Sea of Gearnat
The Sea of Gearnat is a vast, storm-scarred body of water along the southwestern coast of the Bright Desert, forming a natural boundary between the parched sands and the broader world beyond. To most of the Flanaess, the Gearnat is simply a trade route. But to those who dwell near its shifting shores—or vanish into its depths—it is something stranger: a graveyard of ambitions, a veil between eras, and a mirror to forgotten power.
The Sea of Gearnat is not merely a body of water—it is the boundary between what is remembered and what was meant to be forgotten. Beneath its waves lie the secrets of fallen empires, the weapons of arcane wars, and the bones of those who dared to defy the horizon.
Geography
- The Sea of Gearnat stretches east to west, with its eastern arm reaching up toward the Woolly Bay, and its western extent fading into the Azure Sea.
- Along its northern shores, especially near the Bright Desert and the Abbor-Alz foothills, the sea’s currents are strong, unpredictable, and treacherous.
- While it bears calm, turquoise hues on fair days, storms roll across its surface with shocking speed, and dead calms can last for weeks, stranding even seasoned sailors.
Notable Coastal Features
1. Relmor Bay
A deep, natural harbor north of the Bright Desert and east of Hardby, Relmor Bay is one of the sea’s busiest trade zones—but also a region plagued by piracy, silt storms, and rumors of underwater ruins that glow at night.
2. Drowned Abari
Along the desert’s southwestern fringe lies the half-submerged ruin of Abari, a Suel city said to have been consumed when the desert’s sands swallowed its lifeblood river. Now partially beneath the sea, its ivory towers can be seen in moonlight, and ghostly singing is heard on still nights.
3. The Singing Shoals
A region of razor coral and basalt pillars, these shoals are avoided by most mariners. Winds passing through the stone formations create an eerie, mournful wailing that has earned the area its name. Some say the voices are warnings; others believe they are calls to deeper secrets.
Localized Phenomena
- The Sea of Gearnat is home to monstrous sea serpents, kraken spawn, and ancient Suel constructs lost beneath the waves.
- Elemental whirlpools, likely remnants of magical warfare, appear and vanish without warning, sometimes exposing stone arches and sealed domes on the sea floor.
- Lighthouse wreckage on isolated cliffs suggests that settlements once monitored or warded against something beneath the surface.
History
Cultural and Historical Significance
- The sea is steeped in Sueloise legend. Survivors of the Rain of Colorless Fire fled across its waters, and some claim the Suel Empire's last fleets now drift somewhere far beyond mortal sight.
- Nomadic tribes who dwell along the desert’s edge speak of silver-eyed fishers who walk out of the water during eclipses, carrying relics or warnings from a kingdom below.
- Sailors who chart the Gearnat call it “The Dreaming Sea,” claiming it brings visions, phantoms, or strange guests to their ships when sailing under certain constellations.
Modern Relevance
- Hardby, Scant, and Irongate rely on the Sea of Gearnat for trade and defense—but all three employ mystics, star-readers, or weather-witches to navigate its volatile moods.
- Some expeditions—both magical and mundane—seek to plumb the drowned secrets along the Bright Desert's fringe, hoping to uncover lost vaults or half-submerged temples.
- The mage Rary, ruler of the Bright Desert, is rumored to have made deals with entities from beneath the Gearnat, and strange lights have been reported where his towers meet the cliffs
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