Centipede's Labyrinth

Under the titanic weight of thousands of pounds of water stretches the worlds largest known area of long term hydrothermal activity. Centipede's Labyrinth is a series of smokers, brine pools, and accompanying crystal formations stretching over 30 miles down a mid ocean ridge off the coast of Coasnia. The geothermal activity in the area fluctuates to an abnormal degree causing it to be an even more treacherous environment then most hydrothermal ecosystems.

Geography

In the pitch black, darker then the most blizzard swathed midwinter night at the bottom of the ocean. If you were to light a lamp you would see strange beauties and terrors know only to the whispers in your dreams and nightmares.

— Unknown

Undersea Smokers

The first thing you are liable to notice at the Labyrinth is the hydrothermal vents, commonly called smokers.

These hard rocky towers are formed by water heated underground so hot that it leaches the minerals from the ground it moves through. When the water exits the vents into the frigid seawater it cools rapidly causing the dissolved solids to separate from the water creating plumes of opaque "smoke" and leaving residue that builds up into the vent's distinctive towers.


The color of the vents smoke is determined my it's heat. Hotter vents can dissolve more heat resistant materials giving them dark black plumes. Cooler ones pick up less heat resistant minerals causing them to have a milky white plume. Unlike usual examples of hydrothermal smokers the ones in Centipede's Labyrinth have shown an ability to return after becoming inactive. The method of this is currently unknown with theories range from some kind of natural valve mechanism, to there being a gate to the underworld present.

The vents propensity to change temperatures over time and back has resulted in the towers having banded patterns beyond what is typically observed. From this you can semi-reliably make a chart of its past temperature ranges.

Brine pools

Brine pools develop when the water hold so much dissolved solids, typically salt, that it gathers below the main seawater and collects in low areas of the seafloor creating the impression of undersea lakes. In the Labyrinth streams between pools also form creating chains of brine pools greatly resembling hot springs. The salinity of the brine is too much for most creatures quickly causing toxic shock if they come into contact with it. The sides of many of the pools build of with crystalline shores especially where the brine has been observed to be quite hot.

Seismic activity

Seismic activity in the Labyrinth is frequent and causes rapid shifts in the area's layout. Smokers go in and out of activity, brine pools shift into new routes, and the entire surrounding seabed is cast in a murk of settling dust. This can be as deadly to the resident wildlife as a tornado or earthquake would be to humans and more. Its not just the up thrown dust and shattering rocks that can be deadly, the currents fast changes drags with it changes in toxicity and temperature as well which is just as damming as a blow to the skull would be if not more so.

Wildlife

In such a tumultuous place you might assume that life would be sparse, but it is the opposite. Nearly every inch of the place is occupied by something living. The Labyrinth is home to many kinds of bacteria that can subsist off of the chemicals being diffused into the water by the smokers and brine pools. Other creatures either have a symbiotic relationship with these bacteria or eat those that do. The main ways residents of the Labyrinth combat it's shifting landscape is through either being able to survive sudden changes long enough to relocate or spreading their offspring so far around the area that there are always some that escape unscathed.

Naming the Labyrinth

The labyrinth part of the areas name simply stems from its confusing and unpredictable terrain. But the why it's the Centipede's Labyrinth is a bit more interesting. When the area was discovered by humans after the development of magi-tech submersibles the Mer had already known about it for centuries and in fact had spoken of the area before in discussion of legends with humans. To both Mer and humans for a long time oceanic worms with limbs were no different then centipede's, after all there are sea snakes why not sea centipedes?
This led to an association of centipedes in general with water to humans and land to Mer ending up with an overall association with volcanic and thermal activity in general.