Character card nr 1: Selene the selkie
Helluh!
Some explanations here are in order. Anyone interested in Celtic mythology will most likely have heard of selkies, kelpies, banshees or the like. Selkies will be present in my AU.
The way I will describe selkies are my personal idea of them, with inspiration from the actual myth, as well as one of my favorite movies; the Song of the Sea (from 2014). Here is some general information about the selkies in the AU:
A selkie is not a mermaid, but a shapeshifter that takes the form of a human on land and a seal in the sea.
Their magical power is connected to the water (and subsequently the moon).
A selkie can live on land if they have their coat. They are, however, weaker on land since their power is connected to the sea. As a result, most selkies (males especially) prefer to live in the sea.
Without their coat they cannot return to their seal form, can no longer live in the sea, and lose their magic as well (this does not apply to hybrids, however their powers are much stronger with a coat than without). How long they can survive without their coat varies, but since their coats are part of them, their power and lifeforce drains and they will eventually die if their coat is lost and not recovered.
Human-selkie hybrids are sometimes born with a piece of a seal skin, but not a full coat. These pieces have no magical properties like full coats, but the hybrids can become selkies in the event they find a true coat (which is very rare).
They have siren-like powers, but generally do not use them to manipulate people unless they’re threatened. Sometimes their song has these unintended side effects.
Their blood is blue because they, instead of hemoglobin, have hemocyanin as the oxygen carrying molecule in their blood. Since they usually live in quite cold environments this makes it easier for their blood to transport oxygen. (Fun fact, octopuses have blue blood and hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin)
They are about half as fertile as humans, most likely due to their extended lifespan.
They can only breed on land (in their human form), but (almost) always give birth in the sea (usually in their seal form).
They can save someone on the brink of death with an ancient spell, but at a cost; a selkie who decides to do this loses their ability to breathe under water and therefore their ability to live in the sea. “One breath for another, one life for another”. If a non-selkie tries to cast the spell they will either fail, die, or have to sacrifice another’s life. For obvious reasons it is a well kept secret amongst the selkie folk, and it is a rare thing even for selkies to know the spell.
The “pureblood” selkies usually have a lot of freckles (visible on Selene if you look closely).
Bonus: quick sketch of Selene as a seal.
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