The Nexus

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: Human Blightwalker
Age: 26

Appearance: Carrie is about 5'4", pale and with dull black hair to match her shaggy black wings. Her eyes are a warm amber hue, and while she's still thin, she's got some actual tone on her body now. Her pretty face is marked by scars; one extends down from the outside corner of her left eye. There are more, including a diagonal one starting by her left shoulder, going across her sternum, and ending on her right side at her bony ribs. Her hands are a dark reddish-orange like iron-rich clay.

Carrie tends to dress pretty simply, but nearly always wears a pair of elbow-length gloves with locking clasps at the wrist and hem. She's taken to wearing glasses.

Some decent Picrews: 1, 2, 3

Abilities: Carrie's wings are flight-capable, helped by regular exercise; if need be, she could probably fly a willing person around for a bit, moreso if an appropriate harness or similar were involved. She's pretty physically fit.

As a Blightwalker, Carrie's hands are full of energy that harms living matter. She can project this energy with effort and discomfort; she vastly prefers not to do so, and generally wears magical gloves to protect others from herself.

While she's pretty out of practice, Carrie still has a decent amount of outdoorswoman skills. She's got a bit of self-defense training, mostly enough to keep herself safe as opposed to outright kicking ass.

Carrie is quite the cook and baker, frequently trying and tweaking recipes.

Personality: Carrie is quite personable and empathetic; having spent considerable time working on her emotional and mental health, she's come away with a better-honed insight and maturity than before she left. She tends to be friendly and generous, and views her position as Princess as a job.

Gender: Female, she/her (transgender)
Species: Devil-Sovereign of the 10,000 Hells
Age: Centuries; appears mid-20s in her preferred guise.

Appearance: Evie typically appears as a petite, scrawny young lady with dirty-blonde hair and bluish-grey eyes that are continually dark-rimmed. She tends to dress in ragged jeans and t-shirts or tank tops, sometimes throwing a hoodie or jacket on top. She's rather pretty in a tired, jaded-looking kind of way.

This character by the artist TABAO is basically the visual reference.

Abilities: Evie is ridiculously durable despite her small, scrawny appearance; she can shrug off a mortar shell to the face.

Personality: Evie is an easygoing sort of gal, not phased by all that much. She's a bit on the jaded side when it comes to power and grandeur, and prefers simpler things. She's willing to shrug off a lot, but is very much not a pushover.

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: Wraith of the 10,000 Hells (human in life)
Age: Over a century; appears mid-20s.

Appearance: Konstanze typically appears as a pretty Germanic woman in her mid-20s, about 5'3" in height, with a bob of brown hair and grey-green eyes. She has a slim figure and pale complexion, with a beauty spot under her left eye. She tends to wear dresses and skirts with shawls, cardigans, or sweaters.

There is, however, an unnerving element to this otherwise pretty picture. Konstanze's shadow is often disconcerting; it typically feels darker and deeper than it should be, and it sometimes moves on its own or in a way inconsistent with her motions. Her reflection likewise acts unusually at times. Her eyes sometimes seem full of a terrible hunger.

Inspirational images by midnadonamid, kaoming (and another), sawarakajin, dani-ikapi, meto-31

Abilities: Konstanze is a wraith of unusual potency, able to manipulate shadows in a variety of ways; she can use her shadow to physically interact with things, interact with the shadows of other beings/objects, etc. Darkness, even magical darkness, has no impact on her vision. She may also create a swath of magical darkness. Konstanze is able to consume souls to increase her power.

Personality: Konstanze often comes off as pleasant, friendly, and enthusiastic; she is typically a bit of a blithe spirit. She prefers to avoid most confrontations if she can. However, she has a vicious side that is most typically brought out when she feels her freedom is seriously restricted or her autonomy is threatened.

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: Execuloth
Age: 3800-and-change (looks approximately early-mid 30s)

Appearance: Staphis is a striking woman with indigo hair, yellow eyes, and elegantly curving horns. A set of scars slash diagonally across her face, and one cuts down her lips near the right-hand corner of her mouth. She often wears piercings in her ears, as well as one in her left nostril and above her left eyebrow, and wears dark-rimmed spectacles. She sports a second pair of arms, a set of batlike wings whose outer surfaces are covered in quills, neat cervine hooves in place of human feet, and a whippy tail tipped by a vicious stinger.

