Ma Hir

Destiny Saga

Ma Hir

In the World of Threa, there are 21 races. This is a description of a race that lives in the world of Threa, the Ma Hir. That I will describe. Just comment in the information that I provide. avoid elaborating beyond that

The Ma Hir are an underwater matriarchal society with rich military culture

The Ma Hir have no visible nose and smooth skin like dolphins. Their coloration ranges from deep blue to purple, with cyan and light blue markings on their snout and eyebrows. Additional markings may appear on their fingers, toes, shoulders, fins, lobes, and tendrils. They have three thick fins on their heads; females have head tendrils, while males have lobes and sometimes prominent barbels. Their broad, flat arms end in flipper-like hands with four flat fingers, and their feet are also flipper-like with two toes. A short, flat tail completes their appearance. They wear simple robes, togas, billowy shirts, and flared pants in browns, yellows, or greens.

being matriarchal, women hold power in society. their entire military and ruling class are women. They are also the head of the household, and many labor occupations are held by women. Men tend to handle domestic labor. Ma Hir occupations also encompass their military rank. with the sovereign being the General Queen. other may be Soldier Farmer, Sargent Baronet or other combination of their Military role and Civilian role. males do not have military roles. Their weapon of choice are spears, including bidents and tridents. Spears, provide Excellent pierce damage, moderate slash, and blunt damage.

As the sole underwater race, the Ma Hir primarily face competition from other Ma Hir realms over underwater territories. Nonetheless, they also assert claims to waterside lands and the surface areas of their waters, which leads to disputes with terrestrial inhabitants.

note that Threa does not posses classical races, like humans or elves. unless needed to describe the Ma Hir, describing the other 20 races of Threa is beyond the scope of this description. the Ma Hir refer to anyone else as land dwellers.

the Ma Hir themselves can live on land. they have it easy on humid areas, and have a harder time in dry regions.

Ma Hir inhabit underwater areas in lakes and rivers and also occupy coastal and shoreline territories. Some live in flotillas, but few reside in the sea due to the harshness of saltwater. They can travel far inland, although they need special accommodations in desert and frozen regions.

Ma Hir names consist of a personal name and a family name inherited from the mother. They also prepend their title depending on the situation. For example, Sergeant Baronet Jarry Luval or Warrior Princess Llury Tyne.

Their states are referred to as realms and are matriarchal warrior societies, each governed by a general queen. These realms include multiple underwater territories, some of which are engaged in conflicts with one another. They are fiercely territorial, and many land-dwelling states seek to conquer their waterside areas.

They avoid deep waters but maintain a marginal presence with flotillas to prevent being outflanked by seafaring land dwellers. Flotillas also help them maintain a surface presence in other areas.

Their society integrates military and civilian roles, enabling their entire female population to be militarized. Titles reflect this duality, such as general queen, corporal farmer, soldier storekeeper, and captain duchess.

The class system is flexible, consisting of soldier commoners and officer nobles, allowing for merit-based promotion and inherited ranks. Monarch’s children can choose to start as lower soldiers rather than inherit the rank of general, leading to titles like warrior princess.

Underwater forges and metal craft use volcanic vents. The best forges are found in deep waters, where hotter vents, higher pressures, and colder waters create superior materials. However, this environment is dangerous. Workers must condition their bodies to withstand deep water pressures and avoid predators and currents. They may use flotillas for safe descent and ascent or build special caverns leading to the forges. Despite the risks, the rewards are significant.

One aspect is a material called Charkoral, which serves as an energy source for underwater life. Charkoral is akin to a growing rock that can be harvested and requires an extreme heat source, such as lava. It is seeded into the ground. A mixture of flammable material, like discarded food or wood pulp combined with certain chemicals, is scattered in the water. When these flammable flakes come into contact with the lava, they ignite. This initial ignition subsequently triggers another chemical to react from the heat and surrounding water, creating a secondary, intense heat similar to thermite. The final component of the mixture solidifies and captures the generated heat. This solid heat then falls and deposits on the magma. Charkoral gets deposited in layers, gradually forming a column of this material, which is harvested as a source of heat and light. To use, Charkoral is split open like a geode, beginning to release its stored heat. It resembles coal or charcoal and can also grow in coral-like formations for aesthetic purposes, though it yields lower energy in this form.

Components of Charkoral Floop - flammable material, anything that would otherwise burn if it weren’t underwater. Primarily used for charkoral production, as its otherwise waste. Floop has a variety of sources, daily refuse is sorted and collected for flammables, debris from shipwrecks or other above water sources. imported from land dwellers. but the most abundant source is from farming byproducts. Woods dont exist underwater, so they are either imported from land dwellers, acquired from their waterside territories, of collected from shipwrecks.

Bresalt - a salt that can either be precipitated or mined. it has many uses. it is a good culinary ingredient and can be used to freshen up the ambient waters. commonly shaped into water chimes and candles. for charkoral production, it is ground into fine crystals and mixed with floop for the primer, flant.

Flant - a mixture of floop and bresalt. In a 5 to 1 floop to bresalt ratio. the flant can burn underwater. However, as the floop is normally a haphazard mix of otherwise waste materials, burning the resulting flant tends to foul the water. The standard flant is used charkoral production. The floop and bresalt are crushed, grounded and mixed into a thick paste. The viscosity depends on what was the floop made of. However, carefully selecting what goes in the floop, a better burning flant can be made, one that doesn’t foul the water. This curated flant can be used as a heat and light source, wicks for bresalt candles, and culinary uses, like “smoked” meats. one component that is curated are wood materials. But for Charkoral production, it doesn’t matter what when into the floop. It just needs to ignite the seaflare. the flant itself can be used as a source of heat and light, but charkoral if far superior in this role. Typically, lower classes use flant for energy.

Malchacyte - commonly known as crust, is a hard green ore. The ore itself can be shaped into tools and objects, like bowls and jewels. The green crust of the ore being aesthetically pleasing. The ore can be refined into Viridian Metal. it is light and flexible and malleable. it is used in a variety of tools and objects. Malchacyte can be crushed and refined into Malchalyte, a vibrant green dye and a component of seaflare. Malchalyte is also used in as a green dye for clothing.

Pyracyte - commonly known as Rust, or iron rust, is a very brittle metal, there aren’t many applications besides grounding it into a red powder, Pyralyte, and used for dyes, and as a component of seaflare. it can be mined, but it is easier to precipitate it from the water in the iron mines, or anywhere as it is abundant. Technically it can be refined into iron, but this is impractical underwater as the produced iron begins to rust immediately. Pyracyte is also used as an export product for land dwellers that can actually extract the iron.

Seaflare- a mixture of rust and crust that can ignite underwater and burns bright and hot. a 3 to 1 rust to crust ratio burns the hottest with a white light, more rust or crust shift the color between red and green and lowers the temperature. very useful in metal forging. and Charkoral Production. seaflare has a high ignition point, flant is used to ignite seaflare. Magma can also ignite it, but the result is dangerously explosive.

