Selkis' Grotto
Ervenian Era, 1051 AB
Selki’ Grotto is Surminare's haven of tide-mercy and shoreline change: a lacework of sea-caves, blue caverns, and kelp-lit halls threaded through the under-isles of Thalasia. Here, skins are shed and reclaimed, sailors lay down fear, selkies take up their walking cloaks, and wayworn hearts learn the rhythm of ebb and flow. Oceanus wells through the grotto in warm, steady pulses, and lantern shoals paint the ceilings like constellations. Hospitality is simple and absolute: a bowl of broth, a dry cloak, and a listening silence before any other judgment.
Customs and Law
Cloak-Guest Right
Hang a cloak and speak a true name at a shell quay; hospitality and frank speech bind all sides until the next tide bell. Lies taste briny and catch in the throat.Art as Contract
Promises are knotted in kelp, carved in shell, or sung into echo; within the vow-circle, malice falters and resolve holds.No Chains
Slavery, soul-binding, and cruel coercion are sacrilege; such bonds fray in salt and cannot pass the Seal-Halls.Release Rite
A grief or guilt may be woven into a kelp charm and cast on the ebb; it sinks, and it is not spoken of again unless invited by the penitent.Geography
Notable Locations
Mother-of-Pearl Infirmary
Crescent pools and shell beds where healers rotate watch; ceiling constellations brighten at each recovery.The Skin-Locker
A selkie sanctum of seagrass and pearl pegs; outsiders enter only by invitation to witness the Rite of the Cloak.Echo-Breakers
Low reef where judgments are sung; the surf repeats only the truest lines.Tide Nursery
Warm cradle-caves guarded by cetaceal agathions and patient seals.Surminare’s Seat
A simple stone in the heart grotto; those who keep the Pause often rise knowing what to let go—and what to keep.Seal-Halls
Mother-of-pearl galleries where selkie families keep skins, stories, and shared stores; tide chimneys sing soft chords when a storm passes.Lantern Pools
Bioluminescent basins for convalescence and first-swim lessons; their light brightens at lullabies and softens at farewells.Cloak-Racks
Driftwood colonnades at each quay where travelers hang cloaks and, symbolically, yesterday’s burdens before counsel.Kelp Roads
Slow-swaying avenues that guide swimmers like a hand at the back; knot-script plaques record rescues and reconciliations.Shellwork Quays
Coral landings for skiffs and living boathouses; pearl tablets hold guest-right oaths and safe-conduct marks.The Listening Vault
A warm, hush-stone court where surf-echo carries truth cleanly and judgments are given in low voices, never in shouts.Travel and Access
Foam-Doors
White-lipped arches open at low tide when a traveler speaks a rescue honestly undertaken, leading to Bluehall sancta or gentle coves afar.Okyanus Threads
Calm reaches become moving walkways when guest-right is freshly kept, carrying boats farther than muscle explains.Inhabitants
Petitioners of the Shoal
Former rescuers, ferrymen, lighthouse-keepers, midwives, and once-castaways reborn with steady breath and sea-eyes; they teach calm-water craft, steward guest-right, and fetch the lost.
Selkies and Sea-folk
Selkie clans and allied coast-dwellers serve as pilots, wardens, and celebrants; skins are sacred, loans of them unthinkable.
Agathions and Angels
Cetaceal and avoral agathions patrol deeps and skies;
Envoys and Friends
Delphion messengers of Deep Sashelas, Tamarian/sarenite healers on rotation, and the occasional visit from Strongale Hall or Hiatea via fair-weather lanes.
Localized Phenomena
Undertow of Panic
Sudden fear tugs swimmers sideways; match the realm’s slow breath and it releases you onto a safe bar.Barnacle of Oath-Breaking
Willful vow-breakers catch sleeves and straps on unseen roughness until apology and repair are made.Witness Mist
In spray and brume, kindly truth carries; spiteful falsehood clots on the tongue and will not travel.Calm-Eye
Threats and shouting go thin and breathless in certain courts; gentler words arrive whole.Balance’s Reproof
Overnet or hoard water and the sea replies: fish sound, currents turn contrary, and gulls dog the wake until restitution.Surminare’s Mercy
Cure magics, restoration, neutralize poison/disease, and calming effects invoked to save, reconcile, or release take kindly hold and linger a little longer.Greenwater Travel
Water breathing, water walk, control water, air walk/water walk, find the path, and purpose-keyed teleports/way-walks steer with uncanny precision along kelp roads and foam-doors.Shape-Kind
Harmless polymorphs and self-true shapeshifting (selkie coats, wild shape used for care/rescue) feel steadier; glamers that excuse cruelty tend to unravel.Undeath Refused
Soul-harm, fear-domination, and slavery bindings strain or fail; memorial and laying-to-rest rites take easy purchase.Performative Casting
Singing, shell-trump, knot-work, or charting while casting steadies concentration; benign effects are read as part of the rite.Trait Type |
Description |
|---|---|
| Gravity | Normal; underwater buoyancy is gently kind (creatures tread water more easily; falls into water are softened). |
| Time | Normal time, felt as unhurried; long rests feel especially restorative and dawns arrive with reassuring regularity even when skies are overcast. |
| Shape & Size | Honeycombed suboceanic arch-realm beneath multiple Blessed Isles; endlessly extensible caverns and tide tunnels “grow” new chambers near need (sanctuaries, nurseries, workshops). |
| Morphic Traits | Mostly static with benevolent responsive elements: shores “lean” to receive those seeking aid; safe coves present themselves to the shipwrecked; storm tracks bend away from sanctuaries. |
| Elemental Energy | None Dominant |
| Alignment | Neutral Good. |
| Magic | Healing, restoration, remove disease/curse, atonement, water and travel magics (water walk, control water, find the path, wind/wayfinding effects), language and message effects tied to guest-right or sworn aid are enhanced. Evil spells/magic, compulsion by fear or slavery, necromancy that harms life or traps souls are impeded. |
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