Meerlo is an aquatic world with some bits and pieces of land scattered around. This is the realm of the merfolk and of the sea birds.

When you think of mermaids and mermen, you think of people that are human at the top, but at the waist down, have a fish tail. You would also think that mermaids are souless monsters that use their outer beauty to lure sailors to their death, or even cause stormy weather by singing. There's also the story of “The Little Mermaid” about a young mermaid who rescues a prince and yearns for a human soul, even if it mean enduring series of pain and suffering. Those are the tales and images many humans on Earth associate with the merfolk.

However, fish tail mermaids are not the only mermaids that exist out there. There are some Earth cultures that know that, but others cultures don't know that and unaware of the vast amount of different mermaids there are out there.

There are actually many different species of merfolk out there. There are mermaids with scaly legs that resemble two fish tails, there are mermaids that look like reptilian humanoids, and there are even mammalian mermaids such as the selkie, which are beings related to seals and sea lions instead of fish.

The world of Meerlo is mostly consisted of islands and archipelagos in a vast frontier of seas and oceans. One type of environment you'll never see on Meerlo are deserts and wastelands. There are a lot of fertile lands rich with plant and animal life, both on land and in the ocean. Climates range from sunny and tropical to cold and icy. Its quite an adventure when exploring Meerlo. You never know what kind of island or a cave you'll run into.

Races of Merfolk:

Nykken

Nykkens are a type of mermaid with an upper human-like half and fins for ears, and two scaly legs ending in finned feet. Skin colors come in fleshtone, green, blue, or lavender (pinkish-white in albinos). Hair colors come in just about every color of the rainbow. The only hair colors not seen on Nykkens are shades of browns or blacks. Albinos are known to have white hair as well as cream colored scales and fins.

Nykkens are known to live in settlements near lakes and rivers located in forests. Sometimes, they go by the nickname “forest mermaids” or “woodsland mermaids”. Nykkens love music and many are trained to be musical warriors, manipulating the environment with their instruments or singing. They also love mead. It is considered a polite thing to Nykkens to give them mead, the sweeter, the better for them. Nykkens reserve black mead and midus mead for their guardian deities and high priests, thus not to be drinken by normal Nykkens.

Lifespan: The oldest known Nykken is said to live up to be 9,090 years old.

Current Merfolk deity: Melusine

Common classes: Song maidens, Minstrels, High Priests, Bishops, Runic Knight, Magic knight

Sea Naga

Sea nagas are a colorful type of serpentine mermaid that inhabits the warm, tropical waters of Meerlo. The skin tone and tails of sea nagas are usually blue, aqua, green, red, lavender or violet. Albino sea nagas always have white skin and scales, with sometimes the occasional cream yellow markings. Instead of hair, sea nagas have fleshy fins and a flat, snake tail like appendage that drapes over their backside like it was hair.

Sea nagas are known to be poisonous. Sea nagas have retractable fangs to inject venom into their foe. Like the wood dragons, sea nagas can control how much venom to inject into their enemy, ranging from a mild sickness to a miserable death. So it's best not to get on the bad side of a sea naga.

Like their land counterparts in the world of Dierveld, sea nagas have a long, snake like tail and can move on land no problem. Unlike their land counterparts, sea nagas have a fish like fin on the end of their serpentine tail and a fish like dorsal fin on the backside of their tail. Sometimes, a female sea naga is refered to as a sea lamia in other cultures in Alerfa.

Lifespan: The oldest known living sea naga is said to be 20,000 years old. Sea nagas have the longest lifespans of all merfolk clans.

Current Merfolk deity: Enki

Common classes: Illusionists, Enchantress, Magus, Arch Magus, Chemist, Evoker, Dark Knight

Selkie

The selkies are a very unique race of merfolk that inhabits Meerlo. The perfer the northern climates of Meerlo, and can withstand the coldest of climates. They hate warm and humid areas.

But's that not all that makes the selkies so unique. Unlike most merfolk clans, selkies give live birth instead of laying eggs, since they are fully mammalian. And instead of a fish form, the selkies can transform into a being which has both a humanoid torso and head, as well fin like arms and the lower half of a seal.

Skin tones of a selkie are usually fleshtoned, dark tan, grey, black or white. Some even have spots and markings on their bodies, just like the seals of our world. They are the least colorful of merfork in Meerlo, due to them being associated with seals instead of fish, sea serpents and other marine life.

Selkies are probably the most calm and laid back of merfolk. They seem to take interest in foreign beings, and even been known to intermarry into foreign races. They're usually not aggressive unless threatened.

Lifespan: The longest lived Selkie is said to be 15,550 years old.

