from March’s Creatures Beyond the Walle

A type of nymph, merfolk live beneath the sea or saltwater lakes, mostly in magnificent cities on the sea floor whose walls are ornately decorated and shimmer with light. However, merfolk love sunning themselves on rocks or on the beach, which is how most humans see them. Although merfolk live in saltwater, they can travel through brackish water but never reside there. The female merfolk are mermaids, while the male merfolk are tritons. Their families are called pods and are led by the strongest, most experienced one to two merfolk, often a bonded pair.

The head and torso of merfolk resemble extremely beautiful humans, but merfolk have fish tails instead of legs. They have pale to dark skin, while their iridescent hair and tails match and are shades of silver, blue, green, and black. Merfolk have long, flowing hair that they love combing then decorating with pearls, shells, and coral. Under water, they breathe with gills on their necks, while above water, they breathe through their mouths.

Like sirens, merfolk are gorgeous and enthralling, but their voices sound little different than humans’. They control the ocean, so they can calm the waters or create terrible storms. They can make their hair and tail glow as well as pearls, shells, or other objects of the sea. They can also communicate with all sea creatures, often using dolphins, whales, sharks, or kelpies like humans use horses. Similar to the tides, merfolk’s magical powers are enhanced by the full moon.

Merfolk are extremely long-lived, and some believe that eating a merfolk’s heart provides immortality, but this is a cruel rumor. However, their kisses can heal as well as allow land creatures to breathe underwater for a day. So they sometimes amuse themselves by luring or kidnapping humans and making them live in their underwater cities.

Extremely curious, merfolk love exploring ocean canyons or shipwrecks within a day’s swim of their city. Some intrepid merfolk even gather valuables from shipwrecks and sell them to humans (along with shells, pearls, or other items from the sea.) Many port cities have a merfolk area of the docks where they sell their wares.