The magical beings known as merfolk came to be heard of only at a midpoint in the last century, wherein sightings by sailors became common when there were sailors to in fact see. They do not venture deep into the winding lochs that penetrate Scotland, favouring the wilder sea, but there have been stories of beings in the waters that measure up to older tales of the same — women and men with fins for legs. The closest they will come to coasts are where rocky outcrops are submerged in water, allowing them leverage to peer towards the land before darting back into the waves before anyone can get a good look.
They have thus far made no real impact on people, nor hassled ships and boats in the same way less human-like creatures have. It is rumoured that they have control over tides and waves, and older stories are being ascribed to them about mermaids' siren calls to lure young men to their death, although there are no factual stories of this.
They are described as being willowy creatures, with skin the colour of sleet and hair as slick and dark as wet seal fur and eyes just as liquid. Their fins are a hardy, darker grey, resembling the hide and manners of shark bodies, but tails turned like that of a dolphin.
