After some kind of catastrophe dated 3000 years ago, the world became 80% aquatic, with most of civilization gathered close together on a large group of islands. This area, known as the Calm Region, makes up 70% of the planet, while the remaining 30% is called the Sea of Ruin and considered uninhabitable. Travel by air and sea is vastly common; there are official “Sea Lanes” set up collaboratively by the nations of the world, demarcated on the navigation systems of every vessel and correlated with the database of the International Air & Aquatic Travel Commission (IAATC).

These Sea Lanes also demark the boundaries between the calm regions and the Sea of Ruin. Sea travel is almost entirely automated by correspondence between individual vessels and the IAATC database. Robotic surveillance systems warn vessels that are in danger of crossing the borders; vehicles that continue are reported to the international travel commission so that when inevitably they don’t return, their disappearance can be accounted for.

The Sea of Ruin is fraught with countless dangers; violent storms and enormous tidal waves, jagged land formations, ferocious aquatic life, and sporadic climate conditions. There are also rumors of a flying “ghost ship” wandering the seas that attacks any vessels daring to venture within a proximity of several hundred yards. This region also has a more powerful gravitational pull, stronger still in certain locations known as gravity wells - which are said to be able to yank aircraft right out of the sky.

The atmosphere is thick and has descended almost to sea level to create a mist impenetrable by even the latest visual surveillance equipment. Zero visibility in addition to the numerous perils, makes travel into the area by air or sea virtually impossible. Satellite radar has provided a rough map of the few land masses in the area, but the formation seems to change regularly, an indication that the plates are unstable as well.

No expedition that has ventured into the Sea of Ruin has ever returned in tact. There have been numerous accounts of explorers risking their lives to map the uncharted territory, and billions of credits have been spent in an attempt to locate profitable resources. The explorers most often never return, and those that do are left unable to communicate what horrors they experienced. An attempt hasn’t been made in well over a century.

All knowledge of the area comes from artifacts that occasionally wash ashore. It is known that at least one large civilization existed in that region in the years before the catastrophe; they were a race of people called Phaedrians, and for centuries have been a subject of scientific and historical intrigue.

However, the Sea of Ruin is of little interest to the majority of civilization, as the people of the Calm Region have enough problems; cultural discord, economic disparity, government disputes both foreign and domestic, and the prevalent desire of all people to carve out a solid quality of life in spite of everything leave little room for other concerns.