Nyaha's Various Ideas and Contemplations

It was more that he wanted a reason to get out of work, and a new way to relax. I originally wanted the creator to be the adult version of my character Molly, who might be a duty-shirking magiocrat, but she's in the future. :33 Thanks for the feedback, though!

Well, I considered some info on the ingredients - perhaps seeds from the idea just above this one, a devil's mari. I might look on the wiki to see if anything else might be suitable, and if you or anyone else has an idea, please don't hesitate to suggest it.

In case anyone's interested, I made a large update to the Shakala. You can find their bio by going to the index on the first page of the thread.

I like your updated bio of the Shalaka. I think I like the forest tribe and the tribe that lives on that island the most. The mountain Shalaka's could make for some interesting bandit-like encounters. >w> I also like their hair defenses. It's a pretty unique sort of weapon. All in all, a good species.

Sand Mermaids

Sand Mermaids are as the name implies: Mermaids adapted to living in the Akaptor desert. As such, they have the ability to swim through sand almost as if it were water. They achieve this through a number of traits that were developed over hundreds of generations, not the least of which is an innate affinity for earth-element magic every mermaid is born with. Even when untrained, this innate magic power allows any sand mermaid to move the sand from in front of them to around them as they move, creating a flow of sand around their bodies that propels them forward, much like how regular swimming works.

Generally, sand mermaids have tan skin and dark hair, and even the biggest ones only reach up to about 110 feet in length, head to tail fin. A physical trait every sand mermaid should have in common is their fold-able fins, located in pairs on the sides of the head (taking the place of ears) and on the forearms. The ones on each mermaid's head act as their ears, however, they are extremely sensitive to vibration when open, making their hearing better than even most nekos'. When swimming beneath the sand's surface, they open their fin-ears fully, which actually allows them to feel the subtlest of vibrations around them through the sand. This makes up for the fact that they can't see with their eyes under the surface (on a related note, they use their earth magic to keep the sand from penetrating their eyelids). When above the  surface, they usually fold them up to reduce their sensitivity, protecting them from being harmed simply from being spoken to, or by the sound of the wind. However, these fins can also be used to sense moisture from great distances when opened above the sand's surface, which is a great boon in the dry and hot desert, but this makes a sand mermaid extremely vulnerable. As a result, sand mermaids searching for water will seem to flash or flap their ear-fins open and shut quickly any number of times, slowly getting readings on which direction to go. The fins on their arms also fold, though in folded state, they hardly appear to exist, as the outer spine folds over them and allows them to blend in with the arms. These fins serve a much simpler function, which is to push against the sand moving around the mermaid for more mobility.

Sand Mermaids can use their 'sonar' ability as a way to locate themselves in the vastness of the desert. They do this by taking a survey of the 'bottom' of the sand, where it becomes solid bedrock, which is much more lasting and defined than the sand above. Most mermaids are taught where certain 'landmarks' are in the bedrock when they are young; all of this together prevents them from getting lost in the desert. However, in order to do this, a mermaid must swim down deeper in the sand, as each individual's sonar range is only about 1.5 times that of the length of their body. Fortunately, this is not a major problem in any respect, as sand mermaids, in place of having gills and an underwater respiratory system, have extra large lungs, allowing them to hold their breath below the sand for great periods of time (approximately 5 hours for healthy adults). Interestingly enough, sand mermaids are immune to the temporal effects of Akaptor's sand (the reason for this is explained in the last paragraph). The main weakness most sand mermaids have physically is their sensitive hearing; even with their ear-fins foldedf, harsh sounds can still cause considerable harm to a sand mermaid.

As a species, the sand mermaids have no definite way of living. Some choose to prowl the desert alone, doing whatever they well please, while others choose to form small groups of three to five, at least to hunt, but sometimes also to form small communities or families together. In terms of personality, sand mermaids are often quite lax people, hard to rile up or excite. This calmness generally makes them not only decent spellcasters - in terms of using their innate abilities - but also good decision-makers as well. In terms of their diet, sand mermaids are, as their size would imply, predatory, hunting anything from colonies of insects living in the sands, to humans, and, in groups, they sometimes hunt sand whales (on a related note, calling a sand mermaid a 'sand whale' is taken as a major insult, and is a good way to get on one's bad side). Sand mermaids have been rumored to gather and even live within the Buried Palace in Akaptor, entering through doors and windows of the structure far below the sand's surface, and it is rumored further that these mermaids know of many other submerged ruins unable to be perceived, let alone accessed, by most other races!

