Sea Kingdom of Caerulea
The Caerulean Ocean lies to the west of the Xha’en Hegemony, a vast, dark body of water, largely unexplored, that has never been crossed in living memory. Beneath these forbidding waters lies a realm of wonder and surprising beauty, the undersea realm known as Caerulea. Ruled for thousands of years by a single royal family of merfolk, Caerulea has existed separately, following its own history and fighting its own cataclysmic wars, well hidden from the prying eyes of surface peoples. Only when the realm collided violently with the growing power of the Xha’en Hegemony did the region become known to outsiders.
As much empire as kingdom, Caerulea is divided among three distinct major groups as well as several smaller ones. The upper depths are inhabited by the sea elves, who live in dwellings of coral, magically altered into homes and utilitarian structures. These elves serve as the military class and, more recently, as a diplomatic corps, capable of surviving for long periods on the surface where they can meet and negotiate with the humans of Xha’en and other lands. Along the deeper waters of the coastal shelf, the ruling class of merfolk hold sway, while the extended slope between the edge of the Akadonian shelf and the fearsome abyss farther out to sea is the realm of the nomadic tritons who pay fealty to the royal family and serve as frontier scouts, hunters, and explorers.
History and People
Like other peoples, the folk of Caerulea have their own creation myths. Caerulean priests and teachers speak of a great oceanic god who created the merfolk to be its chosen servitors, seeing to the health and well-being of the sea and tending to its creatures. The tritons were granted the deeper waters as their home, but commanded to serve the merfolk, and the aquatic elves are said to have migrated from afar, having taken to the sea to avoid disaster on land. Arriving in Caerulean waters, the elves offered their services as warriors and hunters, and the merfolk welcomed them freely. For countless years, the merfolk claim, this situation endured, and they lived at peace, divided into many different kingdoms, all existing in harmony.
Caerulea’s written history extends back to the Age of Kings, over 100 centuries ago, when it was only one of a dozen or so aquatic states, though it had been ruled by a single family for countless generations. The renegade mer-sorceress Awalea, who deeply resented the royal family’s vast power and influence, took several followers into the undersea wilderness where they became leaders of an alliance of renegade merfolk, tritons and evil sea creatures including sahuagin, aquatic demons, and grindylow in an attempt to overthrow Queen Caelass. Other kingdoms were drawn into the conflict, with some backing the rebels and some the royal family.
As the great Phoromycean civilization arose on land, as the foundations of the city of Barakus were laid, and as the Jaati city of Duam grew, a vast and terrible conflict raged unseen beneath the waves, invisible even to the folk of Gtsang, who sat literally on the doorstep of the Caerulean realm. A few mariners reported strange events at sea — unexpected storms, weird mid-ocean waves, and lights flashing in the depths — but for the most part, Awalea’s War was fought in isolation, well away from the surface.
The conflict raged for decades. Communities were uprooted, coral fortresses shattered, and monstrous creatures used by both sides. Krakens, giant whales, devil rays, and horrors from the deepest depths fought and ravaged the realm. At long last, the rebels were defeated, and their surviving armies scattered. Of the evil sorceress Awalea, no sign was ever found, and to this day she lives on as an evil legend, often blamed for any misfortunes suffered by the kingdom or its inhabitants.
At the end of this long and painful conflict, Queen Caelass, long grown weary of war and killing, abdicated in favor of her son, Caelon. The new king, young and inexperienced, struggled to heal a kingdom devastated by war, and was soon in thrall to several scheming advisors, chief among them Count Isachla. This unscrupulous individual and a cabal of corrupt sea-priests and power-hungry nobles sought to become the power behind the throne, manipulating King Caelon and persuading him to expand the kingdom to first encompass those rival kingdoms that did not support Queen Caelass, and then the others. Through aggressive diplomacy and warfare where it was needed, Caerulea soon had absorbed all the other states, reducing them to mere principalities. The tritons and sea elves were also repressed, and some were reduced to virtual slavery.
