| “ | Finally, they were overcome by an army of mermaids drawn from each of the five oceans. They seized the Trident and hid it, and commanded that it never be unlocked again. | ” |
Mako Pod
A Pod is a group of hundreds of mermaids and mermen. Every pod became linked with a specific Moon Pool, that granted its members their magical abilities, and every pod were established around these Moon Pools. On Full Moon nights, every mermaid member of the pod attends the Full Moon Ceremony, with the exception of fledgling mermaids who are still not allowed. They are tasked to protect the Moon Pool when the ceremony takes place instead.
Overview[]
In every pod, hatchlings who complete their training in Mermaid School are granted a Moon Ring and full initiation into the pod. Pods are governed by the Mermaid Council, which consists of elder wiser members. Pods are found worldwide, and all of them practice their own unique types of magic that differ them from one another. Although mermaids usually only have members from pod they were born, outsider mermaids are also welcome to join. Mermaid laws also states in every pod that its members should never walk on land.
Unlike mermaids, mermen are solitary individuals. Their mermaid mothers are forced land people, go to land school, and don't have pods due to the war that happened long ago. Despite this, before the war, mermaids and mermen were together in the same pod, something impossible in the present day, however, this may not be the law anymore as mermaids now trust the mermen more.
Rules[]
Every pod possessed its own set of established rules, which is variable between them.
Some of the rules that are found in all pods are the following:
- It is forbidden to Sirens sing their enchanted songs. (exclusive only in the Northern and Mako pods, as it is unknown if other pods allow mermaids to use their ability).
- It is forbidden to reveal themselves, to associate with or to fall in love with land people. By the same extent, to swim too close the shore or where they could be seen.
- It is forbidden to cast the Legs Spell under any suitable conditions.
- It is forbidden to let human beings go through metamorphosis in a Moon Pool.
- When a merman hatchling was born, a newborn was to be given up to foster human families on land with the use of a forbidden Legs Spell. (abolished in the Mako Pod)
If a member breaks one of the rules of their pod, the Mermaid Council will strictly punish the merperson by permanently banishing him/her, and he or she will be forced to live without their people. Despite this, a Mermaid Council had the power to lift a merperson's banishment, welcoming them again.
Story[]
During the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese Mermaid was a member of the Eastern Pod and fell in love with a land boy. Another pod heard of this and punished the mermaid and the pod by casting a spell to turn the land boy into a Water Dragon.
Eons ago, around the 11th Century, a pod/army of mermen carried the Trident in battle and behaved in a destructive manner until mermaids from each of the five oceans defeated them by drawing on the powers of the oceans and locked the trident away in the Trident Cave with one of the kinder mermen's help.
Ancient mermaids used to play an ancient game similar to tug-of-war. A mermaid must use whatever power she has to drive a ship to her side. Ancient mermaids may have used real ships long ago but like the siren songs, using real ships was probably forbidden. However, this view is not shared by all mermaids and some may be fascinated by the land and even can fall in love, just like Sirena, Rita and Mimmi did.
In the late 1990s, Aurora threatened the Northern Pod and later redirected her threat to the Eastern Pod. Nerissa came to help them and fought alongside them for years. Nerissa went to face Aurora alone one day and was never seen or heard from again. During the battle, Aurora turned Nerissa into the Water Dragon and made her attack the Eastern Pod by stripping its members' tails and magical powers with its cold fire, turning them permanently into human beings. The survivors were forced to flee to the land of China, and eventually the pod split. After the Eastern Pod was destroyed, she was put in a deep sleep and Nerissa was believed to be dead by her fellow mermaids.
Mermaid Council
A pod consisting of over a hundred mermaids took refuge on the reef of Mako Island. When Sirena, Lyla, and Nixie are charged with guarding the Moon Pool during the full moon ceremony, a boy named Zac Blakely fell into the pool by accident and became a merman. When the pod found out what happened, they blamed the girls for breaking the rule and cast them out while the rest of the pod fled to the South Pacific where they joined another pod. To correct the problem, the girls broke the rule of using a Moon Ring to go on land, and later the one that forbade singing the Enchantment Song. They then encountered Rita Santos, a mermaid of the pod who had long since found new life on land, and asked her to complete their training. In the end, Rita deemed them worthy of having Moon Rings.
The little Mako Pod stops Cam from destroying the Moon Pool.
With Zac Blakely being a merman, after he returns the Trident to the chamber, he becomes a temporary member of the little pod formed by Sirena, Nixie, and Lyla. While Rita doesn't share their adventures, she is considered part of their pod due to her involvement with the girls in guidance and training. Sirena, Mimmi, Ondina, Evie, and Zac form a little pod in Season 2. Erik, being a merman, becomes a temporary member of the little pod formed by Mimmi, Ondina, Evie, and Zac. Weilan, being a mermaid, becomes a member of the little pod formed by Mimmi, Ondina, Evie, and Zac in Season 3.
Known Pods[]
Trivia[]
- According to Rita Santos, there existed various pods of merpeople across each of the five oceans, as followed:
Gallery[]
- Main article: Pod/Gallery