The Forgotten Waters

A Lost Ocean

An ocean lost to time, a sea hidden by the gods, or maybe a method of escape. Whatever it is to you, there is no denying that we were never meant to go there. We come from lands where butterflies flutter, birds sing, and flowers blossom. The Forgotten Waters, however, is a land of death. Nay, not even. A graveyard that bares no markings of its residents.

— Admiral Thorgrim Seafury

The most common consensus about the unveiling of the Forgotten Waters is that it was a blessing from the gods. Prythwyn is a war-torn land where no inch of soil is left unclaimed by the many Old World nations.

When the fog cleared and Alterra was revealed, the Fogbane Comet was seen as a savior. So much ripe land full of ancient plunder and fertile soil, all waiting to be settled. Yet the dangers lying within the Forgotten Waters itself is almost entirely overlooked.

For almost everyone in Prythwyn, the Forgotten Waters has made the quality of everyday life drastically improve. The sea creates thousands of jobs, be it fishermen, sailors, merchants, dockworkers, or pirates.

Resources travel much faster by sea, and the safety of transported commodities is nearly guaranteed by the vastness of the ocean. Cities that rest on coastlines prosper and expand the most, but even small settlements found deep in Prythwyn still feel the economic boons of the sea.

History

Long before civilization sprung up in Prythwyn, an ancient civilization now known as the Sunken was in a golden age. It's unclear whether they originally lived underwater or were flooded, but currently almost all of their ruins are hidden in the ocean depths or on the eastern coastlines of Alterra.

The only known method of descending to the underwater ruins is through powerful magic spells that allow the user to breathe water, but those are still only temporary effects.

Just picture it for a second- bustling and prosperous cities made of marble and gold, vast parks blooming with life, an abundance of every resource known to man! Their reign lasted thousands of years, much longer than any of our modern nations. Hell, there's not even signs of war down there!

And then they all died. Gods know what happened to a kingdom so splendorous. Maybe it was a flood, maybe they already lived down there and something killed them. There's no telling.

— Frylevus Scolairem

At some point during the early Second Era, a massive fog cloud moved in from the north and south poles. They entirely obscured the Forgotten Waters for over almost two thousand years. Ships and sailors that entered the cloud never returned under any circumstance. At some point in time, sailors simply stopped attempting the voyage. Dockyards grew cold and empty, and new ships were only ever made to transport goods down rivers.

On the 8th of Secondwinter 1648, everything changed in the blink of an eye. The fogbane comet became a meteorite, dashing through the fog and making landfall somewhere in northern Alterra. The fog was pushed to Numira's north and south poles, which brings us to the present day.

Terminology

The Forgotten Waters is an ocean that is considered 'forgotten' due to the fog cloud that has enshrouded it for thousands of years.

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Historical Context

The first civilizations in Prythwyn arose at the tail end of the First Era and the beggining of the Second Era. The ancient civilizations that were once present within and beyond the Forgotten Waters were founded near the beggining of the First Era.

by Derrick Song

Religion

Followers of Aeorr know the story better than anyone- Aeorr is constantly blowing wind through the seas, and if a proper offering is bestowed to him, he'll channel it through a ship's sails.

Pagans believe that the spirits don't touch the waters, therefore causing them unease and loneliness at sea.

by Christian Dimitrov