Semyreni

**Semyreni** are merfolk that decended from the Mermaid species.

They are born with tails, but lose them between the ages of four and six. After loosing their tail they usually live above land, only going underwater for farming and looking after or having children. Semyreni are amphibious.

They are the sister species to the Triton species. Tritons look like adult Semyreni, but they live underwater.

## Basic Infomation

Semyreni’s nostrils are narrow and slitted, and they can close these slits at will, for when they are swimming. They are born with tails.

Semyreni have curly or coiled hair. This hair is braided, to stop it from getting into their eyes when they swim. They don’t have much body hair, and eyebrow hair and facial hair is sparse. Their eye colour ranges from silver, green, gold, brown, blue and violet. Adult Semyreni’ have webbed feet.

Semyreni are born in the water, having gills and tails, which match a Mermaid. Children sleep underwater, play underwater and eat underwater, but come up to the surface to speak and learn to breathe with their parents. They do not learn to walk until their legs and feet finish developing. Semyreni can develop poorly developed or malformed feet due to early malnutrition. They metamorphosis between the ages of four to six, losing their tail and gaining legs and feet.

In the past Semyreni could control their metamorphosis, but then it stabilized and the time spent with a tail shortened and shortened. Some Semyreni don’t go through metamorphosis, and retain their tail into adulthood. This is either because they did not frequently breathe air, or due to a medical issue.

They live in lakes, rivers, islands, oceans, watlands and integrated in mainland species. Semyreni do not settle without water nearby, so no settling in tropical, desert, savannah or plain climates.

Semyreni are omnivores.

## Civilisation and Culture

### Common Dress Code

Semyreni wear gathered trousers, wrapped tops, and leather shoes. Their clothes are made from a material found in the ocean called sea silk. Wearing pins and brooches made from rustless bronze is also common practice. They wear veils and headdresses when out in sunlight, due to the fact they burn more easily than a Multisen.

### Culture and Cultural Heritage

Semyreni used to be more polyanimus, but it is a lot less common now due to their interactions with other species (and seeing that it isn't as common).

### Common Myths and Legends

To fully undergo the adolescent changes from mermaid-like creatures into Multisen-legged Semyreni need to frequently be breathing air. As the Semyreni have a natural fear of Mermaids the training of breathing above water is very strict, particularly for the rich Semyreni children, whose parents can afford lessons and permanent nanny care. The children who grow up early are revered as being intelligent, diligent and biologically better than the others. Poorer families who cannot afford nanny-care and whose mother and father have to work, can't care for their children as frequently and teach them to breathe above water, therefore they tend to develop later in life.

This later leg development can also lead to teens running off, then coming into contact with Mermaids as they get further from their home. As they can swim better than their legged parents they can't be stopped. This gives the impression that Mermaids are misbehaving Semyreni children who refused to listen to their parents and grew wild.

Semyreni believes that mermaids chose to be the way they are, because they were too scared or too weak-minded to breathe above water frequently. True Mermaids cannot grow legs, but many Semyreni believe they can if they had just tried harder as children. Some Semyreni think that mermaids cannot have their own children as they are all female and so they steal the children of Semyreni. Or the later developing Semyreni may begin to fall in love with a mermaid and run away to be with them.

### Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Mermaids and Semyreni aren’t able to communicate with each other, as Semyreni can’t speak underwater. Semyreni are able to speak to Sirens above the water, but Sirens don't like them, seeing them as Merfolk traitors for living on land. Semyreni get along with Tritons, but they don't usually cross paths. Semyreni can have fertile offspring with Sirens, Tritons and Multisens.