Merfolk

**Merfolk** are a race of fully aquatic people, appearing as vaguely female fish-human hybrids. They were the first of the Younger Races created by the Twins. They are found in oceans around the world and live in underwater settlements, sometimes among populations of Sekrai. They cannot breathe air, and there is thus very little interaction between Merfolk and people on the surface.

## Lifestyle and Culture

Merfolk were the first Younger Race created by the Twins. They were carefully crafted in the lifewell known as the Merfold, a gulf that was guarded by an octopodal creature known as a Leviathan. When the Twins had completed them, they opened the Merfold and allowed the Merfolk to roam free in the world's oceans. Almost all Merfolk are gone from the Merfold now, having spread to the larger oceans, but the Leviathan still remains, apparently not having realized that its wards left long ago.

The Merfolk can now be found in oceans around the world, in various underwater settlements. Without access to traditional building materials, the Merfolk typically build using buoyant materials such as animal bones, creating complexes that float halfway between the sea floor and the surface. The buildings are connected and reinforced using loose chains of baleen, a stiff material used in walls and armor. With no soil to work, Merfolk are typically hunter-gatherers or pastoralists. Other Merfolk will form raiding parties and attack passing ships for their cargo, since much of it would be impossible for them to acquire any other way. Some groups (often the ones pirates associate with) are migratory and drift with the seasons, while others form huge underwater cities, sometimes anchoring them to coral reefs in shallower areas. The internal and social structures of Merfolk settlements vary wildly as well. Some are hereditary monarchies, some are led by elected councils, and still others are more like extended family groups. Some groups live among Sekrai, others are solely Merfolk.

Textiles are difficult for Merfolk to acquire, since not much at the depths they reside at can be woven into comfortable fabrics. Some Sekrai make leather out of the skins of underwater creatures, which some Merfolk wear, but most wear bone armor and jewelry instead of soft textiles. Higher-class Merfolk wear gold or gems, which are extremely rare in their society; they can almost exclusively be acquired through trade or piracy. Merfolk don't often interact with the surface-dwellers, but it strongly depends on the region, and some cities may even have Mer-Ferin living among them.

The Merfolk god typically keeps to herself and doesn't take an active role in societal management. Unlike other gods, however, she has a unique incarnation process: she always incarnates as a newborn Merfolk who has no memory of their divinity and must relearn of their existence each time. She only has one emissary, the "teacher" emissary, who's job it is to find the newborn avatar and teach them of their heritage and role. This teacher often dies when the avatar is young, and is then reborn to be taught in turn by the now older and more experienced god. These incarnations are generally culture heroes: some belonged to lineages of queens, one was a Mer-Ferin who walked the surface, etc.

## Physical Characteristics

### Appearance

Merfolk have skin on the upper half of their body and scales on the lower half, both of which are jewel-like and pearlescent. They are usually only one or two jewel-like colors (purple, red and orange, etc), including their hair and eyes. While there are two distinct sexes, they are visually indistinguishable from one another; most surface-dwellers read all Merfolk as appearing vaguely female, and the Merfolk don't seem to care.

### Mer-Ferin

While most Ferin are modified Humans or Elves, some Ferin are modified Merfolk (called "Mer-Ferin"). Mer-Ferin are always Shifter Ferin, with two distinct forms: one that is identical to their normal Merfolk form, and one that is vaguely humanoid and allows the Mer-Ferin to breathe air and walk on land. The humanoid form retains the Merfolk's jewel-colored hair and eyes, as well as a faint pearlescent sheen to their skin. These Mer-Ferin, while rare and elusive, play vital roles in Merfolk society, as they are often the main or only point of contact between the Merfolk and the surface-dwelling Elder Races. As Merfolk are entirely water-bound, Mer-Ferin allow the Merfolk to spread to inland or isolated bodies of water not directly connected to the Merfolk's point of origin. However, these are still Merfolk, and cannot reproduce with any of the Elder Races.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Twins (comicaurora.com)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 What can you tell us about merfolk and leviathans? (tumblr.com)
3. ↑ What are the trading between other races like? Do merfolk and merferin, as well as water humans trade with landlubbers?... (tumblr.com)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hey Red! Some of us were going through the old Q&A’s, and we came across the phrase “merfolk ferin.” Could you elaborate on that? Are there ferin in all the races? (tumblr.com)