Mermaids

Mermaids are legendary, aquatic beings of the sea. They are enchanting and lovely creatures with a dark humour and a wicked streak.

Description
Mermaids are creatures of the sea but they can adapt and live in freshwater like rivers and lakes but the sea seems to be their prefered habitat. Like dolphin pods, mermaids travel in groups which can be bigger than twenty mermaids. Mermaids seem to have their own language which is made up of clicks.

Behavior
Miss Simone describes mermaids as silly, childish and irresponsible. They are mischievous, unreliable and have no regards or cares for humans or other creatures. Though not evil, they love causing havoc for sailors and do not care if they sink their ships and drown the passengers. They have no qualms about drowning people and they find wrecking ships hilarious. Just as men cannot resist the mermaids' song, mermaids themselves cannot seem to resist luring seafaring vessels onto the rocks.

Mermaids cannot be controlled. While a mermaid shapeshifter like Miss Simone can convince them to help for short periods of time but eventually, they will grow tired of their task and start causing trouble. Mermaids also possess a temper. Miss Simone losses herself to her mermaid instincts when she is angered, implying a mermaid's rage is powerful.

Physical Description
Mermaids have the heads and torsos of humanoid women draped in thin, glittering fabric that resembles sparkling seaweed. Instead of legs, mermaids have the tails of fish. Without their glamour, mermaids look as ordinary as humans. Their glamour grants them vivid beauty beyond compare, with strangely luminescent skin and long, silken hair in vibrant shades of red, brown or blonde. A mermaid's appearance varies greatly but they all possess the same otherworldly beauty.

A mermaid's tail is is long, smooth and elegant and covered in shimmering fish scales that begin at their stomachs and end at the tips of their gigantic fins. Their hands are webbed like a seal's flippers or a duck's feet. A peculiar mermaid quality is that when they surface, the water flows off their long locks, leaving them nice and dry. When angered, their skin and scales glow with an unearthly light and their hair moves as if caught by a gust of wind or ocean current.

Powers and Abilities

 * Enhanced lung capacity: Like marine mammals, mermaids can hold their breath and stay submerged for long periods of time. A mermaid's lungs may be more like a dolphin's, meaning they use more than 20/30 percent of their lungs and they are more flexible to hold more air. It is unknown how long they can stay underwater and if it is shorter, longer or just as long as the time period that most cetaceans can remain submerged.
 * Swimming: Their strong tails and gigantic flukes can propel them swiftly through the ocean's currents with great speed and effortless grace.


 * The conch's call: A mermaid's sense of hearing is attuned to the sound of a conch shell. Mermaids can hear its call over vast distances, even across the boundaries between worlds.
 * Glamour: The water folk possess a glamour which grants them extraordinary beauty. This magic cannot be broken by others nor even the mermaid herself. The spell can only be broken temporarily by the rebirth of a phoenix. Their very presence seems to chase the shadows away and their aura has been described as a light or energy flowing out of the mermaid.
 * Enchantment: The mermaid's glamour emits an aura which makes them alluring to males without even trying. Men can't help but be drawn to mermaids. A glance from a water maiden can make even the gruffest sailor's heart flutter faster than a hummingbird's wings. When a mermaid appears, all eyes turn towards her. Like the miengu, a large amount of magic like the Chamber of Ghosts will increase the power of a mermaid's enchantment to the point where other creatures have an almost instinctive desire to protect her.
 * Eternal/extended youth or beauty: Though not stated, it is hinted that mermaids do not grow old like humans but remain young until the day they die. An adult Hal wondered if Miss Simone ever aged and his son, Travis thought she looked surprisingly beautiful for a woman in her fifties.
 * Siren song: A mermaid's voice possesses powerful magic. Like the mythical sirens, a mermaids' melody clouds the minds of listeners and draws them towards the mermaid, no matter what obstacles lie between them. The haunting serenade distracts men from their work and lulls them into a submissive state. When two or more mermaids sing together, their notes combine, enhancing their magic, increasing its power. Mermaid magic grants their music greater supremacy and all other sounds seem to fade, making the singing the prevailing sound. Yet the spell can be disrupted if their is enough sound and loud noise to keep people from hearing the mermaids. Goblins and females are immune to a mermaid's song.
 * Mermaid anger: When mermaids are angered, their rage affects the world around them. The ground seems to tremble as if an earthquake is approaching, fire and flames flicker as if disturbed by a draft and an ice cold wind blows fiercely around them. Nearby creatures feel a sense of unease in their stomachs. In this state, mermaids seem to emit powerful vibrations, sometimes strong enough to almost knock two twelve-year boys off their feet.
 * Sonic scream: When mermaids are angered, they can emit powerful sound waves capable of shattering glass and causing intense pain to the eardrums of others. The power of their voices suggests that they can use their screams to stun their would-be-foes in a similar fashion to humpbacks. When a mermaid tries, she can create sound waves strong enough to sink small boats and summon tidal waves.

Known Mermaids

 * Miss Simone(shapeshifter)
 * Brodon mermaid pod

Appearances
Note: This list only displays books when a mermaid appears. This means either real mermaids or when a shapeshifter transforms into full mermaid form.
 * Island of Fog(Simone)
 * Labyrinth of Fire(mentioned)
 * Mountain of Whispers(mentioned)
 * Lake of Spirits(Simone)
 * Roads of Madness(mentioned)
 * Chamber of Ghosts(mentioned)
 * Prison of Despair(mentioned)
 * Castle of Spells

Island of Fog Legacies

 * Unicorn Hunters(mentioned)
 * Sinister Roots(mentioned)

Other Book Series

 * Quincy's Curse

Origin
Mermaids were created by the Goddess, along with other mythical creatures in order to teach mankind humility and respect so their would be no war in this new world. However, relationships between humans and mermaids were very bad as these aquatic maidens loved to sink their ships and lure mariners to their doom. They became the bane of sailors and fishermen alike and kept humans from destroying the oceans of New Earth. They sometimes travelled to Old Earth through portals, where they inspired many myths.

Prison of Despair
Darcy asks Miss Simone if they can ask the mermaids to search the seas for the scrags and their hostages. Simone refuses as the mermaids would gladly sink any ship they came across.

Castle of Spells
Miss Simone is washed away by a scrag triton's water storm. To stop the dangerous shapeshifter, she reluctantly call ed for assistance from a pod of mermaids near Brodon. The mischievous sirens stop the trident and help rescue Hal and another scrag shapeshifter named Lola from a simurgh. Four of the mermaids use their hypnotic voices to mesmerize the beast while the rest of the pod help Hal and Miss Simone find the scrag dragon shapeshifter. The mermaids bring them to the dragon's hiding place, a shipwreck they had caused years ago. The mermaids eagerly watch the two dragon shapeshifters confront each other.

Later, on the beach after the death of Mayor Priggle, the mermaid pod returns and enchants all the males on the beach. Hal, with help from Abigail, uses this oppurtunity to get the simurgh to return to his human form. When the battle begins, the mermaids swim away with their triton prisoner.

After Queen Bee's defeat, her scrags are captured. While the rest are brought to prison, Abigail notices the absence of the triton shapeshifter. Miss Simone assures her that the triton's time with the mermaids will have him begging for prison.

Trivia and Notes

 * They have a natural salt water scent like the sea.