Old Alba - Coastal Iele (yeh-lay)

“Alba! Where are you, Alba?” Elena nearly tripped over the loose and mossy cobblestones on her way down to the cove. She caught herself on the railing, but earned a splinter for it and let out a whimper. The tiny little girl was a tough creature however and trotted onward as she sucked at the wound. She called the name again, her shrill voice carrying over the calm waters and disturbing the ducks.
What was left of the summer rushes stirred at her call. From under the algae blanket rose a gleaming and scaled equine head. With her mouth full of water chestnut roots, Old Alba trilled in Elena’s direction and drifted through the scummy water over to the spot where the weathered dock met the shore. The little girl giggled and forgot about her splinter to scoop up a handful of weeds and river rushes from the shore to feed to the old sea horse.
“Here, eat this…” Elena insisted, pushing the weeds to the iele. Alba nosed at the fare and humored the little one, taking a little to please her. The little girl giggled as the iele’s wet, cold nose nuzzled against her fist and she brushed algae off of her long snout and gills. She began to pet the beast, counting the scales on her neck until she lost her place at about nine and was forced to start over. The love in her little heart ignored her once ultramarine scales that were now more silver than blue and the places that they molted, never to return. Nor did she see the scars in her hide or torn fins.
“... I don’t think I can do it, Momma,” Alexei sighed as he leaned on the doorframe, looking over at his wife. His face pinched, showing the deep lines around his eyes and brow from hours in the coastal sun. Mihaela sighed, tucking the dish towel under her arm to fix her head scarf. She watched as Elena played in the shallow waters with Alba and nervously thumbed at the black pearl hung around her throat.
Their little daughter would laugh and jump, trying to catch the gentle giant. The water horse dipped below the surface with barely a ripple and a flash of her serpentine tail, only to resurface behind Elena and squirt her in the back with river water. When the girl screamed in laughter, the iele let out a whinnying trill that sounded almost like laughter.
“Take her to the market to pick the new iele, my love…. She will be so excited she won’t even notice Alba is gone. I can harness her by myself,” Mihaela answered after some time with tangible remorse in her tone. Alexei’s expression soured at that and he felt a regretful jerk in his chest, but he knew it was the right thing to do… for Elena’s sake. He went to fetch his belongings and wicker lunch pail while his wife lingered, just watching this scene to commit it to memory. The woman’s eyes pricked with tears at the memory of her family’s first iele and how it perished in a fishing accident but she blinked the mist away before her beloved could see.
Alexei squeezed her arm and kissed her cheek and she could not help but smile as his whiskers tickled her face. She tugged at his patchy beard as a reminder to trim and he just shook his head at her in response.
“You are soaking wet!” the man snatched his giggling daughter up out of the water and had her say her farewells to Alba, for they were going to market. Mihaela watched her protest and finally hugged Alba’s snout before trotting after her father. The water horse splashed the surface with her tail, and nickered in response. The beast lingered above the water, watching the two of them go until they disappeared; it was as if she knew something was amiss.
Momma’s throat tightened with guilt.
“Why are we going to the market, Papa? It’s not the beginning of the month,” Elena queried as they made their way up onto the dirt road that led into town. Her father watched her spin in circles in an attempt to dry off faster but only succeeding in getting her feet filthy. Alexei sat her down in the grass to clean her off and patiently explained that it was time to get a new iele because Old Alba was too slow to herd fish into their nets and pull the skiff.
He neglected to mention that this meant that it would mean Old Alba would have to be sold for meat to afford such a purchase and she would no longer be there when they returned.
Back at the cove, Mihaela silently harnessed Alba to their fishing skiff - the only vessel they owned. Normally, she conversed with the water beast about her troubles and Alba would listen and offer the occasional warble or trill in agreement. The beast hovered as she prepped the harness, seeming nervous from her master’s muteness.
Far too embroiled in her own thoughts, Mihaela forgot to skip the rickety board Alexei never fixed and her foot went straight through the dock with an alarming crack! Without hesitating, Alba moved to catch her, propping the woman up with her strong neck to keep her from falling too far. After a stunned moment, Mihaela got her bearings and pulled her leg free while she used the sea-horse as support. She hissed at the sting and plopped down on the rickety dock; she had worse, however. Alba let out a quiet, concerned warble as she gently touched her nose to her master’s injured leg.
Momma burst into tears.
The market was busy as always and Alexei made sure to hold Elena’s sweaty little hand every moment. She marveled at everything from day old fish and dirty tubers to the overpriced stands selling silks and gold from Sulaste. The township of Vinoste always reeked of fish and today was no different. The fisherman navigated through the market to the far dock stalls where they could hear the whinnies and trills of the working iele for sale. They did not bother to stock the well bred iele that competed in the shows in such a dirty place.
Iele swam in bored circles in their little pens, trying to find ways to pass the time or hoping for passerby that might pay them some much needed attention. As Alexei used one hand to count the coins in his purse, Elena let out a little gasp of excitement at all the young water horses. She yanked her slippery hand free and sprinted down the greasy pier and past the salesman advertising broken or unbroken stock.
“Elena!” Her father barked her name, stumbling and spilling valuable gold coins onto the ground. He hesitated for only a moment, but that moment was all that was needed for her to put her hands on an unlatched gate and lean forward into the pen.
His heart seized as he expected to hear a scream and a splash, but neither came.
Elena squealed in laughter as she leaned forward towards the dark water only to be pushed right back by a cold snout. A verdant emerald iele looked down at her and gave a scolding snort. She giggled again and tried to open his pen to get closer, even though there was nowhere for such a tiny young child to stand. The water horse let out a chastising trill and held the gate closed again as if to tell her ‘no, it isn’t safe’.
Dumbfounded, Alexei watched with his mouth agape. The salesman scooped her up and away from the deep water and began to scold her as her father made his way over. The fisherman profusely apologized and exchanged the child. Elena had no care for the two adults and raised her voice over them.
“Papa, I want that one!” She insisted as if she were picking out a new toy or fruit. The little girl pointed to the large young male iele watching them from a distance with concern. Alexei normally preferred to keep his own council, but on this occasion, he had to agree.
“Is he broken?” He turned to the salesman in inquiry.
“Well, he’s a bit green - er, no pun intended,” the salesman scratched the back of his neck. “He can pull your dinghy, but can’t herd the fishes. That costs extra--”
“He’s perfect. I’ll take him.”
After paying the man a sizable down payment and arranging a delivery for the beast, he took Elena to a street vendor to get them a fried bun to share since his purse was mostly lint now. He would not let her have any until she understood her blunder.
On their way home, he held her hand and had her pick a name for their new beast. He enjoyed her excitement while it lasted, only anticipating her sorrow when she found out the truth.
“I can’t wait to tell Alba she’s getting a little brother! We’re naming him Babu!” Elena exclaimed as she went running down the path, unaware she was adding insult to injury. Her father sighed and followed after, his footsteps now dragging.
“Hello, my little sweet,” her momma pulled her into her lap as she sat on their dock. Alexei stood still as he saw Alba bobbing up and down in the water nearby and nipping playfully at Elena’s sandals. She warbled in a greeting to the two of them.
He slowly approached, looking at his wife in question. Mihaela gave him a somber smile and smoothed her daughter’s hair down as she squirmed. It was then that he noticed the bare spot around her neck. He gestured, silently asking where her pearl was. She touched her throat and nodded. At Elena's feet Alba trilled inquisitively as if to ask if he was alright.
Alexei let out a breath he had been holding all day and had a seat on the dock with his family.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Iele are compound creatures whose front halves resemble horses and back halves resemble fish. Their bodies are covered in soft scales and fins while their front feet are three toed. They come in many different colors with the most common being dark green, blue, and black. Other more exotic colors include lighter or more vibrant shades of the previous mentioned or purple, white or metallic colors such as gold or copper being the rarest.
Iele possess a set of amphibious lungs, allowing them to perform actions out of the water but they are not able to live out of the water.

