Hirudiculturist
Greymantle's most abundant natural resource: leeches!
Hirudiculturists are those proficient in the keeping and breeding of leeches, of which there are many species and specialized varieties, with just as many varied uses.
Perception
Demographics
Leech farming is one of the best professions to get into if you are a new addition to Lockhinge and don't mind physical labor. The entry level is daunting and dirty work for very little pay, but it requires very little skill or fluent grasp of Common, and there is much room for upward mobility as one becomes more of an expert in the field. So, range of represented species and ethnicities in the field of hirudiculture is a very wide one.
History
Like most trademark traditions of Greymantle, the area around Lockhinge city especially, leech farming was originally borne of necessity. Greymantle is enormously difficult to tame or farm in any capacity, and the list of safe, edible things found naturally ocurring there is startlingly short.
In making use of the limited things at their disposal, the first outsiders trying to scrape a life out of the swamp understandibly tried to find as many uses as possible for one of Greymantles most abundant resources. Leeches generally aren't considered a great (or easily eaten) source of nutrition, but they make excellent bait for much more edible things, as well as being useful in treating a myriad of maladies. Hirudiculture first began to simply raise these creatures in a controlled environment so that a few less risky trips out into the swamp needed to be taken.
A little further along in time, once the keeping and breeding of the common, small leech species had become fairly well understood, folks turned their attention to the larger, more uncommon species. A few of the varieties of large leech found in distant corners of the march were much "meater" than the ones that were little more than bundles of tough, rubbery connective tissue. It has been said that those first leech farmers first got the idea to start raising leeches for food after seeing local tribes of lizardfolk happily dining on giant leechess smoked over their fires, but it is just as likely that a few particularly lean years drove them to get creative in their desperation.
Operations
Dangers & Hazards
The hazards that threaten a leech farmer on the job are all the ones that one risks in spending time out in the swamp, plus dangers from the leeches themselves. Large species of leech can deliver nasty bites, with their surprisingly formidable draining capabilities added on to. Some species even have venom or paralyzing agents in their saliva. Passing out in a pen of leeches is an unfortunately common cause of death in the industry. Beyond what the leeches themselves are capable of doing, they can also carry parasites and diseases (such as Dreaming Fever) that can be passed along to their keepers.
Alternative Names
Leech farmer, Leecher
Type
Agricultural / Fishing / Forestry
Demand
High demand in Greymantle
Related Locations