The Gift of Fish

Terraforming a world for inhabitation by new species is difficult even by the standard of advanced species like the Arcopel; a imbalance between species or a dearth of critical members of the food chain can spell disaster. The planet Evermorn, home of the Evermornan peoples and the birthplace of the Cobalt Protectorate, is a cold, damp world that, before the arrival of humans, had little in the way of evolved multicellular life. Into this inhospitable world the ancient pre-Evermornan ancestors were cast for the cruel curiosity of the then-mighty Upper Late Arcopel interstellar empire. These early Evermornans struggled for subsistance in the harsh climes of this unfamiliar world, but eventually came into contact with fish which had also been depositied on Evermorn, which, in combination with their developed culture of food preservation, proved decisive in the survival of the human diaspora.
The Ancestral Patron Izetsu Nemora, the Sea Sage, was a pre-modern nature spirit revered by the early Evermornans for his connection to the cycles of the sea. One myth, named 'The Gift of Fish,' states that Izetsu was among the first humans to walk the ice of Evermorn and, seeing his people suffering, tore the flesh and iridescent blue scales from his breast and cast them over the water to conjure forth fish from 'Lost Aterr,' the unknown homelands of humanity. Izetsu then taught his followers how to find the fish, and how to catch them with nets and spears. Only some fish were edible, however; some were poisonous, having been plucked from over Izetsu's spleen, while others were 'false' fish from another dark spirit which gave no value to the eater. To rectify this problem, Izetsu also passed down the lore by which his followers could tell apart the 'good,' the 'bad,' and the 'false' fishes.

Historical Basis

Some edible fishes on Evermorn are truly believed to have come from the long-forgotten homeworld of humanity through the terraforming efforts of the Arcopel, as these possess genes and protiens which are recognizably related to those found in humans. Others were likely only edible as a result of convergent evolution on the part of some pre-existant Evermornan species, though others are so radically different that they either poison the eater, induce anaphylaxis, or provide no nutritional benefit. In either case, the ancient Evermornan peoples would have had no way of knowing where the fish on Evermorn came from, so the arrival of edible species near their famine-stricken settlements would have seemed nothing short of miraculous. As for Izetsu himself, he is believed to be an early Evermornan interpretation of a previous god of sea and storms who, through distorted and fragmented oral histories, evolved into the blue-skinned, scale-bearing fish-man that the Ancestral Codex describes.

In Art

The image of Izetsu rending his own flesh to provide food for his people has potent symbolism in Evermornan culture related to the concepts of martyrdom, self-sacrifice, suffering in the name of higher virtues, and respect for the natural world. Classical art depicting The Gift of Fish never shied away from the violence of Izetsu's sacrificial act, sometimes even straying into controversy by exaggerating the spillage of blood and the shape of the musculature visible beneath. This imagery may have also played a part in Izetsu's eventual emergence as a patron not only of the sea, but of exquisite pain and the knowledge of the self.