The Long Sleep Sea
Summary
A veritable graveyard of eons goneby, the Long Sleep Sea is a literal burial yard for tens of thousands of ships. With all sorts of designs, architectures, and differing symbols, no one group has a dominant claim on the dead here. Even more mysteriously is that, for many civilizations, no one has ever had a serious conflict in the area. Unable to tell who built the ships, or what happened to the bodies of the crews, has only ever intensified the mysteries of the sea. For however disconcerting its waters are, there are no real undead to be found. Sea monsters from Olaniad are the biggest concern, but they are rare and intermittent. Despite Karg bordering the sea, most civilizations do not vie for ports. It is more by necessity than desire do they setup and then travel through. A great deal of superstition surrounds the cold waters and frigid airs, and most try to get through as quick as possible. For, as can be clear, sometimes ships go missing in the Long Sleep Sea. No one ever finds their wreckages, or the crews that vanished.Geography
With frozen glaciers sliding along through the edges of the sea, one might find it scenic. Of course, being so close to Olainad means icicle storms are a serious threat, and every so often, a deadly sea monster. Ever more strange, however, are the great bubbles that erupt from the icy depths. They can appear suddenly and without warning, a great belch from below that capsizes ships in mere seconds. Then, stranger still, the water suddenly sinks, a flash whirlpool swallowing up anything that's caught in it. Indeed, these two phenomena, more than any other, most believe to be the killers of passing through vessels.
Yet, no shermadi whose gone as deep as they can has found any source of these mysterious happenings. They can but give a minute's warning at best when the waters start moving. What awaits in the cavernous dark depths below is anyone's guess.
Fauna & Flora
The abominable sea monsters from Olainad aside, the Long Sleep Sea has a rather active aquatic biome. A number of lively predators who venture into the band between warm and cold waters make their homes here. Furthermore, the abundant ship wreckages has filled the sea's floor with incredible coral reefs and other slow-growing organisms. In turn, a number of small prey species hide amongst them, safe from the larger predators. In a sense, there are two worlds in the underwater domain: the macro-scale predators and migrating preys, and the smaller, reef-friendly prey and predators.
Natural Resources
While it can hardly be considered natural, the ship graveyards in the Long Sleep Sea possess incredible material wealth. Whether it is the metals in their frames, or the ancient cargos yet to be taken, any salvager would be happy to pick them over. If, after all, one contends with the sea life living in and around the wrecks.
Some fishing enterprises have been making attempts to farm the sea, seeing little competition from competitors. Of course, there is a problem in that their traps tend to attract big predators ... and so, they try to farm the predators, too. One questions the wisdom in it all.
Type
Sea
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