Tchex Tzayleux, Day of Many Spirals

Tih-kesh Tih-zay-loo-sh

It was meant only to be a quick fishing excursion, I had no need for a crew— my boat was a small one, after all. After a few hours, the water around me suddenly became turbulent. At first lightly twisting and pulling away, as if some great mouth had put its lips to the sea and began to drink from it. Quickly the water gained speed and depth as a whirlpool formed before me. A nearby vessel wasn't as lucky as I— and found themselves pulled into the depths without a chance of escape.
— An unlucky sailor

Tchex Tzayleux, literally translating to "day of many spirals," is a natural phenomenon ocurring every one-hundred years or so. This happens when the twin moons of Qet— Tizue and Zueki— slowly stop spinning. This results in whirlpools of various sizes suddenly forming across the world's oceans.

Spinning Out

Tchex Tzayleux lasts only 24 hours, to the relief of those affected by the resulting chaos. The moons slow to a halt over the span of four hours, which can be seen at night. As a result, some are able to dock their ships, or avoid setting out on the water altogether. Unfortunately, those unable to see this— or already too far out at sea— are left to fend for themselves. Almost as soon as the moons stop spinning, the waters begin to turn. Whirlpools— large and small— quickly begin to form across the world's oceans. Most will harmlessly spin in isolated areas— however, those that form near people seem as if drawn to them. These whirlpools will steadily move themselves towards living targets, be they lone boats— or coastal settlements. Docks and shipyards are frequent targets, leading to extensive damages. Once 24 hours have finally passed, the twin moons will begin to spin once more— taking the whirlpools with them. As if they had never existed to begin with.

I hastily grabbed my oars, and began rowing towards the coast. My arms felt as if they were made of stone, already tired from casting and pulling my nets— yet I pushed on, regardless. I froze as I saw the whirlpool begin to slowly move towards me. I heard something scream from within the turbulent waters, tearing me from my shock— and spurring me to row faster than I ever had in my entire life.
— An unlucky sailor

Aftermath

Coastal settlements are often damaged, many ships are lost at sea, and fauna relocated as a result of Tchex Tzayleux. Stranger yet, are the ancient artifacts ofted dredged up by the twirling waters, as if they were searching for them. Reminders of civilizations long forgotten, pieces of their cities and monuments, jewelry, bits of clothing, strange idols or carved stones will find their way onto the vessels of lucky survivors, and litter the coasts of the world. Savvy merchants will often patrol the coasts in the aftermath in order to collect and sell these artifacts.

I ducked as a strange, green object flung itself from the depths and onto my boat. I would later investigate to find it was an idol— to some strange, many-limbed god I did not know. Yet it felt as if I should, the thing made my entire body shudder in revulsion.
— An unlucky sailor

Sunken Cities

Greater than artifacts, however, is the unearthing of entire cities. Archaic settlements, lost to time, found at the bottom of the sea. These may be revealed as particularly large whirlpools whisk away the water which once hid them from the world. Some daring few take the opportunity to explore these ruins, learn about their people, or loot them for valuble artifacts.

I glanced again at the whirlpool as I rowed— to my amazement, the water whirled around what appeared to be a great, sunken city. Bulbous edifices, which must have been made of glass, dully sparkled in the sunlight they had likely not seen in untold centuries.
— An unlucky sailor

Repair

It can often take years for settlements to repair after a Tchex Tzayleux. Besides these damages, merchants will typically lose goods, explorers and civilians alike will disappear— and strange things may be awakened. While the Tchex Tzayleux occurs nearly every one-hundred years, and is somewhat predictable— few prepare for it ahead of time. One-hundred years, is, after all, more than long enough for most people to happily forget.