Empire Ocean
Geography, Location & Climate
Location
While every single other labyrinth sea is found within the perimiters of the Kurhira Asteroid Belt between Nalmaria and Sacaethea, the Empire Ocean is found orbiting Afuph just after Cilvarth and before Ivucarro. The ocean has an elliptical orbit, and can be seen by the naked eye once every 400 years on Cilvarth.Geography
The Empire Ocean's core is a large meteor that spans 300 kilometres in width. This meteor has a number of cave systems crawling within, inhabited by a number of fauna and flora species. Aside from the core, there are a large amount of smaller meteors and other objects floating within the ocean, forming various underwater islands and ecosystems.
Climate
The ocean itself is rather cold, reaching a maximum of 12℃ in summers, and -4℃ in winters. These changes in temperature drastically affect the plant and animal life in the Empire Ocean, as most speccies that inhabit the waters during summers cannot handle the change, so they hibernate within the caves of the meteors until the water warms up.
Animals emerging from the meteors in summers is known as The Emergence, and this phenomenon is widely celebrated by the Auphwei who use the time to stock up on food and go on several large hunting sprees.
Aside from the Auphwei Empire, the Empire Ocean is most known for the mist cloud that surround it. This cloud is most prominent during winters, and can sometimes completely envelop the ocean. The mist is similar to that found in Astral Seas, however it is much more dense.
Fauna & Flora
Thanks to the drastic climate differences between summers and winters, the ecosystems are divided into two and each is only present for a certain time in the year.Fauna
Summers
The fauna found in summers are usually smaller than the ones found in winters, because smaller animals lose heat easier. Of course there are many large animals in the Empire Ocean during summers, such as zarjgs, large fish that use echolocation.Winters
Fauna found in the winters are larger and possess a small layer of insulating scales. Such creatures include the wale, massive mammals that are similar to whales, but lack tails and instead expel water to move. During summers, these animals will hibernate within the caves of meteors.Flora
Summers
Flora in the summers are usually more brightly coloured than winters, such as reds, oranges and yellows. These flora massively range in sizes, mostly depending on the size of the meteor they grow on and how much space they have to grow.Winters
The most intriguing plant growing in winters is the blue vein plant. These plants never stop growing, some currently up to a few thousand metres long. During summers they "hibernate" and stop growing, and visibly turn a more greyish colour.Significant Species
Auphwei
The Auphwei are the most prominent species in the Empire Ocean, and are very well known in the Yonderverse for having a bad attitude. They don't like anyone turning up unannounced at their Empire, don't like anybody in their ocean, and don't really like people in general.
They have constructed an impressive empire that is heavily protected, and the mist that surrounds the ocean helps to conceal the kingdom.
Ratfish
One of the only animals that can survive all year round, ratfish are named after their pest-like personality. Ratfish are an incredibly common species, and are often found inside houses in the Auphwei Empire.
In certain towns and villages in the Empire Ocean ratfish have actually been trained to help out with basic tasks, as these animals are actually rather intelligent.
Zarjg
Hibernating throughout winters, zarjgs are rare animals. Once a common species, the hunting that takes place after The Emergence each spring has driven this species to the brink of extinction. These animals are completely blind, and rely on echolocation to find their way in the waters.
Since these animals are so large, they are a valued species to the auphwei. A single adult zarjg can feed up to 10 auphwei, and so important meals will almost always have zarjg meat, despite its rarity.
Auphwei Empire
Kingdoms
The Auphwei Empire encompasses three kingdoms - the Aulei Kingdom, Yapar Kingdom, and the Hilli Kingdom. These kingdoms are ruled by separate authorities, who all report to the Auphwei Empress, a woman twice the height of everynody else in her Empire and three times as powerful.Aulei Kingdom
The Aulei Kingdom is the largest of the three kingdoms in the Auphwei Empire. It is run by three lords, who each rule over a third of the kingdom. The Aulei Kingdom has a population of around 30 million, and is by far the wealthiest kingdom. Each sector ruled by a different lord is in charge of bringing in different materials for The Capital, a city in the centre of the kingdom where the three lords live.
The Capital has a population of 3 million, and the city is constructed out of the most valuable materials gathered by those in the kingdom.
Yapar Kingdom
The Yapar Kingdom is the second largest kingdom, with a population of 20 million. This kingdom is the most recent addition to the Auphwei Empire, claimed as part of the Empire thirteen years ago after hundreds of years of war. The Yapar Kingdom's horde of starcrystals was sought after by the Empire, and so they decided to claim the kingdom.
Hilli Kingdom
The Hilli Kingdom's connections with people from various planets made the Empire take control of it. The kingdom frequently traded with other people from planets and other labyrinth seas, seeking resources that would help their people advance technologically.
After the Empire took control of the Hilli Kingdom, trading was increased and technology progressed at a much faster rate, and eventually space-travel was achieved.
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