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Author Topic: Jun'era- Sarvonian coastal Fish  (Read 8182 times)
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Drúadan
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« on: 09 July 2008, 07:26:58 »

FINALLY fixed this up! I hope it's okay... I have referenced a few things that I have yet to develop, but I will get round to em. I'm sure there are problems, so hit me with it.  ;)


The Jun’era Fish

Somewhat eerie looking and more than slightly dangerous, the Jun'era fish found on the eastern coast of Sarvonia is quite unique. This midsized fish is very common and is one of the least unusual foods in a poor sailor's diet. Though tough to catch with bait and tackle, these rewarding fish are, as well as their eggs, well known for their easy workability, cheap cost, and good taste.

Appearance:
The Jun'era fish is of a silvery grey colour for most of the year, though the females change to a golden hue during the summer months. Especially during Burning Heavens and Sleeping Dreameress, the Jun'era is often unrecognizable unless one knows of this colour change. During this season it commonly mates, with those females with the brightest colouring in both stripe and body in highest demand. The main body is usually a fore give or take a few nailsbreadths, though the largest recorded Jun’era, caught near Mossy Rocks Cove in the Adanian Sea, was almost a full palmspan more than the norm!
The top fin in the midsection is very large and oddly disproportionate to the body, standing at one to two palmspans tall and quite a colourful sight. Light greens and pinks signify a male, while the golden colour of a female in the summer is found year round in the stripe standing in the middle of a her top fin. This stripe and the similar colouring of her body act as her primary tool for mating attraction.

The tail fin is translucent and enormous, running at nearly the same height as the mid section fin from one end to the other. These fins have a rather ghostly appearance. In murky or churning waters, this tail seems to fade away from the body, leaving many sailors who get a short glimpse of this fish wondering why these tails of appear to be scale-less; the bones, veins, etc. clearly visible, giving it a skeletal appearance. Upon close examination, one can notice small glands at the point where this fin connects with the rest of the body, which are used for mating.

The head is rather small, while the jaw is the widest part of the fish’s body at almost a palmspan, and sticks out noticeably from the rest of the fish. Its mouth shows an array of about seventy sharp teeth. Seventy is only a rough estimate, because the teeth of a Jun’era fall out and are replaced constantly. Each tooth has a “lifespan” so to speak, of about a month. After this time, they are lost, often embedded in a tough piece of meat or swallowed.

Special Abilities:
Besides adding a menacing touch to an otherwise beautiful fish, the large rows of teeth are, of course, very helpful to the Jun’era. This fish has two sets of teeth, the front row of teeth leans to the right, the second to the left, so when eating another small fish it can grind its prey to death. As gruesome as this might sound, from the fish’s point of view, this kills prey effectively and without hope of escape. If the prey does manage to escape then the half-eaten fish would be severely mangled on exit, and easy to catch and finish off.

Territory
The Jun'era is commonly found up and down the eastern coast of Sarvonia, though neither further south than the bay to the east of the Seven Jewels nor further north than the Peninsula of Glandor. Though the Haven of Sky formed by the Peninsula may be its territorial boundary, the Haven holds one of the highest Jun'era populations. Though most of the Kanapans living in the Haven have weak stomachs due to an almost entirely vegetarian diet, they are able to eat these fish as well as their eggs, if they are ground finely. Fishing for the Jun'era is also common in the triangle formed by the three separate isles in the Quios chain, as well as in Mossy Rocks Cove on the Manthrian coast. Indeed, because the Jun'era is not found near Aeruillin, when the Stormcloak Shipping Guild approached Shan'Furionis in an attempt to open up trade there, one of the first goods offered were stored Jun’era eggs and salted steaks. 

Some Jun'era are also found in the Ancythrian Sea, but due to the sense of danger permeating from everything to do with the, “Devil’s Sea“ they are rarely fished from these dark waters. The bizarre tail and overall ghostly appearance of the Jun’era are only enhanced by the sense of evil felt by all who sail in this sea.

