The Floral Sea

The Floral Sea

 

kinda like this

The Floral Sea is a vast calm ocean, covered in a vast blanket of every imaginable type of flower. Hibiscus, chrysanthemum, lavender, hyacinth, daffodils, crocuses, baby's breath, tulips, and camellia all flourish in the soft waves. Less pleasant flowers bloom here as well, patches of poisonous and psychoactive flowers can be spotted by the trained eye deceptively bobbing with the other blossoms. More villainous sorts have laid claim to patches of opium poppies and black lotuses.

The soft undulations in the water make the flowers appear to blend into one another, like bleeding watercolors, into thousands of shades of pink, purple, and orange at a distance. Closer up the flowers grow in great patches of singular species and shades. The air here is an olfactory smorgasbord of blooming flowers and while usually pleasant to most, can be overwhelming to those with acute senses or allergies.

There is no distinct night in this sea rather, a prolonged sundown and sunup; the 'nights' here are a period of deep burning orange-red and as such the flowers here are almost always in a state of bloom. The constant blooming discharges large clouds of pollen which can be so thick that they roll like banks of green-yellow fog. Visitors to this pocket sea can find themselves choking to death in these pollen clouds, if caught unprepared. The pollen gives a distinct yellow tinge to the Floral Sea.

The water that makes up this sea is not your typical seawater. The water here is mineral rich, sweet tasting, and has a slight shimmer to it. If poured onto flowering plant life the water acts as a powerful fertilizer allowing the plants to bloom in a matter of days even without access to soil.

Travel in this sea is no easy task, on foot or by boat. On foot many of the flowering plants have thrones so thick armor is a requirement. The dense blanket of flowers obscures holes and quicksand and at what a distance may appear to be roses may be a deadly trap. By boat the islands that make up this sea are sandy and shallow. Sandbars are a constant hazard, and the many petals in the water often obscure the shorelines. Only a few open channels are clear of flowers and petals.

Despite the abundance of plant life in this sea animal life is uncommon. Only those creatures which feed indirectly on the flowers thrive here. Something in the water acts as a natural pesticide so that the many insects that would normally feast in the abundance of petals are nowhere to be found. Butterflies can be found here but not caterpillars. Humming birds, many times the size of those from the Known Seas can be seen darting from flower to flower.

Outside of the Bee-Folk hives and the Anderson Meadery, settlements in the Floral Sea are small and few and far between. Most are communities of outcasts that have escaped the other seas for the bounties of this one. The Floral Sea is rich only in flowers and honey and many traditional trade goods are unheard of here.