The Island Cemetary

When low tide came, Kell lifted Zuberi onto his hips and carried her across the narrow split of bone-white coral sand onto the Island Cemetary. The wind was slapping the water into rhythmic waves that beat the kelp in the bay back and forth like a pendulum. Close to the shore a few people were collecting scallops, the baskets strapped to their hips half submerged to keep their catch fresh. Further out there were a few ships, but not many: there was not much profit in a risky oceanic voyage to Tsoria, except for those who traded in illegally mined metals or controlled hallucinogens.

The Island Cemetary, a small stand protected by the encircling bay, had had a name before, but now it was just the Cemetary. No bodies were buried there - the topsoil was barely more than a few centimetres thick - but if there could be a resting place for the souls of those who had died in the war, the Island was as good a place as any.

The Island Cemetary

Geography

The Island Cemetary is a small island in the Bay of Tellor, one of the few cities left standing after the Pa'an Chil-Tsoria war. The remains of an old arch, the Cemetary is a stump predominantly formed from limestone, with a thin layer of topsoil on its eroded summit. Unlike the larger islands futher out to sea, the Cemetary Island is too small to have any substantial cave networks. At high tide the Cemetary rises only approximately four metres from the sea; at low tide it has an elevation of approximately eleven feet and is connected to the shoreline by a small spit.
During the rainy season, a small colony migratory sea birds nest on its eastern flank.

History

A staircase from the spit to the summit of the Cemetary was carved during the earliest settlement of Tellor. It is thought that the island was planned to be the location of a lighthouse, but it was never built. Prior to the war, the island was occasionally used to store fishing boats to save them from being brought ashore; during the dry season the island was once a popular haunt for teenagers.
The island was first used as a memorial ground before the start of the war, after a ship containing illegally mined iron was sunk close to Tellor's coast, costing the lives of over two dozen people from Tellor and its surrounding villages. Although Tsoria suspected foul play, it lacked the political clout to press charges in the international court. During and after the war, people began to set up shrines on the island for friends and family whose bodies couldn't be recovered, earning the Cemetary its current name. There have been numerous sightings of humanoid spirits on the Island Cemetary over the years.

The Shrines

The summit of the Cemetary is covered with shrines constructed from wood, clay or stone, memorialising the dead or missing. Some have names carved into them, others are identifyable only to close kin through symbols or other hidden messages. Due to the exposed nature of the Cemetary, the shrines are either partially submerged into the rock or held in place by spells. There are two main styles of shrine: the simple covered incense burner used by Huriya, and the more elaborate erdel offering shrine. As most inhabitants of Tellor have mixed heritage, many shrines combine these two styles.
During the rebellion after the formal end of the war, many shrines fell into disrepair; however, in the years following the war these abandoned shrines have been repaired and are generally cared for by other visitors to the Cemetary. It is common practice to visit the Cemetary during the evening low tide and spend the night on the island until the next low tide allows safe return to the shoreline. The incenses burned during these vigils often contain compounds which sensitise the sight to delta radiation, allowing mourners to observe passing spirits.

The final resting place for the souls whose bodies were never found

Location: Tellor, Tsoria
Ownership: None, common land
Current purpose: Memorial