Staphis's typical outfit consists of something like a white mandarin robe over dove-grey trousers, though she changes this now and then.
Image (Picrew template by Crowesn)

Abilities: Staphis is a magic-wielder of considerable power, knowledge, and experience; she has much understanding of rituals, curses, hexes, and spells of many kinds. She is also a whiz at all things administrative, bureaucratic, and secretarial. She's an expert organizer of information.

Staphis's stinger-tail can inject a toxin that is generally nonlethal, but causes considerable disorientation and nausea. Her wings sport deft little pairs of claws that can serve as hands all their own to some extent. She is particularly physically fit for her kind; with a particularly nasty kick, she can cave in a skull or ribcage.

Staphis possesses what could not unreasonably be called "danger mommy energy". She rarely wields this to pure or honest ends.

Personality: Staphis is not quite so spiteful and petty as most of her ilk... but she's also driven by ruthless ambition. Wishing to find a novice mage and build her up into a sorceress-tyrant at whose right hand she can rule, she is motivated by the desire not for freedom but to revel in the shadow of power. She does have the capacity to be encouraging, nurturing, and even loving to a promising candidate; she's prepared to take the time to bring out a novice mage's potential.

In her pursuit of her goal, she has taken up considerable interest in magical education and curriculum. This has grown beyond simply serving her goal of securing candidates for her desired master and become a genuine interest in and of itself. She has little love of pettiness and venality, instead being drawn to ambition and ideals.

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: Reanimated human
Age: Unclear; appearance suggests that component bodies were between their twenties to early thirties before death

Appearance: Vo appears to be an undead woman with typical deathly pallor. Stitching and unevenness in the freckles across her skin indicates her body is composed of at least two similar but distinct bodies pieced together. Her red hair is a bit past jaw length, and her green eyes are luminous. Small metal bolts protrude from her skin around her collarbones and sternum, as if something is braced within her ribcage. Occasional glowing within her upper torso supports this idea. She’s actually rather toned, especially in her arms, though there’s a bunched and knotted quality to her muscles that’s a bit weird.

Vo has clothed herself mainly from what she could pick up at thrift stores and charity. She tends toward jeans and flannel button-ups (and the occasional Hawaiian shirt).

Abilities: Vo is quite strong, and her inner reserve of energy allows her to exert further bursts of physical strength and alacrity. Electrical current is absorbed by her body and restores her energy reserves as well as regenerating her body from damage. She needs less sleep, and can go longer without sleep, than most people; she is also quite durable and resistant to pain.

Vo can harness electricity in several ways, from powering devices to harmful lashing arcs.

Personality: Vo tends to be anxious and self-doubtful. She is skittish and desperate to feel validation and belonging. She struggles with anger and agitation, and is quick to think the worst of herself. She has the potential to channel her energy healthily, but it's something that will take work.

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: Vaess, transitioning from common morph to sovereign morph
Age: Around 19.

Appearance: As with most Vaess, Nefila has a humanoid upper body and a four-legged arthropoid lower body. Her skin and chitinous plates are dark grey, though she has bands of yellowish ocher at her joints. She's over six feet tall standing normally, and still growing into her sovereign morph. Her mist-grey hair has been put into a long braid that reaches past her shoulderblades. Her four glossy eyes are bright yellow, and her fangs are fairly prominent.

Abilities: Nefila has all the capacities of a normal adult of her species; she has venomous fangs and wrist-spurs, her legs allow her to climb on vertical surfaces, and she can produce both silk and resin. As she is growing into her sovereign morph, she progressively gets more adept with pheromones, her species' empathic capacity, and magic.

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: Human - Infernal Exalt, Horizon Caste
Age: Early 20s

Appearance: Siiva is a tannish-skinned young woman a little below average height with long, messy brown hair and deep green-brown eyes. Her clothes are often worn and self-repaired. Picrew image via alohasushicore.

Siiva's Infernal Caste Mark burns green, an empty half-circle with a starburst erupting from the top. Her anima banner burns ocean-green licked with white flames. At its iconic height, it spews a tower of hellish light skyward and displays a diagram of spheres connected by lines in transcendent, holy order.

