Mer

In Meropolis, **Mer,**or **Merfolk**are a diverse race of aquamallain (aquatic mammal) creatures that inhabit the sea.

There are many types of Mer, and they each have their own customs and biological types that are unique only to them.

***The Mer listed here are the Mer created by Elire and Hele specifically. Any other creature, like a Shark, will show up on their own pages.***

## Creation

Elire created almost all of the Mer, but not all at once. He had to gather inspiration first for each one.

Merwolves, Mercats, Mermaids, Sirens, Selkies and Water Sprites were intially created to be half human and half fish but they gradually underwent adaptations when they were set free.

The first Merwolf stayed in the bottom of the sea and often bred with wolf-like creatures, resulting in the descendents becoming less human and more wolf-fish. Eventually, they shed all former signs of their humanity and permanently relocated to the ocean depths, causing their lungs to permanently adjust to deep water, not air.

The first Mercat stayed towards the upper portion of the sea and often bred with cat-like creatures, resulting in the descendents becoming less human and more cat-fish. Eventually, they shed all former signs of their humanity and permanently relocated to the upper ocean, causing their lungs to permanently adjust to oxygenated water.

The first Mermaid at first stayed near land and water, and bred with other fish similar to it, resulting in the descendants becoming more aquatically-adapted to fish life. Eventually, they found they were no longer "human enough" to survive on land and were forced to permanently retreat to the ocean, their lungs no longer supporting air. This caused a great tragedy for Elire, who initially created the mermaids to be *able*to live on both land and water.

The first Siren did not migrate far and instead stayed with humans once it discovered its Song, and managed to get a witch to artificially create more Sirens, for fear that birth would ruin its youth. Elire was disgusted by what the Siren did and permanently rid it and all others of their fish abilities except for breathing in water. He also cursed them to age much faster, which in turn, caused them to become homicidal in order to percieve a young appearance as much as possible. Elire considers the Sirens his worst mistake.

The first Selkie was actually created by Hele, not Elire. Hele was responsible for killing rather than creating, but her attempt at Selkies went rather well. The first Selkie decided to remain in an unknown water area before it bred with a regular seal. As a result, the bloodline and adaptation remained consistent with what it was originally: a seal with removable skin. Hele has remained proud of her work, but she prefers tending to her realm, Hel.

The first Water Sprite was created by Elire by accident initially when he made water sentient. Just as he was going to remove its awareness, it suddenly became a small humanoid being that begged for its life. Elire studied it and realized it would be a perfect servant, resulting in the creation of several more to personally serve him. He also decided not to let their existence be known, so that no one would try attempting to make sentient objects themselves.

## Lifespan

The lifespan of Mer depends on various factors, such as species life expectancy and lifestyle. Like humans, Mer can begin to show their age terribly: mermaids lose vibrancy in their scales and their hair loses its color, while merwolves and mercats develop mangy coats and problems in their tails similar to hip displaysia in dogs. Sirens may lose the ability to sing and will begin to show their true age, selkies' coats will start ripping apart and dulling in color, and water sprites' water will become clouded and murky (their form can age also, but that has little effect on them). The best example of a well-taken-care-of Mer is Prince Malencheine, who is described as being on his third life, is two-hundred years old, and looks biologically seventeen. His father, King Merlin, is an example of a Mer who did not take care of himself previously and now has mange (several tufts of hair on his face also represent wrinkles) and a bit of a limp (he drifts a bit downward when he swims).

When a Mer does eventually die, their ages are recorded as being in the hundreds, although there is no true "limit" as to how long they can possibly live, as many of the Mer in the main series are currently living, and an aging scale was only implemented within the previous Era, 4E. Due to the ocean's warped sense of time, however, aging takes much, much longer underwater than it does on land. For instance, the deeper one is in the ocean, the slower they age.

## Speech

Mer make noises and communications through the use of their swim bladder. They make a variety of sounds such as clicks, gurgles, squeaks and others, but they are never described. This is due to the fact that the story is told from Quinn's point of view. He was already something else before Karali gave him his merwolf abilities, which did not allow every feature to come to the fore, one of which was sonar hearing. As a result, he does not hear the actual sounds they make, but he was given the ability to hear English in their stead.

