SC2020 - Ytering - Wire Eels

Ytering is one of the few coastal towns on the bright side. In reality it is a half island. It is located on a strange, natural plateau, that sits at the edge of the sea. This means that it the settlement is only landlocked at low-tide. At high tide it is an island. The plateau is surrounded by boulders. Back when the city was first founded one had to climb these to get to the city. Now, a floating stair bridge that goes up and down with the tide has been made, such that it is far more accessible. Amongst the boulders is a coral reef and it is the prefect hunting ground for the wire eels. However, as the eels prefer to stay in water, only a few eels could have their territory in the boulders as only a small section is continuously under water. The citizens fairly quickly hunted the eels to extinction. It was then a wise mayor decided to try a rescue program. She first banned all eel fishing in the reef, then sent out an expedition to capture a few eels and bring them back. Given that these grounds where so perfectly suited to the eels, the newly captured eels relatively quickly repopulated the boulders. But the mayor wanted more eels, therefore a small dam was constructed around the boulders, it would need constant maintenance, but it kept the lowest area of the boulders constantly submerged. However, the eel population did not grow nearly as much as the citizens had hoped. Over a couple of generations, the citizens on Ytering managed to start dividing the boulders into small sections. Initially, this was a huge failure, as the eels would hunt all prey to extinction and then die from starvation. That was solved by feeding the eels. Once the citizens of Ytering managed to distinguish males from females, they started experimenting with breeding, and not just capturing and growing them large. This was also a long tough journey, as males and females seemed equally competitive about territory and when they could not escape the small pens build by the citizens, they fought eachother to the death. However, sometimes the eels would mate instead, and they could then be separated. In the end it was established that breeding only took place when the male came to the female’s territory, and only if he came when the female was in heat, which could be detected by certain hormones in the water. Now that farming wire eels have become popular many visit Ytering in order to figure out their secrets, but the Yterings will not give it up readily as they have now become the main supplier of wire eel across the continent, which has made their city so propurous that it can hardly fit on the plateau anymore.

Type

Town