Charlyte is a crystalline mineral that is mined. it is used in a variety of objects and decorations. it is naturally yellow. Clear if polish for gem applications, otherwise it is cloudy. if crushed into a powder and exposed to intense heat, like from seaflare, it will crystallize into a different form, glob like crystals. It will absorb all the heat available. its surface turns jets black and gradually shift to cloudy white the deeper inside the crystal. exposing this inner structure releases the captured heat. The surface can also be scratched, chips remove, or otherwise selectively expose inner layers, for a dimmer, cooler, more decorative light. Once the stored heat is gone, it will break down into “ash” and dissolve into the ambient water.

Crysaline - a moderately rare mineral, found in underwater caves and deep waters, where it can be precipitated. It is smooth and white. When crushed and mixed with charlyte, it enhances its heat activated crystallization. More heat is captured, allowing the charkoral to be hotter and brighter, and last longer. More Crysaline used changes the crystal formation from the amorphous blob, that is used to grow it as pillars, into more of a snowflake shape, that allows a coral shape to develop. It isn’t required, but it enhances yields., its rarity, and thus high cost is a consideration of its use in charkoral production.

Perlite - a compound used to enhance the glow of charkoral, which also affects its surface color and iridescence. It’s naturally found in ambient waters, so there is always a mild iridescent effect. Adding more Perlite enhances the effect. the imperfect mix of seaflare causes the glow of charkoral to shift from red to white to green. it additionally adds green and red iridescence on the surface. the presence of perlite enhances the effect, makes the red and green banding more prominent. other compounds, combined with perlite, create a variety of effects. quartz makes the surface pink-white, and the glow is a more solid white, it is used to mask imperfect seaflare mixtures that would otherwise shift the color to red or green. without perlite, quartz does nothing but add unneeded bulk. Perlite can be precipitated from anywhere, or harvested from shellfish, with clams providing higher yields. The consideration of using quartz, and perlite, as it adds costs and additional bulk, is offset by the skill, and associated cost of the skill, needed to produce a perfect 3 to 1 seaflare mixture.

A binder is used to shape the mixture into flakes. charkoral seeds produce higher yields if it they react slowly, if the raw mixture, which is a powder, is allowed to fall into magma freely, it will be consumed to fast, yielding very small grains. also, sea currents can separate the components as it falls, further reducing yields. the binder holds the mixture together and slow down the reactions, so that if can be consumed as full as possible. the seed fall itself further thickens the water, depending on the binder used. Two common binders are kelp based and blubber based. Kelp is turned into and oil, for a resin like substance. Blubber is harvested from farms, their marine cattle, and processed into a soap like substance. For whichever binder, all the compounds are mixed into it, at the desired ratios. While a uniformed mixed yields the best charkoral, selective and intricate mixing can allow for interesting and aesthetic effects. Like layering certain compounds can allow the glow to oscillate, and banding of the compound can create colored banding on the charcoal. It is then left to harden in presses into bricks. Once hardened, the bricks are shaved, creating the flakes, charkoral seeds. The size of the flakes affects how the crystal forms. Smaller flakes, with Crysaline encourage the coral form of charkoral. Larger flakes with Crysaline allow the column form of charkoral to form, with great heat retention. A mix of large and small flakes with Crysaline, allow for a tree like formation, with thin stick growing from thicker trunks. Without Crysaline, small flakes create stronger bonds, with less captured heat, and large flakes allow a more porous formation, with more captured heat.

the other aspect in charkoral production is the magma field. located near geothermal vents. the Ma Hir dig deep water seafloors to expose the magma. once exposed, the magma superheats the surrounding waters, making it dangerous to be around. only with proper protection can the ma hir enter the superheated waters. but it still extremely dangerous to do so. As the magma is uncovered, a stone sized charkoral lump is placed on the magma. This is the site where new charkoral will start growing.the chakoral seeds are spread high above the fields, in colder waters above the superheated water. ideally, the flakes fall slow enough that it takes a day for the flakes to reach the magma surface. the binders also thicken the water, helping to slow down the flakes. it is the superheated water that ignites the flant, starting the process. the charkoral forms as it falls thru the thickened superheated water. once it lands on the magma, any unreacted components left are burned off. the flakes are spread daily to keep the charkoral growing. depending on the mixture and techniques, it will form into pillars, corals or trees. when ready to harvest, the magma field is reburied in clay and seabed gravel. once the clay sets, the superheated water cools down. eventually, it is safe to approach the fields. an axe is used to chop down the charkoral. once removed, the magma underneath may be exposed, which necessitated covering back quickly to avoid the magma from superheating the water again. once harvested, the field is cemented to allow the magma underneath to heat up again. once the magma is hot enough again, it is dugged up once more for another harvest season. Some of the charkoral harvest is to produce the stone sized lumps that will be used for the next seasons growth sites

another method has been developed to allow production in shallow waters. it uses lava instead of magma. however, lava needs to be imported. the Lor, which are a race that can live in volcanos, trade lava with the Ma Hir. since the lava is colder than the magma, the charkoral produced is of lower quality. The lava is prepared above water. The growth nuclei is mixed with the lava before it is poured into the waters. Once it hits the floor below, the charkoral seeds can be spread. Because of the lack of depth and heat. The waters aren’t superheated. It is hot enough to boil, but not enough to ignite the flant. When the seed hits the lava, it ignites. This reaction yield smaller crystals. So less heat is stored. The lava will eventually grow to cold in aboit a week, so it needs to be replenished. only pillar charkoral can be grown, as the shallow waters lack the pressure of deep water that Crysaline needs to bind with Charlyte. to harvest, they can just wait for the lava to cool off enough for the waters to stop boiling on its own. after the harvest, the solid lava can be broken and used for other aplications. this method makes charkoral more accessible, and it is safer to produce. thou it is of lower quality, less heat, light and time than any deep water produced charkoral. it is also dependent on Lor diplomatic relations. and both peoples are very keen to war.

because the live underwater, they are surrounded by various dissolved minerals. they can precipitate this minerals out of the water. this process is called felling, as this minerals fall from the water. Felling is the general term for extracting minerals from the ambient waters. in its simplest form, felling can be achieved with a stick and a chord. the cord is treated in a specific way, depending on what needs to be felled. it can be placed anywhere, but preferably where ther are water currents (water winds, and water brezes) over time, mineral deposits grow on the cord. the specific mineral depends on how the chord was treated. A higher yeild form of felling is setling. it involves a frame with criss crossing cords to fell more minerals. a rocky slate or metalic plate, panels, behind frame allow more mineral to be felled, the additional minerals setle on the slab or plate. can be used in more places with less currents. cascading is a more industrial approach. large tower like frames and cords are built and large panels, because of their size, when current passes thru them, the minerals fall from the water, like rain. but it looks like it is cascading from the towers.

