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Tactics
As each boat loaded with factory goods left the harbor it was sunk. The Merial drilled a series of holes in a circle on the bottom of the ships. The holes did not reach all the way through the hull. A screw eye was drilled into the center and a rope attached to the screw eye. The rope was attached to unmovable rocks and when the ship went sailing past a certain point the weak wooden bit was jerked out.
As the ship slowly sank, the Merial carefully rescued each sailor, gave him a gold coin and explained why this had all been done. The owners of the boats and the factory goods were not recompensed. The result was that the Merial were very well-liked and the factory owners very unpopular.
The shipbuilders tried to make ships with metal linings, but the Merial had no problem peeling them off and sinking them too. There were several attempts to poison the Merial, but they were unsuccessful and those ships eventually went down too. Attacking the Merial by means of arrows or polearms was so difficult as to be completely impossible. Small, fast, intelligent, organized, water-breathing opponents are pretty much impossible to catch.
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Merial
The Merial live all throughout the ocean. They come to the shallow warm waters around Setanta and the Caprini Islands to rest, breed and trade. They have gill slits around their torsos but they can breathe air as well. They are hermaphrodites, male and female at the same time.
The Merial have traditionally had a good relationship with the island-going Caprini people and have traded with them for centuries. The trade with the Seelie people was temporarily broken by the Merial War (See Below).
The Merial catch and sell fish and other sea products and buy metal objects, land fruits, and other toys. They do not need to trade; they do it for fun, and so they don't trade fish in great quantities, making it expensive. They express themselves artistically through dance and song (perhaps a reason why of the land races, they like the Caprini best).
The Merial believe the ocean is their undisputed territory. They believe all the fish in the sea are theirs, that they farm them (or shepherd them). Individual fisherpeople with poles are barely tolerated (and may end up with whale excreta on their hooks not fish). People with nets are considered poachers, and the Merial cut off the nets and keep them. Mussels, clam and seaweed gatherers are allowed. They allow people to sail on top of the sea in ships and to swim, but with the understanding that it is the border of their country. Garbage dumping off ships is not tolerated. They often swim up the rivers inland to explore, although there is some danger of getting hit by boats.
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The Merial people are occasionally attacked and eaten or injured by sharks or sea serpents, but they are very fast swimmers and when they stick together in groups they can use harpoons to repel predators. They breed quickly and often, but children are not watched and get eaten by monsters. The ones that survive to adulthood are tough, fast and mean. There is very little notion of personal property. If someone trades some fish for a golden ornament, they will wear it for a few days and then pass it on to someone else. Food is easy to come by and there for the taking, shelter is not necessary. The only thing they worry about is protecting their schools of fish , driving away large sea monsters and keeping the water clean and livable.
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Aphaea. The moon at night
Syrenka
Praxidice
Aulis
Salacia, salt
Salmacis, Both at Once
Melusina
The Merial War
Clean water was the reason for the Merial War ten years ago. When the Merial discovered that the spreading stink in the Setanta ports threatened to reach their favorite breeding areas, they protested, but the factories could see no reason to stop. When the Merial boycotted all Seelie goods and sold them no fish, the government thought it annoying, but still the new factories operated.
It is said that the Merial sought strategic advice from the unicorns. The truth of this is not known, but the Merial did engage in some unusual tactics. They first informed the Seelie that the Seelie no longer were permitted to travel upon the ocean. The Seelie ignored this announcement and the Merial took action. They sank every boat that left the harbor for the next three years
After a few years the warehouses were full of unbought factory goods. The economy was not doing well without trade overseas, although the caravans and canal boat owners were happy. The ship builders and sailors were unemployed and very unhappy with the government. When Aibis Riccio ti Caprin took over diplomatic arbitration, the factories and the Seelie government finally conceded. So the Merial won, the factories were forced to try something else with their pollution and the sea was opened to trade again.
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