Torvalen Sea
The Torvalen Sea is the largest and most varied environment of the Torvalen. Its mysteries are a subject of curiosity and fear for the surface races. The perimeter of the sea is formed by the arrangement of the continents of Torvalen around it. It is relatively shallow on the continental shelves, but the interior is miles deep. The shallow waters have a range of ecosystems from kelp forests, coral reefs, sea grass plains and mangrove forests. It is in these coastal waters that the ulan and achamatl reside.
Past the continental shelves, the land plummets into the Abyssal Plains, home of the abyssal ulan. These plains are separated into northern and southern plains by the mid-Torvalen Continental Rift that runs the length of the Torvalen Sea in a rough east-west orientation. As the rift pushes the plates apart, the Torvalen Sea continually grows larger.
The currents and winds of the Torvalen Sea are complex but dominating them all is the Torvalen Gyre, a cyclic wind and current pattern moving around the perimeter of the sea in a clockwise direction. The wind and current become weaker towards the interior of the sea and the inner quarter is nearly completely still, a vast doldrum that all ships do their best to avoid straying into, not only because of the dangers of the elements, but also because it is the domain of the nagathi and their massive floating islands of tanep kelp. Trade routes mainly go through coastal waters, not venturing far from the continental shelves. Some are tempted into the deeper waters, either merchants seeking to avoid the hazardous reefs near the land, or smugglers and pirates seeking to avoid authority.
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