Cerca: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:25, 6 October 2024

Cerca (pronounced SIR-cah) is an aquatic nation in the western Wounds, a union of the twin cities of Lurath and Ethausva, both aeroliths that crashed close to each other into the Na-Gaesa Ocean long ago. Over several generations their inhabitants found themselves transformed into aquatic elves, after which they gradually rebuilt their communities into centers of underwater trade and learning amongst the Wounds.

Geography

Cerca is located in an oddly shallow part of the Na-Gaesa Ocean, especially as there are no major islands for hundreds of miles in any direction, with the aerolith cities resting on the seafloor about two thousand feet below the surface. Though too deep for natural reefs to form, some have been cultivated around the cities, sustained by magical lights and fauna introduced from other waters. Storms and other conditions on the surface do not affect the underwater cities.

Cerca is roughly 320 miles south of the Protectors, 450 miles northwest of the Grievous Islands and Harv Taruhm, 770 miles north of the Wisps, and 560 miles southeast of the Gekhuknaka Trench. Within Cerca, Lurath and Ethausva are separated by over 40 miles of open ocean.

History

Like the Zabarshu elves of Phersu, the ancestors of the inhabitants of Cerca arrived in the Wounds by way of their aeroliths, which bore them aloft across the world. Both Lurath and Ethausva were built sometime in the late third millennium and remained flying until the late fifth millennium, at which point their travels brought them over the Na-Gaesa Ocean, as they had many times before. This time, however, the elves encountered an unexpected and unusual magically-charged storm that interfered with the aerotheurgic magic that kept their cities in the air. Thrown about in the sky, they struggled to regain control, but all efforts eventually failed as both aeroliths went plummeting towards the ocean below. At the last minute both were able to slow their falls enough to lessen the blow, yet the impact was still immense, shattering parts of the flying cities and causing tsunamis to strike faraway islands.

As the cities came to a rest on the seafloor, their inhabitants stayed alive by remaining within magically-generated bubbles of air as they assessed the damage. While early repairs to the habitation structures were successful, efforts to fix the aerotheurgic cores proved futile, for over the millennia knowledge of their true workings had been lost. Understanding that they would not fly again, some elves departed for the surface to find new lives elsewhere, but most remained in the aeroliths, where over generations spending more and more of their lives in the water and away from their magical air they found themselves slowly transformed into aquatic elves.

The presence of newcomers to the sea did not go unnoticed by others in the Wounds, and fairly quickly the aeroliths were visited by inquisitive locathah and merfolk and some perhaps less than friendly sahuagin. With their relatively central location in the western Wounds, Lurath and Ethausva rapidly became centers of trade as the elves sought supplies necessary for their repairs. As the years dragged on and the repairs were completed, this status remained, especially as it became clear the new arrivals would not be departing. Gradually the twin cities became known as centers of magical learning as well, as the elves taught others what they remembered of their arcane arts.

Demographics

Culture

Government

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 == History ==
-Like the [[Zabarshu elf|Zabarshu]] [[elf|elves]] of [[Phersu]], the ancestors of the inhabitants of Cerca arrived in the Wounds by way of their aeroliths, which bore them aloft across the world. Both Lurath and Ethausva were built sometime in the late third millennium and remained flying until the late fifth millennium, at which point their travels brought them over the Na-Gaesa Ocean, as they had many times before. This time, however, the elves encountered something they did not expect - an unusual magically-charged storm that interfered with the [[aerotheurgy|aerotheurgic]] magic that kept their cities in the air. Thrown about in the sky, they struggled to regain control, but all efforts eventually failed as both aeroliths went plummeting towards the ocean below. At the last minute both were able to slow their falls enough to lessen the blow, yet the impact was still immense, shattering parts of the flying cities and causing tsunamis to strike faraway islands.
+Like the [[Zabarshu elf|Zabarshu]] [[elf|elves]] of [[Phersu]], the ancestors of the inhabitants of Cerca arrived in the Wounds by way of their aeroliths, which bore them aloft across the world. Both Lurath and Ethausva were built sometime in the late third millennium and remained flying until the late fifth millennium, at which point their travels brought them over the Na-Gaesa Ocean, as they had many times before. This time, however, the elves encountered an unexpected and unusual magically-charged storm that interfered with the [[aerotheurgy|aerotheurgic]] magic that kept their cities in the air. Thrown about in the sky, they struggled to regain control, but all efforts eventually failed as both aeroliths went plummeting towards the ocean below. At the last minute both were able to slow their falls enough to lessen the blow, yet the impact was still immense, shattering parts of the flying cities and causing tsunamis to strike faraway islands.
 As the cities came to a rest on the seafloor, their inhabitants stayed alive by remaining within magically-generated bubbles of air as they assessed the damage. While early repairs to the habitation structures were successful, efforts to fix the aerotheurgic cores proved futile, for over the millennia knowledge of their true workings had been lost. Understanding that they would not fly again, some elves departed for the surface to find new lives elsewhere, but most remained in the aeroliths, where over generations spending more and more of their lives in the water and away from their magical air they found themselves slowly transformed into aquatic elves.
-The presence of newcomers to the sea did not go unnoticed by others in the Wounds, and fairly quickly the aeroliths were visited by inquisitive [[locathah]] and merfolk and some perhaps less than friendly sahuagin. With their relatively central location in the western Wounds, Lurath and Ethausva rapidly became centers of trade, especially as the elves sought supplies necessary for their repairs. As the years dragged on and the repairs were completed, this status remained, especially as it became clear the new arrivals would not be departing. Gradually the twin cities became known as centers of magical learning as well, as the elves taught others what they remembered of their arcane arts.
+The presence of newcomers to the sea did not go unnoticed by others in the Wounds, and fairly quickly the aeroliths were visited by inquisitive [[locathah]] and merfolk and some perhaps less than friendly sahuagin. With their relatively central location in the western Wounds, Lurath and Ethausva rapidly became centers of trade as the elves sought supplies necessary for their repairs. As the years dragged on and the repairs were completed, this status remained, especially as it became clear the new arrivals would not be departing. Gradually the twin cities became known as centers of magical learning as well, as the elves taught others what they remembered of their arcane arts.
 == Demographics ==