a bit more details, the cords allow the minerals to fall from the water and stick to it, but once the cord is saturated, it can no longer collect, minerals no longer setle on the cord. the build up need to be removed and the chord retreated before it can be reused. however, minerals still fall from a saturated cord, but redissolve quickly back into the water before it can be deposited, that where the panels come in, it allows the felled minerals that don’t deposit, or setle in the cords, to setle in the panel. the frames are angled about 45 degrees from the panel. the minerals, fell behind the frames, and it looks like a fine dust falling to the panels, where it setles, rather than dissolving back to the water. for cascading towers, the minerals the fell from the water are larger, grain to marble sized chunks, that fall, or cascade high from the tower into the panels bellow, where it shatters into dust and setles on the panels. this sand is still susceptible into dissolving back to the water, but the constant cascading of chucks, crushes and shatters them to dust, allowing it to setle on the panels. at this point, the cords are kept saturated, as more mineral is collected from the panels than the chords. thou they still need to be maintained so that the deposits don’t block the current that passes thru them.

minerals that can be felled in underwater environments - cord with the length of a standard hand is the standard used. [Ai note: remember that this is an underwater environment, there is no air. seasalt felling makes the water more comfortable, and bresalt makes the water more breathable] seasalt - by far the most common felled mineral, ever-present, and very easy to treat the cords, just regular spit, thou sesalt containing paste is better. a standard chord would be saturated in a day. can by used in cooking, and crafting material. however, items crafted from seasalt require constant refinishing, as it redissolved rather quickly. sesalt is also felled in order to removed it from the waters inside rooms and homes.

bresalt - is also ever present, and easy to fell. any paste with bresalt crystals can be used to treat the cord. a standard cord will saturate in three days. used for charkoral production, crafting, like chimes and candles, and cooking. it also freshesn the ambient water, making it more breathable, as it slowly releases oxygen into the water as it dissolves. it can ignite, further releasing oxygen, making the ambient waters more refreshing to breathe. can also burn flamable items underwater. Tesalt - a rare salt that can be fell. found in limited locations. a blubber based wax with tesalt crystal is needed to treat the cord. the cord itself is made grom eelgrass. a standard cord saturates in two weeks. it is a delicacy, typically brewed into a drink. Pyracyte - an ever present mineral, but it has very limited uses. dyeing the cord red with pyralyte is enough to fell pyracyte. a standard chord is saturated in a month, the chord does not need to be retreated. but there lies the problem for its use. anything dyed red with Pyralyte will eventually be tarnished with Pyracyte build up. as such, it is rarely used as dyes underwater. but it can be used above water as such. or exported to land dwellers so they can extract the iron, as underwater iron extraction is impractical being that as soon as the iron is extracted, it begins to rust again. otherwise, it is used for charkoral production. Pyracyte felling is done just to remove the rust from the water, discarding the collected Pyracyte. Crysaline - is found in deep waters and underwater caverns, leather cords are used treated with crysaline paste. two weeks will saturate a standard cord. besides charkoral production, it is used in decoration and ornaments. like marble and ivory

perlite - can be felled from costal waters. thou harvesting from shellfish produces higher yields. kelp cords treated in perlite paste is used. on week will saturate a standard chord. used in jewelry decorations and charkoral production. quartz - everpresent but harder to fell. a blue kelp cord treated with fish oil and quartz crystals will saturate a standard cord in four weeks. a very hard material used for crafting. also stabilizes the glow of chakoal. can be used for spear tips. mining is easier but less accesible. topaz - another hard crystal. availability varies across regions. a woven wool cord treated with red kelp oil with topaz crystals is needed. however, a granite panel is needed for the topaz to setle on. the chord itself gets saturated with Ochre, not topaz. two weeks before the chord gets saturated with ochre, halting topaz felling. topaz cannot be felled by cord alone, it requires the granite plate used for crafting, decoration, and weapons and armor manufacture ochre - besides as a by product of topaz felling, it can also be felled by dyeing a chord with ochre using an oil based paint. it will saturate a standard chord in a week. used just as a pigment.

a typical dweling may have between two to six felling sticks on their roof. for both seasalt and bresalt. the felling produced is maily for cooking. they may also have one panel for setling of either seasalt or bresalt. if the panel is for sesalt, it will reduce the salinity of the surrounding water, including the dweling. if the panel is for bresalt, it will be used to make candles, that oxyginate the waters in the dweling. either one will improve the waters in the dweling. they will also have red dyed cords hanging from the ceilings to remove ambient rust. this cords are cleaned, and the collected rust is collected by the town or city, either as refuse or to be exported.

metals underwater: Viridian - is the workhorse metal in Ma Hir society. it is basically like iron, but underwater. it has a vibrant green luster, similar to iron that it corrodes under water, viridian corrodes above air. it is used in a variety of items and tools.

Theels- quartz harden viridian is the underwater steel, this alloy is called Theels. it has a greenish grey luster.

copper - another common metal used. it has a rough aqua green surface. it has similar uses to copper, bronze and brass. also used as universal currency, minted as a coin. but it is hard to trade with land dwellers because of the rough aqua green surface. copper coin on the surface have the regular dull red luster, and think the Ma Hir copper coins are fake. copper is harder than silver, but its green patina makes it hard to work with. high stress, high impact environments, like combat, will break the patina, thus loosing material. also the patina prevents it from holding and edge and a point. so it is fully useless for armor, blunt, pierce and slash weapons Silver - it is a very important metal, not as a precious metal, but a practical one. that is because it resist corrosion both underwater and above air, it can be used as armor and weapons. thou it is still a bit soft without hardening. It can be tempered and treated to be as hard a steel and theels. They avoid using their silver as currency or ornaments, they prefer to use their silver for practical uses. it is not uncommon for land dwellers to trick a naive Ma Hir in handing them a silver object, like a hammer or bowl. Ma Hir minted silver coins are rare. Thecalavium - Topaz hardened Silver. it has a high yellow orange luster, like gold. it is very strong and corrosion resistant. high grade weapons and armor are crafted with this metals it is also highly conductive, as such, it is used as a protective layer in superheated water protection gear, as it wont soften at those temperatures, and protects other layers from burning. the general queen has an armor set made fully of thecalavium. and her crown has components made with this material too. Gold - a precious metal with a vibrant yellow luster. used for decorations, ornaments and jewelry. also as universal currency, thou corrosion resistant, it is softer than silver, and thus cant be used practically. Azure - a precious metal with similar properties as gold, but with a sky blue luster. same applications as gold, but more valuable. the azure coins that the Ma Hir mint have a gold rim, that is unique to them. underwater, there is an ever present blue tint on everything, and blue azure coins can easily get lost without the gold rim. the General Queen’s crown is made mostly of Azure.