Abilities: Siiva is a recently-anointed Infernal Exalt, and as such she wields formidable power. She is particularly skilled at a multitude of handicrafts (including architecture and building construction), at understanding magical forces, at scrutinizing details, and at comprehending various languages. She wields a sort of telekinetic force which visibly manifests as distortions in the air; this telekinetic force is much stronger than her physical might. She can manifest many sorts of tools out of mental force. Her skill with crafting includes completing tasks and projects at outlandish speeds. She can do other things with great speed as well—writing, investigating a scene, or even cleaning.

Siiva is also a capable sorceress of the Terrestrial Circle with a few spells under her belt, capable of summoning demons of Malfeas. One of her favorite spells allows her to manifest a small cloud on which she and a passenger may ride.

Finally, Siiva can manifest her Devil-Body, unraveling her human form into one more befitting her Yozi patron; in her case, she becomes a shifting and occasionally impossible polyhedron of crystal fire and light, making sounds like a glass harp. In this form, her telekinetic force is increased and her senses are expanded.

Personality: Siiva is a bright, energetic, and friendly young lady driven chiefly by compassion. The feelings and well-being of others are often far more important to her than her own comfort and well-being. Imagined, remembered, or even fictional people in distress can cause her to tear up; actually witnessing the plight of others frequently makes her weep openly. However, that open weeping is often paired with a determined pursuit for a solution to the problem at hand. While Siiva is kind and generous, she is not always reasonable or sensible. Frustration eats at her easily, and she is especially hurt when her help is either scorned or, worse, counterproductive. Siiva takes it quite hard when the world cannot be made to fit the order and peace she envisions.

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: At least partly human?
Age: 15

Appearance: Queenie is 6'9" and not done growing; she's likely to reach 8 feet before she's done. She's a towering, fairly strong young lady with blue-black hair and pinkish eyes. Her features are roughly comparable to a mix of Central Asian and Eastern European. Her most striking feature is her mouth, both with its fangs and the "Chelsea grin"-style scars that draw even more attention to it.

This character by the artist Tabbto is basically the visual reference.

Abilities: Queenie is quite strong, helped by improved diet and exercise access since she was adopted by Carrie. Bundling a person under one arm or throwing them over her shoulder is no more trouble for her than carrying groceries. Her fangs are extremely hard and sharp, and her bite force is well above what most humans sport, even relative to her size.

Personality: Queenie is shy, gentle, and perhaps timid. She's painfully aware that her size and appearance can startle and intimidate people and tries to avoid that.

Gender: Female, she/her (transgender)
Species: Mothfolk
Age: 24

Appearance: Milly stands about 5'2", her body covered in a downy layer of cream-colored fuzz. Her eyes are large and glossy black all over, one often hidden by her hair. The hair on her head is a sort of dirty silver-white; the floofy ruff around her neck, shoulders, and collarbone is just a little darker. She sports two pairs of arms with deft hands, her nails being chitinous rather than keratinous as in humans. Her wings are patterned in cream, russet, and warm grey with prominent bars and eyespots. Her figure is fit, with a particularly shapely posterior.

Often, she wears her RPA uniform, navy with brass buttons: a smart but hard-wearing jacket and trousers with a stripe up the sides, paired with boots fit both for walking and riding. Out of uniform she prefers dresses that flatter her figure without restricting her movement.

For visual references, apply the color scheme of this (credit Gloomystars) to this (credit 完角).

Abilities: Milly is a fast, agile flier with nimble wings and good reflexes. While she's no master of battle, she's RPA trained and can sure as hell take care of herself.

As a postal agent with a good few years under her belt, Milly knows a good deal about various parts of Vulpania and its surroundings, has an eye and memory for detail, and is quite good at getting along with many sorts of people.

I'm not sure if having a rockin' bubble butt is really an ability or skill per se, but I'm listing it here because Milly sure as heck would.

Personality: Milly is enthusiastic and outgoing. She enjoys meeting people and sharing her infectious positive energy... and, in the case of pretty ladies, sharing her affections. She's a happily promiscuous woman who figures she'll settle down eventually, but for now she's not tied down to any one relationship.

Milly has a genuine and heartfelt love of her newly-adopted homeland of Vulpania.

