In a time before the Razing of Resinheart and the sealing of The Echo Providence's Fount - The Luminarch was seen as a noble beast of unknown origin that would lift boats to and from the core geyser island of Perchview that held Resinheart. It did this without communicating a word or attempting to find any other purpose, further building religious belief about the significance of the Fount and Resinheart. Many inhabitants of the island would come bearing gifts for The Luminarch, providing it sustenance in return for perceived continuous support.
This would all change when Resinheart was set ablaze, and Perchview fell into the ocean. In the legends, The Luminarch attempts to carry as many people trying to escape the collapsing island as possible on its back but falls into the ocean under the pressure of immense weight. It emerged from the water rapidly but it was already too late, and the thousands it had tried to save drowned, desperately clinging to its flesh. Due to The Luminarch being completely submerged in Aurorine before awakening and desperately surfacing, the people that had once held to its body had become Luminari, giving it the massive crystal strip that can be observed on its back today.
After that, whatever intentions The Luminarch had once held were gone, replaced with a feral mind and a newfound voice.
The Echo Providence
Ocean of Reflection
| Difficulty | 2/5 | Threats here can be avoided with basic understanding of where not to go, although navigation can be difficult. |
|---|---|---|
| Entity Count | 2/5 | Creatures native to the ocean of reflection are rare, yet not impossible to find. |
| Chaos Gradient | 2/5 | The larger landmasses in this ocean tend to shift on a vertical axis randomly but there is no sweeping change besides that. |
| Basset-Frazier Index | 2/5 | Embarking through Echo Providence is a strange journey that will take one through the sky's visage — which for most means a pilgrimage to Resinheart. |
Description
While The Echo Providence may seem like any other part of Horizon as one enters its boundaries, do not let that fool you. Soon enough, the transition will occur, and the water beneath shall become a mirror, reflecting the sky and the world ahead. The ocean of flowing memories has opened its gates.
The Outer Waters
When moving into this ocean, it is made quickly evident upon arrival that a majority of vessels must adjust for further traversal. This is the reality here, as the water begins to shift and mix, giving way to the thick reflective liquid that The Echo Providence is known for. As dubbed by natives, this "Aurorine" is quite the anomaly with little understanding of how it grew to envelop such a large body of water, earning classification as an ocean. This does not take away from its astonishing ability to reflect whatever faces it, creating an ocean with such a magnificent view that scholars throughout Horizon dream of sitting on one of its many beaches, looking out at the blackened waves of glass during the dead of night.1 Many sailing into The Echo Providence create specific ships for freedom of movement, usually including large fins on the bottom to "cut through" the Aurorine. Navigation relies entirely on islands dotted throughout the outer waters, with many ships going for a slower island-to-island route rather than trying to brute force through to Resinheart. When sailing through reflected clouds below, a path is needed, lest one wants to spin in circles for eternity.
While most islands in the outer waters have some type of intrigue to them, the further a vessel presses into the core of The Echo Providence, the stranger things become. Trees become little more than gelatinous reflective surfaces, not unlike the ocean around it. The ground loses its structure, becoming a gross, shiny swamp. Native wildlife begins to cull itself out, with whatever lives amongst the sky thriving and picking off prey lost and stuck in the shifting surroundings. Some of the wildlife can even become Luminari, making a nice collection piece and an introduction to the darker aspects of The Echo Providence for newer sailors.
All Luminari are, in fact, corpses — cadavers reanimated and encased by the Aurorine once the dead have been submerged. The transformation begins immediately after death, with the body vitrifying into a hard, crystalline surface that replaces the skin. This creates a see-through effect, with the internal organs and bones of a Luminari being fully observable from the outside.2 This has worked wonders in understanding the biology of many creatures across the many seas. The process of making a body Luminari has also become a staple for communities throughout Horizon, with the idea of it being akin to spreading ashes or having someone cremated. Family members and friends take a small piece of the crystal skin and then leave the body to slowly sink beneath the calm waters.3
The biodiversity of The Echo Providence is an anomaly like the very ocean itself. While practically all of the life on the islands in the outer waters can be found anywhere else, the native fish are somewhat unique due to the adaptations that must be made to fit the environment. There are many variants of already existing fish species with minor adaptations, but new ones entirely have willed their way into existence, with fish like the Quartzfin being incredibly shiny to a point where they are hard to stare at for too long. Other new species of fish, like the Prismscale, can be a breathtaking sight in the darkness of night, creating a rainbow spectacle as they travel in schools beneath the mirror-like surface of the Aurorine.
Late into one's journey through the outer waters, a vessel may find itself approaching The Geyser Collective. Crews should be much more cautious in this transitional stretch of the ocean, as towering waves can rise and wipe out whole ships, and navigational devices such as compasses stop working completely. Throughout this second trial of passage towards the Resinheart, a constant mist will hang in the air, making visibility low and further complicating navigation. All of this acts as a natural filter between the deserving and unworthy, with the former either ascending upwards to visit The Geyser Collective or continuing towards the core of The Echo Providence.
The Geyser Collective
The Geyser Collective acts as the border between the small inner waters revolving around the remains of Resinheart and the greater waters of The Echo Providence. The collective itself is a group of six Aurorine geysers, almost the same as the original Fount, but on a much smaller scale. These geysers uphold six smaller islands in the air, although the central trees on these islands only produce minuscule amounts of Aurorine. In all practical senses, they are smaller, still functional versions of the Resinheart and the surrounding Island of Perchview, each with unique names and cultures that have been built as time has passed.