abysmal thermal vents is where metal work happens. it is there where metal forges are built, as the high heat and high pressure accessible at the thermal vent, as the frigid abysmal water nearby are perfect for high quality metal work. charkoral powered metal forges can be built anywhere, but don’t provide the pressure, not the temperature gradient of abysmal forges. plus they dont reach the very high temperatures and are dependent to charkoral supply. but are significantly safer and available. viridian, some theels, gold, azure, copper and some silver can be worked at charkoral powered metal forges, Viridian and copper can also be smelted and refined, crudely, at these forges. new metalworkers start working in these forges. alloying can only be achieved at deep water forges. high quality theel work, copper, high quality silver, silver hardening, patina free copper working, any other metal, all smelting and refinement, and the only place thecalavium can be made and worked at. seaflare is also use in metalwork, as it can weld and cut metals.
deep water work require acclimation to the pressure, protective gear for superheated waters and frigid abysmal water. equally protected and acclimated guard to protect against abysmal predator. because of the need to use the temperature gradient, they cant enclose or even fence off the forge, so guards are used to to keep the metalworkers safe. And a tether, and tether operator, to prevent being taken by deepwater currents. another danger are attacks from sea fearing land dwellers, they can send explosives in attempts to destroy forges. while their locations are secret, and seafarers can waste time and ammunition at nothing, i nearby depth charge explosion can ruin a production batch, simply because of the pressure wave. but from time to time, they get lucky and hit a forge, destroying it, and taking out skilled workers. it unfortunately creates a situation that it is preferable for a guard to risk themselves by intersecting a depth charge and moving it as far as possible before it detonates, than risk taking out a skilled metal worker, or even evacuate the forge and letting get destroyed. there is a “safe limit”, that after a depth charge has been pushed beyond the limit, the guard can start and retreat back to safety. however is still hard to reach and “acceptable” damage can still happen. Some guards didn’t reach a safe distance in time, others did not accept the “acceptable “ damage the depth charge would have caused.

Ma Hir Society is composed of three classes, The Nobility, Gentry and Peasantry.

The Nobility includes the monarchy, her court, the admiralty and the cardinals

The Gentry are composed of the Ladies, Lieutenants and retired military, Bishops, merchants and artisans The Ladies - Peers of the domain. the govern Duchies, Counties and Manors, Duchess, Countess and Lady. They administer their sub domains. They can issue laws for their territories, but must also follow those from higher Ladies and the nobility.

Lieutenants - are the first command role in the military Retired military - those who finish their service, can be granted territory, usually conquered territory. Bishops - help Cardinals with their cultural, spiritual and judicial duties Merchants and artisans - wealthy individuals, they can exert some degree of power because of their wealth.

The Peasantry are the lower class, it consists of Baroness, Laborers, Serfs, Priest, Warriors and the destitute Baroness - junior lady. the only political and administrative figure. they own territory and are closely tied to its production. Serfs - the majority of the workforce, they are bound to the waters they work on laborer - similar to serfs, but are free to move around. priest - They work directly with the people Warriors - the fighting force of the military destitute - the poor, beggars, outcasts,

The idea of the three classes : the nobility exerts all the power, they answer to no one. and they receive all the benefits of their domain. the Peasantry has no power, They follow the orders of everyone else, and they receive minimal benefits from their labor. the gentry is between the two. they can exert power on the peasantry, but must follow the nobility

Then there are the three institutions, The Court, The Admiralty and The Order.

Males are second in Ma Hir society. Their power and influence is shaped by the power and influence that their wife wields, or of their daughters and mothers. They can also wield power on their own right, if they inherited. but inheritance laws favor daughters over sons. If they inherited wealth, it makes them valuable in marriage, as that wealth would be pass down to their wives. There have been General Kings, but their daughters , or female claims to the throne make them a rarity. Thou they help managing their wives household, allowing them to go in military campaign or perform their political duties. they are also used as political pawns, married of to forge alliances. Men are expected to focus on household management, raising children (particularly female heirs), and supporting their wives. The idealized role of a nobleman was that of a father and husband, and those who stepped outside these boundaries often faced criticism. Peasant males are similar but don’t really inherit any power or much wealth. the work along side women in agriculture. they dominate textile, domestic, nursing and servant work. they are still expected to manage the household, cook and clean, and raise the children. and their standing is viewed thru their female relatives, their mothers, wives, daughters.

Females have a short “pregnancy” period, about a month, before they lay the egg. The males are the one responsible in incubating the egg. incubation is about four months. When the mother carries the egg in her until it is laid, the father prepares for the responsibility ahead. they may prepare the nursery room ahead of the egg. incubation is an important and delicate task that males undertake. and can take various forms. from just the father making sure the egg is well cared for. The mother can provide assistance. social gathering of the fathers and their eggs. and communal in which all the eggs of the community are held together, and the community helps in incubating all the eggs. Of course, each father marks their own. two crucial aspects to keep in mind are keeping the egg warm and safe. The easiest way to keep the egg warm is to keep it close to the father’s body. The mother assisting in tending to the father makes this process easier. Insulating the eggs and keeping the water temperature at an ideal warmth can also help. communal incubation relies on these methods. Keeping the eggs safe is also crucial. The father tends to carry the egg wherever they go and dropping it might be tragic. The shell is hard enough to resist some bumps, but it is better not to have any injury. At two months, the egg might start to rock on its own, an indication of a healthy growing child. light cracks may develop by three and a half months, indicating that hatching is imminent. their hatchday is celebrated. It is common to use the eggshell to craft an object of remembrance, like a pendant or earring. Some of the more elaborate ornaments contain shell fragments from multiple generations. Incubation on land is feasible, though it results in a longer incubation period of five months. Children incubated on land typically exhibit paler skin and blue eyes. They tend to perform better on land but face slight difficulties underwater, particularly at greater depths. Even if the majority of the incubation period occurs underwater, a half-month of land incubation will effectively by a land incubation. Maintaining adequate hydration for the egg on land presents a challenge. While minimal hydration can lead to successful incubation, it negatively affects the offspring’s adaptability to aquatic environments.

Ma Hir inhabit underwater areas in lakes and deep rivers. seas, gulf, and other bodies of water sufficiently deep. and also occupy islands, coastal and shoreline territories. Some live in flotillas, They mainly stay within the continental shelf, but do have a limited presence at the edge of abysmal waters, to access the thermal vents in the abyss. they don’t go deep in the oceans due to the harshness of saltwater. They can travel far inland, although they need special accommodations in desert and frozen regions. There are Ma Hir individuals and populations that live in land dweller’s cities.

Flotillas, floating cities, come in two varieties., anchored and traveling flotillas. the traveling flotilla have a regular migration, for example and upstream lake, down the river to a gulf, then back up the river to the upstream lake, or go around a large body of land. The flotilla formation is ever changing. two aspects of traveling flotilla involved that they are great merchant hubs. as they travel, they facilitate the exchange of goods along their route. they also tend to be cosmopolitan. not only carrying Ma Hir from different domains, but also land dwellers among them.

the anchored flotillas stay in one place. mainly at the edge of their domains, facing the open ocean. they are mainly used as lookouts to prevent seafaring land dwellers from flanking them. Anchored flotillas can also be found in lakes and gulf, to maintain an above water presence.

those born in flotillas have paler skin and blue eyes, being that they had a land incubation, and not an underwater

The Ma Hir military can be divided into two, the professional fleet and citizen fleet. the citizen fleet is the most populous. every woman is to serve at least five years in the military. any five year period beginning at their 18th hatchday. this term is extended to seven year, if the domain has to provide them with armament. wealthy Ma Hir can buy their own armament and only serve the minimum of five years. wealthy Ma Hir can also buy other perks, like a command position and start as a deputy or ensign. once they passed the age of 35, it becomes mandatory. if they fail to serve the five years, their possessions, property, and even those of their family, are confiscated, and can be reduced to serfdom. after their service, they remain in reserve and can be called upon if needed.

the professional fleet is the more permanent branch of their military, composed of veteran warriors and commanders. they tend to serve between 20 years to life. they form the command and infrastructure of their military. at the end of their service, they are granted waters to live off. primarily from conquered waters. The monarchy are permanent members of the military. with the monarch holding the position of General. once a Ma Hir start their service, they prepend their title to their name. the first half o their title is their military position: soldier, warrior, guard, commander etc. and the second half is their civilian occupation: farmer, builder, cook etc. in a military context, the civilian occupation may be omitted, but the military rank is always mentioned.

