Neridians

After having delved into the depths of the deep and cold oceans you might think nothing this deep down could have a semblance to the humanoid creatures from above, you are very wrong, good sir.
What you have here is the prodominant, sentient, humanoid species deep under the sea, creations of Caspia, the neridians. Under water they have supreme agility, speed and finesse, while on land they can do nothing more than collapse and gasp for air.

Basic Information

Anatomy

A nerid will be a bipedal humanoid, 2 arms, 2 legs and one head all mounted onto a torso. While having five fingers on each hand it is to note, that these are webbed and their feet are mostly rather big fins, wich provide them with an excellent swimspeed. They also have small secondary fins at their shoulderblades, wich gives them more control over their positioning.
Nerids also posess a floating bubble, wich they can conciously in- and deflate.They breath through their gills, though they do not posess a lung and more or less have special muscles dedicated to create a steady supply of water.

Biological Traits

Freshwater tolerance:
Some very rare groups of Nerids are able to survive in freshwater and mostly have an easier time surviving, while the place is rather confined. The usually are less colorful, than most neridians.

Genetics and Reproduction

Upon successful insemination the neridian femalewill lay up to two eggs withing the following months. During the pregnancy the famle will not be as mobile as before and most likely not move very much, except for the travel to a nearby place to safely put the egg, most likely a hatchery.

Growth Rate & Stages

Egg:
A nerid will start as an embryo in a translucent eggy, laid 2 months after its conception. While in the egg the child will begin to develop and take on form, a disturbing sight for most airbreathers.

Guppy:
After existing 6 months in this egg an almost fully finished nerid will emerge, a little bit translucent at some points, but the scales will manifest themselves within the first year and eliminate the translucency. During this state the child will tend to stay with its mother while the father will provide nutrition.
Puberty:
In this state at about the age of 14 the young nerid will hit puberty and undergo changes to its reproductive organs, wich goes with a slight increase in confusion and depression.
Adult:
After puberty ends, about the age of 20 the individual will have developed fully and is mostly done growing, from here on it will live on and no specific changes are resigned to this stage.
Elder:
At the the age of 70 a nerid is called an elder, the scales will become brittle, the eyes become glossed over and musculature dies off very slowly. This transition will go on for about ten years at wich point most nerids die of old age.

Ecology and Habitats

Nerids mostly live in saltwater, though there is a varient that is able to process sweat water too. once a good location regarding safety and food supply is found they will create quite large cities, but will try to preserve the local environment.

Dietary Needs and Habits

This race particulary has a diet composed of sea algae and certain kinds of fish, wich they are quite fond of.

Biological Cycle

Neridianss do not have real sleep in the sense of most humanoids, they instead enter a state of daydreaming, mostly staying in one place or aimlessly swimming around in their homes.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Neridian faces usually have a humanoid structure, with a missing nose and quite fishlike eyes, it seems they never blink and their features can sometimes be... unsettling.They do not hav ears and mostly just have two small membranes at the side of their head. They also are not really known for having hair, but thanks to natural selection and the beauty ideals of neridians they are known to have interestingly coloured fins and tissue, wich is comparible to silken sheets.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

As one would suspect neridians live underwater, though they ofte tend further to coasts, than one might think. They either live near elevated undersea structures, reefs, or shores.

Average Intelligence

A usual nerid wil be able to understand its own language and when confornted with other knowledge will most likely able to comprehend, when informed and filled in. Neridians are quite fast learners.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Neridian perception mostly bases on smell and an awareness of the water around them, they hear fairly well, depending on distance and their vision is, because of their habitat not important and all in all pretty bad. The maximal range of sight inside of water is about 150 meters and that only in very rare circumstances.

Echolocation:
This is a skill nerids have developed over time. It helps immensly with the understanding o ftheir surroundings and makes up for their terrible sight.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Neridians and their language will not really support names in the normal ense, though there are semblances of it as their language bases on sounds conducted in water and therefore differing greatly from other languages.

Beauty Ideals

Males: Short, well defined headfins, colorful scales, long fins at the feet
Females: Long, well kept headfins, earthy and calm clolors, big eyes

Courtship Ideals

Before proposing a relationship one of the parties, normally the male has to provide a home and a sustainable existence to be acceptes by either the relatives or the partner.

Average Technological Level

Neridians have worked hard around their weaknesses and shortcomings, creating a casting system, especially useful under water and even devices, wich allow them to wander the surface, basically reverse submarines.

Common Etiquette Rules

Greeting:
Upon meeting each other Neridians will move their hands together in a praying fashion and do a slight bow, maintaining the right hight in this endeavour is an art in itself.

Common Dress Code

The dress code of neridians is fairly liberal, because nudiity is acknowledged when in their own cities, due to the variety of angles someone can have, wich makes hiding anything quite the endeavour. Most nerides, though will resort to clothing, should they know they will be interfering with a airbreather anytime soon.

History

Over their time neridians have created great settlements and often even established new ones on wreckage, with the most noticable being the swimming city, where they manage the submerged parts. They do not have many enemies and most tension lies between each other.

Common Myths and Legends

Once upon a time Caspia , godess of the sea created 7 monsters of the deep to protect her people. These creatures would reside in the deepest depths of the seas and come forth in time of need, or when incredibly hungry.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Neridians are fairly scarce to the dry lands, wich the other races often call their home, due to them dying slowly, when outside of the water. This, however has not kept them from sending ambassadors to converse with the overworld to negotiate their diplomacy. All in all they have no problem with other races and reserve themselves absolute neutrality.

Scientific Name

Bipes Infectum Sapienta

Lifespan

80 - 90 yrs

Average Height

1.5 - 1.8 m

Average Weight

50 - 100 kg

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

While freshwater neridians are dwelling in the range of reds, greens and browns, sometime even greys, most saltwater neridians will have quite the colorful appearances.