Black Shore

The **Black Shore** is a location found in the Deep Sector of the Sunken Temple. The Black Shore appears to be the shore on a sea of black water, and a lighthouse on an island connected to the mainland by rope bridges is clearly visible from the shore. It can be found on the 6th sublevel.

## History

The corpse of the divinity Mar was found on the beach of the Black Shore in early 1993 during an expedition to the 7th sublevel, the Coral Forest. The expedition was called off in order to secure the corpse of the divinity, which was eventually moved from the Black Shore to a massive container in the Research Sector in the Shallows.

## Layout

The Black Shore has 4 main areas: the shore, the forest, the sea, and the lighthouse. The sea is to the north of the shoreline, with the forest bordering the shore to the east, south, and west. A string of islands stretches a quarter of a mile from the southwest, ending with the largest island housing the lighthouse.

The largest portion of the Black Shore is the sea. Consisting of water so dark it appears black, the sea stretches out to the horizon from the shore. The sea is relatively unchanging. The Black Shore lacks any notable weather patterns, and despite the presence of a lighthouse, there are no reports of boats being seen on the sea.

The shore area consists of a long stretch of white sand. The sand has been found to be similar to the coral sands found in tropical and sub-tropical marine environments, but the white sand of the Black Shore lacks the fragments of foraminifera, molluscs, and crustaceans common found in such sands. The exact composition of the sand has not been determined, due to continual failures of tests. The shore stretches nearly 30 feet from the edge of the black water sea to the edge of the forest. A small shelter has been erected at the border of the shore and the forest at the southeast edge.

The forest is a large forest of old-growth trees notable for their white bark and leaves. The trees do not match any species of tree found on Earth, but they most closely resemble gingko trees, though significantly larger than existent species. The average specimen stands nearly 250 feet tall and up to 25 feet in diameter at breast height. The forest seems to stretch forever, a sea of trees that stretches to the horizon, but investigations into the nature of the forest have proven otherwise. Any attempt to travel more than

The lighthouse is the only indication of previous human habitation in the Black Shore. It sits on the largest and most outer island in a small string of islands stretching into the black water sea. The islands are connected to the mainland by a series of rope bridges. Despite the lack of human presence, both the rope bridges and lighthouse maintain themselves in good condition.

The lighthouse does not appear to need human intervention in order to work.

## Nature

Despite being 6 levels down into the Deep Sector, the Black Shore has significantly lower ether levels, and with the lack of hostile animal species in the area, the Black Shore is often treated as a safe haven for any agents of the FBMA that somehow fall into the Deep Sector. Despite the reduced ether levels, it is still too high to allow for long-term human habitation. Use of the shelter sends a signal to the security office in the Shallows and triggers a rescue mission to retrieve the stray agent.

The Black Shore connects to the 5th sublevel through a door at the top of the lighthouse, while the entrance to the 7th sublevel exists at the bottom of a cave to the southeast of the shore. Although originally unmarked, the FBMA has taken care to establish a path leading from this cave to the shelter on the shore.

## Known Residents

There are no known permanent residents on the Black Shore. Although the Black Shore has reduced levels of ether compared to the other levels of the Deep Sector, the levels are still dangerous to human health, causing ether poisoning after approximately 48 hours.

The divinity known as Mar was believed to have lived in the ocean of the Black Shore before she died and washed ashore onto the beach.