The Rank structure for both the army and navy. some ranks are shared, other ranks have different titles. listed here as Army / Navy rank Citizen Fleet - also refer to as Warriors, the highest combat rank Soldier / Sailor - Entry level rank, the majority hold this rank. main fighting force. the vast majority start in this rank. Guard / Sentry - the next rank, they form the police force, they can guard, enforce laws and be in look outs Warrior - seasoned veteran, well experienced in battle, they help instruct new soldiers / sailors Deputy / Ensign - Junior Command position can also lead police forces. a warrior may advance to a Deputy / Ensign. alternatively, one may start their services at this rank if recommended by a Lady or higher, or paid for the recommendation. Professional Fleet - also referred to as commanders, the first professional rank Commander - First professional rank, commands small formations Captain/ commodore - Next professional rank, command larger groups Brigadier/ Admiral - senior command of the admiralty

Then there is the monarchy. The family of the monarch. they are free to choose which rank they start their service. it is common for them to start in a commander rank, they may even choose to start as Brigadier/ Admiral. yet, there are some in the monarchy that choose to start with a Warrior rank, even as a soldier General - supreme command, held by the monarch. When the Heiress ascends to the throne, She is relived of her current rank and she assumes the rank of General. Marshal - if the Monarch, for whatever reason, decide to relinquish her throne, they assume the Rank of Marshal. it is a special rank which can used just to hold their honors and retire peacefully, just in a ceremonial capacity, or with the consent of the General Queen, act with her full authority, as acting General.

The monarchy can choose their own ranks. the heiress has pressure to begin at least as a commander if not lower. the lower she start, the more support of the people she may receive, the thinking goes. others down the line of succession typically choose senior command positions. Then there are those who choose Deputy / Ensign ranks, not combatants and not true command, and they can choose not to advance. so, someone in the monarchy, who are permanent members, a deputy / ensign rank is a lazy and cozy choice. those who think they will never have a chance to the throne, choose to serve in Warrior ranks. being permanent members, they serve many years as warriors without taking a command position. They tend to serve as Warrior Princesses. They are still royalty, and may receive preferential treatment, whether they welcome it or not.

For peasants, they may start their service at any point between their 18 and 35 hatchday. most likely they will start as Soldier / Sailors. they can get a recommendation from a lady, and start as a deputy / ensign, but it isn’t common. since they most likely can afford their armament, they will serve 7 years minimum. still they can be rejected before they even start. the destitute tends to be most rejects, and being rejected can also lead to destitution. and since they don’t start, they don’t hold title. most finish without advancing rank, and return back to civilian life. serfs are returned to the waters they are bound to. the baroness that is in charge of those waters may petition to prevent, or delay sending their serfs to start service. they may have to pay for their serfs that haven’t served yet. peasants may continue to serve passed their initial term, until they hit 35 years of age. at which point they are discharged if they still hold a warrior rank. if they advance to a professional rank, commander or higher, then, they can stay at least 20 years in the professional fleet. at which point they may be eligible for the water grants. There are occasions in which good fighters, veteran warriors, are kept serving longer, past the 35 years of age. and can be granted water grants when they finally retire. but such incidents are not common. They must be exceptional fighters so that commanders keep them. and can be force to discharged at any moment since technically they are past the 35 years of age.

The Gentry follow the same rules, but because of their wealth and position, they have a few additional perks. recommendations from a lady can enhance service entry or prevent service. and the gentry ins mainly composed of the ladies, they can just ask favors, receive payment or even act against another. a duchess may issue a recommendation to prevent a countess from starting her service, thus denying her title. They also are able to have their own armament, even generational armament, passed down from their mothers. also , since they have their own waters already, akin to cities, counties and states, the water grant isn’t much of an incentive for them, why should they invest time and effort for a random drop of water in the middle of nowhere when they already have vast amounts of waters. yet, the prestige of commander ranks or inspirational warrior ranks can compel ladies to actually serve. Because of the disdain towards the Deputy / Ensign ranks, they tend to fashion their titles as Lieutenant / Colonel. these don’t exist within the military structure, but are used to hide that they serves a cozy assignment. Merchants and Artisans. Merchants wield power thru their wealth, so their position is precarious. As long as they can keep generating wealth, can they challange the authority of the ladies. and still, because of the ladies power of recommendations, the merchants are subject to the whims of the ladies. Artisans are in a similar situation as the merchants, but enjoy the patronage of the order. the order can intervene on an artisans behalf, even declare that their current work counts as service

The Order - they are not exempt from service, but can define what their service is. this mainly takes the shape of medical and food services. they may also deem anything they are doing worthy of service, thus not actually doing anything different. they still are subject to ladies recommendation, but it is rare for ladies to challenge requests from the order, especially since the control they judges. still, members of the order may still choose to serve in combat and command roles rather than their support one.

so far, i have covered how the military functions in Ma Hir Society. how each class interacts with it, from the destitutes to the monarch. any insights, critiques, questions and suggestions?

Gentry Military Influence and Stagnation 1 The idea of recommendations, for ladies to have influence on the service entry is to permit opportunities to skilled and hard workers. for example a baroness may reward a hard working serf by recommending a higher starting rank, or they may recommend withholding the hard worker from service because they are indispensable. while they are not supposed to exchange recommendation for favors or bribes or withhold them from service. it is hard to check against since it is the opinion of the lady. the admiralty can reject the recommendation, even reject entry, but most of the time, they don’t bother. They have more than enough personnel to fulfill their mission, since everyone is obligated to serve, and have a large reserve pool. also they would risk a true recommendation, ma hir that would be a great asset to the admiralty. if they encounter some there just for the “cozy” assignment, they may be sent to an empty outpost, just to get them out of the way, or make their “cozy” assignment a torment.

the admiralty does track the quality of recommendations, but there is still some nuance. a hard working serf may not be cut out for service. or maybe the lady owed a favor to a friend and made the recommendation. or even if they accept payment for recommendation, the ma hir paying actually merited the recommendation. nonetheless, if they identify large amounts of bad recommendation from a lady, the admiralty may take action against the lady and/or their recommended. while the admiralty can deal with low quality recommended however, they still will serve the minimum 5 year term, for actions against the lady, it depends on the court and ultimately the general queen. if they don’t care, there is no need for the admiralty to pursue the matter. depending on the monarch, the lady may receive just a slap on the wrist, removal of her waters, her peerage, to even reduction to serfdom or destitution.

