The relationship between dolphins and Jun is a close but complex one. There is an extremely dense complex of several overlapping cultural groups and odontocete species (key players in the region are bottlenoses, spinners, and melon-headed whales) in the nearby Sea of Plenty and the Blazing Sea, which have been uneasy allies to Jun for several centuries now. This has given Jun the leverage to take control of the waters and become one of the greatest maritime powers in this part of the world, holding a tight grip on the ocean-going trade routes (the “Manta Roads”, named after the guardians and guides of the currents). All who travel upon the seas take care to respect the cetacean presence because they are formidable enemies, and tales of rogue and dangerous pods of dolphins or other odontocetes are oft-repeated sailor’s horror stories. It is commonly considered by Jun that the further north in the Blazing Sea you go, the more “savage” the cetaceans become, guarding their territories fiercely from landgoers - which is for the moment Jun’s best understanding of the ongoing War for the Sea in the north.
It is interesting that dolphins became so closely-entwined with Jun at all, as although they famously love to talk to terrestrial folks, they are mostly very self-contained in their societal workings, having little need for material goods. Instead, they place emphasis upon storytelling (stories they consider living, evolving entities) and a mystical oneiric realm called the Dreamsea, which they can only access communally by linking minds in a semi-conscious state. Although Jun remains pretty sceptical that the Dreamsea is anything more than a sort of collaborative dreaming, dolphins usually find equal meaning and importance in their Dreamsea experiences as they do the waking world: events, interactions, visions, and dreams within dreams from this “other realm” often have an equal bearing on their lives. The act is extremely Dew demanding and so dolphins often congregate around areas of rich Dew-flow, particularly around coral reefs - psychedelic places of roving bands of semi-conscious dolphins, bathed in the Dew pouring through the many branches of the coral-gods.
When Jun developed coastal urban centres such as Oanisi and Grujabar, they acted as new Dew-rich sites of congregation for dolphins, coming to commune with peoples of land and river. In a dark twist, Jun stumbled upon the perfect way to leverage an indefinite partnership with the toothed whales. Traditional drug use by dolphins tends to involve either pufferfish or being stung by specially-bred coral cultivars (users of which can be identified by the red blisters left around their jaws and melon), but terrestrial substances such as the hallucinogenic millipedes and smoked herbs that Jun prefers gives an entirely different kind of experience: enticingly alien. Addiction is common because long-term use of many of Jun’s drugs degrades a dolphin’s ability to access the Dreamsea - except while under the influence. This particularly cruel aspect keeps entire populations of dolphins locked around urban coastlines and estuaries, cut off from their mainstream culture and entirely reliant on Jun to provide their fix. Some even move into freshwater full-time to live in the canals and waterways of inland cities like Za’ul.
Dark waterside bars intended for cetacean use are ubiquitous in coastal and/or large urban centres, containing dim pools ringed with hookahs that terrestrial staff strap to dolphin blow-holes for the contents to be inhaled. When the Dreamsea is visited by the small crowd of present dolphins, it is usually described as an altered and somehow smaller, more claustrophobic experience. It is possible for non-cetaceans to visit the other side, if assisted by a collection of willing dolphins and large quantities of suitable stimulants, but it is a potentially dangerous endeavour - it may bring ecstatic revelation, or extreme discomfort and trauma - and indeed it is difficult for the average mammal to leave the Dreamsea without guidance, leading to many stories of becoming trapped outside of one’s body. Nonetheless, there are many land-goers who are fascinated and become regular visitors to such bars, lounging by the waterside while their mind swims in a psychedelic sea, becoming hooked on an experience provided solely by the dolphins - addictions within addictions. Allowing outsiders into the Dreamsea is usually taboo in mainstream odontocete society, but this is one of the many traditions that has been lost or warped in urban subcultures.
