These beings have the upper body, arms, and head of a fair-featured human. Instead of legs, however, they have the scaled tail of a great fish.
The merfolk are playful, marine-dwelling people. Although wary of surface dwellers, they are not usually hostile: They prefer sunning themselves on rocks to engaging in warfare. Both male and female merfolk decorate themselves with shells, coral, and other underwater adornments. Those who encounter merfolk are often the victims of pranks and mischief. The sport of merfolk can be cruel, although they are not actually evil. Should surface dwellers do them harm, however, these creatures can be formidable enemies. A merfolk is about 8 feet long from the top of the head to the end of the tail, and weighs about 400 pounds.
Merfolk live in semipermanent communities located near choice fishing and hunting areas. They often keep company with porpoises. Surface dwellers who come face to face with merfolk commonly encounter a scouting or hunting patrol, or the mermaids that sun bathe in Mermaid Lagoon.
Something most people don't know is that these beautiful creatures can actually take a human form. However, they don't care to do so. They enjoy their underwater life and only venture to land when it's absolutely necessary. But when they are on land, they need to stay hydrated, keep their skin slightly damp, or they will become sick and eventually die.
MERMAID MAGIC
Down current from Pirate Cove, in the little nook that is Mermaid Lagoon, the mermaids like to play and sun themselves. Mermaids can manipulate water in astonishing ways. They can mold it like clay, make it freeze or boil, or create powerful waves at the shore line with just a glance. These mermaids love to sun themselves and explore the water to see if they can find anything new. They also have a knack for tricking pirates to their doom. Because of this they took on the nicknames of Sirens as they lure men to their doom with their terribly enchanting voices and songs. Only mermaids can create air bubbles so that those they choose can breathe underwater. Some use this ability to capture fairies and taunt them by playing water ball with them (water ball is a game similar to volleyball with a fairy in the air bubble ball to keep it lit. Dark and mysterious creatures, these mermaids will drop just about anything to taunt a human or lure them to their drowning doom.
Another aspect of mermaid magic is their scales. If they think about a specific effect while plucking a scale, that scale will be able to produce that effect no matter who uses it. From air bubbles to controlling the waves. Mermaids can even channel electricity through their tails and shoot lightning bolts if they wish. It all really depends on what they want to do and what kind of mood they are in. From controlling the weather to controlling the sea. Calling sea creatures to calling storms. Mermaids are fascinatingly dark creatures.
All mermaids can take human form if they wish it. Simply drying off their fins will give them human legs. It is a fool proof way to guard against humans stealing their scales. There are even some mermaids, like the royal family, that can take human form at will, if they're wet or not. It all depends on the mermaid really.
Certain creatures and coral produce their own magical effects as well. For example, the secretions of the sea cucumber, if applied to a wound, can heal when wrapped with seaweed. And so on and so forth. A conch shell with a mermaid scale pressed inside can summon even the darkest of storms with one good blow.