Hehe, thanks! It seems like everyone loves the Masurhiente!

Yeah, I'm just not sure how much clothing they could wear without looking weird.

Yeah, clothing underwater doesn't necessarily work well...something skin-tight would be best, I think. That way it won't weigh them down and it won't interfere with their swimming.

Or you could have scales from the tail up to the upper chest. Though that is what everyone does I think.

I suppose their whole body could be scaly. That would take away the need for clothing...

*nods* Exactly.

That just may work! I'll give it some thought! Thanks, guys!

I'm currently working on the mer-folk - I'll be looking for a name for them soon - and will post more on them in a while. Don't go away!

*glues self to thread*

*****(some time passes)*****

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Hahahahaha!

Okay, now for some description.

The mer-folk are small, not much more than five feet long (tall) at the most, and are generally of a thin, almost delicate, build. Their small size enables them to hide among corals and such with greater ease.

Their eyes are slightly angled, and their pupils are slitted. Their sight is especially keen, as is their hearing, and sense of smell.

They have scales all over their bodies, even on their faces and ears (which, by the way, are pointed). They have pores underneath their scales which excrete a sort of slime, which smooths their hair and such for better streamlining, and if they are out of the water for too long, this slime will dry out, and they will die. The scales fade in color from silver (at the head) to a deep blue-green (at the tail), and their hair color ranges from silver, to greeny sand color, all the way to red.

They have a set of lungs, connected only to their nose, (so that they can close the air canal and continue to use their nose for it's main purpose) and a set of gills behind their ears. Most folks think they have no gills, because their hair conceals them.

Questions?

They sound pretty neat. Are they friendly toward land-dwellers, or are they the sort who drown intruders?

It really depends on the individual, but as a general rule, they are rather timid unless they know who you are. So, if a stranger happens clumsily along, they are more likely to hide than to hurt him.

Why do they die when the slime dries out?
I didn't understand the part about their lungs and their nose. Could you rephrase that?

Their skin protects them from certain rays from the sun. If it should dry up, they are at the mercy of the sun, and must return to the water quickly to prevent overexposure. As a result, they have to stay close to the water.

Sorry about that! Their lungs are connected only to their nose. While underwater, they can block off the air canal to their lungs, while still being able to smell. Does that make sense?

That makes sense now.

Good.

PLEEEESE MORE QUESTIONS??? *puppy dog eyes* I love questions!

What do they eat?

Do they live in big family village groups, or more on their own?

About how long do they live?

Do they have a ruler?

How do they sleep? (Fish seem to look kinda dead when they sleep.)

They are hunter/gatherers, and eat whatever they can trap, catch, or harvest. Their diet consists mostly of crab, fish, and different varieties of sea plants.


They live in families, with their uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. When you get married, you don't leave the family, basically.


Well, assuming they can keep out of the clutches of a giant octopus or shark, they can live up to and past the hundreds.


There is a king, yes. Oftentimes, if the king dies, the queen will continue to rule without remarrying.


They sleep inside caves or large corals, where they are safe from predators. Generally they will create cocoon-like beds out of seaweed and such to sleep in.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the questions! More?

How are their children taught? At school or home?

How do they navigate under water in the dark?

Since they live so long, when are they considered an adult?

They are taught within the family dwelling. Different family members will teach different skills.


Their eyesight is especially suited for navigating underwater and in the dark, but they tend to live in the shallower water, where it is safer.


When they are able to completely care for themselves, and a small child. Older children will often take care of their younger siblings as part of getting ready for adulthood. If no smaller siblings are available, they will 'borrow' someone else's kid for a while.

Oh, something else I forgot to mention.

The mer-people have webbing between their fingers. I kind of think that they will have only three fingers on each hand. What do you think?

Who wants to help me name them?

I did not expect no one to offer to help me name them. I thought ya'll liked naming things...

I can't think of anything, sorry.

*Cups hands around her mouth* Anybody else?

I can name characters. Races and nations are a little harder.

You could consider using a translation site, typing in "water" or something similar, and seeing what that is in different languages. You might get a good idea from that.

Hmm, that's an idea. What site do you suggest? I don't know of any.

Links:

Google Translate

Bing Translator

Those are the only two I use with (startling) regularity

eru

Google Translate is what I use. I wouldn't trust it for communication, but it works pretty well for individual words where it doesn't actually matter if you have the exact right word.

Okay, thanks!

What do you think of Miapes as a name for my water people?

Sounds good to me.

How do you pronounce it?

You would say it MEE-uh-pes.

Or, maybe I should go with whatever it would be in Amhal... Which would be...Taelnad (tay-EL-nahd).

Sounds great to me!

Taelnad it is, then! What would the plural be...? Taelnar? Taelnas?

Either one.

I like Taelnas better. So it's decided!

How about a little treat? Here's a creature I have in Eshteka. I actually didn't create it myself, my sister did for me. We call it a draug.

A draug is an extremely ferocious creature which is generally bred in Canatia, and is the preferred mount of the noblemen, despite their dangerous nature. The draug is heavily built, and has huge fangs which protrude from the upper and lower jaws. Its hooves are of one piece, though they appear to be cloven, and have an enormous claw each, just above the ankle. Its tail begins as one piece, and branches into five active, poisonous snakes. Whether or not each snake has its own brain, I cannot say, though I know for certain that they act as one, and never attack each other. Despite its build, the draug is a swift runner, and can at times outrun an auris.

Questions, please?

What, no questions?

This is so sad, that nobody wants to ask me any questions at all.

I think I may have said before, I'm not very good with questions.


Hmm. Do the tail-snakes need to eat, or are they nourished by the rest of the draug?

That's a very interesting question, Leandra! You know, I think they would be able to survive on nourishment from the rest of the body, but would also eat whenever they could.

Please stick around, because one of these days I'll try and post a few more maps.

I'm working on a map of Canatia if anyone would like to see it when it's done. I had to edit my other maps in the process...

Sorry, peoples, I'll try and get up the map as soon as I can. I've been kind of busy, but it should appear here soon.

I apologize I'm taking so long! I've been a little busy to work on the map, but I will get it up! I may be awhile though.

I finished the map! But, unfortunately, I can't scan it onto the computer, because our old scanner gave out and I have yet to figure out the new one. So, the map will have to wait until my parents can show me how to use it. I'll put it up as soon as they show me.

Haha. Hopefully you won't run into anymore difficulties getting your map.

Hopefully. I'll try to scan it soon.

Okay, the promised map! (Finally )

Those are awesome maps, Milly!