Eventually, as not to confuse Quinn, all Mercats, Selkies, and Merwolves will solely speak English.

## Powers

Mer have access to a great many powers by default, but Mer are often too young to use them all at once. The older they are, the more powers they get, and once they reach the maximum, the strength of whatever powers they obtained increases.

### Hydrokenesis

All Mer have some degree of Hydrokenesis-related abilities that vary depending on what they are, although it is known that Selkies and Sirens cannot use theirs for several reasons:

1. Selkies are not derived from the same ancestor of Elire's creations, as they were not created by him. Instead, they were created solely by Hele.
2. Sirens lost their water powers after Elire found out they had turned homicidal and naturally insane. The only thing they retain is water breathing.

### Knowledge

All mer are universally intelligent, but no Mer can be as intelligent as a Merwolf, due to them being created first with most of Elire's divine energy. At the same time, though, no Merwolf is as intelligent as Elire.

## Diet

Unlike traditional folklore, Mer do not hold any kind of fish sacred. All Mer are omnivorous and can eat the following, but are not limited to:

* Seaweed
* Kelp
* Chier Fruit
* Coconut Meat
* Kelp
* Fish
* Bivalves
* Crawfish/Crawdad
* Crustaceans
* Algae
* Carideans (Shrimp)
* Whale Meat
* Porpi Meat
* Fish Eggs

Technically, Mer can also eat anything that roams on land, but their stomachs are said to be very delicate and either cannot digest or handle land food. Unless it is very bland in both texture and taste and is at least some form of meat, their immune systems will misunderstand the foreign substance as a threat, and they will throw up violently until every last trace is gone.

### Becoming a Mer

A person who is at least half human is capable of becoming virtually any type of mer, or a hybrid of several different types.

1. Babies who are born to two Mer parents or one Mer parent are automatically Mer themselves, but with one parent creates a Hybrid instead. The powers of a Mer are not present until teenhood in the least, although they could show up earlier depending on how powerful the parents were. In some cases, however, the powers may never emerge at all.
2. The human can acquire a potion through witchcraft or some other small token that represents what they want to become--seal skin for Selkies and Merwolf hair for Merwolves. In the case of Quinn, though, he became a merwolf-human hybrid through a power transfer on Karali's part. A protection incantation must then be placed on the token to ensure that the transformation does not go badly and turn them into something else that they won't be able to undo.
3. The human can pray to Elire or Hele. It only works if Elire or Hele actually hears the prayer, and it also depends if it is an Alt Mon or not. Chances are, though, it won't be granted, or it won't be what they desired.
4. It is possible to have multiple creature species in one person, but it's stated that certain species are very incompatible. For instance, it would not be a very good existence for a Mercat-Merwolf hybrid, considering that cats and dogs normally hate each other. It's also presumed that a hybrid would create new problems.

## Types of Mer

There are over hundreds of different types of Mer, but listed below are the ones *most significant to the series.*

### Merwolf

*Main Article:* Merwolves
**Merwolves** are the first most important species in the Meropolan Ocean, and are considered above **Mercats, Mermaids/Mermen, Sirens, Selkies,**and **Water Sprites.** In the Meropolan Universe, they are the superiors of all other Mer. Every time they are discovered, they erase everyone's memory of what happened, as they do not like to be made known due to prior experiences.

Merwolves are stated to look exactly like a hybrid between a human, a dog, and a wolf. There are only a few select body hair colors they can be, ranging from white, tan, grey, sepia, or anything that is the same all around. They can also have a variety of eye colors, with the most common being a blank-colored iris that fills the entire area. Some have pupils, and some don't. Merwolves *do*have normal eyes when it comes to their anatomy, however: the parts just aren't visible due to the massive iris. As for body shape, Merwolf men are built and rugged with muscular definition, while Merwolf women are somewhat petite with semi-broad shoulders. Their noses resemble a wolf's mixed with a dog's, but are shaped like human noses and do not have the characteristic snout, making their faces have similar profiles to humans. Their lips are not entirely described, but it can be inferred they match their hair colors. They have fanged teeth, most likely meant to resemble wolf teeth. Their tails vary in size, but it's stated the scales match their eyes, although that isn't true for a few Merwolves in the series.

