Cetacean Caravan

WIP - Summer Camp 2023

The cetecean caravans are an integral part of the great migrations undertaken by the polar merfolk known as the Kanai. They carry goods and possessions great distances through the ocean and are pulled by domesticated whales known as steene whales. Steene whales are on average about thirty five feet in length, only a little bigger than the Kanai themselves.
The caravans are smaller at the front and larger behind, creating a hydrodynamic shape to create the least water resistence so they move easily through the water. They are between forty to fifty feet in length, and about thirty five feet high. Most caravans have either wheels or skis on the underside to allow for easier manoeuvrability when they are resting on the sea floor. Often, however, they are travelling several metres above the seabed. A steene whale is attached to the front with a special harness and pulls it along.
The caravans are cobbled together from a mixture of materials traded over time - wood, thin sheets of metal, cloth, etc. Due to the harsh nature of sea water, parts of the caravans have to be replaced regularly. These materials generally have to be traded and bartered for with land dwellers, or scavanged from shipwrecks on the seafloor. Some Kanai are currently researching ways to make a more sustainable material for the caravans to be built out of, though progress is slow.
The Kanai have been using caravans to aid their migrations for over a thousand years, though their relationship with the steene whales goes much further back. Before the use of caravans, they used saddlebags on the whales and packs of their own to carry goods and possessions.
Each clan of the Kanai maintains at least one caravan of their own. In total, the migratory host contains just under two hundred caravans on average.