The Starlit Sea

The Starlit Sea is the resting place of The Wishing Star and birthplace of the Servants, a huge inland freshwater sea.

Description
The Sea is a large body of fresh water in the interior of the continent of Polaris, cut off from the oceans by Gran Cynosure during the age of creation. For thousands of years, the Sea has been bathed in the light of The Wishing Star, and the power of the star has changed the water, charging it with energies too exotic for the universe to fully express.

The waters and rocks of the Sea glow with gentle luminesence, and the water is clear and brilliantly-lit. Near the shores, one can see where the sands of the ancient beaches have been slowly fused into swirling crystals. Nearer to the center of the sea, the abyssal depths fall away, and the indistinctly-glowing things below swirl hypnotically to the eye.

On the water itself, blue will-o-the-wisps dance slowly, spending years at a time in orbit around the center of the area. The Servants hover above the water, suspended in contemplation of the star. Their divinatory senses reach throughout the world and are projected onto the surface of the sea, and drifting patching of Scrying Waters infest the sea. One particular patch, known as The Eye of Time drags tens of thousands of Servants in its wake, and is infused with so much power that it is nigh-impossible to direct any further.

History
In the early days of the world, Gran Cynosure formed his land around the water which would become known as The Starlit Sea and placed his star in its center, which would eventually give rise to the entire race of Servants and, through them, The Reasonable Folk. The unique climate of the surrounding mountains means that the winds of the Sea are quiescient, and there is no rain, nor inlet to the ocean on any side. Thus, for millenia untold, the Sea has not changed.

Though the Servants have come and gone and The Reasonable Folk fought occasional battles over the power of the Star, the radiation of the Sea is sufficient to kill all of the bacteria which might have grown in it, and only spiritual beings from the Plane of Radience lurk in its depths, shining leviathans who watch the world curiously but cannot penetrate the surface of the water.

Notable Details
The entire area of the Starlit Sea shimmers with the barely-contained power radiated from the Wishing Star. Over time, the proximity to the divine manifestation purifies all matter or energy it is exposed to, turning rock into crystal and flesh into spirit. More temporary exposure can still prove fatal to living subjects, as the energy absorbed by tissue and bone sends their growth out of control.

Reagents obtained from the Starlit Sea are powerful and dangerous- a few drops of Starwater can empower a clever potion to scour away diseases or curses, but they can also kill. A Starstone may be used to craft deadly weapons of assassination which leave wounds invariably fatal, but they may also cook the assassin carrying them to death.