The Maelstrom

The Maelstrom was an enormous, dreadful whirlpool which shaped Moru Kel’s history greatly. It’s so important that the calendar is dated from its first appearance, just over 5 centuries ago.

A core vortex almost 70 miles across, its power splintered ships and crushed even the heartiest of whales that came within hundreds of miles of it. Its impact was far broader than that: pumping out humid air, it altered the environment of the entire coast and spun off hurricanes that ravaged the continent each rainy season. Dangerous sea creatures were drawn to the flotsam and jetsam created by the turbulence around it, and islands like Tarsha were engulfed entirely in the chaos.

Entire economies were rewritten: during its time, it cut off all trade with the eastern continents outside of a small amount of intermittent contact with the Spice Islands. Even that was so treacherous that it was primarily limited to the occasional ship being blown far off course. Trade to the south — to Doma, Mezzi Island, Ma-Abi, Khuldani Purda, and other regions — was impossible by sea, making all ships stop in Moru Kel and then head up river toward Tarima before unloading and taking the old Portage Road down to Esmi. Safely on the other side of the disturbance, they could embark to points south. This made Moru Kel an almost mandatory transit point for trade between the north and the south, but also greatly reduced the volume of trade between the two regions.

Then, after 520 years, the Maelstrom vanished as suddenly and mysteriously as it had appeared.

The disappearance was temporarily disrupting, throwing the economy of the whole region into tumult for several years. The emergence of Tarsha — settled by colonists from the Spice Islands — and establishment of trade to the east have helped maintain Moru Kel’s importance as a port, and the entire region has seen an economic boom as trade in general is much easier now that the waters are calm.

Donations to the Temple of Fair Weather go in part to ensure that the dark times of the Maelstrom are not repeated.