The Destitute don’t get rejected because they are destitute. there is an initial entry evaluation. they test the entrant’s physical condition. because of mal nourishment, illness, weakness, poor fitness or other factors that arise from their destitution, they fail the initial entry evaluation. rejection does count as competition of service, but receive no title. they can retry entry every year up to their 35th year. if they are able to pass the initial entry evaluation, they can start service, receive a title, like soldier vagabond and have a chance to improve their situation. then there are those that do try to get rejected on purpose, to avoid service. the admiralty can accept their attempt and reject them, or join them anyways and have their service be torturous.

The Court, the peers of the domain and the ladies. The ladies are those who hold the titles of Baroness, Lady, Countess and Duchess. The General Queen creates, grants, and removes those title as she sees fit. Their children can inherit those titles. Peerage are those with the title of lady, countess and duchess. Baroness are not peers. The Peers administer various levels of subdivisions of the Domain. A Lady administers a manor, basically a city and supporting villages. Multiple Manors for a County, administered by a Countess. and multiple counties make a duchy, administered by a duchess. and multiple duchies form the domain. the title also refers to the office they hold, the countess is the office holder of the administration of the county. their husbands are referred by the male version of the title: Baron, Lord, Count, and Duke. Their children, who don’t hold office, are Dames and Sirs. they have honorific titles. Peers are referred to as “My Lady”, everyone else are referred to as “Your Grace”. so their full title would by “My Lady, Commander Duchess Llury Tyne” The Baroness administer farms, mines, workshops and any other producing enterprise. The court refers to all the ladies, which can be summoned as advisors to the general queen. the court may also refer specifically to those serving as advisors. Common roles of the court include the treasurer, the Chancellor, Ambassador, Chamberlain, Herald and Steward Treasurer - deals with all manners of money, minting, taxation, banks and aspects of trade Chancellor- advises in legal matters Ambassador - deals with diplomacy, relations with other domains and land dweller states, and aspects of trade Chamberlain - manages the monarchy, the royal household Herald - with communication and record keeping Steward - deals with the administration of the domain, labor and production

Any peer can create a baroness, for example, a duchess has decided to produce textiles. she can create a baroness to administer the workshop. The Peer that created it manages the baroness’s office. the peer may also give it, sell it, steal it or gift it to another peer. whomever the baroness belongs to can grant the title to anyone they please. can be a hard working serf or laborer, a merchant, or a dame. for a dame, this may be an opportunity or a downgrade, for example, if the dame is the daughter of a countess, part of the gentry, if they accept the title of baroness, they are now a member of peasantry. this is also true for a merchant. thou if the dame is not an heiress, this is a way to have some authority. a dame can always quit and be part of the gentry again. if a peasant is granted the title of baroness, they welcome it. it presents a path for upward mobility. ladies and their families should only marry withe other ladies and their families. now that they are a lady, they may marry a sir (son of a peer). or the genera queen can ascend the baroness to a lady. maybe of a city in a newly conquered waters

court advisors can be any lady or dame. their role can also be inherited, the steward’s daughter can ascend to steward when her mother leaves the office. thou of course they serve at the pleasure of the peer or the monarch they serve. so there could be a family of heralds that has served generations of countesses, or the lady just appointed her third treasurer.

The Order - they deal with spiritual, cultural, and moral aspects. as such they practice medicine, dictate festivities and run the judicial courts among other functions, there are the priestess, Bishops and cardinal forming the main hierarchy. The Abbess are the doctors, and the prior are the nurses. The Confessors are the judges

anyone can join the order. at any point of their life. While military service has priority over everything, the order may intervene and modify their service. The admiralty can deny the orders request, but rarely do. joining the order is a lifelong commitment. It is hard to leave the order in good terms. The most common is being expelled because of immorality. rarely does anyone leave in good terms. Priestesses is the entry position in the order. They serve directly with the people. They provide basic education, help the destitute, provide guidance and officiate ceremonies, rituals and celebrations. They also help ladies with logistics, particularly in regards with food. They may choose to advance to be an abbess and dedicate their life for the care of the sick. A priestess may be selected to be a bishop. Bishops have more responsibilities; they oversee the priestesses and abbesses in their region. They may advance to Confessors and judge disputes in their region. Bishops may be selected to cardinals. cardinals oversee multiple bishops and confessors. The Dean of Cardinals advises the General Queen. Males can also enter the order. they serve as monks, assisting priestesses and bishops. they may also advance to prior and assist abbesses.

The General Queen can create cardinal and bishop offices. cardinals can also create bishop offices. When one is vacant, one of the lower positions can be selected to ascend to the new position. The General Queen, the cardinals or the one leaving the office vacant are the ones that make the selection. They are also patrons of the art and commission artisan to create works, like murals, statues, plays and any inspiring work of art. it is highly advised for members of the order to not have families of their own, so they may dedicate themselves completely to the order. Members of the order have the honorific of “our sister”. So, their full title is “Our Sister, Soldier Bishop Llury Tyne”. Male have the Honorific “Our Brother”, but since they can’t hold titles, they are referred as “Our Brother” or “Prior Tyne” or just “Prior”

Since the Order have great influence on the Ma Hir morality, education and basically their world view, it is unwise to go against the order. as the order can shame and shun anyone, which carries social burdens. The confessors may also convict and punish with no further oversight. Even the General Queen tends to follow their advice prudently. Still, it is important for the order to maintain the morality they profess. If they stray too far from their teachings, they run the risk of being rejected, being seen as hypocrites. They General Queen still has the power to remove and punish any member of the order. In ideal situations the order and the General Queen cooperate. The Order proclaims the moral superiority of the General Queen, and in turn The General Queen leaves the order alone and accepts their request. Nonetheless, they have some influence with caution. For the order may proclaim certain actions of the General Queen, or of anyone, to be less than moral. The general Queen may rethink her actions, but then again, she may remove the sister that made the proclamation.

