SC2020 - Power eel / Wire eel.

This species gets it common name from the fact that it is used as a power cord or electric wire. It has been found that with the correct treatment of the central nerve cord, this eel can serve as a basis for electric wire. With metals being almost unavailable on Garuda, this eel has become highly sort after and was hunted to near extinction. Since the City Senate gained power it has made it illegal to hunt or power eel in the hopes that the population might get back to a healthy point. Until then the only way of acquiring wire eel is through breeding them. The wire eel are carnivorous, highly territorial, and do not breed well in captivity. Thus, breeding them has proven severely difficult and for that reason it is a new industry as hunting them has always seemed like a far better option until now. Now adays hunters have to be even better, since they need to capture the eels alive and transport them alive to a breeder. This is an especially difficult profession these days, as if the eel dies during transport, it could end up as a big problem for the hunters, as possession and selling of wire eel without a permit is illegal and carry harsh sentences. Only breeders can obtain permits. For this reason there are black market breeders who by dead wire eels of hunters for relatively cheap, in order to then sell the profit. There are also some overlap between hunters and breeders. However, hunter/breeders are typically under observation from the local authorities. There are stories of hunter finding eels of over two meters, and how they brutally wrestled them into domination. While the two meter long wiring parts can be found, the legends of how they were caught are almost certainly pure fiction. One of the reasons the wire eels can be used for power cords are that they themselves use electricity as part of their hunting and as a self defense. Thus, people handling them have to take great care to avoid being electrocuted, and someone wrestling them underwater is bound to end up badly. With their levels of near extinction people from all across the continent are going on pilgrimage to the small town of Ytering, who were the first to start breeding the eels and thus are further in the process than others.