How Scarterrans view the sea in metaphysical terms
Back before the the Divine Rebellion, when Scarterra was located on a single mega-continent, the ocean around the mega-continent was all fresh water. It was pure and clean and drinkable and filled with fish. The inland sea in the center of the mega-continent and the ocean around were basically reservoirs to sustain and feed the more complicated life on land.
When Turoch died, his blood spilled on all the world, solidifying into salt. Most life in the ocean died, but some adapted. It took a lot of work from The Nine , especially Korus and Mera to adapt the salty oceans to once again teem with life. It was never quite at the diversity and richness of life on land even though the land was also devastated by the spillover effects of the Divine Rebellion.
Once the land was getting crowded, dragons and their thurekal began settling in the oceans more and more, but this was generally considered less valuable real estate. The beings that lived in the sea were generally of lower social status than the those that lived in the land and sky who were literally above them as well as figuratively above them.
After the First Unmaking when the Nine created elves to be the new dominant race, some of the Nine made their own races to live alongside the elves. A few races were created to live apart from the elves under the sea. Not many, but some. This was insurance against another cataclysm like the First Unmaking because it was noted that the disasters struck the sea less than the land all things considered, but this was kind of a Plan B or even Plan C for the Nine, kept on the proverbial back burner.
After the Second Unmaking, the Nine created humans to be the new dominant race, but they spent a lot more time and effort creating undersea people's just in case. This is why Merfolk among others, kind of look like humans and there are other less obvious but ever present parallels between different life in Scarterra and Scaraqua.
As far as most Scarterrans are concerned, Scaraqua is a copy of them made on a somewhat lesser budget. To use a Disney metaphor, Scarterra is the block buster animated film (Lion King, Moulan, etc) and Scaraqua is the straight to video sequel made on a tighter budget by the Nine's B-team spirits.
Not that this is a problem. Most Scarterrans don't mind that their world has a second ecosystem filled with life almost as rich as theirs.
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