As Caelon matured, he also grew stronger-willed, finally declaring his independence from Isachla’s circle of “advisors.” He relaxed many harsh laws and restored rights to the sea elves and tritons and gave the conquered kingdoms greater autonomy. When the duplicitous count hatched a conspiracy against the obstreperous monarch, Caelon responded harshly by arresting the conspirators and executing their leaders.
So it remained until well after the Xha’en arrived in their homeland and drove out the Senge tribes and the city of Xha’ahan grew to prominence. The Xha’en Hegemony prospered for over a century, unaware of the undersea kingdom’s existence. But this was soon to change. In 2856 XC (1554 I.R.), a massive undersea earthquake ripped through the kingdom and unleashed several submerged volcanoes. The tremors shattered numerous Caerulean cities while the boiling lava, hot mud, and ash that surged up from below fouled the waters, killing millions of fish and poisoning thousands of merfolk.
Shortages and deprivation followed, along with unrest throughout the kingdom as the common folk felt the pinch of hunger. King Chalaine and his advisors were in a dilemma, lacking the population and material to expand significantly beyond their own frontiers. The deeper oceans and open sea were vast but had few resources to help the struggling kingdom. Only on the surface, where human ships plied the waves and humans raised crops and herds, could the kingdom obtain the food and materials that it needed.
Raids on the surface began with a few carefully-planned attacks, designed to appear as if ships were wrecked or lost in bad weather. It was not until the Caeruleans began to openly take ships and raid coastal areas that the Xha’en realized the full extent of the danger.
The Caeruleans held the upper hand in the early stages of the struggle as their sea-elf warriors were able to survive for long periods on land, striking anywhere and vanishing before the Xha’en could respond. Triton infiltrators could sneak into harbors, sinking and burning vessels and escaping with impunity, and merfolk magic was able to harness the sea itself against the humans. But slowly the humans reinforced their local garrisons and added extensive mounted and flying troops to counter the enemy’s mobility. Ankhuran warships were deployed to escort merchant and fishing vessels, and Xha’en spellcasters were trained in spells designed specifically to repel aquatic foes. Water-breathing spells allowed the Xha’en to take the war to the Caeruleans as well.
The struggle eventually ground to a stalemate, as neither side could gain a clear advantage. Caerulean attacks on land and Xha’en assaults against the undersea kingdom were costly but could not hold territory, and both sides had secure central provinces to provide supplies, manpower, and other resources. Finally in 2878 XC (1576 I.R.), after nearly two decades of open warfare, the two sides exchanged emissaries and began to negotiate a peace settlement. The effects of the quake and volcanoes had largely subsided by this time, cities had been rebuilt, and schools of fish had returned in even greater numbers than before, so the causes of the conflict had largely abated. A treaty was signed, and both powers agreed that they could largely ignore each other.
Peace was maintained for almost a millennium before another crisis arose in the form of a sea-borne plague that devastated the Xha’en Hegemony. Though many of Emperor Alnand su Var Tilgi’s advisors blamed the Caeruleans and called for a renewal of hostilities, cooler heads prevailed after a traitorous plot to attack the merfolk and trigger a war was uncovered and stopped. Xha’en diplomats made contact with the Caerulean Queen Iulea, who agreed to help the humans treat the plague. War was averted, and the two nations at last cemented the peace.
The Caeruleans noted with interest and no small amount of alarm the coming of the Castorhagi and the settlement of the Bream Islands. A new surface power was rising, and the sea-folk felt it best to avoid direct contact. When their ancient enemies in the Sinking Land began to attack sea traffic to and from the Breams however, the royal family decided to do something. Unknown to the Castorhagi, Caerulean warriors struggled against the Sea-Throng, and actually aided in the humans’ great victory of 4773 XC (3471 I.R.), when the Castorhagi fleet defeated the enemy at the Battle of Quandary Deep. Once the fight was over, the Caeruleans returned to their policy of avoidance, assuming that the Castorhagi would approach the sea-kingdom when it was ready.
Good, or at least neutral, relations with the Xha’en have continued to this day. For the most part, the Hegemony and the undersea kingdom keep to themselves, occasionally coming into conflict over fishing grounds, and occasionally cooperating to face down a mutual threat.
