Darkmoon Passage
"Any Captain who says they know how to navigate the Darkmoon Passage is either lying or a fool. It's a dice toss every single time"- Admiral Jovian Husaimar
Geography
The Gogorin Sea has four aquatic passages to and from it. Three are rivers. The Houshour to the north, the Belley to the south and the Blackcap to the west. The fourth is the Darkmoon Passage. Located on the eastern edge of the Gogorin, it is a thirty kilometer water way that leads to the Eastern Ocean. It is an area of massive tectonic activity. Multiple earthquakes happen monthly. This causes the Passage to be full of jagged spires of rock that change constantly. To the North and South are sheer cliffs that rise and fall as the earth moves.
Ecosystem
No animal dwells near the passage, neither fish in the water, mammal on land or bird in the air. The nearest anyone has seen a land animal or bird was about five kilometers from the cliffs.
Ecosystem Cycles
The Passage lies in a subtropical mountain zone. This leads to hot humid summers and cool to mild winters. There is no storm season, per say for the Darkmoon passage as well as the area within ten kilometers of it. It is perpetually in a storm season year round.
Localized Phenomena
If you are inside the Darkmoon Passage during an earthquake, your compass will begin to fluctuate on where True North is.
Climate
Weekly earthquakes alone would be enough to make a brave Captain cautious. What makes the Darkmoon Passage a desperate gamble is that storms sweep it almost everyday. Some last minutes, some hours. Short or long they come with muderously slashing winds, driving rain and a barrage of forked lightening.
Natural Resources
Some of the spires that rise up glint in the sun with precious metal and gemstones. Some fools from time to time try their hand at mining.
Most fail and die.
But from time to time a fortune was made. Enough times to that men and women that were either more foolish or brave then anyone truly still made the attempt. Silver, gold and iron could be found as well as gemstones of almost every type. Death or fortune. The Passage allowed no other option.
History
Legend has it that a Pirate Queen, Siobhan Darkmoon had her base near the mouth of the passage. She would raid along the shores of the Gogorin and if any navies gave chase she would flee into the Passage. According to the legend she never once failed to pass through. Over the time the waterway became known as the Darkmoon Passage. Some also call navigating it 'running the Dark'
Tourism
As dangerous as the Darkmoon Passage is it does get visitors of a sort. This usually is in the form of a dare or bet to run the dark. Young Captains looking to make a name for themselves as well as young scions of noble houses with more gold then sense are the vast majority of those who dare the Passage. A scholar will also come for research purposes from time to time though that was before The Fall. Coin to pay for such endeavors is uncommon in modern times.
Alternative Name(s)
Running the Dark
Location under
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