Kaleido Sea

by Galyna Andrushko

When I was a child, fish was a luxury we could seldom afford. The first time I visited the sea and felt the gentle burn of salty air in my nostrils, I felt as though I had walked into a wealthy person's kitchen. Those jewel-shimmering waters, just teeming with delicacies! I could wade to my knees in the water, run my fingers through the sand, and pull up wonders I could never have dreamt of from the side of a mountain. Unfortunately, I learned that glass crabs weren't as enamored with my discovery as I was. What? Did you think all the scars on my fingers came from kitchen accidents?

— Julienne, Adventurer, Chef

The Kaleido Sea lies at beating the heart of the known world, separating the land of Cornucopia from the island of Casteur, and wreathed with numerous smaller isle around its edges. To the southeast, the Kaleido Sea opens up into the greater world as of yet unexplored, at least by any adventurers who made it back home to tell the tale. Though the sea once served as a barrier to travel between distant lands, today it is appreciated as both a well-travelled route and also a source of countless foods enjoyed the world over, though few are brave enough to sail right through the middle of it when keeping to the coasts is far less risky.

Geography

On the surface, much of the Kaleido Sea seems generally unremarkable, with waters stretching in any direction for as far as the eye can see. However, beneath the waves are trenches, ridges, and rises to rival the grandure of any dry land. While the surface enjoys a relatively stable and predictable current, deeper waters are subjected to the chaotic whims of volcanic vents and wild magic springs. The northern Kaleido Sea is relatively shallow and easily explored with the aid of magic or mechanical diving equipment, but the southeastern regions quickly drop off into unfathomable abysses beyond mortal ken.

Resources

The shallows of the Kaleido Sea provide a generally predictable offering of fish and vegetation in any given region. Particularly beloved staples of the Kaleido Sea include the glass crab of the Casteuran coast, schools of magic missile fish, and the troublesome bomb urchin known to adhere to the hulls of ships. It is believed that over forty varieties of seaweed grow in different areas of the Kaleido Sea, with the rarest thriving in beds no broader than the ships that sail over them. Aside from fishing, the ocean is a necessary source for salt, used the world over both to improve the taste of food and also to preserve it.
Deep-water fishing is known to return unpredictable results, as fishing nets reach into waters most heavily affected by the flow of wild magics. Miraculous creatures may appear in a region one day and vanish just as quickly, ranging from tiny fish that shimmer like gemstones, to gargantuan sea creatures primed to eat a ship whole. Even the most adventurous explorers and cartographers invest little time in trying to map deep waters, knowing that whatever recordings they make will be obsolete in a matter of weeks.

Travel

The port of Bankette lies at the north of the Kaleido Sea, and functions as the primary gateway for the people of Cornucopia to explore the rest of the world. Countless ships depart from Bankette, mostly sailing north and south along its shores or following island chains to travel Casteur and beyond. Like any other major route of travel, these ships are overflowing with adventurers, either bound for distant lands to ply their trade, or finding work on the journey itself, providing protection to less rough-and-tumble travelers.