The situation beneath the waves is a bit less settled, as the Caerulean Kingdom has its own neighbors and enemies, as described below. The royal family maintains its rule unchallenged, despite grumbling from nobles and occasional internal squabbles. The tritons of the lower depths continue to practice their nomadic ways, fishing and patrolling the kingdom’s frontiers and occasionally venturing into the deeper waters below. In the shallower waters, the sea elves have begun to build structures, some reaching above the waves, and have been known to guide vessels through treacherous waters or rescue victims of shipwrecks. Caerulean warriors continue to patrol the Sinking Land and have on several occasions held back new incursions, while keeping their activities secret from the Castorhagi.
Those who visit this wondrous realm are almost always changed by the experience, for the sheer wild, alien beauty of the kingdom is a sight to behold. Vast castles of gleaming stone and magically-transformed living coral fill deep canyons, covered in bright sea plants, with schools of rainbow-hued fish darting in and out of waving kelp forests. Inside these buildings, light is provided by clouds of bioluminescent fish and small organisms, and the king’s royal throne room is illuminated by large and terrifying angler fish, whose great light-emitting organs have been enhanced to provide light almost as bright as on the surface. Legions of sea-elf warriors swim in elaborate three-dimensional formations, sometimes riding great seahorses, lungfish, or eels. Merfolk sorcerers command the secret magics of the sea. Vast temples to the ocean gods rise gracefully from the sea floor, glimmering in dozens of shades of blue and green. Many a surface visitor has come to love this realm, and many are reluctant to leave.
Religion
The Caeruleans worship a pantheon of deities under the supreme guidance of Eashe the Sea Mother, who is thought to be related to the Mother goddess worshipped by the Talorani. A group of demigods governs various aspects of the sea subordinate to the Sea Mother. Among these demigods are Taela, goddess of plenty, Tymannum, god of war and battle, Cehenasla, goddess of healing and mercy, and Udamata, god of arts and architecture. All are of good alignment — the Caeruleans do not have anything like an evil pantheon, for they believe that evil beings cannot be gods. Dark entities of divine-level power are all considered demons, while practitioners of evil magic such as the hated and feared sea-witch Awalea live on in legends and popular tales.
Trade and Commerce
Before the war with the Xha’en, the Caeruleans were content with producing their own resources and trading with neighboring oceanic states and nomadic tribes. Once the war was over and better relations established with the surface folk, a small amount of trade began, with the Caeruleans exchanging fish and other foodstuffs for artwork, gemstones, and various goods magically or otherwise treated against the ravages of seawater.
Loyalties and Diplomacy
While the kingdom does not maintain full diplomatic relations with the Xha’en Hegemony (few on either side would like to spend much time in the other’s realms after all), the outright hostility of the past has evolved into mutual respect and a live-and-let-live attitude on both sides. Conflicts are kept to a minimum, and those that do arise are settled diplomatically, often with the exchange of emissaries — Xha’en spellcasters venture below with the assistance of water-breathing magic, and sea elf diplomats journey to the surface. Neither Caerulea nor Xha’en has the resources or the stomach for another full-scale conflict.
Undersea, the situation is somewhat more complex, as the kingdom is actually a patchwork of smaller principalities, each with its own rulers, and other states and powers exist beneath the ocean, unknown (and largely unknowable) to the surface world. Caerulea is known to maintain diplomatic ties to a number of other states, some of which are populated by merfolk, and others that are home to different undersea creatures. The vast Caerulean Ocean also harbors numerous creatures of vast age and intelligence, including aboleth, evil kraken, ancient giant cetaceans, and in the depths, beings of a nature that is almost entirely alien to those who dwell on the surface. The Caeruleans are aware of these creatures as well, and alternately maintain friendly contact or keep them under wary surveillance.
Government
The sea kingdom’s borders are ill-defined, even by its rulers, as the sea is a constantly changing environment. In all, about a dozen smaller principalities are united under the royal family, each with its own prince or princess. Each of the principalities is governed similarly to the larger state, with elders and nobles advising each monarch.
