Pelagic realm

The Pelagic realm (also referred to as the infinite ocean) is a uniquely seafaring realm in the Weltan system. The realm is an archipelago of islands with a truly unique ecosystem above the waves and an incredibly rich biosphere underwater.
==Geography==
When the pelagic stabilized in the Weltan system, the entire realm is thought to have been flooded, from previously undiscovered ice reserves that melted due to the increased heat from volcanic activity. As a result, the main inhabited land masses are the remains of the highest peaks of a former landmass. The main theory is that the entire area collapsed on itself below sea level, releasing the boneshroud. The boneshroud serves as the realm's upper atmosphere, where it once was the atmosphere having killed the survivors of the collapse which turned into skeletons. The society doomed itself by digging for gold too deep into the realms depths.
The Realm can be divided into three regions, the pelagic , the solfatara, , and the damned bayou, a fog covered ghostly region of the realm. In terms of population, the damned bayou is the source of ghosts. The pelagic is the source of skeletons, from the dead. The Ghostmaker is the source of zombies.
===Pelagic===
A collection of islands inhabited by (mostly) undead seafarers.
===Solfatara===
A subaquatic area devoid of civilization with a rich biodiversity of marine life above a volcano that is regularly active.
===Damned Bayou===
A mysterious place where the bodies and anima of the killed inhabitants of the Pelagic go. It is a mysterious expanse of water, where the water is icy cold, no stars or sun to chart or to tell the time by. A fog stops any from seeing further than 50 meters.
The waters contains ghosts, which is the fate of all those who fall into its waters. The Nemesis navigates the area, he's the fisherman of the dead.
The sea of the damned also has bogs and mires, which are its only landmasses. Presumably, this is where ghosts build their ships and prepare their land invasions. Sometimes ghost fleets invade from the sea of the damned.
==Geographic features==
The realm is almost completely covered in water, except for a few islands, and features a variety of submerged biomes. The realm features a full ecosystem of flora and fauna, however, most of it is underwater.
===Volcanic activity===
The realm, due to its relatively new status as a realm in the weltan system, has high thermal activity from the realm's core, evidenced by the many active volcanoes, underwater lava zones and lakes. The Dalmer took advantage of this feature, installing a thermal plant, which allowed the generator to harness the planet's natural thermal energy.
===Boneshroud===
A billowing cloud that surrounds the pelagic and causes skeletification of those in the realm upon death. Splits wood, rust metal, choking gas.
==History==
Main article: History of the Pelagic realm
The Pelagic realm is a water covered realm of the Weltan system that used to be a part of the planet of Welt. The Merfolk civilization bred croids as a slave army and later as a way to keep their numbers up due to infertility. Breeding croids created boneshroud, which they stored under the sea floor in ice veins until it came into contact with a volcanic seam and the entire realm was blasted outside of welts atmosphere, creating the new Realm. 
The inhabitants of the area seem to be locked in a circular lifecycle, they spend their lives sailing, gaining treasure, spending or amassing said treasure, and when they die they return as skulls. These skulls are collected by their seers and wizards from which they sift memories of treasures which they then seek out. The ability to gain knowledge from skulls is of particular interest to the Dalmer.
The Dalmer eventually extinguished the local populations of seafarers, believing this would eventually stop the reanimation curse. They were wrong, and now they must contain the ever present threat of skeletons wherever they go, their only safe havens being the few ports active in the area.
At some point the Dalmers interference caused the pelagic to be blasted off the surface of welt and into the Weltan system, becoming its own realm. The area previously occupied on Welt became known as the hole in the shell.
The removal of the realm from Welt released a previously unknown phenomenon known as the Boneshroud, which remains above the hole in the shell as well as in the atmosphere of the Pelagic realm. Pelagic then became an aquatic realm of Welt whose sparse islands on the surface hide a rich biosphere underwater.
===The hole in the shell===
A species of whales that desperately try to plug a hole in the shell, for fear of oceans drying up. Their belief is that if the hole continues to grow, the shell will collapse. They manage to sometimes reduce the hole's size, but their dwindling numbers put their efforts in jeopardy.
They are required to migrate once a decade to help repair the hole, but this frequency increases as their numbers dwindle.
==Inhabitants==
There are several factions vying for control of the region, though none of them are particularly concerned with actual colonization or governance, they mostly want to make money off the area and the local dalmer are mostly unaffiliated and are happy to study the particularities of the realm. The Mer however have a well established civilization in the area
===The Dalmer of the realm===
The Dalmer have established some warp gates to this mysterious area, and have begun the process of colonizing it. The Dalmer have an extremely profitable operation in the Pelagic  realm as the precious minerals there are seemingly infinite and the unique biology is also of interest to the scientific community.
Scientists and undead physicians also have a stake in the Pelagic as they research the novel life forms found in the area and divine the locations of treasures using skeleton skulls respectively. The main contribution of this faction to the whole is the free use of their GPS mapping satellite. The satellite's usage allows safe travel back to the few outposts that aren’t at risk of suddenly sinking.
Given the instability of the region, the infinite ocean has been declared under colonization by the Lord Divisionary. The area has been attributed to several contestants who have a rather unique agreement that they only enter conflict with each other via the use of diplomacy or by use of mercenaries.
===The Other races and the realm===
In the pelagic realm many other races are present, though the vast majority are undead. The area is a constant struggle between the zombies, skeletons and anima of the realm.
==Pelagic civilization==
A civilization that previously existed in the region but was exterminated when the Dalmer somehow blasted the realm into the Weltan system. The civilization discovered bluepowder and coloil, as well as the waterproof weapons that the arrivals adapted to their use. Their skeleton descendants sail ships, build forts, and try to exterminate the invaders, adding their dead to their numbers during strange rituals. They revered kraken, crabs and megalodons. The invaders captured the kraken broodmother, and captured some of its spawn.