Gender: Female, she/her (cisgender)
Species: Catfolk
Age: 33

Appearance: Pesty is a rather attractive catlady with teal-streaked black hair in something like a cute bob cut. Her eyes are teal and typically bright and interested. She tends to dress fairly casually under her labcoat.
Picrews: 1, 2

Abilities: Pesty is, frankly, a mad scientist of considerable ability. Her focus lies mainly in sustainable energy solutions and directed-energy weapons engineering. She also has a good deal of practice with some of the death rays she designs, enough to be a formidable shot.

Pesty has perfected her mother's hotdish recipe.

Personality: Pesty is... eccentric, and she has extremely strong convictions about energy sciences. She can get extremely heated when she feels she is being ignored or disregarded in a matter on which she is being deadly serious. She is also very... cattish about some things; she will insist that she has never ever received research or development funding (she has, regularly) and bites Tobias fairly regularly.

However, Pesty is also loyal, hard-working, generous, and warm.

Execuloths are a specialized type of daemon. They appear as humanoids (typically gynomorphic) with horns, a secondary set of arms, small cervinoid hooves, and a tail ending in a stinger. They sport wings of batlike shape but draconic or reptilian-like flesh, their outer sides covered in quill-like scales that hiss in flight. Execuloths tend to have notably sharp incisors. Skin color and ethnic features are highly variable across human, part-human, and human-like species.

Execuloths speak a number of fiendish and otherwise occult tongues as a rule, as well as many mortal languages. Their own language, however, is a specialized daemonic dialect suffused with insectoid clicks, thrums, buzzes, and rattles. Execuloth society is complex and fairly obtuse to the outside observer, but can at least partly be discerned by their names. Execuloth names are composed of a caste name, personal name, and brood name. Observed caste names are Zə, Mu, Ga, Re, and Nə (with the latter noted as a highly-regarded caste); observed brood names include Gamio, Zajio, Kouma, Zain, and Gadoru.

Execuloths are not as overtly evil as some fiends, but still predicated toward malice. In their fullest capacity, they make up a nightmarish bureaucracy snarling every possible thing in red tape, a system whose priorities all seem to twist like eldritch angles to oppress and disappoint at every turn. When summoned, their options are often limited, and thus they express their malice through an amazing talent for pettiness. This is especially prevalent if an execuloth has been employed to contribute to a system's efficiency at things other than being kind of awful; she will do a very good job of it, but also find other avenues for tiny, bitter evils.

Of note is the nature of execuloth reproduction; a mating pair's preference is to acquire a mortal who they will generally kill and magically preserve. The young-bearing partner will then inject the young into the preserved corpse as an incubator. They are capable of carrying young themselves, but the lack of maternity leave policies makes this difficult. Entering the world within a confined space leads most execuloths to develop an appreciation for tight spaces. Some may feed this need by sleeping under piled pillows, while some have been known to build "nests" under furniture to sleep in. In their native environment, they occupy hives of apartment-like burrows in spires of ominous stone or vast and terrible skeletal remains.

An adult Vaess in the common morph has a humanoid torso with two arms ending in six-fingered hands; the overall size of a common-morph Vaess is close to that of an average adult human, aside from having more legs. Their heads sport a roughly humanoid face, albeit with a second smaller pair of eyes above the first. They may have hair, though besides the hair on their heads there is very little. Their mouths are full of needle-like teeth and their fingers have small, chitinous claws. Their wrists contain retractable venomous spurs, and the same venom is present in fangs in their mouths. They lack a proper nose, but have nasal slits in roughly the same place. Their lower bodies sport two pairs of arthropoid legs; the back legs are longer and more powerful than the front pair, and each leg ends in a clawed point. They sport pairs of spinnerets at both the front and back of their lower bodies, as well as pairs of clever pedipalps to manipulate the silk. Their pedipalps and glands under their tongues can also exude a resin which solidifies and, combined with debris and silk, contributes to hive-building.

Vaess are oviparous; the life cycle begins with the pale, soft-bodied larva emerging from the egg. After a few years, they molt into their nymphal stage, resembling smaller adults. They will continue to molt through their nymphal stage until they reach their full adult stage. There are various "morphs" for Vaess; nymphs begin in the common morph, but pheromonal treatment can shift them into other morphs.