A Royal Merwolf is a special Merwolf that inherits a heavy tail upon becoming king or queen of a kingdom, and it acts like a train that trails behind them for nearly five feet. The tail cannot be passed on to descendants, as it only applies to the current ruler and is unique to them. It goes away upon loss of the title, which usually occurs when a Merwolf is about to die or loses their throne to another, as Merwolves rarely step down from their role of power.

Merwolves have the minds of humans, so they behave very much like them, and form relationships, bonds, enemies, and the like with each other, but maintain their original animal instincts also when it comes to hunting for prey. They can easily switch between a civilized persona and a hunter's. They are not entirely docile creatures as they can get easily threatened if snubbed the wrong way, but they are not hostile like mermaids.

A special trait Merwolves and Mercats share is the fact that they do not have an assigned gender at birth, which is due to a lack of visible genitals. They also have equal amounts of male and female hormones. However, things should be noted: Merwolves and Mercats can still breed, but it must be done in a specific way. Their genitals are not exposed, but are "shrouded" inside their tails. They do have openings for said genitals, but they are normally obscured by scales that act like a sheath. Optionally, they can also breed through a process called self-fertilization, which is when a male or female Merwolf/Mercat uses its own hormones to create a pre-determined embryo that is placed inside a nest of coral and kept away from sunlight for a period of sixty days. Once the sixty days are over, a baby Merwolf, which is called a Pup, is born through the coral. It immediately knows where to go home due to memories the parent must give it, and it is raised for a good majority of its life, or until it becomes mature enough to exist alone. Aside from self-fertilization, Merwolves are hermaphroditic in nature and are stated to be "half boy, half girl, but sexless." Due to this, Merwolves are allowed to identify themselves with three gender idenities: non-binary (they), feminine (she) or masculine (he). They are also allowed two sexual identities: heterosexuality and asexuality.

It is unknown how long Merwolves can live, but it's known they live longer than any other Mer due to having more of Elire's divinity than the others. Most of the Merwolves in the main series are currently alive, as it's stated they take great care in their health and lifestyle. The only known deceased Merwolves are Diamine and Topanite, and possibly even Ordsval.

### Mercat

*Main Article:* Mercats
**Mercats** are the second most important species in the Meropolan ocean, and are considered below **Merwolves** and are above **Mermaids/Mermen.** In the Meropolan Universe, Mercats are the alternative to Merwolves. They were discovered the second they were created, and humans loved them. Mercats love humans back, and if they had the chance, would peacefully co-exist with them.

Mercats are stated to look like a hybrid between a human, a fish, and a cat. They can only be the same colors as Merwolves, but their eyes have slits as pupils and can only be black sclera with cat-like irises. They always have whiskers. Their bodies are similar to Merwolves, except that they are slightly smaller and the shoulders not as broad. Their bodies are designed more for a hasty getaway than to fight with. Their noses are somewhat flat, but they have a cat's nose and lip set. Their teeth are small and pointed, and are meant to incapacitate small fish. Their tails vary in size and are similar to merwolves'. Some Mercats have the ability to expose or retract claws.

Like Merwolves, Mercats can become Royals, although their tail is not as heavy or long. The tail cannot be passed on to descendants, as it only applies to the current ruler and is unique to them. It goes away upon loss of the title, which usually occurs when a Mercat is about to die or when they lose their throne to another, as Mercats rarely step down from their role of power.

Mercats have the minds of humans, so they behave very much like them, and form relationships, bonds, enemies, and the like with each other, but maintain their original animal instincts also when it comes to hunting for prey. They can easily switch between a civilized persona and a hunter's. They are not docile to the point of being overly good, per se, but they are more laid-back and pacifistic than one would expect. This is partially a ruse so that their true, scheming nature is not found out by the enemy. Not only are they very flexible, their reflexes are eight times that of a Merwolf.

