Melusine

Melusines are an all-female species in Fontaine. They are the "daughters" of Elynas.
==Overview==
Most Melusines live in Merusea Village, but some choose to live (and work) in the Court of Fontaine "because it's so much more convenient." Some Melusines who work in the Court of Fontaine, like Sedile, choose to return to Merusea Village on vacation.
Melusines tend to be diligent with their duties and possess a strong sense of justice. Their senses of perception are also stronger than those of humans. As such, the Marechaussee Phantom, the elite investigative force of the Court of Fontaine, is mainly composed of Melusines. Notably, Melusines have very limited combat abilities, since they are rather small and not very dextrous.Aquabus — Navia Line, Elphane: C1
Melusines view Neuvillette as "[their] ideal of the perfect father."HoYoLAB: He who looks down on all that are haughty Similarly, Fontaine's citizens believe Neuvillette shows more affection for Melusines than humans, equating it to a father's love. Neuvillette himself recognizes the Melusines as both his dependents and successors, believing them to be a great example of a "new sort of Hydro Vishap species."
Melusines are implied to have very long lives, as several Melusines such as Sigewinne and Kiara are known to be at least over 400 years old.
Since Melusines' sense of vision and taste are different from humans, humans are sometimes confused or disgusted by their preferences. For example, Mamere's art was considered incomprehensible to most. Melusines also find Breacher Primuses to be "completely adorable."Archive: Large Shatterstone Breacher Primus Sigewinne's cooking, meant to help restore stamina, has the prisoners of the Fortress of Meropide calling it "mystery meat" and an "ill omen" despite the effort she puts into making it. Wriothesley even describes her milkshakes as "desolation."
The denizens of Merusea Village value scrap mechanical parts as a form of currency, called "components," due to their aesthetic quality and abundance in the area. Melusines exchange these components for goods such as those sold by Xana, and give them to one another as tokens of gratitude for helping each other out.
Melusines consume Tidalga.
Some of the Melusines, particularly Sigewinne, enjoy reading astrology publications.
==Appearance==
Melusines are bipedal creatures of a short stature, and are almost -like in appearance. They have large tails, mitten-like hands, and stubby feet, and some have small wing-like appendages on their backs. They also have long "feelers"Aquabus — Clementine Line, Aeval: B1: About The Steambird's Serialized Novels and Merusea Village on their heads that resemble the s of sea slugs, as well as human-like head hair.
Currently, there are two main variants of Melusines. Variant 1 has a fluffy tail, curled horn-like feelers, and a skin pattern of little flowers. Variant 2 has a long tufted tail, ear-like feelers, and striped skin patterns. Each Melusine has a unique combination of variant type, skin color(s), pupil style, and hairstyle.
Sigewinne is an exception, as while she is still a Melusine, she has a "special body" which makes physiologically similar to a human.Aquabus — Navia Line, Elphane: I7 Her human-like appearance is due to a potion she had consumed from her teacher, who was willing to teach Melusines at a time when they were still viewed with suspicion. She had befriended a human, though when her friend became ill, her parents refused to let her give treatment due to being a Melusine, and she took the potion in order to appear as a human and save her friend. She decided to remain in her current form ever since.
Pahsiv is also an exception — she has the tufted tail and ear-like feelers of a Melusine, but her skin patterns and pupils resemble a Primordial Bathysmal Vishap.
Melusines typically wear simple shirts or dresses with a small neck bandana or choker. When they are working as Gardes or Aquabus guides, they wear special uniforms suited to their roles.
==Known Melusines==
===Playable Characters===
===Other Characters===
==Lore==
Around 400 years ago, the Marechaussee Hunters and members of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo battled inside the remnants of the great beast Elynas. During this battle, "someone" caused an explosion, killing many and causing the mechanical components of clockwork meka to pierce through Elynas's body. The Melusines were eventually born from these wounds, with the components becoming "tokens" associated with each Melusine.
Elynas's consciousness regarded the Melusines as his own daughters, teaching them how to establish a home — Merusea Village — and enabling them to grow and live happily within his own remains. As time passed on, the Melusines could no longer hear Elynas's voice, and by the start of the game's events, only Mamere could hear him. After Mamere met and befriended the Traveler, she could no longer hear his voice.
According to Mamere, all Melusines are born possessing special mementos known as "tokens", and every Melusine has a different token. Mamere got a mechanical component inscribed with runes, which can seemingly be used to interact with and repair Clockwork Meka such as Seymour who recognizes Mamere's token as his lost "artificed clockwork relay module," while Aeval's token is the shard of a sword.Aquabus — Clementine Line, Aeval: L2
According to Carole, the Melusines stayed in the Merusea Village for almost twenty years until they met Neuvillette, who responded to their wish and brought them to the Court of Fontaine. Fontanians were hesitant to accept Melusines into their society at the time, believing them to be creatures of calamity due to an increase in "strange incidents," coupled with Neuvillette having just been appointed as the Iudex. Carole was one of the few Melusines to venture outside Merusea Village, but she sacrificed herself to prove her innocence after being lured and framed by hardliners who opposed Neuvillette's reforms. Following her sacrifice and the subsequent trial of Vautrin, in which he feigned anger to prove Neuvillette's impartiality and fairness, people began to trust both the Iudex and the Melusines. Neuvillette helped pass a law declaring that all Melusines are to be addressed with she/her pronouns rather than it/its and harsh punishments were imposed for anyone who treated them as monsters. By the events of the game, essentially every Fontanian is willing to protect a Melusine from danger, as exemplified during Neuvillette's Story Quest.
Breacher Primuses do not attack Melusines, as both were born from Elynas' body.
==Trivia==
* A Melusine, likely Blathine, was first shown in the Version 3.8 Special Program, as part of a story narrated by Alice showcasing a teaser for the nation of Fontaine.
* A is a figure in European folklore, commonly described as a female freshwater spirit. She is usually depicted as a woman whose bottom half is of a fish or a serpent, and less commonly with wings or two tails. In France, the country on which Fontaine is inspired, Melusine legends are majorly prevalent in its northern regions, Poitou and spread to the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg).
** French interpretations of Melusine legends involve the , whose members claim to be descended from Melusine. There are also folklore stating that the earliest castle of the House was built by the water spirit, Melusine.
** Melusines may have come from the Poitevin legend of "Mère Lusine," leader of a band of fairies associated with building Roman structures in the countryside.
* The names of Melusines seem to be based on fairies around the world. For example, is a Romanian fairy, and are based on Celtic fae, while Sigewinne is derived from a water spirit mentioned in the Middle High German epic .
* After giving a negative review to the Seven Nations Gazette, Neuvillette was speculated by that tabloid to be the only male Melusine.
* The Melusine Philharmonic Orchestra is a renowned Fontainian orchestra that is entirely composed of Melusine musicians. It is unclear what instruments they play, as their hands are not very dextrous.
* Melusines that deviate from the main variants:
** Elphane — Variant 1, with Variant 2 leg patterns
** Manaia — Variant 2, with Variant 1 leg patterns
==Gallery==
Melusine Variant 1 (Flo).png|Variant 1 (Flowers)
Melusine Variant 2 (Menthe).png|Variant 2 (Stripes)
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==
==Navigation==
es:Melusina
pl:Meluzyny