• Common: As described above. A fully-grown common-morph Vaess is generally between 5 and 6 feet in height when standing normally.
• Sovereign: The egg-producer and leader of a hive. A full sovereign or queen is considerably larger than the common morph, standing up to 9 or 10 feet.
• Soldier: Sporting more robust chitin and increased musculature, a soldier-morph Vaess is usually between 6 and 7 feet. This morph better equips a Vaess for protecting the hive.
• Artisan: Sporting expanded pedipalps and spinnerets as well as greater capacity for silk and resin production, the artisan morph equips a Vaess for construction and building.

Empathic Capacity
Vaess have an inborn capacity for empathic psychic capability. Vaess tend to be in tune with each other’s emotions and mental state, more so for members of the same hive or group, and even more so in the case of a sovereign in relation to their hive’s members. A sovereign is very acutely aware of their hive’s emotions.

Some degree of this empathic capacity still functions in relation to non-Vaess, but it is considerably less acute and improves somewhat with familiarity. In some cases, this leads Vaess interacting with non-Vaess to attempt to overcome this opacity by more conventional means. They may intently study the body language, expressions, and tone of others—or simply inquire about others’ feelings directly. They may also make efforts to make their own emotions clear to non-Vaess.

The empathic abilities of the Vaess contribute to the extreme reaction to “heretical” Vaess. The experience of the uncovered genetic memories can cause significant stress and emotional turmoil that is felt strongly by other hive members in a ripple effect. The culturally-ingrained fear of these “heretical” memories further fans the flames, as those made aware of the “heretic” tend to react with intense fear which spreads rapidly through a hive.


Typical Hive Structure
Vaess typically live in pseudo-eusocial hives centered around an egg-producer (typically termed "queen" or "sovereign") and one or more mated consorts. In some cases, secondary egg-producers may also be present. Outside of a hive's designated egg-producer(s), all others are non-reproducing. Beyond this, roles are not caste-based (as in termites or ants); morphs such as "soldier" and "artisan" are usually taken on by Vaess whose skills and interests are complimented by those morphs. If the leadership of a hive deems that the needs of the hive demand more of its members take on a certain morph, the taking of that morph may be strongly encouraged or even made compulsory.

Hives form political unions together, and some hives exist as subordinate offshoots of greater hives.

Non-Hive Vaess Society
A minority of Vaess populations exist outside the hive structure. Without the pheremonal influence of a sovereign, Vaess become capable of reproduction regardless of morph. Non-hive Vaess still often group together into small communal societies generally called “aggregations”.
Some non-hive Vaess are refugees from hives that have been destroyed and scattered; the majority of these refugees seek out new hives to join. The remainder choose to remain outside hive structure by choice. Other non-hive Vaess are exiles, including “heretics”; even outside the hive structure, orthodox Vaess recoil from heretics.

Hivebound Vaess have a range of opinions as to Vaess who eschew the hive structure, ranging from distrust and discomfort to amiability.

“Heretics”
“Heretical” Vaess are those whose genetic memories of their species’ origin awaken, and who do not repress those genetic memories. The empathic nature of Vaess makes these memories difficult to hide from others, especially since the experience of these memories is typically stressful. These Vaess face exile from orthodox society at best, or death at worst. In the case of a heretical hive sovereign, orthodox Vaess society reacts with swift, decisive violence.. The heretical sovereign who poisons their own hive is the boogeyman of orthodox Vaess, a concept that invites loathing in the abstract and terrified furor in the concrete. The increased empathic capacity of a sovereign, combined with their position of authority over a hive, gives credence to this fear.

Heretical sovereigns have managed to escape extermination and settle outside orthodox regions of control. These hives, if they can establish themselves, are beacons of safety and understanding for exiled heretics.


The orthodox Vaess religion centers around their creators and the idea of those creators eventually returning. In this belief system, Vaess were created as stewards of their surroundings and expect that their gods will one day return; should the gods be pleased with their stewards’ work, they will elevate them and open the gates of their celestial empire for the Vaess to explore and enjoy. Interpretations vary within orthodoxy, mostly regarding the timeline of the gods’ return and the nature of stewardship. Some believe the gods will return soon, while others believe it will be a very long time; for the most part, Vaess are not especially concerned with the “when” of the gods’ return.

