November 18, 2022 - The Not-Really Main Locations Part 2 - Oceans

Hi!

When I was in elementary school, there was a big world map in our classroom. We’d sit on the rug during class and I would get bored and I’d stare at the map. Because of that map, I can name almost all of the countries in Asia. I would make my friends and parents and teachers count how many countries I got up to. I’d start with far South Asia and work my way counter-clockwise, ending in the Middle East. I could never find a set number for how many countries there were in the continent of Asia, so I never knew if I’d gotten all of them.

I stared at that map for hours a day, and one of the first things I realized was that there were many more than seven seas. There were technically seven oceans, but I didn’t understand why the Northern and Southern parts of an ocean were considered separate. I also didn’t understand where the oceans separated. They were all the same body of water, so how were they different? Where did they start being different? Was there a border? What makes these oceans different at all?

There are oceans in my world. Four of them, one for each main compass direction. North, South, East, West. Adventure, serenity, hope, knowledge.

The Northern Ocean is called the Ocean of the Searching Sword. It represents adventure. It is a bluish teal color with thriving coral reefs and bountiful shipwrecks (None of which have been exploited, as of yet. Why would anyone need to? This world is perfect.). This is Azalia’s Ocean (To be explained).

The Southern Ocean is called the Ocean of the Glittering Leaves. It represents serenity, or calmness. It is a cloudy gray color with a mossy floor and occasional harmless fish. This is Kazuha’s Ocean (Yes, as in the Le Sserafim member, go Kazuha).

The Eastern Ocean is called the Ocean of the Golden Gates. It represents hope. It is a shimmering gold color with perfectly still waters and pure golden stepping stones dotted throughout (Traversing these stones is a common activity for Apet children. Mainlanders are magical, obviously - why do they need rocks to walk on water?). This is Elize’s Ocean.

The Western Ocean is called the Ocean of the Bleeding Quill. It represents knowledge. It is inky black and ironically, little is known about it. It’s on the other side of the Forest of Beyond, so it’s difficult to access. This is Lazuli’s Ocean. 

The oceans are coveted, almost holy if you will. They are called “The Four Angel Tears” because of their link to Angels (It’s coming, it’s coming, don’t worry…) and how the Angels are said to have cried the oceans into existence. I’ll explain it later. The oceans aren’t really used for recreational purposes. And they’re much cleaner than our oceans (This is a utopia, after all. How many times must I reiterate that?). These oceans are perfect. They mean something and they’re “holy” and they’re clean and they’re perfect. Just one of the things in this world that are.