Merfolk
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| The storm had torn the ship apart. I clung to a spar as the sea swallowed my crewmates, lightning flashing on the waves. My arms were numb, my throat raw with salt, and I prayed only that the end would be quick. |
| Then I saw them. Shapes gliding through foam and wreckage, hair streaming like banners, eyes bright as stars beneath the water. One swam close, her scales flashing with every color of the reef, her long fin trailing ribbons of gold. She reached for me, and I thought it a dream, the last trick of a drowning man. But her hands were warm, her grip strong, and soon others joined her, pushing me toward the shallows. |
| When I awoke on the beach, I still heard them singing in the surf, voices mingling with the roar of the tide. Laughter carried on the wind, fading as they slipped back beneath the waves. My life was theirs, a gift I could never repay. And though I searched the shore for days after, I never saw them again, only the silver flash of tails vanishing into the depths. |
The merfolk are wanderers of the sea, bright as shoals of fish and just as fleeting. They drift with the tides and the seasons, never anchoring themselves to one place for long. A village of merfolk may rise in a reef or lagoon, shells strung like lanterns between coral towers, but within a year it will be gone again, abandoned to the waves as the school moves on. Their lives are spent in motion, following fish and currents, chasing warmth and color across the oceans.
Merfolk and Magic
The merfolk have little use for magic. It is not that they lack talent, but rather the patience to study it. Their lives flow too quickly, chasing currents and songs, for the long hours of discipline that sorcery demands. A merfolk might learn a charm or a scrap of lore, but whole schools laugh at the notion of sitting still long enough to master spellcraft.
Society
Their society is lighthearted and free of strict laws. Beauty is their coin of honor, and those with radiant fins and scales like tropical fish shine brightest in their gatherings. They adorn themselves with pearls, polished shells, or delicate coral, never for wealth but for the joy of display. Songs and dances ripple through the water at night, their voices carrying for miles, harmonizing with whales or echoing through kelp forests.
They have little need for clothing, which would only slow their swimming, and so they go without. Possessions are kept to a minimum, for a mer carries only what can travel with them on the long migrations.
They shape little in the way of lasting craft. Their knives and hooks are coral, bone, or shell, fragile but sufficient for their needs. For stronger tools they trade with land folk, offering pearls, sponges, dyes, and fish in return. With sailors they have an almost mythical reputation, tales of shipwrecked men carried ashore by gentle hands or defended against sharks.
Religion
The merfolk hold no temples or priests, nor do they bind themselves to strict creeds. Their faith is as fluid as the sea itself, expressed in songs, dances, and small offerings cast into the waves. They revere the ocean not as a single god but as a vast family of spirits, currents, reefs, storms, and creatures, all of which are seen as kin. A sudden squall may be the anger of a forgotten ancestor, while a calm bay is a mother’s embrace. Among the spirits, the moon holds special honor, its pull guiding tides and journeys, its silver light shimmering on their nightly revels. Religion among the merfolk is less about obedience than celebration: every song is a hymn, every game a prayer, and every dive into the depths an act of worship.
Relations
The merfolk share a deep kinship with dolphins, whom they treat as companions rather than beasts. Pods often swim alongside their schools, playing in the surf, guiding them through treacherous waters, and even joining their hunts. Many merfolk claim to speak with dolphins in whistles and clicks, and some swear that dolphins understand their songs as well as their laughter. To harm a dolphin in the presence of a merfolk is to make a bitter enemy.
They are most closely bound to the elves of Coralwyn, whose laughter and languid ways mirror their own. The Pearl Sea is thick with merfolk schools, some of which have settled there more permanently than is their wont, weaving their lives together with the elves of the shore. Yet even there, the sea calls to them, and it is never certain when a school will vanish over the horizon, chasing another current.
To the merfolk, the ocean is freedom, and freedom is everything.
Possible Secrets
Pearl of Voices
Deep within the Pearl Sea lies a single, enormous pearl said to hold the voices of every merfolk school that has ever sung together. It is hidden, guarded, and only brought forth when the schools must unite in times of great danger.
The Whale Pact
Long ago, the merfolk swore a secret oath with the great whales. In return for guiding whales’ young through safe waters, the whales carry the memory of merfolk histories in their songs. Some elders know how to “read” these whale songs like scrolls.
The Current Road
The merfolk know of hidden ocean currents that act like secret roads beneath the sea, allowing them to travel vast distances in a fraction of the time. Few outsiders even suspect such paths exist.
The Coral Thrones
In the deepest reefs, there are natural coral formations shaped like great chairs. Merfolk lore holds that they were left by sea spirits, and any mer who sits upon one and sings may call dolphins, whales, or even great schools of fish to their aid.
The Lost School
A vast school once vanished into the depths, never seen again. Some believe they found a hidden realm beneath the waves, others that they swam into the domain of the sirens and were claimed.
Pearl Tears
When a merfolk dies, their body dissolves into foam, but some say a single pearl is left behind, holding a piece of their spirit. Such pearls are never traded, and to possess one without the family’s blessing is considered a grave theft.
Adventure Hooks
Shipwreck Aid
A violent storm scatters a coastal fleet. The merfolk rescue survivors, but some sailors are missing. The party is asked to help search islands where the currents and wreckage have carried them.
Pearl Festival
The elves of Coralwyn invite the heroes to a festival where merfolk schools will surface to dance and sing under the moonlight. But smugglers or slavers see the gathering as an opportunity for capture. To make matters worse, the party is accused of tipping the slavers about the festival.
Shark Hunt
A massive predator, an old shark or sea monster, has begun attacking both merfolk schools and human fishing boats. The merfolk seek help from landfolk adventurers to hunt it down.
Trade Trouble
A shipment of pearls and coral destined for landfolk merchants has gone missing. The merfolk claim it was stolen by humans, but the local fishermen swear otherwise. The truth lies somewhere between.
Dolphin Rescue
A pod of dolphins, beloved companions of the merfolk, has been trapped in nets laid by unscrupulous hunters. The merfolk beg the heroes to intervene before the dolphins are killed or sold.
Strange Currents
The merfolk schools complain that the ocean currents have shifted strangely, making their migrations difficult. The adventurers are asked to investigate and discover what has disturbed the flow of the sea.
A School Divided
Two large merfolk schools quarrel over a favored stretch of coral reef. Their conflict threatens to escalate into open fighting, and the elves of Coralwyn ask the adventurers to mediate before blood is spilled.