Diet
The Jun’era has a varied diet consisting of some of the smallest and largest sea creatures. Though careful to avoid them when they travel in groups, a single Lazhbug poses a lesser threat to a Jun’era, and are a main part of this fish’s diet. This sharp-toothed fish will also go after the larger Bonehead and, if traveling in a larger scual, will even attack a Whale if food is scarce.

Habitat/Behavior
The Jun'era travels in scuals of anywhere from fifteen to fifty, give or take a few. The scual is always moving and usually in a tight unit formation. Most of these scuals are family based, and though sometimes families will combine, what is more common is for all children of the same parents to stick together in the same scual. A scual of these fish is indeed quite remarkable to see, especially in the parts of the year when bronze females do not disrupt the otherwise ghostly covering.

“Whenever we git new crewmen workin’ the nest, they always seem, at least once, to raise all ‘ell in the middle of the night when they see a ‘giant ghost of a whale’ coming straight at us. Well, the firs’ couple times it was a laugh, but affer awhile, it becomes a real pain. It’s a real looker though! Jus’ the other day I was runnin’ towards Nepris and a big ‘ol group of ‘em, must’ve been ‘bout sixty, came right at my port bow. O’course I knew what it was, but to see those ghostly fish gliding at you, and with tails that one can see right through! Well, I guess I can see why the men get in such a state about it!”
Captain Morok Jaek of Ciosa

Though the scuals will stick together for most of each fish’s life, they are usually not team oriented. Unless food is scarce or something very dangerous threatens the entire scual, such as a Guorani whale, the individual members attacked by a Caéh-Fish or Khendochar are forced to fight out such a battle to the death unaided. If it fails, its death is not mourned by its fellows who will in fact ignore the victor, allowing it to rejoice in the meal. If the single Jun'era is the victor, the winning fish will be forced to share its kill with the entire group, who attack the dead fish viciously. This odd occurrence is entirely at odds with the violently protective nature of parent Jun’era who has laid eggs. 

When attempting to catch a Jun’era, fisherman should be prepared for a fight. Though not large, these fish have extraordinary strength and have broken more than one fishing pole. Net fishing is certainly the easiest way to catch these fish, but small fisherman supplying food to their families often have to wrestle for quite awhile with a violent and biting fish.

Separate scuals will rarely interact or even appear to notice each other unless the members of both are at least 10 months to a year old. At this point an unwritten agreement between the scuals states that the fish within each will mate.

Mating
When two scuals mate, each fish intermingles and eventually pairs off with a fish of the opposite gender, from the other scual. All of the males are in pursuit of those females with the most vivid body colouring and stripe. Nevertheless, these females have the option of rejecting any male that comes to them, by simply swimming away. Acceptance, on the other hand, is shown by a brush of the tail fin against the male's side. After all the fish have paired off, the group separates again so that the males in each pair return to their original scual, with their female counterpart in tow. These new mating groups now separate to find a nesting spot. Any gender imbalance or other excess members of the original school go with the mating group with the males of their original scual. The entire process rarely takes more than fifteen minutes.

A nesting spot for these large groups consists of a sandy seabed, usually near a reef of some kind for easy access to food and comfortable spots offering protection. While the large mating groups search for such a spot, the mating pairs begin the process of creating new life. The male and the female press the glands near the edge of their tail fins together, and swim as one body until a suitable spot nesting is found. It is believed that this prepares the eggs to be laid, though it doesn’t actually fertilize them. Upon reaching such a spot, the group separates, though they all still stay in the same general area. Each pair finds a suitable nesting spot and begins digging a small inlet in the sand for the eggs. At this point the eggs inside the female’s womb have yet to be fertilized, and a curious behaviour occurs. For no obvious reason at all, the male of the pair begins beating on the female. Physically, he hits her, runs into her, and generally roughs her up pretty badly. Upon inspection, one can see that this violence actually knocks the eighty or so eggs out of her gland, so that they land safely on the sandy bottom. After the eggs have all been “laid” the male swims above them, releasing pale foam from his gland that will settle on top of the eggs and fertilize them. Only about half of the baby fish will actually be born, though all the eggs and the entire nesting area is defended fiercely during the few days it takes for the eggs to mature. The newborn fish mature rather quickly, and only a few days later the mating group separates and offspring of the same parents form the new scuals. Though the parents may be with the scual made up of their children for almost a week or two, they soon die.


