“The dangers of damaged Waystone Towers, the shimmersea and shadowtides,
the winds of Noctis and the moons of Hysh.”
A treatise on navigation in the Prime Dominion, by Lost Uzzog of the
skyship Cleavermaw
Navigation in the Prime Dominion is fraught with danger for newcomers to the
region. While there are many hidden hazards, there is also pattern and logic
to be found, as expected in Hysh, but one must know where to look for them.
And for those new to Hysh, there are additional problems to contend with.
Noctis
The primary source of danger is Noctis itself, the famed black sun which
stabilizes the region. The local weather patterns are entirely created and
dominated by the relative position of Noctis, as can be seen from the enclosed
sample pages from my Almanac. The year in the Prime Dominion is exactly 45
weeks (315 days) long, dictated by the orbital rhythm of the darkening orb
itself.
Where Noctis travels, winter travels with it. As Noctis passes away spring and
summer follow. Autumn heralds Noctis’ return, and with it dark skies, strong
winds and fierce tides. A ship’s captain must beware the winter winds, for
they all blow toward the black sun and they get stronger and faster the nearer
one approaches. A not-insignificant number of ships have been lost by
incautious commanders trying their luck too near that dire sphere.
The storms abate in spring and autumn regions but the winds still blow hard
toward Noctis. In summer, and the temperate zone around Iscarion, the winds
are lighter and much less treacherous. There are some local anomalies that
cause strange calms, or near permanent storms and riptides. These should be
marked on your charts if you have reliable copies.
Celennar and the ethereal moons
Hysh’s moons ALWAYS appear to be full when viewed from within the Realm. Hysh
is the source of light illuminating them, so to the people in Hysh they appear
to be reflecting light straight back at them (while the angle they are at
compared to Hysh will affect how they appear to other realms).
If Celennar has, I think, a nine week orbital cycle this means the true moon
is hidden from view for four and a half weeks of each lunar-month, as it
passes beneath the surface of Hysh. Luckily for the Prime Dominion it can
still be seen from the Lux Umbra for some of this time. Otherwise it would
only be invisible as soon as the whole of it passed below the Realm’s plane.
Celennar is also eclipsed once each month, as it passes near the Shadow Realm
of Ulgu.
As the Realm of Hysh is so big, Celennar will appear to get bigger as it
orbits nearer to the viewer, and appear smaller when it is far away. It orbits
at an angle so it will also get higher and lower in the sky as it passes. To a
viewer in the Prime Dominion on the edge of the Realm, in Haixiah, it will
seem HUGE and close as it rises on the near side, and visible in full
daylight. But it will appear to be tiny and distant when it sets on the far
side, and only visible in the almost-twilight that passes for night here. The
realm itself might be turning relative to Celennar’s path, so the rise and
fall points might change over the course of many years. I have not been in
this Realm long enough to be sure.
The shimmersea and the shadowtides
The sea of liquid light that fills the void between the floating metalith
islands of the archipelago that form the Prime Dominion is another strange
phenomenon a traveller new the the area will need to become accustomed to.
Conventional sea-going vessels can float on it and navigate in a way
sea-captains will feel is familiar but one must be aware it is as far from
normal water as it is possible to imagine. The light waxes and wanes, and
occasional rents or tears appear on its surface. Known as shadowtides, these
fissures grow and shrink in unfathomable rhythmic patterns (possibly connected
to the movements of Noctis, but I have not been able to quantify them).
Sailing into a shadowtide will be catastrophic for a surface vessel: this
cannot be overstated.
Skyvessels, however, can make use of the shadowtides to slip from the Lux
Flumen, above the surface of the Shimmersea, to the Lux Umbra, the penumbral
underworld of the Prime Dominion (or vice versa). This ‘other side’ is
frequented by, shall we say, those less encumbered by morals or manners.
Falling in the shimmersea is a disconcerting experience. The liquid light is
warm and will burn, if you stay in it too long, but it is not an instantly
fatal danger. The undead suffer worse than the living as far as I have been
able to ascertain. Even the unfocused light of Hysh is unkind to the magics
that sustain them, but it isn’t like standing in the beam of a Luminark.
Waystone Towers
There are ten Waystone Towers scattered around the Prime Dominion. They are
clearly marked on most maps and charts and they can be used to get your
bearings by checking the relative positions of three or more towers. Each has
a unique signature when located with a thaumaturgic, or aetheric, compass once
you have tuned the device to remove the overpowering noise of the Perimeter
Inimical and balanced it for the location of Noctis. Neither of these measures
should be ignored as your compass will be next to useless without them.
Not all Waystone Towers can be trusted – they were made by the aelfs, so they
are probably ancient. Some have been damaged or broken by powerful magics over
the centuries, and others are either corrupted or faulty as they appear to
shift or their bearings are displaced. I am trying to mark these on my charts
but they should be double-checked as often as possible.
Postscript
Navigation within the Prime Dominion should be easy for anyone who has the
skill and fortitude to survive the hazardous journey through Haixiah to get
here. But there is much to learn in a short time in order to avoid the most
common hazards here. An inexperienced commander will not last long and the
numerous shipwrecks that pepper the islands tell that tale in grim detail.
