Zodiac
Appearance
mer
- pale grey skin/scales, slightly iridescent
- bright aqua blue eyes
- sharp teeth and a small, slitted nose
- gills along ribcage
- webbed hands
- long, muscular fish tail
- flexible dorsal and arm fins, smaller stabilising fins along tail
- darker mottled grey-blue back and lighter undersides to blend in as an ocean predator
- scarred from dominance battles
humanoid
- tall and lanky
- white-blonde, messy hair that never really looks dry
- pale
- nearly gaunt features and a strong jaw
- faint, iridescent scales reflect light on his cheekbones, shoulders, and back
- retains gills along ribs, but they can be easily mistaken as scars
- lips are pale and slightly blue
Skills and Abilities
- sharp, consistently-regrowing teeth, immense bite force
- powerful swimmer
- breathes water via gills
- paralysing, alluring singing voice
- resistance to extreme heat
- strong grip and muscular strength
- very fast metabolism
- lacks stamina
- shifts into humanoid form when removed from water
- can maintain distance from water for long periods of time, if kept hydrated
- can vent boiling, pressurised steam through mouth or gills to regulate temperature or stun prey
- susceptible to alcohol poisoning / water-borne toxins
- illiterate, has no experience with written languages
- carnivorous, opportunistic scavenger
- speaks Kivren as native tongue, has learnt common/trade through years of exposure to humans
Personality
- insatiable and dislikes going against his instincts
- huge ego
- believes humans and other taller humanoids are 'stuck’ Kivren
- heralds the safety of his pod above his own wellbeing
- incessantly curious about other species cultures
- obsessed with the ocean as an all-powerful, cleansing force of nature
- respects physical strength
- aggressive and thrives in conflict, unnecessarily bloodthirsty even without significant provocation
- has learnt to act according to human social standards
tbd.
Biography & Lore
- born in the deep sea alongside a brother (bishop)
- raised in the channels of volcanic springs
- split into a bachelor pod with brother once old enough to fend for himself
- roamed along coasts, luring unwary fishermen and sailors to their deaths as main source of prey
- as people grew more wary of their usual haunts, food grew scarce and fights between the pod became more frequent
- they began to steal food from nets, and in the process of raiding, zodiac became tangled and was washed onto the beach
- forced ashore, zodiac took on his humanoid form and found he couldn't shift back due to his injuries
- humans mistook him for one of their own and allowed him to live in their village until he recovered enough. lost in a culture and language he didn't understand, zodiac fled at the earliest possibility
- reunited with his brother and pod, zodiac was fascinated with the creatures he'd previously thought as food
- coaxing bishop with him, they returned to the surface as a pair - their intentions were to learn as much as they could
- by intergrating rather than preying on the small human village they found they could aquire a lot more food. slowly, the pair began to pick up the common tongue.
- years later, zodiac's curiosity wasn't satisfied and he turned his sights inland, wanting to discover what else the world had to offer beyond the sea
References
- Image Credit: "Merman" by perditionxroad
- devil & deep blue