Nerissa

**Nerissa** is a Northern mermaid and the mother of Zac Blakely and Mimmi. Nerissa is a member of the Northern Pod. She has been described as the most powerful and strongest of all mermaids. All the mermaids in the world admire and strive to be like her. She has mastered spells that no other mermaid in the world has ever been able to accomplish.

## Biography

She was apparently one of the few mermaids at the time that believed it was possible for mermen and mermaids to live in peace as she is also a descendant from a royal line of merpeople who ruled the seas and ensured peace between mermen and mermaids after ending the previous war between them. At some point, Nerissa had two children, a daughter named Mimmi and a son named Zac. During the time Nerissa cared for her children, Mimmi was an unspecified but very young age, while Zac was a baby. Nerissa loved both of her children dearly. Although the series implies that merman infants are usually sent away to foster families given the history of mermen and mermaids, this was not the case with Nerissa and her son was every bit as precious to her as her daughter was. Being a mermaid with a loving heart, Nerissa loved both of her children equally.

Unfortunately, the Northern Pod found itself under attack by the rebel mermaid, Aurora. Her powers apparently rivaled even Nerissa, because she proved to be a threat to the whole pod and even for her. Realizing she could not keep her children safe, Nerissa was forced to make the most difficult decision of her life and send her children to new homes. After briefly fleeing the Northern Pod, Nerissa headed to Australia where she sent her daughter Mimmi, to live in the Mako Pod. Nerissa then began searching for a home for Zac, realizing that a pod of mermaids would never care for him. She also wanted to be sure that wherever she did send him, it was somewhere close to Mimmi so they would be able to find each other one day. Nerissa finds the answer for Zac's well being when she takes notice of a young couple called the Blakelys on the mainland who longed to be parents and were unable to have their own children, even wishing for it while looking out at sea. Knowing these people would be able to make sure he was safe and happy the way she could not, Nerissa decided to grant their wish and secretly entrust them with her son. Using her powerful magic, Nerissa cast a spell on Zac that prevented him from transforming when he touched water. However, she knew that her son had a special connection with Mako Island and that he would one day learn the truth of his true origins for not even an enchantment from her could change who he really is. After leaving Zac on the beach for the Blakelys to find, Nerissa heavy heartedly returned to the Northern Pod to continue fighting Aurora hoping that one day she would be able to come back for her children.

After apparently driving her away from the Northern Pod, Aurora set her sights on the Eastern Pod. Nerissa followed her to come to their rescue. She also fought alongside the Eastern Pod for years. During this time, a member of the Mermaid Council introduced her granddaughter Weilan to Nerissa. The battle with the Eastern Pod eventually turned against Aurora and she went to go face her. When she went to face Aurora alone, she got cast under a spell that turned her into a Water Dragon that had the ability to take away merpeople's tails and powers with its Cold Dragon fire breath. Having lost all sense of herself, Nerissa was sent to destroy the entire Eastern Pod while she was the dragon. After the Eastern Pod was defeated, she was put in a deep sleep. Nerissa was never seen again and was believed to be dead by her fellow mermaids. Because of this, Mimmi grew up without her feeling that she had abandoned her while Zac spent most of his life completely unaware of his true origins.

Eventually, Zac and Mimmi reunited with one another just as Nerissa had intended. As their bond and love for one another continued to grow, the spell that turned Nerissa into the Dragon started to break and her true self began to resurface. Her dragon form awakened when Zac and Mimmi found each other and the dragon followed Weilan to Mako due to Nerissa's desire to see her children again. However, although the spell was beginning to break, it still had enough hold on Nerissa to make her attack mermaids like it previously did.

On the night of the full moon upon Weilan's arrival the dragon appeared to Mimmi, Ondina, and Evie. Alarmed by its presence, Ondina and Mimmi attacked it with their moon rings but it was completely unfazed. Before it could attack them, a nearby boat distracted allowing them to escape. The dragon would then continue to appear whenever there was a full moon. During the subsequent full moons, the dragon would appear and chase or attack any merperson it encountered. During one of these encounters, Evie falls victim to its power draining fire breath. However, Zac and Mimmi were both spared by the dragon when they found themselves at its mercy due to Nerissa's true self starting to surface somewhere within it. Even while under Aurora's spell, Nerissa does not lose herself enough to harm her own children, which later provides one of the clues Zac and Mimmi need when they discover the truth about the dragon. As the spell continues to gradually break, Nerissa begins appearing to Zac and Mimmi through visions in attempts to reach out to them.

