The Nine Seas of Tian!
The Groundskeeper said such words as Achilles very much wanted to see what the vastness of this Primordial Realm held beyond the golden clouds and floating mountains he had already witnessed.
At this mont, brilliant golden light buzzed all around them as they seed to be traversing into an extrely far place within Tian. The sensation of movent was unlike conventional travel, more akin to reality itself reshaping to deliver them to their destination rather than their bodies crossing distance through effort.
Rose and Eyyanah remained close.
In front of them, The Groundskeeper had a calm expression as he began to speak.
"The Nine Seas of Tian draw their structure from principles older than ti itself. They are patterns that have existed since before Observable Existence learned to differentiate between one mont and the next."
His golden crystallized form seed to shimr with each word, as if the explanation itself carried authority.
"They are not separate bodies of water but one continuous ocean divided into nine regions by rivers of golden authority that flow in eternal circuits. Each Sea connects to the others through these rivers, and together they form a system that has maintained itself since before you all first sparked into being."
He gestured broadly at the golden light surrounding them.
"Existence does not maintain itself. This is truth that most beings never learn because they exist at scales too small to observe the maintenance occurring. But at your level, you should understand. Existence requires cultivation, attention, and the conscious effort of beings powerful enough to participate in its upkeep. Without such effort, reality would gradually degrade into chaos and void."
His golden eyes fixed upon Achilles with expression that showed he was assessing whether this information was being properly absorbed.
"The Seas are nad for the Primordial Functions they serve, and any THE entity can be assigned to work in any of them based on current need rather than specialization. The work is universal. Only the emphasis changes based on which Sea requires attention at any given ti."
He paused as the golden light around them began shifting toward their destination.
"The Sea that the ones you are looking for were sent to work in is the First Sea. Abzu. The Deep Waters of Foundation."
HUUM!
The mont The Groundskeeper finished speaking, their surroundings changed with abruptness. One instant they were suspended in golden light, and the next they had arrived at a place that defied his expectations of what a sea could be.
Achilles’s eyes opened wide at what he saw.
The First Sea stretched in all directions toward horizons that curved upward rather than downward, as if they stood on the inner surface of an impossible sphere filled with liquid gold.
The waters themselves were not water at all but concentrated THE Civilizational Authority in such purity that simply looking upon them made his Existence buzz with hunger. Floating structures of crystallized authority dotted the expanse like islands.
The atmosphere was thick with nourishnt that made even the pure authority of outer Tian seem diluted by comparison. Every breath drew power into his being without conscious effort, and he could feel his Depth responding to the environnt with eagerness that bordered on desperation.
This was a concentration of THE Civilizational Authority that he had never imagined possible outside of The Cavern of Existence. If his advancent in The Blind Depths had been rapid, imrsion in these waters was about...25% of the effect?
Rose and Eyyanah showed similar reactions, their eyes wide as they processed the sheer magnitude of what surrounded them.
Rose’s copper-green luminescence flared brighter simply from proximity to such concentrated authority, while Eyyanah’s silver-gold radiance seed to drink in the atmosphere with gratitude.
The Groundskeeper observed their reactions calmly.
"Regardless of which Sea they are assigned to, all THE entities perform the sa essential work."
His voice drew their attention back from the overwhelming environnt.
"The specific Sea rely determines which aspect of that work takes priority during any given assignnt. There are Three Sacred Labors that maintain Tian and through it all of Observable Existence, but only the first one matters to those working in this Sea."
He gestured toward the golden waters stretching below them.
"It is called Weeding the Waters."
His tone grew more serious as he continued the explanation.
"Throughout all Nine Seas, Corrupted Growths erge constantly from the depths. These are Malford Authorities, fragnts of failed Existence, Civilizations, and broken Ways that sank into Tian after collapsing in Observable Existence. They are drawn here by the sa purity that makes this realm so valuable, corruption seeking to contaminate what it cannot beco."
Achilles thought of the Malford Collapsed Existences he had been fighting in The Blind Depths. Were they related to these corrupted growths? Creatures born from the sa principle of failure transforming into predatory abomination?
"If left untended, these corrupted growths rise to the surface and contaminate the pure waters. Eventually they flow back into Observable Existence through the golden rivers that connect Tian to reality, spreading corruption to realms that depend on Tian’s stability for their continued existence."
The Groundskeeper’s golden eyes swept across the vast Sea.
"THE entities must patrol their assigned regions, identifying these corrupted growths before they can surface, extracting them from the waters, and dissolving them through application of their own Civilizational Authority. The corrupted material is broken down and recycled into pure authority that rejoins the Sea. In this way, what was once threat becos nourishnt."
He paused.
"This labor is endless. New corruption seeps into Tian constantly, drawn by the sa purity that makes this realm so valuable. The mont one growth is removed, another begins forming sowhere else. Those who work here do not complete their task. They rely maintain balance against forces that would overwhelm this place without constant attention."
...!
As he finished this explanation, The Groundskeeper continued moving them across the regions of this glorious Sea.
They passed over golden waters that seed to contain depths beyond asurent.
And far ahead, at this ti, Achilles finally sensed what he had been seeking since learning that THE Corpse Hierophant and the others had entered Tian.
THE entities.
Multiple presences that registered against his perception with weight that confird they had recovered significantly from their Collapsed states. In the far distance, THE Corpse Hierophant and several others could be sensed as they seriously gazed into the First Sea as if their very lives depended on the task before them.
Their attention was focused entirely on the waters below their position, searching for corrupted growths that needed to be weeded before they could surface and spread contamination.
The labor consud their concentration so completely that none of them seed to have noticed the approach of newcors.
Or perhaps they had noticed and simply couldn’t afford to divert attention.
Eyyanah’s jeweled eyes fixed upon her forr peers with expression that held complicated emotions!
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