Mæyre Herræyier (MEE-r HEH-ree-er)

The Mæyre Herræyier, also known as ‘The Fysche Out of Water’ is a species only found in the Mysted Mæyre. It has the appearance of a very large fish, The mysts are thick enough and contain enough moisture that the fish can still breath, but their unique physiology requires them to have more oxygen than a fish that lives in a body of water. If submerged in a body of water, the Fish out of water will drown. It is unable to breathe. It appears to have a partial lung ensenble that connects to its gills. The heart is also bigger and it has a more solid skeletal system. They are a fairly large fish, when allowed to grow to maturity, their longest recorded was about 15 metres long. It was assumed that that particular fish was relatively old, a survivor that was also in charge and dominant, possibly a predator.

The normal fauna of a forest still exists, birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, all a part of the ecosystem, and easily prey to the larger Fish.

At maturity, they are at least a meter long; anything smaller is not allowed to be hunted, though outsiders would normally call it “fished”, unless they were ocean-faring fisherfolk; they would understand the dichotomy of hunting versus fishing.

It lives in the ever present mysts of the forest. They can subsist on leaves and vegetation of the lush trees and bushes, but they will thrive when they’re able to hunt properly.

Their body is shaped like a tear drop, but turned on its side. It’s fins are angular and muscled, with some webbing and skin to allow directional change. Its dorsal fin is likewise sharp and angular, and the tail fins make the the tail look like a long, narrow isosceles triangle, that flows a long the body of the fish, making it streamlined, allowing it to be agile, fast and hard to catch. It secretes a mucus that coats its skin. It does not have scales like most water based fish would have. It has a mouth with three layers of sharpened teeth, each layer shorter than the previous as they go back into the mouth toward the throat. There are no teeth that are used to masticate, simply sharp teeth to rip and tear. If it is small enough, the prey food can be eaten whole. They have eyes that show luminescent when light is shone on them, but otherwise, their eyes seem hollow or empty. Their skin is thick, but smooth, making them difficult to catch by hand without other assistance.

There is no way to farm them, as they need the length and breadth of the expanse to grow appropriately. Likewise, they don’t breed and reproduce in the same location annually. Sometimes they return to a place they have used previously, but usually it is longer than ten years, and it is still without pattern. For example, if they bred and laid their eggs in and around tree A during year 1, they would not come back to tree A until at least year 10, but probably longer, but if they came back to tree A in or around year 10, they would most probably not go back to tree A in or around year 20. They might, however, go back to tree A between years 30 and 50, but would make it so that it wasn’t a predictable outcome. Mating pairs are found during breeding season. They sometimes last a season or two, but they are only paired during their mating times. They lay their eggs in the trees, the same as the birds do, but their nests are made of leaves and dewdrops, of berry brambles and other protective and or soft materials. Eggs have a harder shell than their aquatic counterparts, more similar in size to duck eggs. The eggs are laid in batches of 20, over the course of a week. The nests will cover many trees and bushes, and will not all be in the same location.