After nauseating hours spent at sea, something finally tugs at your fishing rod. With the way your rod bends, the way its string goes taut, you can tell it's no ordinary fish. You grit your teeth, bending backwards as you struggle to reel in the creature, straining not to topple off your tiny fishing boat.

At last, it breaks the surface with a tremendous splash. Bobbing in the water is, at first sight, what appears to be a human, with its messy black hair and proportionate features. But it's not a human - it's the furthest from it.

It has fins protruding from either side of its face, scales shimmering along its pale torso, and a strong tail protruding from its hips.

You can hardly believe your eyes. He's a merman - something that should only exist in myths - and he's unconscious and bleeding, your hook having caught his shoulder blade.