Mer-people

I say “merpeople” not only because there are both males and females (and the males by now are surely tired of being included under the umbrella term ‘mermaid’), but also because there are different varieties who dwell in a variety of habitats.

We begin with the specimen most common to legend, the open sea, stereotypical mermaid. Also known as sirens they are quite beautiful by human standards. Knowing this over the centuries some have become rather vain creatures who delight in teasing and taunting ships to their doom. Other are shy, preferring to remain in the depths where they are usually able to avoid humans altogether.

One variation on the standard mermaid is the Selkie. Found mostly in northern waters, the Selkie resembles a seal, but may strip off its seal skin to reveal a human-like form. Dark and enchanting, but quite different from its mermaid cousin, the Selkieis fascinated by humans in its own way. The females of the species have been known to come ashore and have been captured in rare instances and kept as wives, mostly by Irish fishermen who find and keep their cast-off seal skins. In this way the Selkie is prevented from returning to her watery home and becomes bound to the finder of her skin.

"Don't look now, Marianna, but there's something rather large in the kelp field. I think it's supposed to be a whale."