Usages
Cut into steaks and fillets it can be boned and salted quickly cooked by fire or by grilling and then peppered with herbs and spices for a popular dish to eat. Its fish eggs known as Jun'nava are also stored and eaten as a side dish or spread on bread or water crackers or even meat to season it or add flavor. These are best harvested in the later stages of development when largest. The harvester must be very careful to ensure that he does not lose a few fingers or even a limb to the dangerous teeth of the parents. A tooth embedded in one’s skin is quick to become infected. As mentioned above, the Jun’era is rather common and found extensively in the average Avennorian fisherman’s diet. Both the eggs and the steaks are a trade product of the Stormcloaks Guild who, having perhaps the largest supply and easiest access to them, commonly sell them cured to many of their trading ports.

Myth/Lore
While no true “legends” have been derived from the ghostly appearance of this fighting fish, the difficulty in catching one has inspired the saying, “to wriggle like a Jun’era,” meaning to work very hard to achieve a goal. Besides this, Ducras the shipbuilder is well known for naming his ship the “The Golden Jun’era”. A famous inn along Jamliso's Bend is also named thus.

« Last Edit: 01 August 2008, 22:50:30 by Artimidor Federkiel » Logged

Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.


-Bob Dylan "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Bard Judith
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« Reply #1 on: 09 July 2008, 12:31:45 »

 
Some nice details, and carefully integrated (scuals :) ) into the system and area.  Just a few nitpicks:

Isn't the invisibility trick a bit too much like our Red Herrings?  I don't think they need it - you can make them distinctive in another way more easily.

 Were they based on Pike (we have the Lysh already), as you have 'Pike steaks' mentioned once?   Also, you switch back and forth between 'Junera' and 'Esoc', which is quite confusing.  If they have two different names, it's customary to say so at the beginning, and also to make the names more similar (Lopster, Lop, etc.) so that we can tell you are referring to the same beast.
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Drúadan
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« Reply #2 on: 10 July 2008, 01:56:28 »

Cool! I'll fix those things after lunch.

Eeep! I thought I removed all the "pike". This was originally called the Waterfin Pike so I had to change it... Maybe I'll remove the name "Esoc" all together. It's not really necessary IMHO.

And the invisibility thing was in the original entry but if you'd prefer I remove it no problem. Just making sure I don't dramatically change the original concept. I've made that mistake before...  :D

EDIT: Changes made! I hope it's okay Bard, that I made the tails still tranlucent but instead of saying they are entirely invisible, they appear skeletal, so that only bones, and other... innard things :P are visible. If it's still too much like the Herring I'll change it.

EDIT 2: Ahhh! That was Close! I had the population extend to Strata...STEP BACK! Taliaaaaaaa! :P (Changed it to end in the Yanthian Gulf.) Though Talia if you would like some nice fishes on the coast of your desert by all means say it, I just want to make sure that this makes sense. A'right, so if the Stormcloaks are trading with Shan'Furionis it doesn't make sense for these fish to be found as far south as Strata, cause then the Stratanians would be able to fish and transport them to Aeruillin themselves... right? Because if I recall the Strata has a fairly large harbor... You're going to have to tell me if you want them, and I will try and help to figure out the details.
« Last Edit: 10 July 2008, 10:00:23 by Drúadan » Logged

Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.


-Bob Dylan "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Ta`lia of the Seven Jewels
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« Reply #3 on: 10 July 2008, 15:35:20 »

LOL, okay, Dru, I will look through your submission and see, if I can make some fisher out of the Stratanians or the Shendar ;)
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« Reply #4 on: 10 July 2008, 16:01:33 »


You need an uri, there are some inconsistencies and unclear passages, but otherwise a great fish!

To the territory: Why not expand it to the bay east of the Seven Jewels, then I could invent some fishing Shendar :) and Strata does not have fishers.. The water could just be too warm for them further in the south.
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« Reply #5 on: 10 July 2008, 16:11:31 »

EDIT: Lol Talia, I was right behind you  ;)

Hey Dru  grin

I like this fish. I think it is nicely described and as Judy said, well integrated with the stories, and terminology woven through.

