Musahae (mu.sa.hɛ)

"The Musahae is dangerous to all, but it is a shield to us. We know how to survive it - our pursuers do not."

— Jeonjin Sanghaeul, leader of the Imugi

While all of The Middlesea is dangerous, no stretch of water is as perilous as the region called the Musahae. Located in the southwestern corner of The Middlesea, the Musahae is notorious for its hazards which include whirlpools, waterspouts, and rogue waves. Sometimes gigantic fog banks sweep across the Musahe faster than birds can fly, leaving nothing but the water when they pass. Ships have been known to fall into great holes in the water that close up after swallowing them. Strange lights appear and disappear, and leave burning holes in anything they touch, and terrible storms have been known to appear and disappear without warning. All these and more are commonplace in the Musahae.

Until the Imugi began to use the Giljabi Tokkaebi to gain a measure of safety in reaching the Daemado Islands, the Musahae was considered completely unnavigable. Even now, most of the region is inaccessible, as the Giljabi Tokkaebi are only effective in the waters closest to the Daemado Islands which are at the very edge of the Musahae. Deeper in, the waters grow wilder and more violent, and the protection offerred by the Giljabi Tokkaebi wanes.

Most tales of the Musahae come from the Chilseongsin people of the Seom Islands. They have lived closer to this region for longer than anyone else, and they are the people who named it. The word Musahae roughly translates to "The Fighting Sea". According to Chilseongsin lore, the sea does not randomly destroy the vessels that cross it, but deliberately strikes any ships that violate its boundaries.

Notable Spirits

The gods of the Musahae are not known to the people beyond it, but are certainly present. Strange, alien faces have been glimpsed in the waves and storms, and thunder has become mocking laughter as lightning blasts ships apart. The spirits that inhabit the Giljabi Tokkaebi refuse to speak the names of these beings, but will sometimes refer to the "Gipeun Haneul-ui Gunjudeul" or "Lords of the Deep Sky".

Geography

The Musahae is a vast stretch of water in the southwestern Middlesea and accounts for about 5 percent of The Middlesea's total area. While its exact dimensions are hard to map, it is believed to extend about 1,700 miles from its southernmost point to the northern edge, and over 1,200 miles from east to west. The only inhabited islands in this region are the Daemado Islands, located on the far western edge of the Musahae. While islands are rumored to exist deeper in the Musahae, they are not mapped or documented, and the few reports of them suggest that they move around and may even sink into the sea at random.

Type

Sea

Location under

The Middlesea

Geographic Details

Location: The Middlesea
Latitude: 33.57 degrees North
Longitude: 13.65 degrees West
Area: 1,063,000 sq mi

Related Articles