Dancinglight's Dome

When stories of sailors coming across the Eddy first began spreading early in the Volcanic Era, the detail that stood out most was the dome of water towering over a ship, breaking sunshine into dancing ribbons of light.  The term "Dancinglight Dome" comes directly from those descriptions (which were surprisingly accurate, given the tendency of rumors to exaggerate), and "Dancinglight" was also used to refer to the Seekers' designated representative.

Purpose / Function

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the Dancinglight agreed. "It's not meant to impress, though I know it does."

"Not meant to?" Connu sputtered. "You go to the trouble of--of raising a--of doing this!" She gestured upward without looking, not daring to lose herself in the moving patterns again. "Forgive me, Dancinglight, but if it doesn't serve to remind us of the Seekers' power, then what is it for?"

"The dome shields visitors, to allow our sages to concentrate. The Eddy is a place where the ocean is quiet, and most Seekers come here to escape distractions."

For many Water Seekers, what draws them to the Eddy is the calm. But a strong affinity for the ocean often goes hand-in-hand with an oversensitivity to human emotion, and the interruption of a boatload of excited sailors amounts to highly distracting background noise. Setting a barrier of water around the visiting ship keeps it at a reasonable distance, and actively manipulating the water's thickness cancels out enough of the noise that Seekers in meditation often are not aware that there are visitors.

Architecture

Even for someone with strong water working skill, a structure the size and complexity of the Dancinglight Dome is impossible to create and maintain alone. A team of workers, each responsible for a single column and section, could support the dome for as long as necessary. The teams ranged in size from seven to twelve, depending on the size of the ship they had to enclose.
The Water Seekers today have too few skilled water workers to generate a freestanding dome. Instead, Eddy's Island features a ring of steel and stone towers anchored in the southeast shallows and surrounding the dock. Aesthetically, the towers mirror the island's peak. When in use, only four or five Seekers are needed to fill the dome sections with water and keep them moving.

History

The use of a layer of moving water as a cancellation barrier comes from the common Water Seeker practice of "floating". While meditating, Seekers with skill in working or handling can coat themselves with a skin of water, adjusting its thickness to mitigate distracting external sensations. At the Eddy, a Seeker has no need for the cancellation layer. It is less disruptive for a few Seekers to create a barrier to shield visitors than for every Seeker to maintain their own barrier for the duration.

Tourism

While there are few who would go to the trouble of finding the Eddy without a significant purpose, for some that purpose was nothing more than to see the Dancinglight Dome in person.  Considering the effort that goes into creating and holding the dome, the Water Seekers tended to be displeased if they found out it was being abused for entertainment value.  In such cases, the working Seekers would drop the pillars, causing a circular wave that jolted the ship, usually knocking all the passengers off their feet.  At the same time, the layer of water at the top of the dome would fall straight down and land on them--not hard enough to cause harm, but drenching everyone on the deck.  The ship was then sent off by a rolling ridge of ocean water.  Any reputable navigator who knew how to find the Eddy was careful to ask details about their client's intent.  Someone who brought tourists, even unwittingly, would be barred from any future visits.

Founding Date

Construction on the New Eddy's dome began in 2045 Vol and was completed four years later.

Type

Tower, Water

Parent Location

The Eddy

Dancinglight Dome framework by The Big G

Two massive pillars rose at each side of the ship, to the collective thunder of exclamations from the crew. Dreishi had not been to the Eddy so many times that this spectacle could bore him. He whooped along with everyone else as ten liquid columns, each at least double the height of the main mast, encircled the ship. They twisted, bending sunwise, meeting each other at a ring that framed the overhead sun. That ring spread downward in a series of wavefronts, slowly filling in the spaces between the pillars.