Some typos for you to quickly whip through...

Quote
Somewhat eerie looking and more than a slightly dangerous,
That 'a' doesn't need to be there.

~

Quote
are well known for their easy workability, cheap coast, and good taste.
Cost.

~

Quote
bronze, almost golden in color

You used "in colour" in the previous sentence. I would suggest making this one simply "golden coloured". Plus you also used the american for colour (lol, but you got the first one right  :P)


~

Quote
standing a one to two palmspans tall and quite a colorful sight
At.

~

Quote
Light greens and pinks signify a male, while the golden-orange color signifying a female in the summer is found year round in the stripe stands in the middle of a female’s fin, and is her primary tool for mating attraction.

This sentence got a little crazy and confusing towards the end.

You're talking about this tall fin... and the idea is it has a stripe of the females golden colour all year? I think you need to break this up into a couple of sentences and re-arrange it a bit.

~

Quote
The tail fin of both genders is more ghostly like. It is translucent and enormous running at nearly the same height as the mid section fin from one end to the other.

Hmmm... "more ghostly like" than what? I don't think you need the "more" in there. Something is either ghostly or not. I also suggest the scientific observations come first (i.e. The tail fin is translucent etc) and then sum up by saying it gives a very ghostly image.

~

Quote
Those sailors who spot a scual of Jun'era within the dark waters of this sea often forget what they know it to be in the face of such an eerie sight.

A weird sentence too. Sailors of the Ancythrian Sea... might they not have tales/myths of their particular Jun'era that justifies them being more scared of them than typical. I can't see seasoned fishermen being scared off by a skeletal tail unless they have some belief/story that makes them act that way.

~

Quote
Those with the most vivid coloring and stripe are in high demand, and are taken the quickest

I am a little confused by the mating rituals. Typically females are plain-looking and it's the males with the mating 'stripes' etc that have to compete with other males to be chosen by the females. How are the males competing to get with these vividly coloured females? First come, first served? Fights? Surely such an 'attractive' female would be picky about her mate? She'd want a male with equally vivid stripes too, no?

~

Quote
The harvester must be very careful to ensure that he does not lost a few fingers
Lose.

~

Quote
commonly sell them cured to many of their trading ports.

It's just the way the rest of the sentence is written, I think this would read better if it was 'selling' rather than just 'sell'.

~

Good stuff, Dru. I look forward to seeing this on site, and perhaps even in the Ráhaz-Dáth  thumbup
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« Reply #6 on: 10 July 2008, 21:21:00 »

Hehehe thanks for the comments guys. I'll add in your fishing Shendar, Talia, and try to clean up those and a few other passages Smee. I'm playing golf this morning, but after that I should be able to fix this up. Thanks again!
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Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.


-Bob Dylan "Mr. Tambourine Man"
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« Reply #7 on: 11 July 2008, 04:20:02 »

All right I think I cleaned it up now. 2 things:

@Smee: I managed to put in everything you mentioned, but you might want to read over my changes to the mating section and see if they are to your liking, because I was struggling slightly on what you wanted me to do there. :) Thanks again!

@Talia: Ohhhh did I meddle.  devilish I put in quite few details about this new "offshoot" so you defintely are going to want to take a look an make sure what I said was okay. I worked with the Shendar and Baveras entry for that part. See Usages. Hope we can work this one in. :)

Any more comments? Hoping to get this in the update...
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Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.


-Bob Dylan "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Ta`lia of the Seven Jewels
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« Reply #8 on: 11 July 2008, 15:41:38 »

Ahh, Dru, a good idea with these Shendar - but no. All worship Baveras and they are not a people who would be religious fanatic. I just thought, you mention in territory, that the fish can be caught in this bay as well, so if I ever want them to go fishing, I can add that detail. I was not thinking of an entirely new subtribe. I don't think it would work either, for the coast there is very barren and you can't life on fish alone. The Himiko will be a culture without farmland, I don't want to create there another. But thanks for the attempt. I'm going now to look through your submission.
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« Reply #9 on: 11 July 2008, 16:27:50 »

The Jun’era Fish

Somewhat eerie looking and more than slightly dangerous, the Jun'era fish found on the eastern coast of Sarvonia is quite unique. This midsized fish is very common and is one of the least unusual foods in a poor sailor's diet. Though tough to catch with bait and tackle, this rewarding fish, as well as its eggs, are well known for their easy workability, cheap cost, and good taste.