A special trait Mercats and Merwolves share is the fact that they do not have an assigned gender at birth, which is due to a lack of visible genitals. They also have equal amounts of male and female hormones. However, things should be noted: Merwolves and Mercats can still breed, but it must be done in a specific way. Their genitals are not exposed, but are "shrouded" inside their tails. They do have openings for said genitals, but they are normally obscured by scales that act like a sheath. Optionally, they can also breed through a process called self-fertilization, which is when a male or female Merwolf/Mercat uses its own hormones to create a pre-determined embryo that is placed inside a nest of coral and kept away from sunlight for a period of sixty days. Once the sixty days are over, a baby Mercat, which is called a Kit, is born through the coral. It immediately knows where to go home due to memories the parent must give it, and it is raised for a good majority of its life, or until it becomes mature enough to exist alone. Aside from self-fertilization, Mercats are hermaphroditic in nature and are stated to be "half boy, half girl, but sexless." Due to this, Mercats are allowed to identify themselves with three gender idenities: non-binary (they), feminine (she) or masculine (he). They are also allowed two sexual identities: heterosexuality and asexuality.

It is unknown how long Mercats can live, but it's known they live a little less than Merwolves and that a cat's nine lives apply to them. So far, the two known Mercats in the series, Malencheine and Cori, have expended at least three lives or more before the story. It's made clear that Mercats can't live forever, and that old age *does* gradually expend lives. When they lose their ninth life, it counts as their ultimate death.

### Mermaid/Merman

*Main Article:* Merfish
**Mermaids/Mermen**are the third most important species in the Meropolan Ocean, and are considered below **Mercats** and above **Sirens.**In the Meropolan Universe, Sirens and Mermaids are not the same creature. They were first discovered in 2E.

Mermaids are stated to look more like fish than humans always, and as a result, never go on land for any reason out of fear of being discovered. They cannot hide their tails or fins or ears, as their previous human features disappeared with adaptation. They also cannot breathe air, and will quickly suffocate on land unless they are able to get back in the sea with assistance. It is often humans who find them and return them to the sea.

Mermaids are stated to be a variety of pale colors, but the most common color is blue. They have fin-like ears, fronds on their arms, webbed fingers, luminous eyes, gills on their neck and face, frond tears, torn-like tails, lean muscle, and facial scars near the eyes. When they are in a predator state, their mouth opens up considerably to expose sharp, pointed miniature shark teeth that they use to bite prey and food in general. The legends about Mermaids having bras are false.

As for Mermen, they too have faded skin tones, scars, lean muscle, torn-tails, frond tears, gills on the neck and face, webbed fingers, fin-like ears, and luminous eyes. The only thing that makes them different from Mermaids is that they have a small frond on their back that acts like a shark's dorsal fin. Only Mermen have the ability to become giant fish, which usually represent frond-like sharks. However, they do not look like real Sharks.

Mermaids are usually docile, but when threatened or pestered too much, they will unleash their second mouth and can scratch or produce a violent hissing noise. Mermen are much more violent and will physically bite, claw and howl at the oppressor. As a result, they are largely independent creatures and are considered hostile towards others, especially to Mer who are not Mermaids or Mermen. For an odd reason, they hate Mercats with a passion, most likely due to the natural selection of cats being dominant over fish.

Mermaids cannot self-fertilize due to their hormonal structure being either completely female or completely male. However, in order to create a mermaid baby, a mermaid must first create a bubble nest, lay an unsired egg and wait for their mate to fertlize the egg/eggs with semen. Most eggs are found by large animals or Mer, and most batches do not survive as a result. Baby mermaids are referred to as Fry, and are immediately abandoned by the mother and father to raise themselves. Fry are resilient, however, and are born with the knowledge their parents obtained previously.

