The Undralic Cycle

The movement of the sea was one of the great mysteries of the Dorian Chronology . Tribes who relied on fishing built their settlements along the coasts, only to see them swallowed by the waves not long after. Fishermen found themselves stranded on reefs that hadn’t existed the day before. Sea beasts were sometimes cast ashore, unable to return to the ocean’s depths.

The tribe elders attributed this phenomenon to Undralis, daughter of Naebur and elder spirit of tides and waves. Sailors and fishers spoke of seeing her from afar, standing on distant rocks, shaping the waters with her hands as if folding cloth upon a line.

Thus, the tides came to be known as the Undralic Cycle.

Discovery and Natural Law

It took many years before the scholars of Fiorlas uncovered a connection between this cycle and the movements of the celestial bodies. The twin moons, Sel and Lun, follow a cycle that repeats every ninety days, marking the turning of the seasons. Their phases directly influence the sea’s level with each moon exerting its own pull on the waters.

When both moons are new, the greatest withdrawal of the sea occurs—known as the Ebb, revealing lands that are usually submerged and stranding unwary sailors.

When both are full, the Flood follows: waves rise high, swallowing the coast and reshaping the shoreline.

Divine vs Celestial Will

Scholars of both nature and the divine disagree on who truly governs the tides, Undralis or the moons themselves. But they all agree on one truth: both play their part.

The prevailing belief is that elder spirits like Undralis are not as powerful as their creators. They must draw energy from the world itself to wield their influence. In this case, the syzygy—the perfect alignment of Sel and Lun—offers Undralis the strength she needs to act with the power of her father, Naebur.