T Palace and its Surroundings

Surroundings:
    The Palace is located on the ocean floor, in an area of small, scattered islands created by underwater volcanoes long ago. The ocean is not as deep in this area as in the deep seas, and the water near the surface is as warm as the air, which is a constant, balmy 70 to 100 degrees most of the year. The only exception to this is storm season, in which cold, rainy weather, high winds, and sometimes violent wavestorms come and go erratically. It's not called "Stormsea" for nothing!
    The islands are mostly too small to support human life, and consist mainly of sand, rocks, and some palm trees and other plants. The native wildlife includes seabirds, lizards, tortoises, snakes, treefrogs, ants, and some small mammals on the larger islands. The largest island is Makeera Island, named for the human tribe that lives there. It is located many miles to the west and slightly north of the Palace; at one time the upper spires of the Palace were visible to its inhabitants on a clear day. The mainland (the continent of Sunholt) is far to the east. The islands are the the north and west.
    Underwater, the terrain is mountainous where the islands are, and teeming with life. Coral, seaweed, and clams cover the rocky outcroppings that rise from the sea bed, and all kinds of fish and other sea life can be seen (except when the elves are looking for them, naturally.) The Coral Palace grows from the rocky floor, as do the many coral reefs and groves of seaweed in the surrounding area. There are many caves, both explored and unexplored, nearby, and several crevasses and shafts descending deep into the earth.
    The elves generally range freely within a few dozen miles of the Palace. The only area they specifically avoid is Makeera Island and the waters around it, for fear of the humans there.

Humans:
    The Makeera are a small tribe by human standards, with about 80 members. They are mainly fishers and pearl-divers, and males and females both go out with the boats and do housework. Those who are too old for such things act as a combination of storyteller, historian, and teacher, and/or artisan. The humans wear little in the way of clothes, often just a white or light-colored cloth wrapped around the waist and upper legs and tied in various ways, with jewlery of flowers, grass, and pearls. They are very peaceful and generous--they should be, since they have no concept of private property. Everything is owned by the tribe as a whole, not by one person. Occasionally an ocean-going ship from a more advanced human society visits, and they are happy to trade. They have no shaman or religious activities but they do believe in spirits. Their main spirits are the Sea, their "mother", who they envision as female and associate with fertility, and the Earth, their "father", who they envision as male. They also believe in a Creator spirit, who created everything, though it is not considered to have any gender or form. Despite their religious beliefs, they are a practical people. When they don't catch many fish in their nets, they don't think the sea is "punishing" them, they just figure there must not have been many fish where they were. The Makeera know that the elves exist but have no feelings for them one way or another. They consider them as just another race, like the dolphins or fish. No one knows how long the elves have been there or why they hide from them.

Other Races:
    There are no trolls around, and the elves know little about them, besides the vague rumors the few elves who have travelled on land sometimes bring back. Many elves don't believe in these tales. The elves do know of Preservers, but only have two with them, DewDrop and Tatcher, since the rest were lost. Their original function is vaguely remembered by some of the eldest, if not used.

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