The concept of how sand mermaids came to be is considered an interesting one by researchers of magic, history, and survivalists alike. According to their history, a small group of river mermaids, the biggest said to have been no longer than fourteen feet head to tail, were  transported via one of Felarya's famous dimensional anomalies, and wound up in a somewhat large oasis located in Akaptor Desert at some point in recent times. In their efforts to survive, they practiced moving around on and through the sand, as they knew what small supply of food that was in and that came by the oasis time to time wouldn't last. Eventually, one of them figured out how to move the sand using magic and taught the rest. However, upon trying to travel from their oasis and push their abilities, they all fell victim to the temporal effects of Akaptor's sands, and wound up stranded far in the past, in a shallow sea that covered the area at that time period. With great determination, these river mermaids braved the past world using their adapted abilities, putting in motion the next generation in the process. Their descendants continued the evolutionary process over centuries, developing extra fins and sensory organs to better suit the desert at it became drier and harsher, even going so far as to trade their gills for greater lung capacity. Their reproduction habits also changed, reducing the number of eggs sand mermaids lay to no more than one per insemination, in order to both prevent overpopulation, and to reduce the stress of feeding for a family in the food-scarce areas of the desert. Typically, a pair of sand mermaids will care for their egg, both before and after it hatches, until the parents feel that their offspring will be able to survive on his or her own. Due to the process of surviving the travel to the past, sand mermaids today are immune to the temporal effects of the sand, allowing them to move freely throughout any part of the desert.

that's a great idea ^^
Well thought off and nicely explained.
the theme of swimming through sand is always a powerful one I think, that make imagination runs. I really like a lot the part where they map the land through the underground relief. Clever trait here
I would imagine they would have something like prominent eyelids, in order to seal off completely their eyes when they "dive" ?

Wondefully written, and an interesting idea! Iv never been overly fond of the whole desert equals ocean theme. But you've given the sand mermaid some really well thought out traits that make them pretty beleivable! I really like the flapping of.the ears to sense water idea and their use of earth magic to facilitate "swimming" through the sand. Their density scanning sonar ability is a pretty neat one as well. I wonder if in their mapping of the desert floor if they have ever found any buried ancient ruins .

I've made several additions the the Sand Mermaids. If it's tl;dr to you, I'll sum up the changes:

-Mentioning of the Buried Palace: sand mermaids frequent the location, and likely know of many other buried ruins,

-Sand mermaid reproductive rite: similar to sea turtles, sand mermaids lay their eggs deep beneath the sand's surface. Only the few newborns able to learn how to use their innate abilities quickly and make it to the surface before they suffocate are raised into adulthood,

-Sand mermaids' weakness to harsh noises and sound-based weaponry,

-Sand mermaids' immunity to the temporal effects of the desert and,

-Changes made to their history to explain the previous point: the river mermaids who originated as the first mermaids in the desert were transported to the past by the sand, survived, and gave rise to the sand mermaids of today through eons of evolution, surviving the extinction of the 'beasts of the past'.

Sand Mermads have been updated as per a criticism from EvilGenius. The only point changed was their reproduction habits - rather than laying many eggs beneath the sand and creating a struggle-for-survival effect from birth, they will instead only lay a single egg at a time and care for it, both before and after it hatches, until they feel that their offspring will be able to survive on his or her own.

I'm going to overlook the actual science of evolution, so that I can respond to the other parts of your idea.

Love the use of sonar for pathfinding and hunting. It's a popular ability of subterranean sand-dwellers in fiction, such as the Sandworms of the Dune series. When searching for food, is their sonar used to find the general location of prey, with their eyes being used to pinpoint a meal once they surface, or can they find food 'blind'?

It makes sense for them to reproduce in limited numbers not only for the sake of having fewer mouths to feed and fewer mouths to drain the already scarce resources of the desert as you mentioned, but also because fewer eggs means a smaller nutritional and energy drain on the mother.