Current Merfolk deity: Sedna

Common classes: High priest, Bishop, Beastmaster, Paladin, Geomancer, Lancer

Kappa

The kappa are a very unusual type of merfolk that dwells in lakes and rivers in the mountainous regions of Meerlo. They have the appearance of a reptilian humanoid with scaly skin with colors usually being green, yellow, blue or brown, webbed hands and feet, as well as a turtle like shell. The most noticeable thing about a kappa is an indentation of the top of their cranium that holds water, which is a source for their power and vitality. The cavity must always be full when a kappa is away from water. If it spills, that kappa would be paralyzed and unable to move, thus rendering it helpless. They are the second shortest of the merfolk races (only ebbies are shorter).

The kappa are a proud and ambitious race, though they are known to be rather arrogant and sometimes, even trouble makers. Some kappa can even do some malicious things, like drown unfortunate land creatures, gorge on them while their alive or even kidnapping other merfolk not of their race and even do some unsavory things to their captured prey.

However, not all of the kappa do evil things. Some are rather kind and polite and aid those who are stuck in dangerous situations. Most kappa are curious of other merfolk, as well as other beings not native to Meerlo. Once a foreign creature befriends a kappa, that kappa will be devoted to that creature, even going as far as giving up its life for its new friend.

Kappa are skilled at fighting and weapon play, but they usually are horrible magic users and have very little knowledge of magical abilities. Most kappa are fighters and warriors and seeing a magic using kappa is extremely rare.

Lifespan: The oldest living Kappa lived up to be 900 years old. Their lifespan is short, but not as short as an ebby's lifespan.

Current Merfolk deity: Hanzaki

Common classes: Berserker, Theif, Assassin, Nightblade, Bandit, Dual blade knight

Lura

The Luras are a rather unique type of merfolk. They are mostly humanoid looking beings that have either octopus, squid or cuttlefish tentacles for hair, fleshy fins for ears, sleek, shiny bodies free of scales, and have two tentacles on each side of their humanoid thighs, as well as webbed hands and feet. They have same skin colors of octopus and squid and like octopus and squid, they can squeeze through tight spaces. luras can also spit ink out their mouths to blind their enemies.

] The lura merfolk live in cavernous regions, so they can hide from enemy clans. Luras love coral and pearls a lot, thus making some of the finest jewelry and magical relics out of those precious gems.

Luras are the most swift of merfolk, as well as being skilled at natural magic and summoning powerful beings to aid them in a sticky situation. However, luras are deathly afraid of the siren clan as well as the Badb, which both races see the lura as a tasty, satisfying snack. They try the best they can to avoid sea bird clans.

Lifespan: The oldest living Lura lived up to 2,000 years old.

Current Merfolk deity: Lusca

Common classes: Light armor knight, Magic Knight, Evoker, Geomancer, Beastmaster, Lancer

Ebby

Ebbies are merfolk with a humanoid upper half and have the lower half and attenae of a prawn. Ebbies are the shortest of all merfolk, though females usually have rather buxom figures. The tallest Ebby was 4'11 which isn't very tall by human standards, but tall by ebby standards.

Ebbies are often mocked and looked down upon by other merfolk, for they are shorter and far more vunerable than most merfolk. Since ebbies aren't the most physically strong of merfolk, they are skilled at both offensive and defensive magic. It is rather rare to see an ebby that is of a non-magic using class, due to being physically weaker than other merfolk.

The thing ebbies fear more than foreign merfolk clans is creatures of the sea bird race. Sea bird clans love how sweet ebbies taste and would actually dive in and snatch an ebby out of the water. Yes, this world is a rather dangerous place for ebbies, so they try as hard as they can to fight back with magical abillities.

Lifespan: Ebbies live for at least 300 years. They have the shortest lifespan of all merfolk species.

Current Merfolk deity: Kanitaro

Common classes: Magus, Arch Magus, High Priest, Bishop, Evoker, Geomancer

Race of sea bird folk:

Siren

Sirens are the descendants of harpies and their cerulean witch/warlock spouses. They have human torso and limbs as well as their talon like hands and feet and their bird-like wings. Female sirens are more attractive than male sirens. Sirens are one of the very few bird folk species where the females are more bright colored and radiant than the males. Facial feature range from rather human looking to rather avian looking, depending on the gender of the harpy parent. Harpy mothers tend to have more avian looking offspring while witch mothers tend to have more humanoid looking offspring.

Female sirens have much prettier singing voices than male sirens, but male sirens are more skilled at playing musical instruments than female sirens. Sirens and Nykkens get along perfectly, since both love music and fine liquor. Sirens also get along with Selkies, since Selkies are the more calm and friendly of merfolk. Every other merfolk, alongside most sea creatures, they see as a food source, especially favoring the sweet taste of ebby meat.

The only race of merfolk that strikes fear in the hearts of sirens are the sea nagas. Sirens and sea nagas are known to fight each other fiercely. If the siren wins, the sirens drain the venom out of the sea naga and are rewarded with their tasty flesh and use their scaly hide to make leather. If the sea naga wins, the sea naga poisons the hapless siren, slowly killing it and eat the siren's flesh, as well as using its feathers to make fancy cloaks.