After learning of a Chinese legend where a land person was turned into a dragon and freed by a mermaid wearing a magic bracelet; Zac and Mimmi realize that their mother is under the same kind of spell. After managing to get a hold of the same bracelet, Zac and Mimmi attempt to use it to free her as the Mermaid Council summoned a massive magical storm to destroy the dragon. After a brief moment where both Mimmi and the dragon disappear, Nerissa emerges from the water, finally being completely free from the spell. She and her children then have a joyful reunion. Nerissa then explains why she left Zac and Mimmi and assures them that it was the most difficult thing she had ever done, promising never to leave them again. Nerissa then shares a loving embrace with both of her children, overwhelmed with joy by the fact that at long last, her family is together again.

## Personality

Rita describes her as an exceptionally kind and Weilan described her as very brave. After finally returning, Nerissa quickly proves to be everything that Rita said she would be. She is shown to love both her children dearly and confirms Rita's belief that she only sent them away to ensure their safety.

## Physical Appearance

Nerissa has very long brown hair, deep blue eyes and olive skin. Weilan describes her as exceptionally beautiful. She has a similar face structure with her son Zac, while her daughter, Mimmi inherited her deep blue eyes.

## Mermaid Powers

Nerissa possesses the ability to transform into a mermaid ten seconds after physical contact with water. Once her body is completely dry, she turns back into a human along with the outfit she was wearing before she transformed. As a mermaid, Nerissa has the ability to swim at a super speed, and dive at depths no human being is capable of, completely protected from its cold and water pressure. She is also capable of holding her breath for at least fifteen minutes.

Nerissa is one of the most powerful mermaid of her time, and her most notable feat of magic was to cast a powerful spell to seal a merpeople's true form and all abilities, disguising them as a human all the time. She cast this spell on her son, Zac. Nerissa also owns a Moon Ring and had mastered all of its spells by channeling her magic with perfection through it.

As a Water Dragon, Nerissa was also capable of breathing cold, blue flames from its jaws, which has dangerous unmetamorphosing effects on a merperson once burned. She fell into a hibernation cycle between each Full Moon, thus only awakened when the Full Moon rises, only to fall back into their hybernation cycle once more once the Full Moon sets. It could also be briefly summoned by a moonstone's moonlight before falling back to their sleep. A water dragon is capable of surviving more physical trauma to their body, that would otherwise be fatal, including their own cold fire. However, it does not protect them from a powerful enough phenomena, like a powerful lightning strike empowered by the full magic of Mako Island. The Dragon is also immune to the powers of Moon Rings and most likely of other moonstones as well. The Dragon can swim at high speeds, similar to a merperson's Speed-Swimming, giving it the velocity needed to chase a merperson. A water dragon's respiratory system can extract oxygen from both water and air, allowing them to breathe freely both underwater and on land.

## Weaknesses

Under Aurora's spell, Nerissa had all the weaknesses of a Water Dragon. When Mimmi broke the spell with the Jiao Long Bracelet, Nerissa has again all the typical weaknesses of a Northern mermaid.

## Trivia

* Nerissa is the only known mermaid capable of casting a spell that would seal away one's powers.
* The Blakely couple mentioned that it was like their wish for a child was granted when they found Zac on the beach left by Nerissa. This might be a reference to a pop culture where mermaids were known to grant wishes for sailors and mortals alike.
* Nerissa is a direct descendant of the merman who built the Merman Chamber.
* She would once be part of the royal family line, if it had not died out.
* Despite being from the Northern Pod, she has an Australian accent.
* Being a Northern mermaid, she's immune to Snow Rash and the Northern Pod Enchantment Song.
* Nerissa wouldn't hurt Mimmi or Zac when she was under the curse as love weakens the spell that drives Water Dragons to destroy all merpeople.
* Being a Northern mermaid, she may have resistance to low temperatures since she swims in the cold, icy waters around Canada and possibly the Arctic Circle.
* In "*Reunion*" in Season 2, she's described by Mimmi having the deepest blue eyes, however, after her first appearance, she's shown having brown eyes, like her son.
	+ It's likely this got reconed or Mimmi misremembered the eye color.
* The Water Dragon was thought to have killed Nerissa, but it turned out she was still alive.
	+ It was revealed that Nerissa was the Water Dragon and Aurora cast a spell that turned her into the Water Dragon. Mimmi used the Jiao Long Bracelet to break the spell and set Nerissa free.