Smee obviously didn't correct you, but I'm stumbling over this last sentence.
"Though tough to catch with bait and tackle, these  rewarding fish are, as well as their eggs, are well known for their easy workability....."
 


Appearance:
The Jun'era fish is a or: of a    silvery grey (british)  in colour for most of the year, though the females change to a golden hue    during the summer months. Especially during Burning Heavens and Sleeping Dreameress, the Jun'era is often unrecognizable unless one knows of this colour change. During this season the it  commonly mates, with those females with the brightest colouring in both stripe and body in highest demand. The main body is usually a fore give or take a few nailsbreadths, though the record is that a proper adjective? My dictionary doesn't know it, though it is clear what you mean, maybe the biggest ever caught Jun’era was caught near Mossy Rocks Cove in the Adanian Sea  no comma and was almost a full palmspan more than the norm!

The top fin in the midsection is abnormally compared to what? It seems to be normal for this fish, it is not an illness   large and slightly disproportionate to the body, standing at one to two palmspans tall and quite a colorful sight. Light greens and pinks signify a male, while the golden colour of a female in the summer is found year round in the stripe standing in the middle of a her top fin. This stripe and the similar colouring of her body act as her primary tool for mating attraction.

  You say above, that it is a midsized fish, but what do I landrat know, ho big fish are? I could deduce it ow out of the size of the fin, but maybe you mention the approximate length and thickness in the first paragraph?

The tail fin is translucent and enormous, running at nearly the same height as the mid section fin from one end to the other. These fins have a rather ghostly appearance. In murky or churning waters, this tail seems to fade away from the body, leaving many sailors who get a short glimpse of this fish wondering why these tails of appear to be scale-less; the bones, veins, etc. clearly visible, giving it a skeletal appearance. Upon close examination, one can notice small glands at the point where this fin connects with the rest of the body, which are used for mating.

The head is rather small, while the jaw is quite large and sticks out noticeably from the rest of the fish, showing an array of about seventy sharp teeth. Besides hunting, these are of course very helpful in defense from other fish such as Caéh-Fish and Khendochar which are much larger.Special ability    Seventy is a rough estimate, but the teeth of a Jun’era fall out and are replaced constantly. Each tooth has a “lifespan” so to speak, of about a month. After this time, they are lost, often embedded in a tough piece of meat.   And swallowed?

Special Abilities:
Besides adding a menacing touch to an otherwise beautiful fish, the large rows of teeth are, of course, very helpful to the Jun’era. This fish has two sets of teeth, the front row of teeth leans to the right, the second to the left, so when eating another small fish it can grind its prey to death. As gruesome as this might sound, from the fish’s point of view, this kills prey effectively and without hope of escape. If the prey does manage to escape then the half-eaten fish would be severely mangled on exit, and easy to catch and finish off.

Territory
The Jun'era is commonly found up and down the eastern coast of Sarvonia, though neither further south than the bay to the east of the Seven Jewels nor further north than the Peninsula of Glandor. Though the Haven of Sky formed by the Peninsula may be its territorial boundary, the Haven holds one of the highest Jun'era populations. Unfortunately, this tasty resource is useless to the Kanapan men of the area who have an almost entirely vegetarian diet. Hmm, the entry says that they are vegetarian, but I would not mention it. Many vegetarians eat fish, and this could be a resource of protein. Maybe even the contrary, they rely on that rich fish grounds to have a better diet?  Fishing for the Jun'era is also common in the triangle formed by the three separate isles in the Quios chain, as well as in Mossy Rocks Cove on the Manthrian coast.
Indeed, because the Jun'era is not found near Aeruillin, when the Stormcloak Shipping Guild approached Shan'Furionis in an attempt to open up trade there, one of the first goods offered were stored Jun’era eggs and salted steaks.

