Mermaid

"Aye. Mermaids. Sea ghouls, devil fish, dreadful in hunger for flesh of man. Mermaid waters, that be our path."

- Hector Barbossa to the crew of the HMS Providence

The mermaids, also known as the merfolk or merpeople and sometimes referred to as Scaly Tails, were human-fish hybrids that resided in a very few places, Isla Sirena and Whitecap Bay. Many served as agents of the Sirens, dragging many sailors down to a watery grave.

History
"Our song will tear open your heart, and you will beg for more. It will tease you with your greatest desire till you grow mad. And this desire will eventually burn so fierce that you will drive yourself directly to us. Then it is our charge to deliver you to those to whom we answer."

- Morveren, Aquala and Aquila to Jack Sparrow



Captain Jack Sparrow first encountered the mermaids in Isla Sirena, following the escape from Isla Esquelética, during his quest for the Sword of Cortés. His shipmates, the crew of the Barnacle, were affected by the song of the Sirens, though Jack himself remained immune to its influence. Unable to sway him, the mermaids instead transported Jack to Isla Sirena itself, where they attempted to enslave him by robbing him of his freedom. Jack was tricked into handing over a prized possession&mdash;the eye of Stone-Eyed Sam&mdash;in exchange for the lives of his crew. Further, his freedom would be forfeit the next time he visited Isla Sirena.

Despite realizing this stipulation, Jack was forced to return to the mermaids' lair in order to recover the eye to defeat the spirit of Hernán Cortés. He negotiated his enslavement with the blue-tailed mermaid leaders, and defeated two predatory beasts in order to avoid eternal imprisonment. He was allowed to leave the island, and later reclaimed the eye from Tia Dalma.

During the search for the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard and his crew journeyed to Whitecap Bay to capture a mermaid. They succeeded and captured a young mermaid named Syrena.

Biology and appearance
"All these beautiful mermaids. Creatures of legend and lore, right in front of me! What an exciting adventure, indeed!"

- Jack Sparrow



The mermaids were amphibious beings, a hybrid of human and fish. The average mermaid had the appearance of a beautiful girl with long, flowing hair the colors of the sea, and pearly-white skin flecked with scales. From the waist down, however, a mermaid was comprised of a long, shimmering scaly tail. Further undermining their conventional beauty, mermaids hid sharp, fang-like teeth in their mouths.

It was possible that this beautiful appearance was not the true form of the mermaids; if viewed peripherally, they lost their outward beauty and seemed to transform into creatures with clawed tentacles, fangs, and barnacles and boils covering their scales. They often spoke in harmony, singing a melody commonly attributed to the Sirens.

Like the sirens, mermaids are incredibly beautiful women–incredibly seductive women–that lure men to their deaths. A mermaid's greatest weapon is her radiant appearance. The light of the moon illuminates their skin and their long locks fall seductively, and their eyes are as deep as the ocean and possess the power to entrap any adventurer.

They are women but they are also animal. The water line defines where they're women and where they’re creatures. Under the water, they are creatures and over the water, they're women. They feed on the men, and that’s how they see men, as something that sustains them. They may look lovely, but they can shred a human limb from limb in seconds. They can survive long enough on land to drag a sailor back into the sea, where they can entangle them in a powerful grip.

In some legends concerning the Fountain of Youth, mainly in the Profane Ritual, a mermaid's tear is one of the main things needed in order to make the Fountain work. But as proud and ferocious as the seas in which they live, a mermaid does not weep lightly.

Society and culture
"We are not the Sirens. We are the merfolk. We sing our own melody and we do the bidding of the Sirens."

- Morveren, Aquala and Aquila to Jack Sparrow



The mermaids did the bidding of the Sirens, who were in turn ruled by Davy Jones. They lived in chambers within Isla Sirena, and had control over various creatures that inhabited Davy Jones' Locker, including iguana monsters and sea beasts. The merfolk also had contact with Tia Dalma, and were aware of legendary artifacts such as the Sword of Cortés.

There were at least three separate sub-species of merfolk in Isla Sirena, distinguished by the color of the scales on their fish-like tails. Those with green tails were analogous to soldiers, and operated as the military arm of the society. They confronted sailors lured to Isla Sirena and dragged them down to the island itself. Red-tailed merfolk were the servants of mermaid society, and were commonly found wading around waiting for orders. They acted as guards and workers in Isla Sirena. Finally, blue-tails served as the leaders of the mermaids. The three blue-tails encountered by Jack Sparrow, Morveren, Aquala and Aquila, were named as "chairwomen" by the green-tails.

Stories and legends of mermaids commonly depicted sweet and innocent creatures, though more sinister versions told of corrupted merfolk who aligned themselves with the Sirens. In reality, there were thousands of the latter type in Isla Sirena alone, and this legion was known to congregate to drag sailors down to the depths.

Notable mermaids

 * Syrena
 * Tamara
 * Aquala
 * Aquila
 * Morveren

Behind the scenes

 * In the first screenplay draft of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Barbossa starts to search for the Fountain of Youth, using the captain's journal of Juan Ponce de León that he took from Tia Dalma who received it from a mermaid.
 * In 2010, it has been confirmed that French actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey and Australian actress Gemma Ward would play mermaids in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This film marks the first time a mermaid appears in any of the POTC films.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: The Siren Song
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: The Pirate Chase
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: The Sword of Cortés
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides