The Great Southern SeaA vast expanse of saltwater where man and creature fear to thread. It is thanks to the naval expertise of Albion and its neighboring isles that eyes, hands, and ears have finally begun to search an uncover the mysteries of this aquatic domain. But beyond the shores, beyond all that, the sea expands and deepens, and when miles become leagues, and when even the scantest scrap of land is but a dot in the horizon, even the light of the sun quakes and ceases to be.
Beyond the safety of the city, beyond civilization, even the sea takes a darker color. Strange aquatic creatures become monstrous beasts of the sea. Monstrous serpents, krakens and indescribable creatures roam the skies and seas, and mere relics become forgotten artifacts of old. Even the air turns vile, toxic and impossible to survive for normal living organisms without tools or special abilities to thread these unhospitable waters.
There is a great number of wreckages where man has tried and failed to thread. And yet, there is a promise and a lure of something grand, something greater than what anyone should hope to hold. Wonders from different worlds, different times, have sunk to the bottom of this sea. Great fallen temples and monuments of ancient civilization, now nothing more than nests for dark beasts.
But beware, adventurers. For sometimes, the sea is more than a refuge. It can be a prison. One that keeps the wariest of sailors trapped.
Or one that keeps the ones beneath the depths away.
Spoiler for Floof:
The Curse Of the Southern Sea - A passage of an old adventurer's memoir:
"And I saw it... in all it's glory. In all it's terror. Aaaah! [REDACTED] Damn ye! Let Neptune strike ye dead, [REDACTED]!
Hark! Hark, Triton. Hark! Bellow, bid our father, the sea king, rise from the depths, full foul in his fury, black waves teeming with salt-foam,
to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye, engorging your organs till ye turn blue and bloated with bilge, and brine, and can scream no more.
Only when, he, crowned in cockle shells, with slithering tentacled tail, and steaming beard, takes up his fell, be-finnèd arm,
his coral-tined trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest, and plunges right through your gullet, bursting ye, a bulging bladder no more,
but a blasted bloody film now, a nothing for the Harpies,
and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon, only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the dread emperor himself.
Forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god, or devil, forgotten even to the sea,
for any stuff, or part of you, even any scantling of your soul, is [REDACTED] no more,
but is now itself the sea."
First Layer - Scarlet Weather Rhapsody: This is where most islands and shores connected to the city and its districts reside. Outside some Fishman tribes, most creatures range from normal aquatic beasts to strange fish and sea life originating from other worlds, like two-headed sharks and gem dolphins. Some underwater civilizations did manage to form communities and cities underwater, but a great number were all slaughtered by a demon who descended from the depths of the sun, or so the few survivors say.
Because many of these tribes were on the outer rims of the layer, the water in that particular area is of a deep red, and scavengers haunt the barrier between the first and second layers. The corpses of the fallen now cause a decrepit stench, and the miasma is so foul that it poisons those who try and set sail. Most of their riches and tools were left untouched, making them valuable for other sorts of scavengers, but are not particularly potent or remarkable otherwise. More importantly, if these dens are not cleaned up, their corruption and sickness could spread to the shores of the other districts by tainting cattle and food supplies for those who live off the sea. This is an opportunity for pirates and raiders to attack, one few if any were blind to...
Wildlife: Whales, sharks, all sorts of fish, some weak magic specimens.
Treasures: Gold, historic artifacts, statues, some precious ores. Keep in mind most magical and dangerous treasures found in this area are already claimed by the powerful districts that dominate these waters.
Second Layer - The Thousand Jeweled Graveyard: Assuming you've gotten this far, you must be either crazy or really adventurous. The security provided by the districts ends at this threshold, due to the fact it simply isn't sustainable at this far of a distance. There are wrecks scattered about the waters, and the waves are far more perilous. Hostile, predatory creatures such as sharks the size of trucks with diamond teeth, living algae that drags unwitting ships below the depths and ghastly sirens all haunt the seas. These threats are dangerous enough that even wary travelers hesitate to tread these parts. However, they are far from the most dangerous aspect of this layer.
Pirates. Dreadful, savage, without any love or compassion to anything but their flags. They terrorize ships, abduct sailors and kill and plunder wherever they please. Their one shred of loyalty is to their flag, though there are some outliers here and there. More than anything, they are strong. Strong enough to live at sea. Some even say that there is an archipelago somewhere in this den. A place where all these plunderers find common ground. The land is infertile, a lair of cold stone where few crops can survive. The only law there is the ultimate law of the universe. The strong take and enjoy absolute freedom.
Among these seas, treasures start to become more common. It isn't unheard of lucky travelers or pirates to claim magical gemstones, weapons, uncommon trinkets and ancient ritualistic treasures that can generate wealth beyond belief... even artifacts that belong to those living in the city, but now reside deep within the depths. There are even a few of the more dangerous artifacts found in the outer layers, usually plundered from sailors returning from their trips. Even so, there is an unspoken rule that to cut down a man who has traversed the farther depths is to bring calamity. There are those who do not follow it and claim these treasures for themselves but either way, there is only one truth.
Calamity finds all.
Wildlife: Large mutated sea creatures, apex predators like the ancient megalodons, lesser krakens that easily reach sizes of some medium ships, sirens, ghosts, pirates, fish-men.
Treasures: Treasures beyond a normal man's dreams. Magical weapons, rare materials, few greater weapons capable of being unleashed upon the city if misused, but guarded by empty isles of rock where their owners perished, inside the beasts themselves... some guarded by pirates, unwittingly possessed by their power one way or another. Enough that even the strong could find some value in these, but not yet enough to reach the apex of those within the nexus.
Treasure Examples:
Lesser Temples:
The Final Layer - The Sea of Death: Those who enter these waters are not human. Everything within this expanse is outside the realms of reason and common sense. One simply does not enter these reaches without good reason... or leave. Not even light can reach these waters, giving them a black hue like that of the void, and submerging all in darkness within darkness. Meanwhile, the air is corrosive, enough to very slowly melt the flesh of normal humans or animals.
The waters, the weather, even the ghastly abyssal creatures... its as if the souls of the dead sailors haunt this sea and try to keep other fools away from it. They are strong, some rare outliers strong enough that they would bring calamity to at least a district if they were unleashed upon the city. Only the truly strong can hope to dare these waters.
Within the troubled waters, true monsters have made their home, terrorizing even the creatures of the sea as they inhabit ancient temples. Some of these still hold some life in them, others are utterly barren of life beyond that of the beasts that inhabit them. But the treasures, the creatures... what lies in this place is something out of this world. Some of these should not even exist or be allowed to exist. That is because, within its utter depths, wealth and power beyond imagination can be accrued. It is a graveyard of Gods, some ancient, some fallen.
There are few records of some temples, rarities within rarities that few explorers have managed to delve into. Due to the ever-changing nature of the Nexus, many of these were considered legends, fantasies. Some may be just that. Others are very much real.
It is called the final simply because those who have traveled beyond a certain point never returned. Perhaps it is better that way.
Wildlife: Ancient sea hydras, greater krakens that can engulf a large ship within their maw, abominations too terrible to describe, crustaceans hiding under the guise of safe isles and refuge to land... extremely potent and dangerous, but contain extremely valuable materials. Unique creatures dwell within individual temples.
Sealife is far scarcer than any other layer, giving off the impression of safety. Its simply because all other life forms have already been consumed or become part of the temples.
Treasures: Unique to each greater temple. It can be enough to grant anyone who gets their hands on extreme wealth influence in the city, beyond what is even imaginable. They are extremely rare, unique, and powerful. But they hold a danger to the owner as much as the one they unleash it upon. They are guarded within the temples, and those tho seek them risk their life not only to get their hands on them but bring them back ashore.
Greater Treasure Examples:(Status Unknown) Cradle of Greed: A hibernating, living relic similar in function to a dream eater. The Cradle of Greed is an oval-shaped Artifact resembling an elaborately carved egg. When touched, it grants the user their deepest wish as long as the mind of the holder is not "messy or complex"; as it tends to be the case with mature individuals. However, the more complex the wish, the more likely it is for it to twist and distort, and usually solves even simple desires in an indirect and often unpredictable manner. For example, someone who wishes to be able to bear children might suddenly become something else that is capable of breeding countless young on its own, but the children may not necessarily be healthy or live for more than a day. The simplicity of the wish-granting is a double-edged sword, as it only grants what you wish for at the moment, and takes no consideration for any new desires or wants one might bear in the future.
Not only that, but using it around many individuals with powerful wishes will cause these desires to resonate, and in a twisted manner it will take all this desire unto itself to fulfill a single wish that encompasses all of them at once. It will also mutate the individuals affected, usually melding with the egg in some form in order to ensure its survival. Of course, one might not necessarily mind in order to achieve their desires. But dreams are a fickle thing, once attained they are no longer desired.
(Destroyed) Sparagmos: A large room-sized experimental Artifact that was demolished many, many years ago. It allows someone to synchronize their mind with other organisms, implanting parts of their personality, thoughts, and consciousness throughout multiple bodies upon touch. It is in fact believed to be an angel, though its mind and will is nothing more than an empty shell turned into a tool to communicate. However, if the user overuses it and spreads their consciousness into too many bodies, the hosts will lose their will, sense of self, develop strange behavior, and eventually go insane. They will gain a compulsion to change the world one way or another... and inevitably advocate the "Creation of the New World" and begin to fulfill that desire through a means necessary. Those who spread their consciousness and those who have had these bits of consciousness implanted into them will become contacted, chosen vessels to act on this desire.
But this effect is extremely insidious, and it would take years if not generations for this implanted impulse to surface. That aside, all those who had been contacted died a long, long time ago, and the relic was destroyed.
If the user has the desire, a mere touch is enough to possess another body, and it is impossible to escape the enchantment fully unless one is a true Chad. The subject does not necessarily have to be human since when it was first discovered, beasts were manipulating smaller beings into getting eaten. However, one can resist or reject the implanted will and consciousness, to an extent, and retain most of their will, personality, and feelings... albeit either slightly or more severely warped, and with a slight inclination to act in certain ways.
(Lost) Red Miles: A liquid Artifact found within unusual gem-like containers. They are scattered and lost throughout the sea, in truth hybernating as they are parasitic life forms. Once ingested, they are able to reverse aging and greatly expand one's own lifespan, even ridding one of any disease or affliction. When more than one is ingested, they can even grand the user a powerful healing factor, and eventually true immortality. However, they slumber over extreme lengths of time and only awaken once more than seven shares a common host, in which they will merge and fuse with the host's spinal fluid... and turn it into more red miles.
This gives off a feeling of euphoria whenever the nerves are stimulated, turning any kind of intense physical reaction into a pleasurable feeling. However, without ingesting more, they will agitate and cause the body to ache and hunger irresistibly. Eventually, over many, many more ingestions, they fully overtake and paralyze the host. But this does not prevent the effect or halt it. Over time, the host will crystallize and break off into thousands of new eggs, which will become new containers for the red miles.
They are also extremely addictive, even before they agitate the nerves. One must use them with utter discipline and caution.
Greater Temple Examples:Pandemonium:The Bitterblack Isle: Bitterblack Isle is a black, bitter, mysterious place. Whether on a quest from a king of old or just seeking fame and glory, many who venture into the maze have never again seen the light of day. Here live unspeakable creatures no one has seen outside its walls. Bitterblack Isle is also the home for strange plants that can be used to create new curatives; ores never seen before lie within rocks littering the entire isle.
The entrance is marked with an epitaph, a slab of stone etched with stories and accounts of other adventurers that have traveled into this forsaken place. Some of their tales might be of use for those who dare journey these halls. Here live unspeakable creatures no one has seen outside its walls. Bitterblack Isle is also the home for strange plants that can be used to create new curatives; ores never seen before lie within rocks littering the entire isle. Cursed loot is scattered throughout the Isle. When the curse is lifted one might find a rare and powerful item such as a weapon whose power is overwhelming, a ring that grants inhuman strength, or a potion that eases the mind and soul.
Whatever the item may be, it waits within the halls of Bitterblack Isle.
There is an underlying system of death here. When one kills a monster, be it goblin or dragon, they all leave a bloody, rotting corpse behind that does not disappear. As the corpse rots the stench is carried through the halls and may attract hungry creatures. Deep exploration in Bitterblack Isle makes the air heavier and the smell travels in the halls faster and farther, which may attract even more dire monsters.
Lunarian Palace: A twisting spire of ivory coral that spirals inwards, revealing a great drop that delves into an inverted dome of glass. Due to the tides, it is only fully revealed in a night where the moon is full. Strange humanoid creatures from forgotten seas and their grotesque shamans of scale and bone dwell within these coral structures, ravenously guarding the monuments and relics of their old gods. They harness the power of the moon in order to wield accursed powers.
In truth, they are all fallen explorers who have become one with the corals, manipulated by dark energy emanating from the moon itself. The further one delves into this ivory abyss, the more the moon's curses affect the body and mind. What was once simple nausea becomes detrimental visions, even occasional blacking out. What awaits at the bottom of this abyss, no one knows. But there are legends of a dark and terrible creature slumbering in its castle of glass, awaiting a hero to deliver it and unleash its untethered claws once more.
At the upper levels, where the moon's hold is weaker, the fishmen have kept some of their sanity and memories and formed a community of sorts.