The weapon of choice is the spear:

Variant Slash Pierce Blunt Reach Range Speed Defense Wield Effects
Base Fair Good Fair Great Good Good Good Two-Hand —
Short Low Fair Low Fair Fair Great Fair One-Hand +Critical on dual
Long Fair Great Fair High Good Fair Good Two-Hand +Critical Rate
Heavy Weak Fair Great Good Fair Low Great Two-Hand Splash on Charge
Glaive Great Good Fair Great Weak Fair Good Two-Hand +Bleed on charge
Harpoon Fair Good Weak Great High Good Fair One-Hand Recall
Halberd Great High Good Great Great Good Great Two-Hand +Pierce, +critical, Splash on charge

on weapon construction: the base, short, ,long and halberd spears can have their tips changed to bident and trident tips. further increasing pierce damage. the bottom of the spear can be replaced with a second tip. and the two handed spears can be built to split into two short spears, the second tip is required for this modification, it does lower the spear’s defense

shaft Kelp - Kelp fibers and resin. light and flexible but weak. Coral - stronger than Kelp Resin. metal - heavy and slower higher defense

tip Viridian - base metal. corrodes on air Theels - stronger than Viridian. resistant to air Silver - Strong weapons. doesn’t corrode on water nor air Thecalavium - Strongest material, can deal shock damage

Land Dweller

shaft woods - light and flexible but weak metals - heavy and slower, higher defense

tip Wood - land dweller version. light and flexible but weak iron - land dweller version. same as Viridian. corrodes in water Steal - land dweller version. same as Theels corrosion resistant to water

The Ma Hir produce light and medium armor. any defensive benefits from heavy armor are outweigh by the hindrance in mobility it would cause. underwater, they need to swim, a heavy armor would compromise their ability to swim. for land missions, they already have a mobility penalty, the inability to swim affects their mobility. so they did not develop heavy armors

Ma Hir

Set Class Defense Slash Pierce Blunt Mobility Effects
Soldier Light Fair 0 0 0 0  
Warrior Medium Great +3 +3 -2 -2 Knockback resistance
Lady Medium Great +3 +5 +1 -1 +Swim
Abysmal Heavy Excellent +10 +10 +20 -5 +++Heat resistance, +++ Splash resistance, –Swim, No advance movement, Swim inertia

The abysmal Suit is not true armor. It is used to access thermal vents in the abyss. used to protect against abysmal predators and protection against superheated waters

Materials Light kelpweave: resist critical hits scalehide: +1 mobility on water Silver: +2 defense, +2 mobility, +1 condition medium Viridian: resist stagers. corrodes in air Theels: +1 defense. resist air corrosion Thecalavium: +4 defense, +4 mobility, +2 condition

Land Dweller medium leather: instead of kelpweave Iron: same as Viridian. corrodes in water Steel: same as Theels. resist water corrosion.

Corrosion: applies to Viridian and Theels metal in air, and iron and steel in water. When used in a corrosive environment, its condition constantly degrades over time, slower with Theels and Steel. can be treated with oils to reduce the rate of corrosion. can be repaired. With the abysmal suit, movement is limited. They can still walk, run and swim, but any agile movement fails, like dodging, and movement is slower. Swim inertia relates that it is hard to start swimming, and when they start swimming, it is hard to turn or stop. The abysmal suit they wear is a thermal resistant suit, to protect against the superheated water in the forges. They cover the entire body. If hit by the thermal waters, it will start to break apart, layer by layer, but slow enough so that its wearer can move to safety. one of the inner most layer has silver flecks in its weave. When that layer gets exposed, after the top layers have degraded, the silver will glow brightly, indicating to the wearer that the suit is about to fail. It isn’t designed for combat; its damage resistance is for abysmal predators. the ma hir depend on their mobility for combat. If they use the abysmal suit, they may have really good survivability, but won’t be able to effectively attack back, or move out of the way. it is at the abysmal forges that hardened Silver and Thecalavium weapons and armor are forged at.

to clarify the abysmal suit failure. on the abysmal waters, it is mostly cold, high pressure water environment. on the vents, the water is superheated, and hard to see. the abysmal forges are well controlled, so everyone there knows where the superheated currents are. metal workers dip the metals, the crucibles, into the superheated currents to melt them. every so often, an abysmal current, or other disturbances, passes thru the forges, disturbing the superheated currents. it is at this moment that the abysmal crew can be exposed to superheated waters. when the abysmal suit makes contact with superheated waters, it starts to degrade. but because the wearer is well insulated, they may not feel if they are in superheated water. so it is possible that they are standing in superheated water and not notice. once the last layers are exposed, the superheated water starts melting the silver flakes, which start to glow brightly. they do have a small amount of silver flakes in the outer layers, but the inner layers have a lot more. they have about 2 minutes once the silver flakes start glowing before the last layer fails.

Army and Navy Armament: The Ma Hir don’t produce Iron, nor Steel. The underwater environment makes their production impractical. As such, the Army does not field any armament made of iron or steel. The Navy, with above water operations, has to manage viridian and theel corrosion with oils. They mainly field light armors of kelpweave and scalehide . While more expensive, they try to field more silver and Thecalavium, if they can, as they don’t suffer from corrosion. they also have access to the land dweller resource and can craft version of their armament in iron and steel. Abysmal forges are the only place they can produce harden silver and thecalavium, as well as high quality theels and other metals. it is where armament using those materials are produced.

Farming: the Ma Hir cultivates a variety of crops. There are two main ways of cultivation, surface, and field cultivation. Field cultivation refers to crops that grow from the seafloor, like eelgrass, green kelp, Vallisneria rice, Hydrilla berries, and Elodea fruits. While surface cultivation refers to crops that grow down from the water surface, like algae, brown kelp, lotus, and lily tubers, Lemna grains and Frogbit. There are also a variety of herbs and purple kelp that can be cultivated in both methods, The farmers tend and harvest their crops for a variety of uses, food, textile, further processing like resins, and medicinal. Green and blue kelp are exclusively a source of fibers for textiles, brown kelp is for both food and fibers, purple kelp is exclusively food. Algae has a variety of uses, depending on its kind. Flotillas use surface cultivation exclusively

Ranching: The Ma Hir also maintain herds of cattle and other marine fauna for dietary and various needs. {Note: Threa boasts unique wildlife, so animal names in brackets refer to their closest real-life analogues. For example, [manatee | cow] does not indicate an actual manatee or cow, but creatures similar in appearance to a manatee with the role of a cow. A dash [-seal | dog] signifies that the animal can be used on land.}

[crocodile cows] [alligator pigs] [caiman chicken] - provide meat, eggs and leather for costal Ma Hir and those in flotillas

a bit of clarity with [sharks], [Plesiosaurs] and [Sea turtles] [sharks] are basically sharks with legs, rather than fins. they may be as small as wolves, or as big as bears. they are faster than [dugongs] and [whales], but are less capable on endurance, pulling capacity and are harder to upkeep. while [dugongs] and [whales] are better choices than sharks on water, they are the only choice on land. unless the Ma Hir use land dweller mount and draft animals.
[Plesiosaurs] and [Sea turtles] excel in their functions on the surface of the water but are very poor underwater as mount and draft animals underwater. and have no use on land. they are basically boats. flotillas use them instead of [dugongs] and [whales], and can supplement them with [sharks]

a narrative: deep in the dark blue abyss, the sound of clanging metal echoes in these waters. Hammers striking red hot Silver. Each strike shaping the silver into a spear. A team, striking red hot silver, each one being shaped into a spear to arm our warriors. Everyone strains to move under the immense pressure at these depths. Each step feels like we are carrying a boulder in our shoulders. And the suits we wear isn’t helping either. But we are glad to be wearing them. The superheated current that flows out of the vents is invisible to the eye. But the silver smiths know how to wield that heat. They cover the silver in a hardening dust, they then dip it in what appears like nothing. They are just holding the slab of silver in front of them. But the silver starts to glow. It glows red hot, then white hot. The white hot glow of the silver briefly illuminated this dark abyss, then the smith goes back to striking the hot malleable metal. These suits, these heavy, bulky suits, keep us cooler than the molten metal inside the super heated waters of this forge. After much clanging, the white hot silver dims, and our lanterns once again are the only things that can be seen in this dark abys. The guards patrol around the forges. Making sure their tethers are well anchored as they move about. We all are well anchored to the seafloor. Our tethers stretch into the darkness, beyond what we can see. They stretch high above the abysmal cliff, a team is keeping our tethers safe. They are keeping us safe. The clanging of metal suddenly stopped. Someone yelled…. Depth charge.

