Spomlor

Fish
Where: Worldsea

The spomlor is a silvery fish, about a foot long, that swims in the sea but is often seen on the menu too. They are found in large groups, although the young male spomlor will live alone when it is not the mating season (Afterwinter).

The groups swim in the deeper parts of the Worldsea, west of Roverseiland, in rather cold water. The female spomlors, larger than ever with eggs, will swim to warmer water in the late Preyear, along the Fanigawi and Salamandran shore, to lay their eggs in the weeds and algae that are found on the shallow bottom of the sea there. The young spomlors are born there, where they can hide in the plants from predators. In the Aftersummer, the young spomlors are full grown and swim with their mothers in large groups to the colder waters of the Worldsea. Here, they will feed on small shrimps and other tiny marine animals to grow fatter for the coming mating season.

Meanwhile, the male spomlors are on their own in the deeper sea. To protect themselves from any kind of enemy, they roll themselves around the sea kumbra, a plant that grows deep under water. Their skin turns into a dangerous surface with pricks a lot of pins. Anything that attacks them will hurt itself.
The spomlor is a delicacy in many places. The fish, that has a firm body, which tastes rather sour, can be held fresh a little longer than most other fishes. It is often sold with a sea kumbra that adds a fresh taste to it and does preserve the fish even longer (it might be that the strong taste of the kumbra covers up the taste of the rotting fish instead of really conserving it). In many cases, raw red ajuins and sour cream flavoured with herbs are also served with it. However, the fishes on sale are of the female kind, because the males are less easy to catch and worse to handle because of the pins.

The unlaid eggs found in the belly of the female spomlor are sold for much money. They are the true expensive part of the female fish that is caught in Preyear. The taste however is "just plain salty like seawater" as some people have explained, but nonetheless the rich and famous say the eggs have an excellent taste and are worth every skatt.