The Severed Sea is a vast and tumultuous oceanic strait that violently separates The Earth Realm and The Sun Realm, a gaping wound in the land of Osira forged during the cataclysmic battle between Avatar Rok and Malekith. This strait, stretching from The Atlan Ocean to The Storm-Shattered Straits, is one of the most perilous bodies of water in the world, its treacherous currents, swirling maelstroms, and volatile weather making it a graveyard for ships and airships alike.
A Scar of Divine Conflict
The Severed Sea was not always an open waterway—it was once a vast, continuous land bridge connecting the Earth Realm and Sun Realm, forming the central backbone of Osira. During the fateful duel between Avatar Rok, Avatar of The Earth, and Avatar Malekith, Usurper of the Sun, colossal forces of nature were unleashed, breaking the land apart in an elemental cataclysm.
Rok’s Earth-Rifting sundered the land, splitting open an immense chasm and dragging entire mountains into the abyss, while Malekith’s solar fury scorched the exposed earth, turning its edges into charred cliffs of obsidian and molten stone. The destruction did not stop at the initial impact—as the land collapsed, seawater rushed in, forming what is now known as the Severed Sea, cutting the continent in two forever.
A Maelstrom of Chaos
The Severed Sea is one of the most treacherous bodies of water in existence, an unpredictable and volatile region where the very elements seem to rage against one another eternally. Powerful whirlpools form where the currents of the Atlan Ocean meet the deep chasm beneath the sea, pulling entire vessels into the abyss.
The Skybound Shardlands, located south of the Severed Sea, further disrupt airship travel with floating mountains, residual Rift anomalies, and gravitational distortions, making passage by air just as dangerous as by sea. In the northern regions of the Severed Sea, near the Storm-Shattered Straits, furious oceanic tempests—believed to be the warring essences of Raijin, the Draconic God of Lightning, and Fujin, the Draconic God of Wind—frequently batter ships with gale-force winds and unrelenting storms.
Due to the unpredictability of its conditions, the Severed Sea remains largely uncharted, with only the most experienced Valar and Vanir sailors daring to navigate its waters.
Ruins Beneath the Waves
Deep beneath the waves of the Severed Sea lie the remnants of civilizations lost to the cataclysm, entire Solir ruins, Earthward settlements, and structures buried under the depths. Some dare to speculate that the great cities of Itela have partially sank into the sea during the battle, their once golden spires now hidden beneath the tides.
Other legends speak of Titanic beings, ancient Elementari, and forgotten relics of primordial power trapped within the sunken abyss, waiting for the day when the sea will give up its dead. Many claim that spirits of the fallen, from Sun Elves scorched by Malekith’s wrath to Earthen warriors fallen during Rok’s final stand, wander the coastline, eternally reliving the moment of destruction.
A Divide That Will Never Mend
The Severed Sea remains a symbol of irreparable loss, an oceanic graveyard that stands as a reminder of the devastating power of the Avatars and their duel that forever changed the world. Where once there was a bridge of unity between realms, there is now only a maelstrom of chaos, forever marking the division between the charred lands of the Sun Realm and the cracked, fractured earth of the Earth Realm.
Though many have tried to cross it, few return, and those that do speak only of whispers in the wind, shadows in the deep, and a storm that never ends.