I heard someone said depth charge. I look around, trying to find out who said depth charge. But I already knew the answer. Our commander had yelled depth charged. I look up to the darkness above us. We all did, trying to see were the depth charge was, someone lit a seaflare, pushing the darkness back and reviling where it was. Above me. Red. My commander yelled red. She yelled red. She yelled red. Seventeen. She yelled seventeen. Seventeen. That’s me. …. That’s….. I trained for this. I took a deep breath, I removed my tether from the anchor. I started to swim up. Towards the charge. It can detonate at any second, it can blow up at any moment. And I was swimming toward it. As fast and as hard as I could. I swam with all my might until I crashed on it. But my job wasn’t done. In fact, it just started. I needed to push the charge as far and as fast as possible. Every yard, every foot, every inch counted, before this depth charge decides to blow up, I have to move it as far and as fast as possible. Away from the forge, from the smiths, away from everyone. A second seaflare was lit, I saw the abys getting brighter. Blue. I heard blue. Some is shouting blue. I can hear her. My commander is yelling blue. Its safe. I can return. But is it? It hasn’t blown up. I am still here. Every yard, every foot, every inch counts. I keep pushing. It is my job to make it safe. Two or three more seaflares have been lit. I hear everyone down there yelling blue. It is safe. It is safe now. I now just need to kick off from the charge. I have train for this many times. Kick off from the charge and swim back to safety befo………… ……………………………………

I lit one more seaflare. Hoping she can see it. I yelled blue as loud as I could. We all did. Hoping she could hear us. She saved us. Then, it exploded. The blast wave knocked all of us down to floor. The seabed shook. The pools of magma splashed. The superheated currents went all over the place. I got hit, but the suit did its job. Ill survive. We all survived. Thanks to her.

After what felt like an eternity, I heard the loud thud. I quickly turned and identified the impact site. If there was a chance, I needed to act quickly. I unanchored my tether and rushed to the site. Sixteen, eighteen. Ready. I yelled as I rushed to the impact site. They know what to do. We have drilled this moment countless times. I took off the sleeves and the headgear of my suit. The superheated currents haven’t settled yet. If there was still a chance, I gladly assume the risk. I lit one more seaflare and threw it in front of me, as i kept rushing to the site. The seaflare illuminated the impact site. There she was. After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached her. Water flows into her lungs, good, she still breathes. But weakly. Her suit is gone, it took much of the blast. I hope it was enough. I turn her around and start prepping her. Two more arrived at the site. Sixteen and eighteen are ready for their part. I finished wrapping her, making sure the cover was secured. My own tether vibrated. Good, they are ready on top. I make sure her tether is firmly secured. I get ready to give the command, then. every inch counts. She said, every inch counts commander. I turn back to her, she has a faint smile. I put my hand on her shoulder. Yes Layla, thank you. I secure the seaflare on her cover. I turn around and yell GO. Sixteen, eighteen and myself, pull on our tethers as hard as we can. Seventeen, Layla, gets pulled away from us, away from the forge, into the dark abyss. We can see her seaflare raise upon the abysmal cliff. It keeps raising as we keep pulling on our tethers. As her seaflare grows dim, we see two more seaflares join her. They got her. she is safe. We keep pulling until there is no more give on the tethers. She reached the top. I there is a chance, is on their hands now. Sixteen’s, eighteen’s and my tethers start retracting. The team on top is pick back all the extra slack. We anchor ourselves back again. I grab the pieces of my suit that I discarded earlier and put them back on. i return to my post and receive the damage report. Nothing major, but two batches of spears will have to be reforged. My tether started to vibrate, and again, and one last time. I remove my tether from the anchor and swim up to the middle of the forge. At the top of my lungs, I yell GREEN!!!. I repeat GREEN!!! Two more times. Everyone cheers. She is stable. Layla will pull thru. she is safe. we all are. Thanks to her. Some time later, once it was confirmed the superheated current had settled back, the clang of metal once more echoed thru this abysmal water. And once more I resumed my watch.

The day has been quiet so far. We are getting ready to send down their lunch meal. But then a message on the commander’s tether. Depth charge. We all get ready to assist the abysmal crew. The master smith line confirms the depth charge. These tethers are the lifeline of everyone below. The impenetrable darkness of the abyss prevents of from actually knowing what is happening, but we need to get ready. We sent out scouts to track down the ship that released them. Red. Red comes from the abysmal commander’s line. Seventeen is the next command. We unhook line seventeen, giving her all the slack she needs. All we can do is wait now. Seventeen’s line keeps unrolling. Until it stops. A low rumble can be felt. we know the depth charge exploded. seventeen’s line sat still, and the only one without tension, all the other ones shook violently, they were still attached, but had no idea of seventeen’s condition. We got the medic ready. Just in case. A message form lines sixteen and eighteen. We need and emergency pull on seventeen. We reposition sixteen’s, eighteens and the commander’s line on the emergency pulley. We then cut seventeen’s line and attached it to the emergency pulley. the signal is sent to the commander that we are ready. Once the three from the abyss started to pull, we started to pull as well, to bring seventeen back up. Me and a partners grabbed additional tethers, lit some seaflares, and headed down to the abyss. As we climbed down, we use seventeens tether as a guide in the abysmal darkness. Eventually we saw the seaflare attached to her, there she was, steadily raising, as she is being pulled up. I go to her and assess the situation. She is breathing, she is conscious. But she does have damage on her. Her left arm is bloodied. I do my best to dress her arm as she continues to be pull up. I provide initial care to her wounds, try to dress them without slowing her ascent. The abysmal darkness gives way as we keep ascending. Soon eventually we reach the cliff edge. The medics soon get to her. The doctor makes her evaluation. Her left arm is shattered, Seventeen’s days as an abysmal guard are over, but she will pull thru. Our commander contemplated the situation. The master smith communicated that some armament loss, but the forges were intact. The abysmal commander communicated all personnel is accounted for. Our scouts were able to track down the ship that released the charges but had sailed away. With seventeen’s condition being stable. Our commander massaged the abysmal commander: All’s Good, All’s Well, All’s Clear.

We reset the tethers, made sure the every one was still attached, still safe. then we went back to normal, signaled the commander that it was lunch time and lowered their meals.

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August 9, 2025