For this blog’s first edition of ‘Worldbuilding Wednesday’ I thought I’d tell you all a little more about one of the most popular races in the Tales from Undersea series – the merfolk!

Merfolk are a race of human-fish hybrids, born from women (and occasionally men) thrown off ships or into the sea to their deaths, but survived thanks the sea goddess Sulis. Some of them have mated (don’t think too hard about that…) and created sea-born mermaids. Both human and sea-born merfolk have long lifespans, generally reaching sexual maturity at around age 50 and living for several hundreds of years.

They are generally friendly to humans and attempt to help any people who have also run into trouble on the ocean that they come across. In dire circumstances, they turn them into merfolk to save them. Outside of these race instances, merfolk tend to avoid humans, sometimes out of spite for being thrown overboard but mostly so they won’t be discovered. This is why few humans have seen merfolk and fewer have seen their settlements, so most still believe they are only myths. Some merfolk who have never seen humans believe that we are mythical.

However, some other groups of merfolk (particularly around Haiti) are vengeful towards humans and lure men to their deaths.

A merfolk can turn into a human, but it is a complex process which involves the ‘voice’ of a human who was responsible for throwing a person overboard and creating a merfolk.

They can only breath for short periods outside of water.

Merfolk cities are grand, full of works of art both hand-made and salvaged from shipwrecks. They are also innovative and have developed their own forms of technology, such as the anti-sonar device. Due to their rarity, this technology is greatly prized and sought after amongst humans.

Merfolk have domain over sea creatures and can command large creatures such as the dire-ray, which they often ride into battle. Merfolk are vicious in battle and wear their own armour, usually brandishing spheres.

If there’s anything you’d like me to cover in the next Worldbuilding Wednesday, let me know in the comments!