Merpeople

The people of the ocean are comprised of three distinct main species.   The Leviathans   The Leviathans are colossal, solitary ocean dwellers, reaching lengths of 100 meters and weighing around 11,340 tons. These herbivorous giants have a streamlined, bilaterally symmetrical body with two powerful swimming limbs on each side and a gripping tail used for partial manipulation. Their skin is thick with blubber, providing both physical protection and temperature tolerance. Leviathans possess internal skeletons and do not breathe, instead using gills to extract oxygen from the water. They are warm-blooded creatures with a molting growth pattern and hermaphroditic sexual arrangement. They lay 1-2 eggs per litter and exhibit moderate parental care after birth. These beings reach maturity at age 72 and can live up to 360 years, with aging effects beginning at 200. Their primary sense is vision, supported by acute hearing, touch, and taste/smell. They communicate through a unique combination of visual and taste-based signals. Though their intelligence is below human level, they are curious and clever. However, they are also, selfish, low in empathy, nervous and timid.         Aquarix Spectrals   The Aquarix Spectrals are a sentient race native to the ocean banks, with an evolutionary heritage as chasing carnivores. They exhibit a unique form of underwater locomotion reminiscent of winged flight, using broad flat protrusions, with a secondary ability to walk on the sea bottom. These creatures are about 1 meter in size, weighing between 6 to 17 kg, with a "wingspan" of up to 3 meters due to their wide limb arrangement.   Their body plan follows a radial symmetry with six sides, each side having six segments and each segment boasting one limb, resulting in a total of 36 limbs. Their tail is a branching striker that splits into six parts, capable of delivering crushing damage. Out of their 36 limbs, 24 are used for manipulation, with one set of six limbs having high manual dexterity, making them adept at tool use and delicate tasks.   Aquarix have no skeleton, which provides them with great flexibility and the ability to contract and expand their bodies. Their skin is covered in branching protein structures akin to thick feathers, providing temperature tolerance. They breathe air through lungs but can spend extended periods underwater thanks to oxygen storage within their expanding tissues.   These warm-blooded creatures have control over their metabolism, allowing them to regulate blood flow, digestion, and respiration. They can enter a death-like trance to survive four times longer than normal without food and water. They exhibit continuous growth and reproduce sexually through spawning gestation, with a moderate r-strategy, producing 120-420 offspring per litter, with some parental care after birth. Aquarix reach maturity at 9 years of age, the aging starts at 25 years, and accelerates at 35 and 45 years.   Their primary sense is telescopic vision, resulting from a complex and flexible eye arrangement. While their hearing is poor, they possess a human-level sense of touch and acute taste/smell, with discriminatory taste. Communication is primarily visual, supplemented by taste, involving a flurry of limb gestures and hypnotic bioluminescent patterns paired with the release of underwater pheromone clouds.   Aquarix have an IQ level broadly on par with humans. Their social arrangement is mating-only, with no pair bonding, and they are generally solitary. Their minds are characterized by chauvinistic racial intolerance, incuriosity, selfishness, low empathy, bloodlust, a preference for solitude, human-level imagination, fearlessness, and minor quirks such as seriousness and attentiveness.       Aquarix settlements are located in the ocean banks, with structures adapted to underwater living, and built into coral reefs or on the ocean floor. Their technology is designed for underwater use. Given their high manual dexterity, they have intricate machinery and advanced tools for building and crafting.   Given their moderate r-strategy, they form temporary family units for raising offspring but disband once the young are independent. Few of the yong survive to adulthood. The young Aquarix are taught tool use from an early age, with a focus on individual skills rather than communal knowledge.   Aquarix culture heavily features visual arts and patterns, given their primary mode of communication. Bioluminescent displays and intricate dances are common forms of expression. They might have a belief system centered around the ocean and its mysteries, with deities or spirits representing different aspects of marine life, but little is known about that outside of their dominions, and it is very difficult to research their society given the aquatic environment and their mistrust of other races.   Aquarix have learnt to communicate with Leviathans and are using them for logistics to travel long distances or carry heavy loads across the ocean with ease, for large-scale construction projects (such as creating underwater pathways or clearing obstacles that impede navigation), and deterrence and combat, leveraging their enormous strength. Leviathans can be trained to assist in gathering resources, such as moving heavy rocks or debris to uncover valuable minerals or using their strength to break through tough barriers.   Their society could be meritocratic, with individuals rising in status based on their skill. Given their chauvinistic racial intolerance and preference for solitude, their power structures are decentralized, with each Aquarix Spectral city-state acting as a sovereign entity within their own territory.   Conflicts might arise over resource-rich areas, with battles fought relying on numbers, swiftness, and technology. While generally solitary, they might form temporary alliances for mutual benefit.   Overall, the Aquarix Spectrals' civilization is a fascinating blend of individualism and intricate social rituals, with a strong emphasis on visual communication and personal skill.     The Shellbound   Shellbound, called so by the chauvinistic and intellectually superior Aquarix, are a race of sentient, water dwelling carnivores. They evolved to walk on the lakebed, with a large size of 15 meters and a weight of around 38 tons. Their bodies exhibit bilateral symmetry, divided into two segments with two locomotive limbs per side, totaling four limbs. They lack a tail, and their limbs are solely for locomotion.   Their bodies are protected by a tough external skeleton armor shell, which provides defense against predators and environmental hazards. They breathe air through lungs and can store oxygen, allowing them to remain underwater for extended periods. Despite being cold-blooded, their sheer size enables them to retain their body temperature for a long time.   Shellbound experience continuous growth throughout their lives. They reach maturity at 72 years of age, with aging starting at 200 years and accelerating at 280 and 360 years. Their reproductive strategy involves sexual reproduction with two sexes, live-bearing gestation, and a moderate r-strategy, producing 2-7 offspring per litter with some parental care after birth.   Their primary sense is vision, with normal vision and hearing, human-level touch, and acute taste. They also possess the ability to detect electric fields, which aids in hunting and navigation. Communication is primarily hearing-based, supplemented by the release of underwater pheromone clouds as a secondary channel.   The average IQ of Shellbound is slightly below that of humans and Aquarix Spectrals. They form permanent pair bonds, indicating a social structure that values long-term relationships.   In terms of mindset, Shellbound tend to be concentrated and good at lengthy mental tasks, and generally incurious. They are likely to act selfishly but are empathic towards others. They prefer to act alone, have low imagination, and find it difficult to come up with original thoughts.