Genetics and Reproduction

Iele reproduce similar to salmon spawning where a female lays a clutch of eggs and the male will fertilize. They do not migrate for this ritual.

Growth Rate & Stages

Only one or two offspring from the spawn make it out of the infancy stage to a calf. An iele enters the stage of a calf when its front legs have grown out and can eat whole leaves rather than filter feeding algae. The babies then make their own ways in the wild or are raised on farms by breeders and grow into adults. Iele normally live 10 - 15 years but have been known to live up to 30 if well cared for.

Ecology and Habitats

Iele can tolerate both fresh and salt water, but it is common knowledge that one should not take a creature that has lived its life in fresh water to salt water and vice versa. Certain iele are trained and bred for ferries or fishing the delta where the water changes going in or out of the delta. Such iele are very expensive for their breeding and hardiness.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Iele are herbivorous grazers and enjoy delicacies such as watercress and moss balls.

Biological Cycle

Color emerges once the iele develop into calves. Many calves are multicolored as their bodies develop. The people of Ulvad believe that certain diets affect their colors, so iele that are for showing or sport are fed special diets to make them more vibrant. Age on a iele is denoted when their scales begin to turn gray and silver, starting on their face and chest.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Wild iele live in herds of 6 - 10 with one alpha male or female. The largest creature in the pack usually fills this role. These iele will travel the channels or coast in search of food and the natural caves on Ulvad's continental shelf.

Domestication

Iele are naturally mild and intelligent creatures, so the practice of domestication was only natural. In years of breeding, they have produced stronger stockier creatures for pulling ferries or skiffs as well as slim and athletic iele specifically for herding fish.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

When a creature is deemed unusable because it cannot be broken or it is too old, it is often killed and its body used in different ways. The most common is meat used for fish chum or cheap stew. It's large leathery hide makes for good waterproof boots and coats for sailors who have to venture onto the sea.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Iele posses a lower form of echolocation and the people of Carovige and the eastern delta have taught them how to herd fish into nets.

Conservation Status

Iele are very common on the coast of Ulvad and the common working house on the waterways owns a common bred beast.

Average Length

9-12 feet though larger specimens have been bred.

Geographic Distribution

• Ulvad