Merfolk

If you blur your eyes, you'd be forgiven for confusing every merfolk for a young dragon or some playful dolphin, until you see a human-esque face and grasping hands. Like mythical sirens brought to life, except they don't sing so sweet.

Merfolk are one of the four sapient species of Tiyu Amara, following after the dragons, humans, and elves. They are native to the realm of Tiyu Shòbá, and came to Tiyu Amara via the construction of inter-planar portals in approximately 27 Disturbance/353 AC.

Characteristics

Unlike the two 'mortal' races of humans and elves, merfolk are predominantly aquatic, spending the majority of their lives under water. They have no legs, instead having large tails and fins, though they do have humanoid arms and webbed hands covered in scales. Colouration varies by environment, ranging from slate greys to ocean floor blues, with paler silvers and mossy greens also possible. Patterns are also quite common, ranging from large spots to regular striping, usually in shades of their 'main' colour but occasionally in bright orange and yellows.
Though largely aquatic, merfolk lungs are capable of breathing air for long periods of time. However, they are not capable of surviving out of water indefinitely, due to the damage from drying out. Merfolk are remarkably long lived, averaging 120 years and sometimes reaching past 200, far above the human 60 and elven 80.

Reproduction and Gender

More like fish, merfolk lay eggs instead of having live young. These eggs are typically laid in shallow waters and sea caves in clutches of up to three, and are guarded by members of the merfolks' family at all times. While capable of having many clutches throughout their lifetimes, most tend to only have two or three in order to limit strain on food sources and their communities.
Merfolk are hermaphroditic, capable of changing between the various states in response to their partners and environmental conditions. As a result of this flexibility, merfolk do not tend towards having fixed 'gender' roles like some humans do, instead having various community roles that an individual will be raised into regardless of sex. These roles vary between many communities, but can be loosely grouped into hunters, protectors, and guides.
Unlike humans and elves, merfolk are not capable of interbreeding with the other sapient Amaran races. It's hypothesised that it would be possible with the intervention of the Divinities, though this would most likely result in a child who is either a human/elf or a merfolk, rather than a child with inherited traits from both.

Also known as

Wūlset (native term)

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Primordial

Lifespan

120 years

Average Length

1.8 - 2.7 metres

Related Myths

• Hlia's Secret

History

Native to Tiyu Shòbá, merfolk had no contact with the humans of Tiyu Amara or the elves of Tiyu Noha. For aeons they were isolated in the vast oceans of their home realm, with only the occasional dragon for sapient company.
This changed after both the Collision and the Separation, a pair of events which affected Tiyu Amara and Tiyu Noha. Though the merfolk were not present on either world, the galactic ripples from the two worlds being brought together and then torn apart caught their attention, prompting their interest in exploring the Planar Sea between realms.
This curiosity paid off in 27 Disturbance, when a group of merfolk successfully created a Portal to Tiyu Amara, appearing in the ocean off the eastern coast of Thurásin. After running into humans, they began a largely-peaceful coexistence with the local people and expanded further north and west along the coasts. They have mostly kept to themselves beneath the waves, with some exceptions.

Groups

Though no sapient race can be neatly divided into clear groups, this is somewhat easier with regards to the merfolk, as only one known broader community has come back and forth to Tiyu Amara in the past 70 years. This community, internally referred to as the Wūlséd'ok, are apparently distinguished from their Shòbán peers by a love of adventure and a particularly mastery of magics such as Necromancy. While it has poor connotations in some of Tiyu Amara, the Wūlséd'ok use it to communicate with their deceased ancestors to receive their blessings and get advice.
Some subgroups of Wūlséd'ok do exist, particularly as they get further north and west of the original portal, ranging in their attitudes towards the locals and how regularly they return to Tiyu Shòbá. There are some merfolk in the distant north who have never even seen their ancestral homeworld, owing to community disagreements preventing their access to the portals.