The royal house of Laesaela has ruled since the kingdom’s founding, though it has been challenged more than once, most prominently when the sorceress Awalea raised an army of evil sea creatures and demons to overthrow her rightful queen. For the most part, however, the royal family tries to maintain the peace, allowing principalities to go their own way and govern as they see fit, so long as they do not unduly oppress, overtax, or aggravate the common people.
The sea elves of the upper ocean are a stern and noble lot, unshakably loyal to their merfolk monarchs. These folk make up the elite branches of the Caerulean military, as they are able to fight equally well on land and at sea. Their relatively small numbers and inability to sustain long supply lines limits their activities against the surface, but they are a powerful group nonetheless.
Down the continental slope, the tritons live in clan-based groups that travel from place to place with little in the way of permanent settlements. Each clan swears allegiance to the royal family, and are obligated to send scouts, warriors, or workers if called upon. For the most part, the tritons see this as an annoying but necessary duty, for they are aware of the dangers that might rise up from The Abyss and know that they need the protection of the merfolk and the sea elves.
Military
The Caerulean military is a sight to behold, with aquatic forces of all kinds combining into a single body to face down the kingdom’s enemies. Legions of aquatic elven infantry make up the bulk of the merfolk’s forces. Clad in seashell armor, each is armed with a pair of wicked spears and a crossbow. Cavalry is mounted on large swimming mounts, with giant sea horses and hippocampi for the light riders, and sharks or orca for the heavier forces. Merfolk aquamancers and priests of Tymannum supplement battle formations with arcane or healing magic.
Tactics are adapted to the merfolk’s undersea kingdom. Formations are three-dimensional, with height, width, and depth rather than the simple lines and squares of land warfare. Brave but inexperienced Xha’en warriors venturing into the depths on punitive missions learned this to their misfortune.
The merfolk also use war engines, particularly giant spear throwers intended to impale larger foes or damage enemy fortifications. There are vast fortresses in the sea crafted from living coral, stone, and other materials, stronger for being surrounded by the dampening effects of water. They are also roofed over, for once more the three-dimensional nature of oceanic warfare requires changes from land-based battles.
Assaults on land require significant changes in tactics and approach. Surface warfare falls primarily to the aquatic elves, who can survive out of water for extended periods. Merfolk lack legs and have only limited abilities on the surface, so usually only officers and spellcasters participate, their abilities modified by magic amulets that extend their endurance out of water. Weapons are enhanced with magic and poisons from various deadly sea creatures, so wounds from Caerulean spears, harpoon guns, and ballistae are especially dire.
Land forces are also aided by specially-bred and magically-enhanced giant armored lungfish capable of carrying up to two riders or small war engines such as catapults or ballistae. These creatures are slow and ponderous but highly resistant to damage and all but implacable, advancing determinedly, stopping only if actually killed or dismembered.
In the past, especially against powerful foes, Caerulean druids, priests, and other spellcasters could summon or control the largest creatures of the deep, including titanic whales, colossal sea turtles, pods of orca, and giant sharks. A few intelligent creatures such as sea dragons and kraken have been persuaded to aid the merfolk in battle as well. As noted, many battles involving these titans take place far from the sight of surface dwellers who have no clue of the massive forces struggling beneath the waves.
Major Threats
Though the most prominent conflict in the eyes of humans was the great war between the Xha’en Hegemony and Caerulea, to the merfolk, humans are only one of many potential threats to their kingdom. Elsewhere in the sea are kingdoms of sahuagin, tritons, and even rumored settlements of aquatic elves, as well as tribes of scrag, grindylow, and other intelligent sea creatures unknown to humans. Nomadic merfolk and tritons wander the ocean as well, swimming from place to place following schools of fish and warm weather.
While the kingdom maintains relations with many of these groups, particularly merfolk and creatures of good alignment, conflict with the others is a regular event, as sahuagin raid outlying settlements and grindylows hunt merfolk for food. Large-scale warfare is rare, but can occur, as it did when an alliance of sahuagin swept into the kingdom 200 years ago and overwhelmed Caerulean garrisons and enslaved entire communities. The ensuing struggle was difficult and at last the enemy was driven from Caerulean territory, but the cost was high.
