Krakennauricht

Brechtur » Krakennauricht

The Krakennauricht is the name of the Great Bay of Brechtür. Its name in High Brecht means "Kraken's Reach" and of course refers to the awnshegh known as the Kraken. The Krakennauricht empties into the Thaelasian Sea. It is a cool body of water which is much more shallow than the oceans surround Cerilia.

The rocky shores and narrow fjords of the Krakennauricht see many ships plying these waters for sealing, whaling, fishing, and trading on these icy, northern waters. The best shipping is from Anarire to Erntenir, only three months long, while storms and ice make the other months dangerous. Even so, without the ships that bring in the products from the sea, the lands that surround the Great Bay would starve, so ships can be seen on the water in all seasons but winter. Of course winter lasts longer on the northern waters than it does along the southern coast of the Krakennauricht.

The mouth of the Krakennauricht freezes over every year, and generally about half of the Great Bay is covered in ice for at least some time. The ice-covered area during such a typical winter includes the fjords, sheltered bays, and shallow lagoons as far south as Greugarten in the west and a large portion of the Black Ice Bay. The ice reaches its maximum extent in Sarimiere or Talienire. Ice in the northern fjords of Kvigmar or Grabentod can get as thick as 0.7m. The ice starts forming across the Krakennauricht in Emmanir and remains blocked by ice sheet or large ice floes until Roelir. As one moves south, the ice free season lasts longer and the ice is thinner. While freezing in the mouth of the Krakennauricht begins in Emmanir, freezing in the Black Ice Bay does not begin until Sarimiere, breaking up a month or so later, before it has had time to collect impurities (sediments, algae, air bubbles) which give sea ice an opacity and color that makes it more identifiable, leaving dangerous floes of nearly invisible ice floating on the surface of the water.

One notable exception to the frozen winter fjords is the Danig Arm. The volcanism so common in the mountains along the western lands of the Krakennauricht extends into the sea here, warming the Danig Arm through hydrothermal vents. As a result of the heated water released here, the Danig Arm never freezes. Even so the waters of the Krakennauricht still prevent long voyages three to four months out of the year.