsune. Like the kitsu plant houses the power and strength of a kitsune, so does a giant pearl ball. It is the sole thing a Ceasg will become violent over, for if it shatters, all their magic and strength will leave them and they'll become sickly and potentially even die.
Visually, Ceasg have short, fat scaleless tails that range in many iridescent colours. It's believed this iridescence is what is left of their ties to more witchy Mermaids. Though occasionally a Ceasg baby is born with more unusual coloured hair akin to witch ancestry, it's not as common as Mermaids. Their skin ranges from white to a light brown, their backs often shades darker than their fronts.

Mermaid
Mermaids are the most widespread of the Mer group, and can be found all over the world. The largest of their kingdom is off the coast of Whinahin. Mermaids and Ceasg still retain their human colouration for their human halves, and are pale in complexion. Their origins are actually of witch descent within the community that began their descent into the water. Their hair can thus range as widely as a witch's, from white to black, from yellow to purple. Unlike humans and witches, Mermaids and Ceasg continued to mingle and interbreed long after their departure from shore. Like all Merfolk, Mermaids are carnivorous hunters. They hunt fish and occasionally seals and cetaceans, using their water magic and pack hunting prowess to overpower larger prey. Mermaids aren't typically known to feast on land-dwelling animals. But they are very proud creatures, and may kill anyone who offends them, using their body as a meal or as bait for something more delicious.
Like Sirena and Ceasg, Mermaids are very sensual beings. They love to play, dance and above all, sing. Their songs are similar in hypnotic power to a Siren's, and can cause those who may be attracted to gather near in a stupor. Their songs are also used for hunting, luring song-loving whales to their doom. Occasionally fishermen and other sailors have been caught in their hunting ranges and fallen prey either purposefully or accidentally into their snares. Mermaid songs have also been used to lure mates from the shores to engage in either casual or more serious liaisons. Mermaids have been known for their strong loyalty and attachment to those they've developed a bond with. They tend to decorate their tails with shells, jewels and other beautiful things, which led to many humans mistaking them for fish or having fish tails.

Scientific Name

Homo Meraquae