Clans of the Water People

Introduction

As I have already stated, both Land and Water People are descended from three couples in ancient mythology: Melasine and Beckrith, Acarinth and Padrian, Leirdrela and Salasime. Most of the world’s Lander population is so far removed from those origins that they have no hint of the fabulous traits left in them. But because Melasine, Acarinth, and Leirdrela still exist, still occasionally fall in love with men, and still bear children, we Water People are only a few generations removed from their original ancestry, and our talents are strong. 

A more scientific explanation? Historically, some clans of Water People have shunned Landers and intermarried only with other Water People, thus re-enforcing certain special traits. Some of our kind is even so strong in bloodline that very, very amazing talents are reported. Most such reports are suspect and very hard to believe, however. 

The terms I’ve listed below to categorize our clans are, at best, fluid and capricious, often leading to prejudices and foolish judgments among Water People, who can be quite smug. As I said earlier, we Bonavendiers are Singers. One of the more highly evolved clans.

But enough discussion or I shall digress into vanities. Here, in simple terms, are our clans and their most basic descriptions, in descending order.

Clan Designations

The Old Ones

Melasine, Acarinth, and Leirdrela. Our real or imagined half-human, half-aquatic progenitors, also known as The Tamerians, who, according to legend, mated with three Landers after the ruin of Ta-Mera. They have continued to mate with men in all the centuries since.  They are assumed to be immortal and extremely reclusive, yet also extremely seductive. No absolute proof of their existence has ever been produced.

Swimmers

Swimmers are either first-generation halflings (the immediate descendents of a Tamerian mermaid and a Lander), or simply Water People of extraordinary and rare abilities. Claims of encounters and matings between Swimmers and other Mers abound, but may simply be a fanciful way to cover up reckless romances or to further gild the reputations of children with unusual abilities. Example: A pregnant woman with no husband may insist she was seduced by a Swimmer—who, of course, left the scene immediately afterward.  Swimmers are variously described as predatory, irresistible, incorrigible loners, and terrifyingly possessive shapeshifters. They cannot or will not live among either Landers or Mers. 

Swimmers are said to be acutely psychic (much more than other Mers) and possess extraordinary powers in the use of sonar and sonic vibration, which can be used as a weapon. Their lifespans are impossible to calculate, but according to anecdote and speculation they may live for hundreds of years. 

Healers

Healers are a small population among us. Some are born with lightly webbed hands as well as feet and other unusual physical traits, which makes them avoid Lander society, but nonetheless they tend to be moderate souls, and, as their caste name suggests, they exhibit a marked talent for healing others. Some scientists among the Mers believe their healing abilities are related to our prevalent talent for sonar and sonic vibration, which has been shown to have a marked effect on cellular regeneration. 

 One might say that if Swimmers represent the dark side of Mer-dom, then Healers are the light. 

Singers

Singers represent the largest caste of Mers and are by far the most successful at coexisting in the Lander world. Singers are categorized by webbed feet, remarkable swimming abilities, and an average lifespan of ninety to one-hundred-ten years, among other traits. Our prevailing talent is indicated by our clan name: we are psychic “singers,” with the ability to lure, enthrall, and communicate in wordless vibratros of emotion. Virtually all of us also have extraordinary singing voices in the more conventional sense of “singing.” In fact, a notable percentage of the world’s popular singers and operatic stars are Mers. 

Good manners and common sense prevent me, unlike Juna Lee Poinfax, from naming celebrity names. 

Floaters

Many of you, dear readers, are Floaters, though you don’t know it and probably think of yourself as just a Lander. Your Mer ancestry is hidden at least a few generations past, and your feet, I’m sorry to say, are indeed the feet of a plain Lander. But you have a marked love for the waters of the world, whether fresh or salt, and you can often be found on some sunny coast or shady lakeside. You may be a sea captain or an oceanographer, or simply a land-bound devotee of the water. Regardless, you revel in fluid whimsy and daydreams, you are drawn to the great marine mammals and the colorful fish, and you are quite elegant in style, in purpose, and in thought. You sense something different about yourself, something that sets you apart from the Landers--an urge, perhaps, to take a long ocean voyage and settle in some exotic cove, or to swim beneath the surface of life’s illusions and breathe against all odds. 

I firmly believe that most of the great sailors and ocean adventurers of the world are, at the very least, Floaters. 

Landers

Land people. They make up the vast bulk of the earth’s population, good and decent and special in their own way, yet so far removed from their glorious beginnings in the seas that they fear the water and try to conquer it. They are to be treated kindly and welcomed into our midst and, dare I insist, respected for their love of the earth, no matter how stubborn they are in their dominance. I intend to reform them. 

There is no more to say about them than that.

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