Some Jun'era are also found in the Ancythrian Sea, but due to the sense of danger permeating from everything to do with the, “Devil’s Sea“ they are rarely fished from these dark waters. The bizarre tail and overall ghostly appearance of the Jun’era are only enhanced by the sense of evil felt by all who sail in this sea.

Diet
The Jun’era has a varied diet consisting of some of the smallest and largest sea creatures. Though careful to avoid them when they travel in groups, a single Lazhbug poses a lesser threat to a Jun’era, and are a main part of this fish’s diet. This sharp-toothed fish will also go after the larger Bonehead and, if traveling in a larger scual, will even attack a Whale if food is scarce.

Habitat/Behavior
The Jun'era travels in scuals of anywhere from fifteen to fifty, give or take a few. The scual is always moving and usually in a tight unit formation. Most of these scuals are family based, and though sometimes families will combine, what is more common is for all children of the same parents to stick together in the same scual. A scual of these fish is indeed quite remarkable to see, especially in the parts of the year when bronze females do not disrupt the otherwise ghostly covering.

“Whenever we git new crewmen workin’ the nest, they always seem, at least once, to raise all ‘ell in the middle of the night when they see a ‘giant ghost of a whale’ coming straight at us. Well, the firs’ couple times it was a laugh, but affer awhile, it becomes a real pain. It’s a real looker though! Jus’ the other day I was runnin’ towards Nepris and a big ‘ol group of ‘em, must’ve been ‘bout sixty, came right at my port bow. O’course I knew what it was, but to see those ghostly fish gliding at you, and with tails that one can see right through! Well, I guess I can see why the men get in such a state about it!”
Captain Morok Jaek of Ciosa

Though the scuals will stick together for most of each fish’s life, they are usually not team oriented. Unless food is scarce or something very dangerous threatens the entire scual, such as a Guorani whale, the individual members attacked by a Caéh-Fish or Khendochar are forced to fight out such a battle to the death unaided. If it fails, its death is not mourned by its fellows who will in fact ignore the victor, allowing it to rejoice in the meal. If the single Jun'era is the victor, the winning fish will be forced to share its kill with the entire group, who attack the dead fish viciously. This odd occurrence is entirely at odds with the violently protective nature of parent Jun’era who has laid eggs.  The only other time these scuals are truly separated is after about a year, when the males and females pair up to mate.

  Oh well, fish don't mourn..

When attempting to catch a Jun’era, fisherman should be prepared for a fight. Though small, midsized, I thought?  these fish have extraordinary strength and have broken more than one fishing pole. Net fishing is certainly the easiest way to catch these fish, but small fisherman supplying food to their families often have to wrestle for quite awhile with a violent and biting fish.

Mating
In line with other Jun'era behaviour, mating occurs between members of the school, and often has fish left out.
  Doesn't that mean, that a lot of inbreeding occurs?
 During the summer roughly a year after the scual of fish are born, a curious event occurs. With the females fully colored bronze and particularly vivid mid fin stripes, the scual will separate by gender, and the males will, after the two groups are formed, make a mad dash at the females. Those with the most vivid coloring and stripe are in high demand. Nevertheless, these females have the option of rejecting any male that comes to them, by simply swimming away. Acceptance is shown by a brush of the tail fin against the male's side.Once a pair is formed the two fish will abandon their fellows. When the last pair of fish leaves, any odd fish out, including any gender imbalance, go with this pair and eventually join the scual of that pair's children.

The mating process is very quick and occurs while the pair swims. The male and the female press the glands near the edge of their tail fins together, and swim as one body to a suitable, fairly hidden spot on the sea floor. The roughly eighty eggs are now fertilized, and after a few months the female lays these eggs. The eggs take another sixth months to mature, but expand from less than a nailsbreadth in circumference to almost three during this time. After hatching the young take only a few months to mature to adult size. The child is also born without the signature teeth of the adult Jun'era, but the first set of about twenty grows as soon as the fish’s mouth has enough room; usually only a few weeks. The parents soon die after the fish are born.

