Merfolk

Merfolk have a humanoid upper body with a fish lower body. Scales from their tales extend up on the torso in diverse ways depending on the individual. Merfolk also have small fins at the hips and lightly webbed hands. The look of their tail and scales vary between individuals and is hereditary. Merfolk do not have gills and therefore, cannot breathe underwater, but they use more of the oxygen stored within their lungs, allowing them to hold their breath for more than 3 hours.

Childhood 1 to 7 years
Right after birth babies are kept at the surface of the water to make sure they do not drown. After one month they are allowed to go below the surface. For most of their childhood, Merfolk are taught everything they need to know, most often by the pod mother.

Teen 8 to 15 years
At 8 years old, the teens become apprentices to a mentor of their aspiring career. They also start to have sexual relationships, even if their bodies have not yet matured.

Adulthood 16 to 130 years
At 16 years old, Merfolk are expected to have found a partner and start having children. The Mermaids normally move the their partners Pod but there have been exceptions. Merfolk also often start their careers at 16 years old.

Old Age 131+ years
Around 130 years old, Merfolk stop their careers and start mentoring teens. Merfolk of old age are not seen very well, even though they are respected for their knowledge, they are seen as a burden to society.

Habitat and Population
Merfolk live in rivers, bays, lakes and shallow ocean seabeds. They can live in fresh waters, but they much prefer salty waters. They live as pods, which are groups of 5 to 10 couples plus their children. In Merfolk society, most pods have a good relationship between each other and will form underwater cities together. In these cities houses are usually really big to accommodate a complete pod in each house. All buildings in a city have pockets of air built into them in order to have places to breathe.

Diet
Merfolk are omnivorous, their daily meals consist of fish and sea plants, but they much prefer red meat which is rare under water. They do not understand the concept of drinking and are puzzled when they observe land dwellers drinking.

Culture and Society
Merfolk are very open sexually and do not try to hide their private parts. Still they are monogamous and will only engage sexual activities with their current partner. Merfolk also try to keep their relationships outside of their pod to avoid conflicts. And Although they are very sexually active, Merfolk only procreate every 5 to 10 years and only produce one or two offspring.

Merfolk are weary of land dwellers and often have rocky relationship with them. They only are in contact with coastal societies and some of them even hunt Merfolk for food. But some Merfolk keep an open mind and put a lot of efforts into treaties with land dwellers.

To facilitate interactions with land dwellers, enchanters create magic jewelry changing a Merfolk's tail into legs allowing them to walk on land, but they still keep other Merfolk features like scales and hand webbing. Their skin also dries extremely quickly and so they can't stay out of the water for more than a few hours.