Regarding the nature of stewardship, the Vaess had a schism of belief in their early days when they made significant contact with other societies. The principal question was what being “stewards of the world” meant in regards to other civilizations. Some argued that they had a divine mandate to take control of all lands and peoples, and that failing to do so was sacrilege. The majority, however, felt that their mandate did not give them license to conquer—rather, they should influence other peoples by kindness and upright example. This split is known as the Mandate Schism, and led to a brief series of military conflicts before the conquest-minded Vaess (henceforth referred to as Imperialist Vaess) agreed to remove themselves from greater Vaess society.

Generally, orthodox Vaess religion encourages preservation of the environment, community-over-self, and cooperation among different peoples.
Within the orthodox Vaess faith, the gods are largely undifferentiated and unnamed, as opposed to forming a pantheon of named deities with defined roles, purviews, and traits. Closer to the “pantheon” model are those Vaess referred to as Exemplars; these saint-like figures are deceased Vaess considered to be paragons of certain virtues or traits. Exemplars are not worshiped, but honored and held up as examples to follow.

“Heresy”, the Ascendant Vaess, and the Great Reclamation
Among communities of “heretical” Vaess, religion differs considerably from the orthodox faith, but is still colored significantly by that faith. Interpreted through the lens of orthodox Vaess belief, genetic memories of the liberation of the species and destruction of its creators lead to the belief that the Vaess surpassed and devoured their gods. Access to the gods’ celestial empire, rather than a reward for righteousness and good stewardship, is a birthright to be reclaimed—likely involving war against enemies of the gods who have usurped or encroached on the empire. This ascent and retaking of the heavens is referred to as the Great Reclamation.

Internally, “heretical” Vaess largely refer to themselves as “Ascendant”, and to their orthodox counterparts as “Earthbound”. They overall regard the “Earthbound” as misguided and unenlightened; most “Ascendant” Vaess would rather see the “Earthbound” raised from ignorance to join them, as opposed to wishing for their destruction.

Like the orthodox faith, the Ascendant faith reveres Exemplars—indeed, some Exemplars are shared between orthodoxy and Ascendant faith. Ascendant-exclusive Exemplars are typically martyrs killed by orthodox purges.

The 10,000 Hells are many relatively small, sectioned afterlives (numbering approximately 10,000 but not necessarily exactly so). They are not necessarily bad, with many just being dull and serving as processing for souls before reincarnation. Some, however, are places of punishment. The hierarchy of classification of Hells is Limbo, Purgatory, Underworld, Low Hell, High Hell, True Hell; these are further divided by the prefixes Minor, Honorable, and Grand. The ruler of a Hell is called its Devil-King/Queen/Sovereign.

Within the cosmology of the Hells, ghosts and demons are effectively the same; both are the souls of deceased living beings, but the question is how much of the Hells' energy the soul has absorbed and catalyzed. In most cases, the more Hellish energy a soul has absorbed (and thus the more it swings toward "demon" than "ghost"), the more powerful it is; there are still exceptions in the form of particularly weak demons and monstrously puissant ghosts.

Hells of Note:

• [Name Pending], 523rd Hell: A grey fief made up of copies of copies of bits of other Hells. Exists entirely as a tax dodge.
• The Blue Glass Desert of Inyab-Loth, 8106th Hell: A cold desert of indigo and cerulean sand dotted with strange forms of azure glass (some of them huge fulgurites) below a cold dark sky. Its Devil-Sovereign is The Triune Chord, a living tritone echoed by the wind blowing through the strange glass formations. A vast and terrible shrine rising from the blue sands is its seat of power.
• Xian Bashi, the Yrthrian Gaol, 1010th Hell: A Hell whose entire purpose is the confinement of particularly troublesome denizens of other Hells.
• The City of Broken Monuments, 8911th Hell: A shattered metropolis built from the ruins of greatness. The former seat of power of The Despot Beyond Reckoning, a conquering Devil-Sovereign who was toppled and whose holdings were broken up.
• The Wicked City of Gahrov, 9985th Hell: A smoke-choked, looming city of shadows. Technically still ruled by Evie.

The Placid Waters Resort is a disused coastal resort complex located in a large lagoon. Built in a brutalist style, its buildings are blocky and angular masses of white, grey, and taupe concrete rising from the lagoon’s waters. These buildings are connected to each other by a webwork of raised walkways a few yards above the water’s surface.