On the west side of the Caldera, there exists a chamber, carved from a vein of green marble that Constantine has explored. The chamber is damaged from water, as if the entire oceans of the world were poured through it.
The room itself measures, perhaps 8 paces wide on average, but is over 75 paces long. It is more like a long hallway or cavern. The shape of the room is that of a sinuous snake, or meandering river. The walls are still damp, from it's soaking which to all other reckonings was long ago, likely during the destruction of the Gauntlet. Off of the main chamber there are a number of side chambers and alcoves, all of which display similar damage and actually seem to have spouted their own mini-floods. There are, perhaps, 50 such alcove and room areas here of various motifs and varied mosaics. On this, the base regio there is little left of the artwork. Only the natural walls truly remain, worn by what seems to be millennia of water damage. Thunderous waves upon the surfaces. Lichen and other flora which thrive in the dampness are abound here, though and seem to have gained some purchase upon the worn walls and stones.
However, above this area there are is another regio which has fared much better. The walls in all of the various rooms and on the sinuous halls have mosaics depicting the various deeds associated with Nereus; Nereus as the righteous and all-wise "Old Man of the Sea"; Nereus as the god of the Mediterranean Sea; Nereus as the son of Gaia and Pontus; Nereus as his wife is Doris as the Progenitors of the fifty Nereids, friendly sea-nymphs; Nereus with the Gift of Prophesy; Nereus as the master shapechanger; Nereus as the savior of mariners. All of these aspects are key in understanding the system of the entity that is Nereus.
There is a fountain in the center of the meandering room, which is surrounded by a large pool. Words are inscribed above a pool set into a niche in the wall. The fountain is an ornate piece of work, blending the natural and artificial nature of its character together quite flawlessly. One would think it a waterfall except for the placements and symmetries of some areas on it.
The mosaics depicting the various deeds associated with Nereus. Nereus is the righteous and all-wise "old man of the sea", god of the Mediterranean Sea, son of Gaia and Pontus. His wife is Doris and she became by him the mother of the fifty Nereids, friendly sea-nymphs. Nereus is a gentle and very wise old man who has the power to foretell the future, but he will not answer questions unless he was caught and to avoid that he would change his shape (such as when Heracles came to ask him the way to the Garden of the Hesperides). The domain of Nereus and his fifty daughters is especially the Aegean Sea where he has saved many ships from destruction. These words are inscribed above a pool set into a niche in the wall:
O thou, who dost the roots of Ocean keep
In seats caerulean, daemon of the deep,
With fifty nymphs (attending in thy train,
Fair virgin artists glorying thro' the main:
The dark foundation of the rolling sea
And Earth's wide bounds, belong much-famed to thee;
Great daemon, source of all, whose power can make
The Earth's unmeasured, holy basis shake,
When blustering winds in secret caverns pent,
By thee excited, struggle hard for vent:
Come, blessed Nereus, listen to my prayer,
And cease to shake the earth with wrath severe;
Send on our sacred rites abundant health,
With peace divine and necessary wealth.
The room is a most wonderous set of regiones. One can watch as the rivers of the ocean on the highest regio jump off of the mosaics and into waiting pools below them. The gentle rush of waves surrounds you on the highest level. One would think that the constant movement of the water on the stones would dull or obscure the mosaics, but it seems to have the exact opposite effect. Many passages within the room seem especially bright, as though the waters had a cleansing effect upon the intention of the words contained within. Perhaps an aspect of Nereus, encompassing his veneration as father of Prophesy. Some of the waters in the room are aspected. The universal solvent, with its touch of Chaos; or the pure water. But a trickle but of complete and nourishing quenching flavor. There is an association of the technique of Muto to the Form of Aquam, with the shapechanging aspects of Nereus coming to the forefront. Yet the other effects, such as the clarity of obscurement and the overly zealous properties of the universal solvent are also present.
BackLast modified: Tue Feb 2, 1999 / Jeremiah Genest