Blade of Jalat

 

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The Blade of Jalat is about ten feet long, though the tall blade-like tail adds almost an additional ten feet to its overall length. The Blade of Jalat is deep obsidian black, with a pure white underbelly. Many fishermen will warn against being careless with this fish, as it’s tail is a rather deadly weapon. There are many accounts of fishermen who would lean to far over the side of their boats and before they knew what was happening, the tail of the Blade of Jalat would whip out of the water and remove the poor fool's head. However, this is far from the truth. A Blade of Jalat will not usually harm humans unless provoked. Mostly they eat small fish, traveling alone to do their dining. They first swim in circle around a school of fish, using their tails as whips to drive the fish together. Once the fish are in close groups, the Blade of Jalat charges in jaw wide open. It catches them easily, due to it’s speed and surprise factor of this maneuver, swallowing a few with each big gulp.

Blades of Jalat live a few miles off shore in all the temperate seas of Telath. A litter usually contains two pups, each five feet long. The Blade of Jalat is a difficult fish to catch, but to the people of the sea they are invaluable. Many were the wandering Mermen who would slay a Blade of Jalat with a spear, then take the blade and fashion it into a suitable weapon. Also, the bones of the Blade of Jalat are not the thin, soft bones of most fish. Their bones are much thicker and much tougher, and many have been used to carve various tools, toys, and even buttons for those that live under the sea, or for selling to those that live above it.

The flesh of a Blade of Jalat is plenty, but poisonous. Found to be a delicacy by many peoples across the face of Telath and under her waves, the Blade of Jalat requires specialized cooking to even have a chance of being safe. Restaurants that do serve this delicacy have well paid food testers to make sure that the meat of the fish is prepared properly. If the tester gets sick or dies, then the chef who prepared the Blade of Jalat is fired, or killed, depending on the situation. It is rare to find a chef that can truly prepare this sweet meat.