The waters surrounding the Archive are not uniform. They ripple through strata older than coastal memory, each layer shaped by forgotten tides, drowned cities, and the restless pressures of the Vein.
Below is a Keeper’s attempt to map the unmappable.
Depth: Shallow Strata
Traits: Silted flats, broken piers, kelp-thick drifts
Hazard Level: Low
A shifting landscape of sandbars and submerged foundations. Driftfolk shelters cling to its edges, rebuilt after each storm.
Lanternlight scatters strangely here. Water clarity changes by the hour.
“If the water goes glass-smooth— a Wraith has passed unseen.” — Keeper Lorn
Depth: Mid-Strata
Traits: Slow tides, fogbanks, drifting wreck-shelves
Hazard Level: Moderate
A broad, open field of slow-moving water. Wreckage clusters form natural “reefs,” some older than recorded settlement.
Fog gathers even on windless nights, thick as unspoken memory.
“Mark the fog’s shape. It sometimes forms warnings.” — Keeper Arvann
Depth: Variable (Shallow to Mid)
Traits: Marsh channels, reed-shrouded paths, bone-pools
Hazard Level: Moderate
A shifting fenland, threaded with channels that seem to rearrange between dawn and dusk. Marsh-runners claim the reeds “listen.”
Echoes linger unnaturally here, even after speech ceases.
“If your voice comes back wrong— leave the Fen immediately.” — Fenline proverb
Depth: Deep Strata
Traits: Narrow fissures, echo-hollows, pressure-worn stone
Hazard Level: Severe
A labyrinth of chasms carved into ancient stone, where water pressure twists thought and current alike.
Sound carries strangely—sometimes doubled, sometimes arriving late.
“Watch the walls for heat. They warm when the Warden stirs.” — Keeper Telth
Depth: Abyssal Strata
Traits: Kelp-wraith zones, collapsed pylons, drowned vaults
Hazard Level: Extreme
The deepest mapped region before the Vein dissolves into mythic dark. Crownfall is the graveyard of an ancient coastal metropolis, swallowed long before any living Keeper took their first breath.
Kelp here moves against the tide. Lanternlight bends in sharp, unnatural angles.
“One descent too far, and Crownfall begins staring back.” — Keeper Halwen
Depth: Buried & Partially Accessible
Traits: Silt-choked halls, sigil-plates, drowned altars
Hazard Level: Unknown
Partially uncovered by tidal shifts and seismic tremors, these ruins are the source of many sigil-plates and echo-resonant artifacts.
Sigils glow faintly when illuminated with prism-filament light. Dust behaves like drifting ash.
“The runes shift when you’re not looking. Compare them to the coordinates.” — Keeper’s warning