The Mediterranean is the single sea at the center of the known world, called mare nostrum by the Romans and “the great green” by those from afar; it must be crossed to pass between Europe, Africa and the Holy Land.
| Type | Place (sea) |
| Spanish entry | Mediterráneo |
Description
It “really brings everyone together”. The water is “very clear”: at twenty meters’ depth one can walk among algae and corals and see “octopuses, fish, swordfish and not swordfish” and other shoals. Near Alexandria it seems “a little pearly” and greenish. Sailed by ship, however, it is “an ominous sea”.
Geography
- West: Gibraltar and the Pillars of Hercules, a 14 km strait, under a red moon.
- Another strait, distinct from Gibraltar, 14 to 60 km wide, unnamed and unlocated.
- East: it reaches Alexandria.
- North: ships must round “the boot of Italy”; navigation is coastal and long.
- South: people come “from the interiors of Africa”.
The Swiss Alps are 300 km away, two days’ travel. The sea can also be reached from the underworld by an underground river, with a safe-conduct.
Role
- Highway: the coastal route links the ports to Alexandria.
- Frontier: it alone lies between the sides disputing the Holy Land.
- Quarry: at least one island “that juts into the Mediterranean” holds marble deposits, from which the city was built.
Roman imperial structure maintains the office of Commander General of the Mediterranean; audience with him goes through his “first friend”.
The plug
A “plug in the Mediterranean” is said to govern the water level; the stories do not remember “whether past, present or future”. This plug is also said to connect with the elemental planes. Separately, the sea’s level is recorded as rising “a significant number of liters per year”.
Open questions
- Where and what the plug is; whether the level plug and the planar plug are one.
- Which is the second strait, and whether it is the plug’s site; the marble island’s name.
- How much the level rises, and which coasts suffer it.
- Who is Commander General, his fleet, and who the “first friend” is.
- Why the sea is ominous to sail.