Drú, that is very unlikely, that the female is pregnant for several  months. What are they doing meanwhile? Swimming around as pair? Not having the protection of the big scual? And six months ripening and growing on the seafloor? Are there not predators which would eat them all up in this time? What are the perils for the pair and the eggs during pregnancy and ripening?

I think you should look into this again. Do you have an aquarium and are interested in fish? Of course you can invent some new behaviour, that would be great, but it has to make sense

Just out of my head what I know about fish (there might be more):

Fertilisation takes place while the female lays the eggs in  a nest, the nest is protected fiercely.
Or:The eggs are distributed and hang on plants, so not everyone is found and eaten up.

The eggs are fertilized in the females womb and are born alive.

Take a look at mouthbreeders, they are very interesting fish (that would be the fish type I would write up, if I had the time)


Usages
Cut into steaks and fillets it can be boned and salted quickly cooked by fire or by grilling and then peppered with herbs and spices for a popular dish to eat. Its fish eggs known as Jun'nava are also stored and eaten as a side dish or spread on bread or water crackers or even meat to season it or add flavor. These are best harvested in the later stages of development when largest. The harvester must be very careful to ensure that he does not lose a few fingers or even a limb to the dangerous teeth of the parents.You did not say anything so far, that the nest is protected!    A tooth embedded in one’s skin is quick to become infected. As mentioned above, the Jun’era is rather common and found extensively in the average Avennorian fisherman’s diet. Both the eggs and the steaks are a trade product of the Stormcloaks Guild who, having perhaps the largest supply and easiest access to them, commonly sell them cured to many of their trading ports.

The Shendar living on the bay easy of the Seven Jewels commonly fish and eat these as well. This small offshoot was created from radically religious members of the Shen-D'auras who fell in love with the sea, and have devoted their lives to it and worship of the Sea goddess, Baveras. When they first traveled to the area, the Jun’era that they so commonly caught kept them from starvation. Today, ritual feasts to Baveras often include Jun’era. Of course, during the month of Passing Clouds the people of this area are required to, besides throwing all fish caught in the morning back one day, throw all Jun’era back when caught for the entire month. Sorry :( 

Myth/Lore
While no true “legends” have been derived from the ghostly appearance of this fighting fish, the difficulty in catching one has inspired the saying, “to wriggle like a Jun’era,” meaning to work very hard to achieve a goal. Besides this, Ducras the shipbuilder is well known for naming his ship the “The Golden Jun’era”. The famous inn built on the remains of Ducras’ house along the Mithral Coast Route is also named thus.


A nice fish!   A few corrections and it is done!
 
  :)
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« Reply #10 on: 13 July 2008, 10:21:33 »

Thanks so much Talia for going through this. I revamped the mating section quite a bit and took an interesting behaviour that I read about while doing some research. Apparently goldfish and koi men are rather violent.

I apologize if anyone has a problem with this behaviour (read the mating section to find it, it will stick out.) I hope no one, especially no females, take offense. I mean nothing by it, I just thought it was rather interesting and so stuck it in there.

So comments integrated. Is this blarrow-ready then? I want to try to get it in this update but i dont want to rush it...

Thanks again Tal. :)
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« Reply #11 on: 13 July 2008, 20:15:07 »

I'll try and squeeze in an uri tonight, i'm having company at the moment so i can't concentrate on Santharia a lot :) It's not going to be ready for the update though, but it will be in a few days, so it won't bother you for that much longer.
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« Reply #12 on: 17 July 2008, 07:20:40 »

Hey Mira guess you've been a bit busy with that uh, intriguing SanthTrek, but this is in thorn-in-my-side stage, so if you or someone else (?) wouldn't mind taking a 10 min look at it when you get a chance and seeing if there's anything else to fix that would be scrumdidilyumptious.

You can't mess with the scrumdidilyumptious... ;)
« Last Edit: 17 July 2008, 09:15:24 by Drúadan » Logged

Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.


-Bob Dylan "Mr. Tambourine Man"
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« Reply #13 on: 17 July 2008, 13:06:47 »

Very intriguing fish!
My only suggestion would be to add a recipe for it.
Other then that, great job!
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« Reply #14 on: 17 July 2008, 18:33:47 »

Deci says 'Myth or Lore?'


Other than that...this is good
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