Mermaids live up to be three hundred years before turning into sea foam. Their minds do not fade, but they do not have true awareness either. Without a body, they can only spectate the world around them, only thinking, but never being able to do physical things.

### Siren

*Main Article:* Sirens
**Sirens** are cousins of **Mermaids,** are the fourth most important species in the Meropolan Ocean, and are considered below **Mermaids** and above **Selkies.** In the Meropolan Universe, Sirens and Mermaids are not the same creature. They were first discovered in 2E.

They are often incorrectly stated to be birds with female heads. Sirens are also not at all like their mermaid cousins, and look very human, except for the fact that they can only be female and are extremely beautiful. Their features include long waves of hair that are very vivid in color and perfect in texture, youthful skin that glows, luminous eye colors that shine (yet, they have Mercat slits, possibly to represent their hidden evil), and delicate body shapes with lots of curves and bust. They possess every other perfect aspect, including melodic, sing-song voices. When they are low on years and their youth is fading, their true ages begin to show, turning them into shriveled, wrinkled, decayed hags. Nothing can do them wrong appearance wise when they are "full of years." Male Sirens once existed, but they have since disappeared from history. It is hinted that the female Sirens eradicated them due to the fact that men technically live longer than women, and would have proved to be rivals in their feats to stay young forever.

Sirens, unlike Mermaids, do not develop tails when they enter water. They are also not aquatic, but can still breathe underwater without the use of gills or a swim bladder due to them having one surviving fish adaptation from the first Siren. Sirens are solitary creatures, due to a very dangerous reason: they can literally drain the life away from anything or anyone with the power of their Song.

Their Song is only known as "Song of the Siren", and begins as a gentle melody before rapidly changing to a growing emotional screaming full of passion that gradually hypnotizes the audience into not leaving. However, they reach a higher note for each individual "lyric" of their Song, which will increasingly sicken their audience as they continue to listen to the point of where it will become too painful to bear and can potentially cause a human's ears to bleed. At that point, however, it is too late to leave. By the time they reach what is considered "the death note", their victim will have been long drained of their life, will wither away into a shriveled old husk, and collapse dead. If the Siren is especially old in appearance, her youth will be restored for as many years the victim had left. Sirens turn on humans, their own children, their loved ones, and even each other in their own personal quest to be beautiful.

Sirens are serial killers of their own children, often having many on purpose and draining them of their years the second day they are alive, essentially giving themselves even more youth. They also do this to their husbands and own family members, all to stay young forever. Sirens are not so much born, they are made. The only way to become a Siren is through witchcraft.

Sirens can live longer than any kind of Mer through the use of their Song, but they are not immortal, and Elire himself believes that their Song can only ward away aging, not death itself, and that death *will* eventually claim them. The only way Sirens can permanently die is if a brave enough soul has enough morale to stand up and resist the hypnosis, in which she will be put in a vulnerable state from it not apparently working. If her tongue is then cut from the root to the tip with a knife, all the "years" she trapped will be released back to Elire, instantly aging them and withering them until they crumble into nothing more than dust. Sirens cannot reincarnate, presumably due to Hele and Elire being genuinely horrified by their own creations and disallowing it from ever happening so that countless lives will not be lost.

It is possible that Sirens will become extinct in the second trilogy.

### Selkie

*Main Article:* Selkies
**Selkies** are the fifth most important species in the Meropolan Ocean, and are considered below **Sirens** and above **Water Sprites.** In the Meropolan Universe, they are the same as seals. They were first discovered in 3E.

Selkies can look like anything they want, but they often prefer the appearances of young girls due to their innocence and an easier time to pass as a human. Selkies are essentially were-seals, except they can turn into humans at any time. To go on land, they must peel off their skins and carry it with them at all times, as they are quite forgetful. It is often the reason why their skins are stolen or lost.

Due to the fact that they often look like young girls, they have the biological forms of eleven to thirteen-year-olds. They're often short, their hair always matches the color of their skin as a seal, and their human skin is pale. They have white eyes, and small teeth that are meant to nibble than tear.

