Hydros the God of the Sea, is also known as the Laughing God and for good reason. Of all the Gods of Tal'Vorn, Hydros is the one who seems to answer the prayers of mortals the most frequently, though he doesn't always seem to grant the wisher what they really want! The youngest of Shaltar's direct children, Hydros took an almost childish delight in the crafting of his Race, granting them all the strengths and skills that though would need to survive and flourish in the seas of Tal'Vorn.

Hydros' creations, the Mermen, are powerfully built, with strong arms and legs, their bodies hairless, bar that which grows on their heads, the Race seemingly built for the express purpose of swimming. Their spines are jointed in a strange manner, the bones further apart then normal, which gives them extraordinary flexibility, allowing them to jink and dart through the water as well as any fish. Their fingers and toes are webbed and wider then those of humans to maximize the water moved during each stroke and thus reducing the actual effort required to move through a set body of water. Both gilled and lunged, Mermen can live all their lives out of the water if they must, though they have a tendency to dehydrate faster then the other Races. Of course they are built for the sea and can only give birth in water, as very young Mermen require many of the nutrients and minerals available in salt water.

Their powerful limbs, other then being superb swimming implements that can drive a Merman through water at almost ten knots, can also be used to terrifying capacity on land. A young, fit Merman can run and move faster then the human eyes can follow are there are even rumours of some Mermen breaking the sound-barrier, though this has yet to be observed by the Research Sect.

The Mermen spent a long time simply exploring the sea, expanding throughout the ocean's warm tropical belt. However eventually, shortly before the coming of humans to Tal'Vorn, the Mermen decided amidst themselves to create their own city, their own home in the heart of the ocean. This choice was made mostly because the water Race were becoming spread too thin, their numbers becoming too unstable. By creating a central city they hoped to stabilize their Race and preserve themselves.

Naming it Haltimeran, the city was carved from a living coral bed and was at first open to the see, the Mermen simply living their amidst the water. Unfortunately this caused problems as the currents did not function properly through the homes in the coral and thus the water in some places began to stagnate, the Mermen having to manually move the water away and out.

Just as this problem was approaching a critical point, the DragonKing called for the aid of the Mermen in the war against the humans. Bound by their creators loyalty to Shaltar, the Mermen agreed and marched against humanity. The war itself wasn't that important to the Mermen. Their soldiers were, for the most part, quick enough to avoid the guns of the humans. Mermen troops were mostly stationed to protect and transport the Fairy Healers on their work, as they were skilled and swift enough to do it effectively without having to diverted Red DragonLords away from the assault forces. What the war did do, however, was bring their plight to the attention of the Dwarves.

After the end of the War and the scattering of humanity, the Mermen King and his advisors met with the most knowledgeable of the Dwarf Engineers. Several plans were put forwards, but rejected as either unsafe or potentially lethal. Finally the blue-prints for Haltimeran as it is today were laid down. It was and still is an extraordinary feat of engineering, second only to Drazzahezz itself.

Immense plasteel girders were fed through a modified Jump Gate, the modifications preventing water from Haltimeran flooding into Drazzahezz. These girders were set up into an immense dome around the city, still leaving plenty of room for expansion, almost like an enormous sieve. Once erected, several Dwarf Engineers, clad in experimental diving gear, entered the city and began attaching Mani Stones to the joints where each girder met.

Finally the construction was completed, and none too soon for the water of Haltimeran was becoming almost dangerously stagnant. The King and the most powerful of his Casters gathered and drove the water from the city. And as it passed beyond each girder, the Dwarf Engineers strapped to the metal activated the magic laid into the plasteel. The water could not pass through the holes in the grid back into the city. Instead, any water trying to do so was converted into air and fed into the city, filling it with clean oxygen for the first time in many years.

With Haltimeran safe and secure, the Mermen simply settled back into their old lives. Swimming through the seas, or dancing through the coral streets of their city. The construction of the grid city limits was such that it had not effect on the bodies of the Mermen, allowing them to enter and leave at will, though it did keep out other creatures so long as they were not touching a Merman or something carried by a Merman. In essence the people and children of Hydros were liberated from worry and strife.

"In the ocean, we are free!"

Anon