Sea of Corynactis

The Sea of Corynactis, sometimes called the Great Sea of Corynactis, was the historic home of the shalarin.

Description
The shalarin considered the Sea of Corynactis to be a veritable paradise with green waters, few predators, and abundant food.

Geography
The Sea of Corynactis was located on the opposite side of Toril from Faerûn, somewhere in the Western Ocean beyond Maztica.

After the, the Sea was linked to the shalarin empire of As'arem in the Sea of Fallen Stars via a permanent gate. The Faerûnian side of this portal was located in the Passing Plains east of the Pirate Isles at a depth of approximately.

History
Five times throughout history, a Wildtide Gate appeared which allowed the shalarin to make prophesized journeys&mdash;called "Passings"&mdash;between the Sea of Corynactis and the Sea of Fallen Stars. The first of these Gates opened in, and they reappeared once every 720 years, opening again in , , , and.

The sinister truth was that the Passings were devised by the obyrith Dagon, who conspired to supplant the gods of the shalarin. The Wildtide Gates were intended to sweep those shalarin opposed to his rise out of the Sea of Corynactis so that his minions could slaughter them. He limited the shalarin gods' influence solely to the Sea of Corynactis and set his plan into motion in -1509 DR to begin culling the shalarin race. However, in the course of the first four Passings, the shalarin managed to survive, make allies, and found three kingdoms in the Sea of Fallen Stars&mdash;Es'rath, Es'daan, and Es'purr&mdash;which united into the empire of As’arem in the.

Following the Fourth Passing, the shalarins' deities grew quiet even in the Sea of Corynactis, and the worship of Dagon grew to become the dominant religion in the Sea by the 14 century DR. When the fifth and final Passing began on the Feast of the Moon in the, the last of Dagon's resistors were swept into the Sea of Fallen Stars. However, this time Gate through which they had come mysteriously stayed open, appearing to have become permenant. This enabled Dagon's cult to gain a foothold among the shalarins of As’arem even as both sides of the portal struggled to keep the gateway secret from the other folk of the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Inhabitants
As of the mid-to-late 14 century DR, the Sea of Corynactis was home to a civilization of shalarins who worshiped Dagon, known as the Cult of Corynactis.

Rumors & Legends
Prior to the Fifth Passing, the shalarin of the Sea of Fallen Stars were not certain of the true location of their former home. While some correctly speculated that the Sea of Corynactis lay in the Western Ocean, others argued it was located on the planet Karpri.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Queen of the Depths
 * Queen of the Depths