Linella

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Linella
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Fauna
Official Name Linella
Common Nicknames Laran Fish, Seacleaner Guppies
Classification Fish
Habitat Various oceans and seas
Domesticated No
Current Status Common

Linella are shimmering, beautiful fish that were initially believed to be the source for the strands that the Asha wove into their famous Elastan fabric. Linella proved in the past, and still proves today, to be key to local fishing efforts. The sharp scales that prickle their bodies, which caught the Elast threads used to create Elastan, do tend to pick up far more and can make them hard to catch and eat in some instances. But, a bit of pain is often worth the gain for the fishers who seek them out.

History

Linella have existed for millennia, dating back to the ancient Dewamenet Empire, where it appears alongside other sea life on murals and in architecture. The fish also appears in some ancient Fin’ullen art, though not as prominently. However, after the enslavement of the ancient Asha and the continued rise of the Allorn Empire, any information on the Linella’s role in Dewamenet society was lost. The Fin’ullen took a dominant role in relating to the fish, as these Elves enjoyed the Linella as one of many dozens of edible fish available to them. Its spines were an issue, but Fin’ullen chefs, and those who served the aquatic Elves, became experts at descaling a Linella, allowing one to cook and then eat it with ease. Elast threads were likely discarded in these early millennia as just one of the many bits of ocean flotsam alongside sea grasses and more that the fish became hooked on. The thorny issue of Elastan rears its head in this later era, as it seems clear that with time, the Elves came to understand where the Elast threads came from, and what they were. Whether they created the fabric or simply copied old Asha methods of creation is unclear, nor is it clear if the substance existed before the Cataclysm. It certainly existed after; with the emancipation of the Asha and their flocking to the Ashal Islands, the Linella became a major source of coastal food, as well as a way for the animal people to connect with the ancient past. Many scholars have come down on the Asha side of the argument, but regardless, the Linella remains populous today. Still caught by many fisherpeople who ply the southern and eastern waters of Altaleï, as well as the waters around central Westwynd, it is also a valued way for the Asha to get their hand on Elast threads.

Physical Appearance

Linella is anywhere from half a foot to two feet long, with two to three inches of thickness, and weighs only a few pounds. The head of the Linella is marked with a terminal mouth located in the middle of the head, with their eyes located around half an inch behind this mouth, each one a stark shiny blue. A short way behind these eyes are the gills. Linella tend to have two connected dorsal fins, the front spiny dorsal fin usually extending around an inch from the top of the body. In contrast, the soft dorsal fin behind it only raises about half an inch and is connected toward the corner of the first. The pectoral fins are located right behind the gills, and the Linella has a matching pair of pelvic fins in addition to a caudal and anal fin to accompany it. Their scales and even their fins have a bright, periwinkle-blue coloration. The unique trait that the fish have is the special scales that line their bodies. Toward the tail-end of each scale, there are a small series of hooks jutting out from each that curl forward, catching stray pieces of biological matter, debris, and on occasion the odd piece of inanimate matter. These fish when swimming in schools pick these up and carry them along the currents until they finally stop, the pieces of matter eventually gliding off the hooks and into such a spot that they can be readily consumed, allowing these fish to make a home and acquire a steady source of food almost anywhere in the oceans of Aloria.

Diversity

Linella have no sexual dimorphism, and their bodies are uniform in appearance regardless of what ocean or sea they originate from.

Life Span and Development

Linella are laid in spawning grounds as several dozen cloudy-blue eggs smaller than peas, which sometimes get carried within the layers of hooks that cover the bodies of adults. Due to the nature of these fish continually being on the move, there is no defined spawning ground, and the fish can adapt and hatch in a range of climates. The eggs hatch after around sixteen to twenty weeks, rapidly maturing from their small size but reaching their adult form after around nine months. The Linella generally lives up to four years, but most die at around three.

Mental Overview

Linella are fairly dull creatures without much complex activity or thought. They mindlessly feed on various forms of plant life, but when young, they are known to serve the role of cleaning fish, attaining their sustenance by keeping larger fish clean of debris. The hooks on their body, whilst normally used to collect biological matter for consumption, are capable of collecting inanimate debris and waste that finds its way into the ocean as well, sometimes preventing this material from reaching the ocean floor or amidst the coral reefs they often find themselves residing in.

Territory and Groupings

Linella exist in schools of up to 500 members, who swim in repeated migratory patterns, and consistently remain traveling after they spawn their eggs every autumn. Despite the awareness of the birthing patterns of the Linella by the Fin’ullen and the Asha, the Linella always seems to produce enough living offspring to offset any vast deficit that is created throughout the year. There have been multiple attempts to try and localize them to certain specific areas, yet despite such, Linella always appears to find their way back toward their ceaseless wandering, never remaining in any one spot for an extended period.

Trivia

  • Linella scales, once stripped for cuisine, are often discarded as part of chum, or are dumped off fishing boats. This ironically can result in Linella, young and old, encountering the scaly remains of their species, and not noticing it getting caught in their scales.
  • Linella are not at the bottom of the food chain, but their scales do deter fellow medium fish from approaching even juvenile members of the species.
  • Mewnes farms, existing underwater, commonly feature fish farms, or fishing vessels, nearby, to help collect or stop the removal of Elast threads by Linella schools, who are then themselves eaten.

Accreditation
Writers Follower, HydraLana
Processors FireFan96, MantaRey
Last Editor HydraLana on 12/10/2023.

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