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(Ignore the terrible drawing skills, I was in class)
Note the lower bulge does not have a mer colony. This has islands and a reef which attracts humans and other predators. However a very vicious siren clan has managed to settle there.
Colonies
- The kingdom has around 400 mer while most colonies have 50-150.
- The second largest colony is the North Western Colony. This is where Anatol was heading when the storm struck.
- Mer have a loose societal structure within the colonies. Mer tend to be very social so hunting is done in groups and catches are shared. However the occasional single mer can be found hunting or scavenging only for themselves and their family. Children are raised by parents but neighbors (members of the colony in general) often will help out when they're able to.
- All colonies follow the kings rule but they send representatives to quarterly meetings to be sure their needs and concerns are heard.
- There are small gatherings of less than 20 mer scattered around. These small groups are called shoals. They occasionally settle in these small settlements however the groups tend to be traveling shoals for a short time. Think like a hiking trip, it's just fun.
Society
- Mer do not have a currency. Within the colonies it is generally sharing or trading as people are willing. Between colonies it is mostly trade however this may be through services or goods.
- Mer are a "childish" society. They focus on fun more than hard work. They are here for a fun time, not a long time.
- The king generally is there for communication with outside kingdoms and siren clans. They also keep an eye on major storms and track humans/trade routes. Finally they hold courts when mer break basic societal rules.
Allies and Enemies
- Atlantic mer communicate often with the East Atlantic sirens. In exchange for kindness and occasional food/shelter needs, the East Atlantic Sirens often gift mer colonies or the king treasures they gather from the human ships.
- Kingdoms of connecting oceans tend to avoid getting too close to boundaries. One can cross boundaries but if food is scarce there may be aggression if outsiders hunt on those lands.
- Mer avoid humans at all costs. They know they are not at equal strength due to numbers and lack of advanced weaponry. Because of the fear of humans they ignore or even support the sirens attacking ships.
General Health and Survival
- Mer grow and mature at the same general rate as humans
- Mer grow plant based foods when possible but mostly they scavenge and hunt since fish cannot be easily farmed in the ocean.
- Hunting can be a quick single person trip but, more often, is done in groups and the catch is split between all parties equally.
-Healthcare is about as advanced as humans. They have mostly plant based medicines. Magic is rare but a few with magic work in this field. Doctors/healers are gifted gratitudes as a sort of wage from the king to thank them for their challenging work.
Magic
- Magic is not common in the mer bloodline
- most of the original kings had magic or intentionally married magic into the family so the majority of royal mer have magic of some type. Tasks such as sea singer is given to magic royal children.
- mer with magic outside of the royal family are given gratitudes for using their magic to benefit the kingdom but it is not required.
Children
- mer mixed bloods are often the species of their mother depending on magic within both sides of the family. However mer are not very compatible with other species. The majority of mixed blood mer will not make it to full term. If they are born complications often arise. The only mixed bloods that have high(ish) success rates are mer mixed with high magic species or mer and sirens.
Religion
- Mer have gotten holy books from human wreckages though the general idea of the afterlife is reincarnation.
- They believe they will be reborn as fish or other sea creatures to feed the mer for the next many lives. Only once their stories are forgotten and their name is out of the past will they be reborn as a mer.
- because of this many mer do not seek to leave a mark on the world nor do they desire tp be the king. Those who are remembered will be fish for longer. It is better to live a simple, happy life.
Government related Jobs
- as mentioned before there are gratitudes paid by the king for those who work for the palace in harder jobs. They are as follows:
mage / sea singer
doctor / healer
teacher
guard / militarily (when needed)
War
- Most mer are moderate fighters as they hunt and have to drive away predators from the colonies.
- Due to somewhat weak weapons (recall they cannot easily gather mined materials like humans can) they tend to avoid violent conflict.
- tensions between kingdoms is low as long as there are not food shortages. These shortages are more of a recent issue as humans start to overfish certain areas and drive mer deeper into the ocean.
Sirens
- There are 2 siren clans in the atlantic ocean. The East Atlatic Sirens and the Western Reef Sirens.
- Eastern Atlantic Sirens are ruled by Mirvari (later her daughter reeva). They often bump into hunting mer. Because of this the Atlantic mer have formally met with the sirens and agreed to be kind to one another. Still the sirens try to avoid the colonies.
- the western reef clan lives in an inlet near a border reef. It is a major trading route so they rarely leave the inlet as it has plenty of humans. There is also food in the border reef there. They have no official relations with the Atlantic mer.
- sirens have more clans in the Indian ocean due to trade routes though their way of life keeps their numbers limited.
Marriage and courting - marriage to mer holds more value than humans yet there is less pressure for it to occur.
- if you are to marry you must be deeply in love and entirely devoted to your partner.
- dating is similar to humans consisting of picnics, meals, trips and fun activities together.
- marriage consists if a blessing and gift from the king (which is always granted). The pair will then have a feast and part with friends and family. An eel is released to represent the doubts and evil which is then hunted by the couple and killed. Often an intimate night for the couple is after the hunt.
celebrations - the mer do not have many celebrations officially. They host feasts and parties whenever they desired to. Aside from weddings and funerals there is nothing official.
citizenship - you are a citizen to whichever country and colony you are born to. You can move between colonies as you desire but generally you will have to build a house yourself.
- to gain citizenship to another county you must request it of their king. Generally it is granted are mer are a peaceful race.
