City of Mezzofathom
The depths of The Cerulean Trench are riddled with stones and bioluminescent life, but most of all, it is littered with secrets. Many of those secrets are the final resting places of countless treasures and precious memories that Umberlee saw fit to deposit there, nearly a mile below the waves.
But some of Umberlee's secrets are the less esoteric, and more existential. Take for instance, the subaquatic City of Mezzofathom.
A mass of domes constructed of a specialized, transluscent type of ceramic, the layout of the city resembles nothing so much as the chaotic yet symmetrical growth rings evident in conch or nautilus types of shells. Patterned after a sequence of mathematical beauty-namely, that of X=X+1-the growth of this deep sea refuge has been slow, but ultimately has never stopped. It has expanded upwards, downwards, and outwards to meet the needs of its ever growing population.
The domes are pressurized to allow for comfortable travel and dwelling within, and there are throughways connecting the domes to each other. Most of these habitats are entirely flooded, but not all Aquans thrive in such an environment. Many domes are pumped mostly free of water, and maintain a mixed environment of air containing gardens with pools of salt and fresh water, which are available to air breathers and amphibions, as well.
The temperatures, lighting, and entire environment of each dome is customisable, and many are used for very specialized purposes, such as hospitals, or schools.
Each "coil" of domes is designed in such a way as to provide multiple fail safes from pressure regulation failure, with the smaller domes situated on the outer edges of the coils being terminii of sorts. It is also the point where each coil can be entered or exited. These smallest units in the line are essentially pressure-locks, with a variety of doors and windows arranged around the dome. These doors vary in size from a single-person sally port, to massive hangar-bay doors.
Demographics
Mezzofathom has every conceivable type of Aquan living safely within its domes and underground structures.
Government
An empire, with day to day affairs run by a surprisingle democratic process led by a senate, and house of representatives.
Defences
It is located so deep in the water it is considered unreachable. There is a dome of magical force that covers the entire settlement to protect from falling debris...they were effected as much by the cataclysm of the Impact as anybody else on the planet.
Industry & Trade
Food and resource gathering take up the lion's share of the merfolk's time when they are at home in the city, leaving them plenty of time for arts and entertainement. Merfolk singing is a very sensory experience.
Infrastructure
The barimetric chambers and tunnels built along the sides of the trench are not available here in Cerulo. But the city does provide safe haven and space to build a home and raise a family. There are city provided and maintained throughways leading between the domes of the trench's floor, and the emergency response teams are provided by the city as well.
Districts
Each coil has its own culture and sense of style, and decor, usually reflecting that of the person or family that financed the construction of the coil. They are not cheap to construct, and they are engineered with safety in mind, meaning they need to have a triply-redundant safety mechanism in each dome of the coil, that protects the throughway into the next dome in line. Getting through the causeways and throughways, while a smooth process, is still very much a process, involving pressure locks and safety protocols that are drilled into the city's inhabitants from birth.
Assets
Ceramic harvesters and resource gathering vehicles, pressure suits, mines, city infrastructure, etc.
History
Cerulo was the first population center in the depths of the trench, inhabited by merfolk trying to get as far away from the drylanders as possible. There had been raids by both the humans and elves during the atrocities of the Elven Purge, and the Aquans were uninterested in such bloodshed.
Points of interest
The dome where Hando and Mandollo Cerullo is still standing; a real testament to the longevity and strength of Cerulean cermaics and construction techniques. They also have a fantastic public library, and the sweet old pastor of Umberlee throws a feast in the sea goddess' name every third Dinæ.
Tourism
The trench is far too deep for any kind of tourism to prosper, although Aquans of every type and stripe make pilgrimages to Cerulo to visit Hando and Mandollo's childhood home. Street food vendors and talented tour guides can make a fantastic living nearby.
Architecture
The domes are built of Cerulean Ceramic; an ultra hard (yet somewhat brittle) substance that can be molded and worked into shapes before it dries into a nearly indestructable solid. It must be submerged in salt water to harden. It is often molded around supporting armatures and strengthening bars to give it even more stability.
Geography
The geography of the abyssal plain at that makes up the floor of the The Cerulean Trench is almost entirely flat, although its depth does vary quite a bit in certain locations. At its deepest, the trench is over a mile below the surface of the water. Mezzofathom is located just under a mile from the surface. The difference may seem miniscule, but the pressures rise so much between those depths that construction costs were prohibitive at the lowest levels of the trench.
Climate
The climate around Mezzofathom does not vary much...it is a constant water temperature of 34° to 39°. Pockets of warmer temps around geothermal vents are not uncommon, but they are small enough to be as an oases in a desert of cold water.
Natural Resources
Food, such as deepwater fish and coral polyps, rich veins of minerals and precious stones, sunken treasure, rare fish, vertical kelp and seaweed forests farther up the walls of the trench, and many more. This is, of course, only a short list of examples.
Maps
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The Cerulean Trench: Mezzofathom: Entrance
The massive, pressurized door opens in the middle, to a walkway and canal that lead past one park, through another, directly to the Visitors Welcome Center. -
The Cerulean Trench: Mezzofathom: Podus Publican
Public spaces and grandiose speaches are such an ingrained and beloved part of Aquan life that families will take picnic lunches to a local Podus Publican, where people can await their turn to speak upon a platform that rises up into the air with the touch of a button on the lectern installed thereupon. It rises a full twenty feet, but is small enough that people can see from many angles, including (of course) the pools set into the grounds of the park for the various Aquans, who so choose, to freely use.
Founding Date
2175
Founders
Alternative Name(s)
Mezzomezzo
Type
Large city
Population
1,245,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Fathomite
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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