Murdúchu (ˈmurˠˌðuːxu)

"Now, if you see anyone go over the side or feel the urge to jump yourself, you just hammer on that bell as hard as you can and don't stop until I tell you."
"Is that so we can save the one who jumped overboard?"
"Nope - it's keep all the rest of us from following after." - instructions to a young sailor as a ship prepares to sail through the Skìth Channel

In the Great Ring, there are as many types of mermaid as there are stories. They come in all shapes and sizes, and most of them keep to themselves and have little interest in the air-gulping species that skim over the top of their world.

The Murdúchu are not one of those. They are one of the races of the Fae, those Numina who were transformed by the experiments performed by Celestina of the Clarati. As a consequence, the Murdúchu are more tightly bound by story and narrative than many other kinds of mermaid - and the story that defines them is full of drowned sailors.

Romance and Tragedy

The Murdúchu are notorious for falling in love with passing sailors at first glance. When this happens, they rise to the surface and sing out to their beloved, calling them into the water. Their song is laced through with magic, and compels all who hear it to attempt to reach the Murdúchu by any means available. When they sing, entire crews will abandon their ship and leap into the ocean.

For the one chosen by the Murdúchu, this is not a problem. As long as the mermaid has their beloved in contact with them, they can breathe underwater and swim as if they had been born to the ocean. For everyone else, this is not the case. They will do their best to follow the Murdúchu as the couple dives towards the bottom, but almost always drown in the attempt. The Murdúchu does not seem to even notice that this is going on, and they always seem surprised if it is mentioned later, and either deny that it ever happened, or dismiss it as an unimportant detail.

The affection of the Murdúchu for an air-breather is typically short-lived. After a few days or weeks beneath the sea, the mermaid will grow tired of them and irritated that they are always clinging on for dear life. Depending on the Murdúchu, they will either drown the tiresome lover, or strand them somewhere on the shore to make their own way onward. There is only one tale of such a relationship lasting for longer than a month, with the Tuniit Selkie hero Aippaq, who could use their magic to survive the water independently. This tale ended when Aippaq chose to pursue vengeance rather than romance, and left the Murdúchu after a seven year relationship; it is said that she remains the only Murdúchu ever to have a broken heart.

The Ring of Iron

Like most Fae, the Murdúchu are not fond of iron, and particularly find the sound of an iron bell intolerable. When struck, the bell breaks the compulsion created by their song, and usually drives the Murdúchu to flee underwater to escape the hateful noise. Any sailor already in the water is still at risk if they dive before they hear the bell, but if it is rung promptly, most can be saved. For this reason, many ships who plan to sail through the Skìth Channel will station a sailor near the bell with orders to ring it if anything happens to indicate an attack by the Murdúchu. Some ships tried simply ringing it every few seconds as a preemptive measure, but they learned that while all of the sea fae hate the sound, they don't all flee from it - and the Murdúchu is far from the most dangerous among them.

A Diplomatic Solution

The Murdúchu fall under the domain of the Deep Court of the Fae, which has formal relations with the Kingdom of Dalriada and through them to the Ard-Rí of Oileán Fiáin. According to the agreements signed by Queen Ondine of the Court, the Murdúchu are not permitted to use magical compulsion to draw sailors into the water. This agreement has proven difficult to enforce, as Ondine requires that those who witness a Murdúchu breaking the rule be identified by the survivors, and the guilty party never seems to be present or recognizable. However, the agreement has reduced the number of sailors abandoned to drown after the love affair withers, and they are almost always left somewhere within swimming distance of land now. You can read more about Queen Ondine and the Deep Court here.

The Sea-Born

Occasionally, an infant will be delivered to the Sunken Embassy of the Deep Court by one of the Murdúchu, to be raised on land where they can breath without constantly being in contact with a Murdúchu. These children are more mortal than Fae, but will usually develop some traits that reflect their unusual ancestry, such as unusually colored hair, eyes, or skin. They can often swim better than others of their species, hold their breath longer, and are generally more comfortable in the water. The Sunken Embassy maintains an orphanage for these children on a small island off the coast of Oileán Fiáin, and will also arrange for them to be placed among sympathetic families. The famous Caelán NicMuir is said to be one of these half-Fae children, although others ascribe her remarkable facility in the water to her Selkie ancestry instead.