Archivist note: This post is from an older recovered archive.
==Initial Post==
((Posted by Queer Hermit on May 9, 2010))
It is time. I have researched all my notes and even did some travel to some other neighboring Steamlands to gather as much as I could for the summoning of a water spirit. This has been quite the learning experience for me as I talked to other religions for input. It appeared that sailors had varying opinions on religion but quite a few believed in saints of one type or another. So…I think I will try to include that too. It seems that the term “Requiem” fits in well as it defines a service for the dead. I know Mr. Mannonen is looking for closure on the death of his close friend and I hope I can provide that with a fusion of belief systems, both Eastern and Western.
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I wear a white and gold kimono to symbolize that fusion and white in the Eastern style represents death while in the Western it represents purity. I walk down to the patch of Clockhaven beach that I have discovered and collect my thoughts for a while. Then I kneel down by the waters edge and fill my cupped hands with the fluid. I close my eyes and enter the space of here/not here and perform the invocation that hopefully a water spirit would respond to.
“Who dwells with the dead who sleep in the sea? Who lives upon the water’s surface and speaks to them? Ego accerso phasmatis aequora. Who would speak with me?”
My call goes out over the water and fades into the distance. I shake the water from my hands and pull up a barrel that lies above the surf line and sit prepared to wait. The sun shines brightly upon the waters. I watch the surf lap the rocky shore and drift in and out of a light slumber. Waiting was a skill taught by the monks, sometimes with a stick. Patience…be as still as a stone, quiet as feathers, listen for everything and hear the world move around you.
Drat…a tonbo, or small dragonfly, keeps buzzing around me. In Japan boys are named after them as they are supposed to be fierce in battle and brave too. I wave my hand trying to get the small pest to move on to another place.
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“Small pest? Does size matter that much to you? We can change that very, very quickly shrine maiden.”
I almost fall off the barrel as a giant insect suddenly appears in front of my face, the wind from its wings causing my kimono to flap.
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It’s the water spirit! I almost chased it away! The senior monk would whip me for sure on this error.
“Your pardon tonbo, I meant no dishonor. I have never summoned a water spirit before and was looking for a sea creature. Will you still talk with me?”
“I shall shrine maiden. Provide me a place to alight upon and we will have a talk.”
I detect a hint of laughter in the spirit;s voice as I find a nearby floating stick and jam it into the ground. The spirit lands upon it and then shrinks down a bit to fit itself on properly.
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“What shall we talk about today? I can not stay for long so I hope you are prepared.”
“I need to find someone. Someone who has died at sea and has a friend on land that still mourns for him. Can a person who has drowned still live on?”
“They can sometimes. It depends on how they died.”
“I know it was on a ship that sank by accident. The person was trapped within I believe. His friend on land owes him his life due to his bravery.”
“Death with a purpose has its rewards. One might be re-birth. You are of course familiar with that concept.”
“I am taught that sometimes a person may be reborn in another shape to continue his journey to nivana.”
“That is very true. For a price I would assist you with this task.”
Here we go. I must be careful as I made a mistake with Daniel the engineer by being flippant.
“Might I know what the price is before I agree?”
“Why, of course little miko. You must eat wiggyfish for a week. Those animals eat so many of us. It would be quite ample payment for my search for this person.”
UGH !! I hate wiggyfish. But I have agreed to Mr. Mannonen that I would do this task. I could try frying them on a charcoal fire and load on the sauce to kill the taste I guess.
“I accept your request and will do as you wish.”
“Wonderful!! The person’s name then quickly as I must be off.”
“His name is Charles Oliver Lane and the vessal’s name was the S. S. Triton.”
“Quite a nautical name. I shall begin the search. The ocean is a large place and moves at its own pace. Do not expect an answer quickly.”
“I understand. Thank you for helping me.”
“You are welcome shrine maiden.” As the tonbo leaps into the air, it hovers and slowly turns towards me.
“By the way, adding sauce to the wiggyfish does not help kill the taste.” Another mental laugh and it disappears into the ocean haze.
One week, I hope I can stand it….
==Comments==
*Comment by Tepic Harlequin on May 9, 2010 at 5:04am
i know the best way to prepare Wiggyfish chowder….you take one large Wiggyfish, gut it, taking care to scrape all the insides clean, remove the scales (with a wire brush..), slice the flesh thinly and place in a vinegar marinade. Then prepare clams, mussels, razor clams (if you can find em.), create a fish stock, and add the stock and shellfish to lightly fried sliced onions (fried in best butter..). Now, once the chowder is nice and hot, seasoned to taste, take the marinaded Wiggyfish, and very carefully, because this is the critical part, throw the Wiggyfish away. Now eat your wonderful hot, Wiggyfish chowder….
*Comment by Queer Hermit on May 9, 2010 at 8:06am
Sounds like a wonderful chowder Master Tepic but I must honor the agreement I made. I am hoping the sauce hides the taste but the water spirit did not think that was going to happen. I am hoping to fry the smell aroma out by placing on a stick over a charcoal fire.
*Comment by MichaelD Mannonen on May 9, 2010 at 9:11am
I’m sorry, I did not realize you would have to go through this!
As I was responsible for the request, I shall eat wiggyfish also. It’s the least I can do…
*Comment by Victor on May 9, 2010 at 12:40pm
Wiggyfish is very nice is prepared correctly…
Make a basting sauce of half a cup of lime and half a cup of orange juice, add a half teaspoon of salt, a crushed chunk of garlic, a cruched chilli pepper. Let the basting juice stand for about 1 hour.
Grill the wiggyfish, applying liberal amounts of the basting sauce whilst grilling.
Lime draws out the nasty taste, orange subdues the acidic rawness of the fish revealing the actual fish taste rather than the industrial waste its been eating, garlic add’s a bite, and the chilli calms down any orange zest taste there might be.
((recipe taken from a trick I used to do for grillin Monkfish, a distant cousin of the Angler Fish that the wiggyfish is based on. Monkfish are just as ugly as Anglers…))
Monkfish
Deepsea Angler Fish
…and yes…i was a Commis Chef during my teen years, learned a lot of tricks :)
*Comment by Penelope Strathearn on May 9, 2010 at 3:26pm
Victor’s idea sounds like it’s worth a try, but if it doesn’t do the trick completely, you can submerge the remaining wiggyfish flavor under a healthy dollop of Awesome Sauce. I’ll leave a free sample on my Cafe counter for you to pick up next time you’re in Wheatstone. *grin* ((Seriously, I’ve got freebie bottles of “Awesome Sauce” at the Cafe!))
*Comment by Gabriell Anatra on May 9, 2010 at 4:00pm
That is quite good. I can say honestly that it does work on Wiggyfish, at least for my palate. I would suggest marinating it for several hours, however. Oh, and don’t eat a great deal of it. That industrial effluvia is not terribly healthy to most living things.
Tequila works quite well as a base for a marinade too. This has the advantage of being useful with the cheap Tequila available in New Babbage.
An aside: Does anyone know a bar that serves Herradura? I’ve found Sierra here, but . . well, Sierra is better for cooking than mixing and not at all for sipping.
*Comment by Phineas Frakture on May 9, 2010 at 9:41pm
quit scaring the turtles
*Comment by Queer Hermit on May 10, 2010 at 11:49am
I would have not thought the storyline lending itself to a chef’s discussion on the preparation of wigglyfish *giggles*. Perhaps the Ladies Fire Brigade should do a wigglyfish cookbook for next years calender. We already have enough material for the first three months!
