Overview

(This Skill is no longer in use) The Mer have long been cursed with the inability to walk amongst the land dwellers. Cursed with the inability to walk, breath, and talk to those that have made their home above the sea, they had looked on with desire. Many arcs after their creation, their desire allowed them to change their form for short periods in exchange for vulnerability and time. This racial restricted skill related to their changing figure cannot be used by Becomers and other races due to their innate gifts of being able to breath air and walk on land.

As all Mer have come to understand, mertamorphosis has a price. Initial changes can take several trials, making it a skill very few wish to pursue as it is considered a "waste of time". The few Mer that wish to go through mertamorphosis will travel to the shallow to enter their most vulnerable state. The egg sac is fragile and filled with a gel created from their bodies to protect and feed the Mer as they undergo the change. When the transformation is complete, the egg sac ruptures and reveals the newly changed Mer, free to spend as much time on land as their experience allows before side-effects take place.

Not all Mer are created equal, and those that practice mertamorphosis religiously are granted more time amongst land dwellers. Similarly, their side-effects will take longer to occur and may even be less dangerous initially. Mer are still expected to return to their birth environment. One may be able to take the Mer out of the ocean, but they will never be able to take the ocean out of the Mer.

Skill Ranks

Novice (0-25)

A novice Mer will have the longest period of time within the egg and the shortest period of time on land. They are required to spend 8 trials within the shallows initially to create their egg. Many novice Mer will leave before the egg is even formed at the end of the first trial as their attention has gone elsewhere. Novice will often enter the egg hungry, their gel having not formed until well into the second day. After their transformation, they are only granted 4 trials on land. A pittance for the price they paid. If they are not back by evening on the fourth trial, they will begin to suffer extreme pain associated with their changed legs. If they have not returned to the shallows and begun the process of creating the egg by morning on the fifth trial, they will be cursed to live out the rest of their short life as a permanently transformed Mer in extreme pain. These Mer are destined to die of Tibbitus, which begins once their allocation of transformed time is up. They will spend an additional 8 trials in the egg to return to their normal form.

Mer must spend 20 trials in the ocean before attempting the transformation again. This is to ensure that their body is fit enough to handle the transformation and time on land again. It is suggested that they spend more time in the ocean, but is no longer mandatory base on their skill level. If a Mer has begun to feel signs of Tibbitus, they should spend more time in the ocean to recover.

Competent (26-75)

Competent Mer have gone onto land several times. They consider the many days of transformation worth the enjoyment they get from spending time amongst other races. They can transform into their land form in 4 trials time. The time they get on land is doubled, extended to 6 trials. Transformation back to their mer form is also 4 trials. Competent Mer have begun to figure out how to prevent Tibbitus during their time on land. Salt-water Mer tend to eat salty foods (salted meat, preserved foods, etc.) They will even carry bags of salt with them to excessively season their food and water. As long as they go out of their way to maintain the salt concentrations in their body, Tibbitus will not start to occur until after their allocated time on land. Once the 6 trials are up, Tibbitus will set in rapidly. Fresh-water Mer avoid high salt by drinking fresh water and eating organic foods.

Mer must spend 15 trials in the ocean before attempting the transformation again. It is suggested that they spend more time in the ocean, but is no longer mandatory base on their skill level. If a Mer has begun to feel signs of Tibbitus, they should spend more time in the ocean to recover.

Mer can give the gift of breath under the sea beginning at competent. A land dweller must lie with the Mer during the transformation, becoming engulfed by the egg sac and gel. This can be very traumatizing to land dwellers as they will feel like they are suffocating. The gel will transport oxygen to their body, keeping them alive through the process. Since they were land dwellers first and Mer second, they will only develop gills. Their swimming capabilities will always be less than a true Mer. With their legs intact and gills along their neck to provide them oxygen, they may swim with their Mer companion for 6 trials. At the end of the sixth trial, their gills will immediately revert back to skin and they will be forced to rely upon their lungs. This can be fatal if the land dweller is under the sea at time of mertamorphasis.

Expert (76-150)

Expert practitioners will spend two days in their egg. By now, they have begun to figure out how to control the Mer traits of their legs, reducing their appearance on their physical being; the webbing might be thinner, their talons shorter, and their scales less abrasive. They are permitted to spend 12 trials on land as long as they prevent signs of Tibbitus from showing up. It takes an additional two days for them to return to their ocean form.

Mer must spend 10 trials in the ocean before attempting the transformation again. It is suggested that they spend more time in the ocean, but is no longer mandatory base on their skill level. If a Mer has begun to feel signs of Tibbitus, they should spend more time in the ocean to recover.

Expert practitioners can give the gift of under water breath for a total of 12 trials. A land dweller must lie with the Mer during the transformation, becoming engulfed by the egg sac and gel. By now, they are accustomed to the process. The land dweller should be accustomed to eating raw fish and edible underwater plants. They should also be somewhat proficient at camouflage and swimming if they are to survive the horrors beneath the surface. At the end of the twelth trial, their gills will immediately revert back to skin and they will be forced to rely upon their lungs. This can be fatal if the land dweller is under the sea at time of mertamorphasis.

Master (151-250)

Masters may transform in a single day. They arrive in the shadow and are in their egg within a break. The rest of the time is spent expertly forming their legs. Some masters have even figured out how to reduce the Mer traits of their human legs. The webbing between their toes may be less noticeable or absent, talons have turned to toenails, and their scales may be barely noticeable aside from the abnormal color to their skin. No Mer has been able to figure out how to transform the upper body, unwilling to compromise their internal organs. Mer will be able to spend up to 24 trials on land as long as their take precautions against Tibbitus and return on the appropriate trial to return to the ocean. They spend a single day transforming back into their Mer form.

Mer must spend 5 trials in the ocean before attempting the transformation again. It is suggested that they spend more time in the ocean, but is no longer mandatory base on their skill level. If a Mer has begun to feel signs of Tibbitus, they should spend more time in the ocean to recover.

The land dweller has become as much a part of the sea as the Mer is. The transformation almost feels second nature. They are capable of breathing underwater for up to 24 trials. A land dweller can ask their host Mer to change back at any given point, if the Mer is capable of returning to land in their egg form (a minimum of 5 day stay in the ocean.) At the end of the twenty-fourth trial, their gills will immediately revert back to skin and they will be forced to rely upon their lungs. This can be fatal if the land dweller is under the sea at time of mertamorphasis.

Legendary (100)

Legendary practitioners of mertamorphosis can transform within 12 breaks. They are allowed to spend up to 40 trials on land amongst the other races. These Mer have even found jobs and houses among the land dwellers. They are capable of living a relatively normal life. Some Mer consider themselves as evolved over their brethren, shrugging their ocean life for the preferred land life. Legendary practitioners of mertamorphosis have made their legs almost completely human with minimal Mer traits. If they were somehow able to hide the appearance of their upper body, they might be able to completely pass for human.

Mer must spend a single trial in the ocean before attempting the transformation again. It is suggested that they spend more time in the ocean, but is no longer mandatory base on their skill level. If a Mer has begun to feel signs of Tibbitus, they should spend more time in the ocean to recover.

Legendary practitioners can cause the land dweller to develop webbing between their toes, making them the best swimmers they have ever been in their life. They are allowed to spend up to 30 trials in the ocean. A land dweller can ask their host Mer to change back at any given point, if the Mer is capable of returning to land in their egg form (a minimum of 12 breaks in the ocean.) At the end of the thirtieth trial, their gills will immediately revert back to skin and they will be forced to rely upon their lungs. This can be fatal if the land dweller is under the sea at time of mertamorphasis.