On the geyser island of Shimmerhold, a vast community has formed, with large walls being erected around the outside of the island to only allow approved visitors to enter the town within. The town is surprisingly large for the island's quaint size, holding around four hundred people on its surface. Their culture revolves around the central tree, with community prayers and wishes being deposited in a small hole for the tree to potentially grant and hear. While the fanaticism of many has been oppressed by the circumstances concerning the razing of Resinheart, many still wholeheartedly believe that these trees are things to be worshipped and revered. Most of the other geyser islands, like Mistspire or Cloudpoint, have similar circumstances with their populations.
The native animals to these islands are oddities, as in all ways they are normal living animals. Yet they have Luminari-like bodies, which changes the very basis of what a Luminari was defined as. A rabbit could very well have that same crystal skin and all internal organs on display, yet still bounce around and pass as just another part of the ecosystem. It is a bizarre mutation with no good explanation using current knowledge, and these animals cannot be considered Luminari despite all reason pointing towards it being so. Luminari is a term gifted to the special dead. These animals are something beyond that.
The Luminarch
The Luminarch has been given many names. A God-Worm. A gravekeeper. Souls of the damned made manifest. A vessel of the Spear and its intentions. No matter the story told or the title given to it, The Luminarch is the last struggle a crew will have to deal with on their way to Resinheart. If its deception and might can be surpassed or bypassed, the path to the center will be open wide.
In the current age, The Luminarch regards those who attempt to pass through to the remains of the Resinheart as little more than plunderers without respect for the dead, and it has been stated as such. Whispers on the breeze and short, incomprehensible dreams manifest themselves in the brain and speak a message: "You are not welcome here, and that shall never change." Some seeking glory have tried to hunt The Luminarch down but have never returned from their voyage. It is best to either heed the words of The Luminarch and turn back or make an effort to outpace and sneak around it, never having to encounter its wrath in the first place.
I cannot attest to what my crew had seen themselves. We all had different dreams during those cold nights approaching the remnants of Resinheart to claim the Cinderfruit. At first, they were vague, with unknowable faces and words being poured into my ears as I stood in a reflective void. By the third night, I began to see a form in the reflections of the empty faces. On the fifth night, it became clear that it was The Luminarch itself, and while its words were still unknowable, its intentions were crystal clear.
This was the end of our journey. If we continued, destruction awaited us.
That will never be worth it.
— Johann Sterling, "Expedition #36: Failure"
Resinheart4
The giant tree that once stood at the core of The Echo Providence, and the source of its Fount that shaped the very ocean below through its constant outpour of Aurorine. Today, it is little more than a mass of half-sunken charcoal-colored wood, only serving to stand as a testament to a once magnificent landmark and to produce Cinderfruit out of the embers that still eternally burn within. The ones who come to visit Resinheart either live without fear, live without reason, or exist as an amalgamation of those ideals. Even in death, Resinheart remains astonishing to all who lay eyes upon it.
In the time before Resinheart's burning, the ones who stood under its sturdy branches and immense trunk led a life of peace. Many small villages were scattered around Perchview, all with their unique ideals and rhetorics. A constant across all was a firm belief in the tree, whether it be religious appraise or just scientific intrigue. In an ocean of anomalies and silence, people needed a home. This immense tree would be that and so much more, its expanse of leaves holding up the sky above. An eternal protector. A god to all under its shade.
It is unknown what first sparked the flame that ravaged Resinheart. Some say it was lighting from the heavens, while others say it was a torch thrown by an uncontrollable dissenter from the religious group centered around the tree. There is always conjuncture about every aspect of the story, but the result is the same: Resinheart burnt down to its very base, causing the Fount to permanently stop flowing and the collapse of Perchview from its elevated point down into the ocean. Thousands upon thousands of people perished in a matter of hours, with the last remnants of life swimming their way over to the still-burning Resinheart to enter the flames, hypnotized.
These events forged The Echo Providence known today, still expanding outwards at a snail's pace due to The Geyser Collective. In a saddening twist, many of the ones who swam into the fire at the core of Resinheart can still be seen as Luminari today, warped and broken by the flames that had melted them down in their last moments of life. All those who scavenge through the remains of Resinheart know to pay respect to the Luminari with little gifts when they are found. Items like shells and flower petals are left at their feet, sometimes with small messages attached for other scavengers to read.
There is still a desire for those who walk on the scorched remains besides exploration. Most, if not all, come seeking the Cinderfruit, a small cubic growth that sprouts on the dead bark throughout Resinheart's body. This fruit is held in high demand and regard due to the immense potential of the liquid held within its rough exterior. The liquid can cause a flame lit on its surface to burn seemingly eternally as long as it isn't snuffed out by any outside forces. This works wonders for the massive variety of explorers and survivors who may need the warmth and light of a fire in their most dire moments. While many claim that the journey and dangers of reaching Resinheart and harvesting Cinderfruit don't justify the situational power of the juice, it cannot be understated how much they are valued in trade networks. To give an example, a small bag of around five to ten Cinderfruits could be exchanged for an entirely new higher-end vessel to sail on.5 Its value is mostly defined by the means with which it was attained, but the liquid of a Cinderfruit is quite the boon to have if one can get their hands on it.
To the north, one can pass through The Echo Providence to reach Eau de Nil. To the south, The Charted Sea awaits. The waters east are a part of the Aerithralis Sea and in the west, the Bowlweave Nexus sits for those daring to delve deeper into the bizarre.
May travel be safe for all.