Mythical Beast Name

Wow I feel like this is such a significant moment. In the infancy of my membership I am taking the giant step of choosing my mythical beast. There are so many fantastically awesome beasts - its hard to choose one.

Here are my top two and their descriptions, at the end of this post I will say which one I chose and why.

Here we go:

Choice #1: The Abatwa (info from http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com)

Abatwa- They are one-inch humans who live in South Africa's anthills. They ride ants and hunt big game! Do not step on these tiny people, or they will spear you! The Abatwa are shy; only children, pregnant women, and wizards see them. If women see male Abatwa, they have boys and if women see female Abatwa, they have girls.

Choice #2: The Asrai (info from Wikipedia) -

"In English folklore an Asrai is a type of aquatic fairy, similar in some ways to mermaids, nixies, selkies, sirens or morgens. Some sources describe them as timid and shy, standing only between 2 and 4 feet tall, while others depict them as tall and lithe.^[1] They are said to look like beautiful young maidens, sometimes as young as children, while actually being hundreds of years old.^[2] They may have webbed hands and feet, resembling some descriptions of selkies.^[2]

If an Asrai is seen by a man, her beauty is so great that, according to folklore, the man will instantly wish to capture her. The Asrai are as deathly afraid of capture as they are of the sun, because if captured or if a single ray of sunlight touches them, it is said that they die and turn into a pool of water. They are, however, said to enjoy bathing in the moonlight^[3].

The tale told of one fisherman who caught an Asrai claims that the touch of her skin was so cold, that where the Asrai touched his arm while pleading for her freedom—and her life—the flesh has never been warm since.^[2]

Their inability to survive daylight is similar to that of the Scottish Fuath^[2] and the Germanic Dwarves^[4]."

And now . . . (drum roll please) . . . the revealing of my mythical beast choice:

The Asrai !!!

My Reasons:

I picked the Asrai for a few reasons. One its an aquatic fairy or mermaid from English folklore; the second I read that fact I was sold. I love mermaids and this particular type sounds like the truest form of the old-school traditional mermaid. Also, England is where my ancestors are from and as a result, I am very pale. So I could have been an Asrai in a past life, since they are afraid of sunlight. (Now I'm not saying I am afraid of sunlight, just my skin is afraid.) 

Now let me explain why I chose the Asrai over the Abatwa. I actually came across the Abatwa first, but I wasn't able to find as much info on them as the Asrai. The Abatwa do sound cool though; they are miniature people who live amongst ants and hunt big game is South Africa. But as cool as they sound, I just thought a water fairy/ mermaid was cooler. I mean, I am a girl and what girl doesn't like fairies and mermaids. And with the Asrai, I get to be BOTH!