Stop Leaving

First time with ice covered waters, it was a unique experience, but I like how it came out, and it's good to get digital art of my Krauyimer. Oceans like this are were these people originate from, though they have spread to almost every expanse of the sea, excluding the particularly warm waters.

They most often travel in groups called pods (same as cetaceans) of five to twenty others (fin and mer alike), depending on factors such as age, group composition, and typical travel behavior, but rarely some feel compelled to splinter off and leave. Some depart to join new pods for personal reasons, others have a wanderlust that compels them to travel with a new, small pod of like minded mers and/or lif (when applicable), and a few seek solitude from people as a whole.

Mer often weave their attire out of tough, grass-like plants that grow underwater or from kinds of kelp treated in chemical in open air for some time, similar to how land peoples treat leather, but lasts underwater far better and poorly for prolonged exposure to open air. A version of shagreen is also commonly used, but mostly in armor and weapon grips, though some use it for straps to ensure their longevity. Attire for fashion is not nearly so pervasive as it is on land due to how most of what can be made at their technological creates a lot of drag (and thus little incentive to improve this), but small things like necklaces and arm bands are used and decorated with inks collected from octopi and other sea creatures. Utility items, like travel pouches and sheathes, are much more common, as their usefulness outweighs their cons. Bags are often loosely weaved so water travels through easier and reduces drag.

They have also found their own way to create tattoos, varying in technique based on which kind of mers are is question and the region. The source invention was not by Krauyimer, but they have adopted it into their cultures. It involves some sort of plant pulp, large shells, and pufferfish :') It hurts significantly more than tattooing as we know it. The left's tattoo is a symbol for the sun (a sign of life's phases to many) and the right's a fin within a crescent, variations of which are commonly symbolic for an esteemed hunter. Placement of tattoos is symbolic and often used to express what the individual is willing to endure- for example, the one with the sun tattoo has theirs at the base of their gills. This particular placement is uncommon because the water leaving the gills will often interfere with the ink setting in, meaning it often has to be done twice... it can take up to a week for the process to be done once, so it symbolizes a willingness to endure pain in particular

Fun fact: Sharks are widely seen as a sacred animal, and when they are hunted, every part of them is used, from their skin to their cartilage skeleton.

Art and race belong to me~