Selkies are air-headed and docile, and usually do not recognize a problem or threat until it is too late. However, they make up for this with enhanced senses beforehand. They are not independent and prefer to stick together in groups. When a Selkie's skin is lost, they become paranoid until it is found, from which their identities will be exposed and they'll be forced to return to the sea, never to come back to land. Selkies have to take an occasional dip in the ocean anyway to avoid drying out, as their skin is still made from a seal's keratin.

Selkies mate as seals, and give birth. Baby Selkies do not have a specific name. They are raised by the parents until the Selkie baby loses its baby fur, and it is then "abandoned." Like mermaids, they obtain knowledge from the parents of how to live.

Selkies can live up to thirty five years, rarely fifty, if they choose to live as seals forever, and live the normal human lifespan when in possession of their skin and living as a human forever. If they alternate between forms, they are capable of living half the lifetime of a mermaid, which is approximately one hundred fifty years. Selkies do not reincarnate, which is something Hele regretted giving the Selkies in the first place, as she found them delightful and pure portraits of innocence.

### Water Sprite

*Main Article:* Sprites
**Water Sprites** are the sixth most important species in total, and are considered below **Selkies** and above nothing else. In the Meropolan Universe, they are the same as regular sprites, except they are made of and have control over water. There are no sightings of them because they reside in Elire's realm, Paradis. However, they are given appearances on murals and paintings of Elire's court.

Water Sprites are either male or female, and are completely made of water. They can emerge from any point of water in Paradis, and have similar forms. Universally, their color is whatever the water looks like, are completely made of water, and are about the size of a human palm. However, their similarity comes into play for their descriptions. Female Sprites usually have tied up hair that is covered with a veil, and their "gowns" are really manipulated water. The Male Sprites are less common but exist, and are stated to have "hair" that is constantly "wet" and long, with rippling "muscles" that is once again manipulated water, and wear water loincloths. They are sustained by puddles of water granted by Elire to never evaporate. Water Sprites can be any physical age, which means there are elder Sprites and child Sprites.

Water Sprites were created specifically to be Elire's personal servants, and have special powers related to water. They can turn into a wave to get from place to place, and can dive in their personal puddle to essentially anywhere in the ocean or anywhere that has water and can easily go back by returning to their puddle's surface. They also have an array of powers, but they either relate to water or are significantly weakened versions of Elire's. For instance, they can travel a few minutes ahead or backwards in time, don't fight, can only partially break reality, and spectate visit timelines instead of traveling to them. Water Sprites have high-pitched voices.

Water Sprites are only created and cannot breed. They were created without the capability to do so on purpose by Elire so that there would not be an overabundance of them in Paradis, as they cause a tripping hazard and a slipping hazard.

Water Sprites are immortal, and cannot die of anything. They simply lose a physical form to manifest in when Elire declares their freedom from him, but he can resurrect them any time he wants.

## Trivia

* Merwolves and Mercats can never be homosexual, as it is against one of the many beliefs Elire set for them. Although it is an old belief, Merwolves are bound by their faith for him, and wouldn't dare disobey their creator for something that is not worthwhile.
	+ It would likely not matter anyway, as Merwolves and Mercats are naturally asexual due to them all being genderless. Heterosexuality only occurs due to outward appearances.
		- Realistically, they can never be homosexual because S. despises homosexuality, and LGBT elements in general.
* Merwolves are likelier to be grey, Mercats are likelier to be orange shades, and Mermaids/Mermen are likelier to be blue.
* It is possible for there to be more than one Royal for several reasons:
	+ If a king or queen becomes a Royal, their spouse becomes one too. Any one they marry later will also become a Royal, and anyone they annul will lose the tail.
		- Usually, there is one Royal (or two Royals, being a king and a queen) per kingdom.
* Elire did not create Sharks, but it's stated they are some form of Mer.
* So far, Merlin is the only Mer to have Heterochromia Iridum, or two-different colored eyes. One is a sparkling, luminescent crystal-blue, and the other is a sharp, bright neon green.