The Seas
Lore
March 28th, 2024
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The Asgarthan Peninsula is almost entirely surrounded by seas. Throughout history, it has relied on their maritime resources to meet the needs of its population. Even today, despite the airships and aerodynes traversing the sky, numerous vessels still crisscross these aquatic expanses, whether for fishing or transporting goods.
The Five Seas
The Cierna
The Cierna is a turbulent sea located north of the Peninsula. Its waters have a changing color, ranging from deep blue with turquoise or orange streaks. But its greatest singularity comes from its topography. It is not entirely flat but structured on many levels. Water holes shape "islands" on the seabed: water cascades there, bypasses the dry area before rising on the other side in a reverse waterfall. Elsewhere, water arches swirl in the sky, stirred by powerful currents. Everywhere on the Cierna, the waters are perilous and treacherous.
The Biela
The Biela contrasts with the Cierna with its calm, clear, and oily waters. Every day, fishing fleets traverse it, departing from the cities of Seki, Caecaster, or Kestia, and returning at nightfall with their hauls of fish.
The Muir Concordia
This lagoon forms a sort of inland sea, nestled within the Peninsula between the isthmus of Caer Eidos and the peninsulas of Anthea, Vagheria, and Kirighai. The waters are so shallow that a railway was built to connect Arkaster to the city of Verbera. The Muir Concordia is subject to an unusual phenomenon: regularly, the water covering it evaporates and becomes a persistent fog that veils the entire lagoon. The seabed is composed of mud and quicksands, which surface as the waters recede.
The Shawl
This elongated and shallow strip of sea is located at the crossroads of the Krurafjord and Woswekafjord estuaries. It widens from the delta to Caecaster on one side and to Hadera on the other, at the edge of the Undersea. Like the Muir Concordia, of which it is somewhat an extension, it is subject to the same unexplained massive evaporation phenomenon.
The Undersea
The Undersea is a sea perpetually lost in mist. It stretches beneath the elevated Provinces of Caer Esvander and Caer Alcada. The shallows are numerous, making it very dangerous to venture into. The number of wrecks strewn across this sea, their carcasses impaled on sharp reefs, is countless. However, a port for light vessels has been installed there, beneath the suspended city of Dusk. Dusk, perpetually shrouded in darkness, is a city built under the floating rocks of Caer Esvander. Humans live there in troglodyte habitats connected by suspended bridges. A route has been found between Suspira and Arkaster to deliver Kelon to the capital, but beware of straying from the path.