===Pelagiid===
Main article: The Pelagiid
The Pelagiid is the cosmopolitan other race seafaring society that developed in the Pelagic as a result of their isolation from the rest of the world.
===Craniums===
Main article: Craniums
Craniums are semi sentient skeleton skulls that are endemic to the realm and have the ability to connect and control skeletal structures.
===Ghosts===
Ghosts in the Pelagic are maintained thanks to memories of them, they exist thanks to belief sentiment. When they begin to fade, they invariably return to make themselves known. They offer their knowledge as quests to continue their legend, they will often supply a ship as well. When they die, they rejoin their undead taverns and tell their tales, beginning new quests.
Ghosts build most of the ships of the realm in their bayou shipyards, and offer them to those that return as zombies, until they are ready to join them in their task. They do this in the hopes that one day they too will return to the realm as something physical, such as a zombie.
===Mer===
Main article: Mer
===Ghostmaker===
Main article: Ghostmaker
The mysterious ship that returns the dead to the realm as zombies and ghosts.
===Zombies===
Main article: Pelagic Zombies
Most of the Pelagiid are in fact undead creatures reanimated by the Ghostmaker. 
== Biosphere of the Pelagic Realm ==
The biosphere of the Pelagic Realm is a concentrate of the wildlife found in the ocean area of Welt where the realm originated.
=== Creatures of the pelagic ===
Main article: Creatures of the pelagic
The Pelagic realm features a very diverse array of endemic animals and creatures.
===Flora of the Pelagic Realm===
Main article: Flora of the Pelagic Realm
The Pelagic realm features a diverse array of endemic plantlife.
==Resources and items of the realm==
Wood: for ships and houses
Metal: for cannons, firearms, swords, mails, tools and ship parts. Metals come from the south east where volcanic activity produces stone, ores (especially gold), minerals and gemstones, which form the basis of the pelagics extensive relationship with gold.
Food: to feed the anthropomorphs, anthroids, creatures, undead and animal residents of the realm.
Gold: to feed the greed. There are massive gold seams deep under the sea.
Weapons trade (Cannons, swords, pistols, rifles, snake venom)
Animal trade (pigs, chickens, snakes, monkeys, parrots, kraken, megalodon, fish)
Mineral trade (mermaid emeralds, precious gemstones, volcanic stone)
Skulls (firebreathing, memory extraction)
===Bluepowder===
Main article: Bluepowder
A chemical reagent that combusts even underwater, creating heat and light. From this component, underwater lanterns, firearms and explosives that work underwater can be made.
===Coloil===
An oil used for waterproof lanterns. Can be ignited and turned off at will, and emits a more powerful light when raised.
===Cursed cannonballs===
The effects of these munitions are multiple: inebriation, slowness, sleep and jitteriness. Special ammunitions; poison, fire, explosive, scattershot. Also notable are the ship curses that are added to cannonballs specifically to harass or handicap a target ship. Deny capstan, deny cannons, deny anchor, deny ballast, deny sails, deny supplies.
===Weatherproof weapons===
Specialty of gunsmiths of the pelagic.
===Chest of sorrow===
Invaders use noble merfolk to make chests of sorrow which periodically emit massive amounts of water (in excess of 2 million litres).
===Chest of tears===
Chest that collects humidity at a terrifying rate, causing hundreds of liters to spill out at once.
===Whispering chest===
Attracts krakens, causes boneshroud.
===Windbreaker===
Object that can calm waters,
===Loose===
Raises shipwrecks from the seafloor (used mostly by skeleton crews to ambush ships). If not on the seafloor it returns the ship to a higher surface of the sea. From the Ether Sea to the regular sea.
===Culinarians tools===
Cookware that makes food cooked with it heal wounds faster,
===Cursed cannon===
Can fire people harmlessly. The barrel is supple enough to fit an average anthropomorph.
===Monstrontium===
Radioactive material that binds to bones, replacing the calcium over time. The metal emits radiation that keeps the body mobile long after biological functions have ceased. Some take so much of the metal that they glow.
===Ascension Shovel===
Shovel with tractor technology in order to pull whatever is buried to the surface.
===Weaponized lantern===
Can contain spirits or launch them. As a secondary function can set targets on fire. Can be blocked by an incensor.
==Magic of the Pelagic==
===Draught rod===
A wand that changes the direction of the wind.
===Lay lines===
Magic spots that require a special ritual to reveal hidden text on a page. These spots are used to enchant objects.
===Bayou mystics===
Mystics guard bayou gates to the sea that require a crowd of green flamed candle bearers to open.
===Lighterhouse===
Directional lighthouse beam that lights faraway torches.
===Skullguards===
Skulls can keep thresholds.
===Portal Nexus Node===
Pelagic gates go through an intermediary area where all portals are linked, protected by small rowboats.
===Craniomancy===
Craniomancy is an ability to extract memories from bones, specifically skulls. Craniomancers decipher skeleton memories and create documents from the information extracted. Using a skull can open portals.
Smoking kraken ink in a pipe and blowing the smoke at the skull, then inhaling the green fumes will reveal the information.
Headshrinking and craniomancy are linked, it is the trapping the anima of the dead within the head.
Codex creation is the opposite of craniomancy, where knowledge is implanted into a skull.
Craniomancers figured out how to channel anima into swords. They know how to trap and extract anima.
== Minor pelagic artifacts ==
An idol to protect from the unsailed sea
A mask to travel to the undead realm
An hourglass to create a ring around an adversary for dueling
A table that allows the user to travel underwater to the location mentioned by the scroll placed upon it.
Category:Pelagic Realm
Category:Geography
Category:Realm
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