The Caeruleans view the monstrous inhabitants of the Sinking Land with special horror and have fought a long war against them for centuries. Beginning in 4572 XC (3270 I.R.) when Castorhagi vessels were attacked by the monsters of the Sea-Throng, the Caeruleans struck back, engaging the throng in an underwater war that was hidden from the surface folk. The great Castorhagi victory at Quandary Deep in 4773 XC (3471 I.R.) took place with secret assistance from Caerulean warriors, and to this day Caerulean patrols help keep the Sea-Throng from returning.
The Caeruleans do not talk about their war with the Sinking Land, nor have they ever revealed who the true masters of the Sea-Throng are. The Caeruleans’ fear of the Sea-Throng may be well-founded, for those few scholars who are aware of the conflict and the sea-folks’ participation believe the Sinking Land’s rulers to be the terrible aboleth — utterly alien entities that lurk in the deepest trenches and enslave other races, twisting and transforming them into hideous slaves. The Caeruleans themselves do not even acknowledge that the aboleth exist, but their continued vigilance regarding the Sinking Land suggests that they know far more than they are willing to admit.
Other threats to the kingdom are equally dire, including demons and other hostile extradimensional entities summoned by the kingdom’s enemies, or spontaneously drawn to the region by surges of ancient chaos magic. Undead are also a rare but alarming event, and the deep depths of the oceanic trenches that lie beyond Akados’ continental shelf harbor stranger things still. Rumors suggest that tribes of twisted merrow — horribly changed merfolk transformed into evil monstrosities — dwell in the unplumbed depths, and that the Caerulean Kingdom is always on its guard against their return. In Caerulean legend and folklore, the sea-witch Awalea still lives on, her life extended by unnatural magics, gathering merrow and other horrors to her cause and plotting vengeance against the royal family.
Wilderness and Adventure
The sea is a vast and unexplored wilderness, and other things even more hostile than sahuagin lurk in the depths. Surface folk who venture to the kingdom face significant challenges, above and beyond the need to survive underwater. Moving and thinking in three dimensions proves difficult for surface-dwellers, and disorientation is a common issue. Also, the sea has no roads or signs that are recognizable by outsiders. Landmarks and permanent features can be used to navigate underwater, but smart travelers will engage a local guide — merfolk or tritons being the most frequently employed for this task.
Many of the region’s inhabitants are creatures of downright infernal nature such as the giant devil rays of the open sea — malicious, intelligent and skilled in druidic magic, they are an especially grave threat to those merfolk who travel any distance from the kingdom. Punitive or rescue missions against the devil rays often take place after encounters with these evil creatures.
Many parts of the ocean are imbued with negative energy, a result of extremely ancient events that transpired eons ago as gods and demons contended for dominance over a young world. This magic has persisted, with a variety of woeful results. Planar gateways sometimes open unexpectedly and draw hostile entities into the ocean. Unexpected bursts of necromantic energy may yield undead horrors, from the dead of the sea or from the remains of drowned mariners. Mutative chaos energy may transform mundane sea creatures into horrific monsters.
Diplomatic missions to the undersea kingdom are not common, but take place when important matters such as trade, warfare, or natural disaster are to be discussed. These expeditions are difficult and usually undertaken only by the most experienced officials. They also require guards and escorts, jobs that are ideal for veteran adventurers. These expeditions invariably involve encounters with hostile sea life and possibly enemies of the Caerulean Kingdom, and usually involve rich rewards to the survivors.
Freelance adventurers have been known to venture into Caerulean territory in order to explore sunken treasure wrecks or to delve into abandoned structures built by the merfolk and others. As with the escort missions, such ventures are quite perilous but can yield significant rewards. The Caeruleans themselves, though a generally good-hearted folk, may take a dim view of surface-dwellers sneaking into their realm to steal.
Region
Sea Kingdom of Caerulea
Controlled Territories
Comments