From: "Joerg Baumgartner" <joe_at_toppoint.de>
>>> No? I suppose the fleet doesn't have to be. He had bunches of ports to >>> use. Keep Karse as a merchant port, even back then.
I think it is. Here is what I have on this:
(I also heartily recomand reading Trotsky's article in TT#(13, 14?) on Jruztela and the Uz sailors.
"Black Harbour (or Krumugo, Reedplace):
it is certainly the most sacred marine place in the Shadow Plateau.
There were created the first Black Galleys to roam the surface seas,
some say by Kogag himself. The Black Harbour has been home to the Jogog
Bloodline as far as their collective memory goes. Their ancestor Jogog
was the first to cut the Night Reeds growing in Krumugo and make them
into a raft. Even today, with the Black Galleys mainly made of wood
(some of the mythical Black Wood from Jruztela), it is considered a
lucky charm to have some Night Reed on board, that sailors kiss and
stroke when the seas are angry. During the centuries, the cave was made
bigger and bigger, other caves linked to the Black Harbour and filled
with sea water. Today the place is made of seven connected caves, big
enough to shelter a dozen or so of galleys. The Jogog Great One put a
Harbourmaster in the place to control it and any captain wanting to
enter or leave Krumugo must ask one of her helpers first.
The ways through the Tangle connecting the Black Harbour to the
Mirrorsea are a well-kept secret. Only a few Jogog know them all, and
they use shamans to make the waterways move and change every season.
During the crossing, dense fog spirits cutting Darksense are sometimes
used, to prevent captains from sensing where they go."
and related to the Black Harbour:
The Tangle: the Tangle is the name humans and Uz give to the line of sea-soaken ground between black and hard rocks of the Shadow Plateau proper and the Frog Marshes where Newtlings live. The Tangle is not a marsh (not enough water for that) but neither it is solid ground. It is a inundated plain a few kilometres wide and dozens of kilometres long, stretching from Esrolia to the west to Karse and Heortland to the east. Many Darkness-influenced animals and plants live there, one of the rare wild places near the Shadow Plateau. Uz delight in hunting there, even with the many dangers. Moving there is a slow business: the tides can change the geography rapidly, reeds and weeds are everywhere, waterways choke with dark plants, small trees block the sight and fog spirits haunt the place. It was one of the reason why neither Palangio nor later the God Learners could totally cut the Shadow Plateau from the outside: one could always cross through the Tangle. Only the Jogog, the Newtling and some Uz-friend humans (Pelaskians, mostly) know how to call on the Tangle spirits to ease their progress. Some caravans use the Tangle as a way from Nochet to Karse and vice-versa, but they do it with local guides and many guards. The way is slower and more dangerous, but also less expensive than going by sea or crossing the Shadow Plateau. In winter, the place is sometimes frozen solid, making the way easier and more rapid, if not less dangerous.
Pincer Cave: discovered a few centuries ago by Kumbog from the Jogog bloodline, this cave sits on the southern cliff of the Plateau, its opening below the sea level. It was during a fight with a giant crab (later discovered to be the spirit of the place) that Kumbog entered it. By respect for the Mirrorsea and the spirits living in the cave, no tunnel was chewed to the Sea Cave, letting it disconnected from the great subterranean network of the Shadow Plateau. The place is cool and dark and humid, home to many sea creatures. Some Uzelu (sea trolls) come here to offer ecstatic dances to Kamog Broma, the Great Pincer Spirit, a child of Borukug. Nowadays, many Jogog come here and offer marsh and sea spirits to Kamog Broma to obtain his magic. He gives them the songs to call for its giant children, gigantic brown and orange crabs which the Jogogs use as mounts in the Tangle and the Mirrorsea. The Crab-Riders must not hurt any of Kamog Broma children or eat their flesh and must cover their skin with the brown and orange mud found near Pincer Cave.
Kamog Broma Practice (from the Gorakiki Tradition):
Crab Spirits: Call Giant Crab, Big Pincer, Brown and Orange Shell, Find
Kamog Broma’s Child, Walk Undersea, Catch Sea Spirit, Stalking Eyes,
Crablike Walk, Stay There
Tangle Spirits: Find Way in Tangle, Frighten <Tangle Spirit>, Call
<Tangle Creature>
FWIW, IMG there is Duralinthor, a forgotten son of Choralinthor and some Darkness spirit (Edzarun, daughter of adzurana, heir of the subterranean rivers of the Shadow Plateau, which was captured and (ab)used by the Godlearners.
Philippe
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