Though we have been told that Sirens distract sailing land dwellers with their songs and capsizing their boats, it's usually on accident and not on purpose. Sometimes, Sirens are known to save drowning land creatures and nurse them back to health. So sirens aren't as completely evil as we like to think they are.

Lifespan: The oldest known living siren is said to be 15,000 years old.

Current Sea Bird deity: Boann

Common classes: Song maiden, Minstrel, Evoker, Geomancer, Chemist, Alchemist

Badb

Badb are the descendants of harpies banished from Dierveld for attempting to overthrow the Harpy gods and/or selling their souls for power and forbidden knowledge.They have human torso and limbs, but their faces are bird-like (even with a beak), as well as their talon like hands, feet and wings. Their feathers are either dark bloody red or pitch black like night and their eyes are animal like and usually glow red or green.

Badb are deadly birds of darkness. Their songs bring misfortune and ill luck to those who hear it. Their voices are said to bring creatures back from the dead, so they have their own undead familiars.

The only merfolk Badbs don't attack or use for food are their undead merfolk familiars, the Rusalki. Every other merfolk, they see as food. Land creatures who sail the seas dread the songs that the Badb sings, knowing that their songs will drive their crew insane or worse yet, cause violent storms out at sea. Unlike the sirens, who accidentally sink ships with their voices, Badbs do it on purpose. Sometimes, they are known to kidnap land dwellers and do unspeakably horrible things to them.

Lifespan: The oldest known living Badb is said to be 13,000 years old. But a lot of Badbs are known to be necromancers and can revive the dead whenever they feel like it.

Current Sea Bird deity: Morgana

Common classes: Necromancer, Assassin, Nightblade, Illusionist, Enchantress, Dark Knight, Berserker

Humans in Meerlo:

When in Meerlo, you have two options: Sink or swim.

If you're an excellent swimmer and love the water, you'll more than likely survive in Meerlo. If you're horrible at swimming and get sea sick real easily, the likelihood for survival in Meerlo is very slim. So you better learn how to swim and love the water when in Meerlo, or you're not going to make it very far in life.

Most humans that live in Meerlo are mariners or vikings that usually live in house boats or house ships. Using boats and ships for transportation is mandatory in Meerlo, because every piece of land is either an island or a huge group of archipelagos. Islands come in many shapes and sizes, and there are no landlocked regions in Meerlo. Every isle continent and country is surrounded by vast valleys of water.

Some merfolk and sea bird clans get along with humans more than others. The merfolk most likely to be allies with humans are Nykkens, Selkies and Ebbies. Both the Kappa and the Sea Nagas are unpredictable towards humans, and Luras are neutral with humans. Sirens have a bad reputation with some human clans, but most mean well to humans and other foreign clans. Badbs, on the other hand, only get along with humans (and other non-Meerlo beings) that are deceitful, dishonest and wicked. Nice, heroic humans usually have to defend themselves against the Badb when coming across these cruel sea birds.

Badbs and unpredictable merfolk aren't the only things you should watch out for. There are also a lot of humans and foreign land beings that are vikings and bandits, which are infamously known to raid and plunder people's boat homes and towns on land, as well as loot from people that oppose them. The most infamous of all tribes of vikings are the all female viking tribe called the Ladgriths. The vikings of the Ladgrith tribe are quite ruthless and hostile, especially towards beings that are male. Though the Ladgriths get along with the Badbs just fine and the Badbs are more than happy to work as guards and templars for the Ladgriths, so no creature can take back his/her belongings the Ladgriths stolen. Badb males are the only species of male being the Ladgriths get along with.

So when in Meerlo, not only do you have to watch out for hostile sea creatures, but hostile viking tribes as well, whether they are human or not.

Minority races:

Minority non-human races that make their home in Meerlo are the cerulean witches/warlocks, Storm and Ice dragonites from Dragnar and of course, the harpies and other bird men from Dierveld. It was said that s storm dragon god, known as Leviathan, resigned from being a dragon god in Dragnar and made Meerlo his new homeworld. His sea serpent descendants flourish in the oceans, lakes, rivers and streams of this world.

Creatures used to deserts and dry lands tend to avoid Meerlo, since they're used to dry and arid comment, and have no knowledge of the sea. The creatures running the otherworld exchange programs make sure that creatures from desert and other dry.arid regions don't get sent to Meerlo. Heck, banishing a desert creature into Meerlo is consitered a cruel and unusual punishment to most deity leaders of many worlds.

Most merfolk clans get a long with Storm and Ice dragonites quite a bit. Some are even known to have hybrid children together, though the hybrid children have a longer lifespan than their mermaid parent, but they can't transform into a dragon and are usually shorter and not as physically mature as the pure bred children of either species.

Mostly, creatures with the knowledge of the ocean and are of the wind, water and ice element are known to live in Meerlo more than creatures of any other element, since they are more prepared for these kind of environments than any other creature of any other element. Because in a world like Meerlo, it's best rather to swim (or at least try to swim) than sink.