Hollow Sea

The Hollow Sea is a cold, dark, deep body of water that sits at the meeting of many branches. It formed in a hollow and rotted knot, fed by generations of rain water running down the bark. No one is sure how deep the sea goes, but the black water discourages exploration. Many believe the Hollow Sea to be haunted. Gloomy mist and echoing creaks and moans emanate from the oddly still waters.

Geography

Hollow Sea sits between the meeting point of the greatest number of branches on Arboreus. Where the branches split from the trunk, a natural divot held water. Eons ago, part of the trunk under this divot rotted away, forming a vast, deep hollow that extends far rootward. Its true depth has never been measured, though several unfortunate attempts have been made. Most years, the water level sits below a gnarled ridge of wood. During rainy years, water runoff from all the branches above feed into Hollow Sea, and it laps menacingly at the roads edging around it.
As the Hollow Sea sits between several major trade routes, some towns have managed to survive the gloom. Merchants passing through spend their coin when they reluctantly stop in the towns, which is just enough to keep the poeople afloat. On days when the fog relents, there are breathtaking views of the branches twisting upward, with sunlight piercing the leaves above.

Localized Phenomena

The region is always gloomy, never quite as bright as it should be. A terrible fog lingers over the disturbingly still surface, seemingly hungry as it frequently swells and swallows the towns above. Locals sometimes mutter that the fog is a living thing, when in the safety of a closed tavern with like-minded friends.
Knotwood Deep also produces odd moaning and creaking sounds. People in the region disagree on whether these sounds are produced by normal movements of the Tree, amplified then distorted by the watery hollow, or whether they are caused by less savory sources: something paranormal hiding in the fog, or beasts best left alone in the depths.

Climate

Hollow Sea is prone to frequent rains, recycled water from the sea unwilling to leave the region. It rarely gets windy enough to disperse the looming fog, only enough to cut through sodden clothes. When conditions are wrong in other parts of Arboreus, Hollow Sea also experiences flash floods that drain into the deep, as runoff from monsoons above drains down the branches.

Fauna & Flora

Great moss forests grow from the wet climate. Copses of mushroom towers also push through the surface, feeding off the rotten wood below. Amphibians in the region thrive in the dank weather, and can grow to great sizes, feeding off the enormous mosquitoes that thrive in the still waters.
Though they may seem thin in number to fishermen of the area, Knotwood Deep does host large schools of fish, many strange and seemingly warped to match the gloomy region. Far, far below the surface, even stranger creatures dwell in the pitch black water.

Natural Resources

Lichen shelves are farmed for the bland soups and limp bread the region is infamous for. Mushroom stalks are cut for timber, and dead wood is mined for structures. The sea can be fished by persistent fishermen, though it is not uncommon to throw back a catch when the fish seem... unfit for eating.

Tourism

The main attraction for people passing through is finishing their stay as quickly as possible, and continuing on the way they were headed.

Alternative Name(s)

Knotwood Deep

Type

Sea