Blekendelph Handler

A Blekendelph Handler is a the chief trainer, keeper and companion to Blekendelph as they are being used for racing. It is their job to work together and monitor the ongoing health of the squid dolphins, keep them in racing shape and tend to their needs. They are employed by the various stable owners and spend their entire work time in and around the animal corrals.

Historically, blekendelph handlers have all been merlings, due to their close relationship between the two species. Merlings are a race of diminutive merfolk that swim incredibly fast and have the ability to change into bipeds on land. They must return to the water within an hour of being on land or revert to their fish halves.

Blekendelph handlers care for the animals, tending to their feeding and any medical needs. They train and exercise them between races and keep them in top physical form. On race day, they are responsible for bringing the blekendelph from their stables to the channel course and back. They have little interaction with the owners or their representatives, except under special circumstances.

The handlers are very visible to the spectators during race-day activities and sometimes certain individuals well develop unusual followings. They are considered to be amusing to watch, similar to clowns or acrobats, and provide an amusement to people waiting to watch a race. As such, their well-being is marginally more important to the general public than to the owners and the managers of the stables.

Career

Qualifications

Blekendelph handlers are almost exclusively captive merlings, that are bred and trained for this purpose only. They are raised in family units with the various blekendelphi themselves and form very close, very complex relationships with them. The young start off assisting their parents and older siblings, and as they grow are farmed out to the various owners to be used as handlers.

Career Progression

Occasionally an older merling will exhibit knowledge and abilities beyond basic animal handling that they will be used as bookkeepers or responsible for ordering supplies for the stables, but this is rare. Mostly the merlings spend their entire lives either working directly with the blekendelphi, raising children, or otherwise supporting the racing community.

Payment & Reimbursement

Merlings are not technically owned as slaves but their entire culture is dedicated to the health and well-being of the blekendelphi that they would never leave. As such, they endure abuse and neglect at times from some of the owners while continuing their duties. Other owners are more generous and occasionally will reward their handlers with pittances, treats or other bonuses but rarely are they provided a regular wage of any kind.

Other Benefits

It is considered a sacred duty of the merlings to care for the blekendelphi, so they endure many hardships to do so. They form tight bonds with individual "delph" that the relationship at times borders on symbiotic.

Perception

Social Status

Merlings do not mix with the patrons and stay only to themselves. They do interact with the representatives of the blekendelph owners and the stable management but that is the extent of their contact with the rest of the world. If they are seen outside of their normal environment in and around the stables, they are generally ignored or abused.

Demographics

Merlings are the only people employed as blekendelph handlers. Blekendelph will not allow anyone else near them, unless accompanied by a trusted merling handler.

History

When blekendelph were first discovered, they were found living in harmony with the merlings and other intelligent species in the sea. After realizing their potential for sport and making money from racing, the merling society was transplanted to Melas and forced to work caring for the blekendelphi.

Operations

Tools

Although nets and other typical land-based tools for livestock are at times used for the more "spirited" of the blekendelphi, most handlers have no need of tools to maintain the connection and control of the animals.

Workplace

Handlers often live in the stables themselves with the blekendelph for weeks and months at a time, rarely actually returning to their homes. They carve out nests and other resting places for themselves in the sea beds near their charges, so they can be available whenever they are needed.

Provided Services

Blekendelph handlers are in charge of bringing the animals out of the stables to the warmup areas, where they are put through several paces before a race. They are then led to a starting gate and released. Each merling's mated pair awaits at the end of the race to collect their charge and return them to the stable. They are then checked over for injuries, treated, fed and cared for until the next race.

Dangers & Hazards

While most interactions between a blekendelph and its handler are coordinated, occasionally accidents happen. Injuries can occur if a blekendelph loses control or is ill. In addition, if an animal does poorly in a race or has earned its owner's disfavor, sometimes their frustrations can be taken out on its handlers with , sometimes fatal results.

Alternative Names

Bleklickers, blekmen

Type

Agricultural / Fishing / Forestry

Demand

Merlings are in plentiful supply, unfortunately for them, and provide a continuous stream of able workers.

Legality

The post is legal based on the laws of the town where it exists, although most communities would consider the living conditions and (lack of) meaningful pay to be bordering on slavery or indentured servitude.

Related Locations

• Nightlesbyy Glade