Some Notable Creatures of the Northeastern Coast of the Nijicontinent
Merpeople
Merpeople are unusual creatures, appearing to be half human, and half fish. Their behavior makes them hard to study, thus what is known about them is mostly through accounts of encounters and stories.
It is currently up for debate whether they are mammals or originate from another lineage, but it is assumed that they originated from a mammal, possibly human ancestor. It is also possible that they are distant relatives of the Stargazers due to having similarities in abilities. They have a humanoid upper body, with patches of scales appearing at differing locations depending on the individual. These patches most commonly occur on the back, the arms, or on the sides of the face. Scales completely cover the body from where the hips would be on a human and downwards. Their scales may have originated from modified hair, similar to pangolins. The scales allow them to safely rest on rough rocks without getting injured. The scales are often colorful, most commonly possessing a vibrant red, though other colors have been reported. These colors could possibly indicate health and fitness to others of their kind. They possess fin like structures on their ears, as well as in some groups webbed fingers. They also possess rows of sharp teeth. There are conflicting reports on whether they breathe air or water. It is likely that they can breathe air, but pretend not to in order to lure in prey.
Merpeople appear to be capable of advanced communication, and are very intelligent. They also are known to hum, wail, and sing, even when they aren't attempting to hunt. However, the exact purpose of this is unknown. They spawn in the rivers that go though the Holy Kingdom, the waters there having low enough salinity to allow them to hatch properly. It is dangerous traveling through these waters. Once the young hatch, they travel back to the ocean with their parents and are reared in the safety of the waters near Stargard.
Merpeople are typically reclusive, staying in the deeper areas of the ocean, but when they hunt they venture close to shore. Merpeople like to hunt around rocky shallows. Their diet usually consists mostly of fish and other aquatic crustaceans. They are known to employ advanced strategies and tactics in order to capture schools of fish, similar to dolphins. When food gets scarce, they switch to hunting humans. They most commonly hunt by luring in people using entrancing, song-like vocalizations. They seem able to tell ships from different areas apart, and sing a song that is specialized to best draw in the victim. They know to use a male singer to draw in ships that originate from territories in the Luxiem and Noctyx alliance, and use a female singer to draw in ships from elsewhere. They also through trial and error have found out how to mimic what some claim to be the voice of their particular deity. If the merperson correctly chooses the right voice to sing in, the target will begin to experience confusion, sudden relaxation, difficulty thinking, difficulty reasoning, increased suggestibility, and delusions. Hearing the merfolks song is nearly a death sentence, as it will cause those affected to believe that they have to head to the merperson for whatever reason that they can believe, where they will soon after either be drowned or devoured by the merperson. This vocal ability may be caused by the merpeople taking in chuubanite into their bodies when they spend time in chuubanite rich waters. Merpeople also sometimes lure in prey by pretending to strand themselves on a beach or elsewhere not close to the sea. If a person were to get curious and approach too close to the merperson, the merperson will swiftly attack and devour the victim. There have been reports of merpeople shapeshifting, changing their appearance to be more attractive and growing legs to walk away after eating a person on land, perhaps due to the effects of Vox's chuubanite as merfolk that have not been spawned in the rivers that run through the Holy Kingdom haven't been seen shapeshifting. However, it has been difficult to confirm this.
According to kindred legend, the merpeople were created by the deity Vox in response to an debate he had with another deity.
Star Jellies
These beautiful creatures are often found near the deeper parts of the ocean. They lurk deep beneath the surface during the day, heading to the surface at night. They resemble a jellyfish, but are more rounded, have fewer and more stubby tentacles, and are purple in color. Despite their name and appearance, these creatures are not true jellyfish and are likely not related at all due to the presence of an advanced nervous system, a brain, bilateral symmetry, and eyes. They glow purple in the dark. The glow may serve as a way to draw in zooplankton to eat. They seem to possess some kind of intelligence, quickly descending when they sense danger and latching onto merchant ships for transportation. They are popular in the aquarium trade due to their glow, calm behavior, and harmlessness. They are particularly popular and highly respected among the stargazers as according to legend these creatures were created by their deity.