Their knowledge of buried ruins makes them ripe for use as information peddlers in stories, leading adventurers to possible treasure (or, more likely, into the mouth of a cunning sand mermaid who could convince a person to bring a tasty group of people into the desert, as opposed to the single snack less intelligent predators might get).

I do wonder if it's necessary for them to have a second pair of lungs as opposed to, say, a gill structure that allows them to either keep sand out of their lungs or simply filters it out, allowing them to breathe under the sand. I'm not sure if such an ability would be more or less believable. Whales after all do need to surface to breathe, and mermaids are probably more like egg-laying mammals than fish.

Where do they sleep? You don't have to add this to your entry (nor of course do you need to respond to any of my ramblings) but since they have to breathe regular air (for now), do they sleep fully exposed to the elements, or with just their head, or even just their mouths and noses above the surface? I assume that, like sandy deserts on Earth, it gets to below-freezing temperatures at night, so minimizing exposure is a good idea.
Maybe they're nocturnal, or sleep for multiple short periods throughout the day? By being nocturnal, they could more easily catch prey, since most animals prefer to move after dark and avoid expending lots of energy and water during the hottest parts of the day. It would be easier to see and catch moving prey with sonar as opposed to stationary creatures, which would make less sound for obvious reasons.

Why do they have tan skin and dark hair? Since they're often below the surface, these traits are less likely to be selected for their properties in reducing sun damage, as you would see in people living in high-sunlight environments. Do they spend enough time above the surface that evolution has selected for these traits? (I know, I said I was going to overlook realistic evolution, but I like getting into the science of things.)

Overall a solid, well-described idea that seems like it would fit well in the Akaptor Desert. My complaints or suggestions are small things, not trying to address any glaring flaws.

To answer you in order, because I always try to answer those who comment on my work...

They (or most) do have the ability to find food using sonar alone, especially food that is fully submerged in the sand with them, like other sand-burrowing species of animal, for example. They don't necessarily need to see their prey with their eyes to locate them, although they may need to use their eyes to get a good idea of what or who they're dealing with.

Thank EG for that one. He helped me put that part together.

Again, EG beat you to that. XD I'm currently doing an RP with him where my first sand mermaid OC led his OC to the Buried Palace in exchange for food and water.

I had imagined them closer to that, too. Though your alternative does interest me. I plan on thinking about the pros and cons of sand-filtering gills...The main issue is the pseudo-realism of having regular gills meant to filter out water evolve into something that can filter out solid mass like sand. I'm not sure about the plausibility of that.

I hadn't thought of that, actually. If I had to choose from the suggestions you've given, I'd say most of them take short-ish rests throughout the day and nighttime, to reduce the amount of time their bodies need to go without food. Although to be honest, I think my logic is flawed, so I might change my mind. As for how they sleep, just having their heads, or noses above the sand would make the most sense, but that presents the issue of what if their air intake gets covered by a sand dune while they sleep? Or would that be a non-issue? Of course, here would be a great benefit of having sand-filtering gills - they'd be able to sleep deep under the sand as long as they want, using the tightly-packed sand to keep themselves warm through the night and conserve energy for the daytime. The point is, I just don't know. XD

In my mind, the reason for their general colourization was always to help them be less noticeable in the sand, more than anything. This would work for them especially well while they sleep, if any part of them had to be above the sand's surface. And if they need to spy on their prey from a distance with their eyes, their colourization would allow them to stay hidden more easily. And if that's not reason enough, well, being the desert would mean they would be exposed to sunlight on a frequent enough basis for their skin to be permanently tanned, I think. And I felt dark hair went better with tan skin than light hair did.

Just gonna leave this here. Breathing Beneath the Sand Not sure how well it would work on something so large, but it happens.

I love the idea of mermaids that live in the sand. Of course, I love the idea of mermaids that live in quicksand more.

Not gonna lie, I'm a big fan of the sand mermaids too. It reminds me of the zerg from Starcraft, who burrow through sand and dirt with billions of tiny nerve muscles on their carapace.

I think it was a nice idea before and it's even better with the new additions. I really like their history and how they made the buried palace their home. It just make sense and solidify a lot their species as a whole ^^

I'd be ok to add them if you agree with the disclaimer I think the base idea is good in itself and well explained, but more importantly, it just fits well in that environment. Good job ^^

I think sand mermaids are a really unique idea, actually! Good idea