Have you heard of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? Amazing sites like the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. And maybe you know there are other lists of wonders, including wonders of nature, technology, and outer space. But maybe you aren’t aware that the mermaid realm has its own awe-inspiring wonders.
I’ve been given (very) limited license from the United Council of Mer Kingdoms to share the Seven Wonders of the Mer World with the human world for the first time.
Seven Wonders of the Mer World
Statue of Capheira the Gift-Bearing
Kingdom: Posidonia
Location: Mediterranean, between Italy and Gibraltar
Description: Crafted in honor of the sea nymph who first gave merfolk the power of aqua vide, the ability to live underwater and transfigure into mer form, this glorious statue shows the nymph in repose along the ocean floor. Formed from the careful arrangement of thousands of soft, solitary, and reef-building corals, the full image of the sculpture can only be seen from a relative depth of 200-250’ directly above the seafloor. A masterpiece of both art and seascaping, the Statue of Capheira has become a place of pilgrimage for many merfolk around the world.
Ice Gardens of Glacialis
Kingdom: Glacialis
Location: Western Atlantic, off the coast of Canada
Description: Though kelp forests are not uncommon in the cold waters of the north end of the Western Atlantic, little other underwater plant life grows at the edges of the Arctic. Which makes the Ice Gardens of Glacialis all the more remarkable. Through the use of certain magics and aquatic engineering (both of which have been redacted in any documentation I was able to find) the royal gardener has created a sea garden that is an explosion of colors and textures. What I can tell you is that somehow the flora seems to be both captured in ice and free-floating in the current.
Seinaru Tani Temple Complex
Kingdom: Makrianero
Location: Pacific Northeast, off the coast of Washington state in the United States
Description: Hidden amongst the thick kelp forests of the Pacific Northeast, this extensive temple complex stretches across several hundred acres of seafloor. Spires rise up and peek through the greenery like thousands of tall, pointy sandcastles. A recent study of the complex has discovered an additional area with hundreds of previously-unknown temples. Research and documentation is ongoing. Except during the new year festival each April, access to the site is limited to scholars and members of the resident religious order.
Great Wall of Kentrikatos
Kingdom: Kentrikatos
Location: Western Pacific, off the coast of China
Description: While the Great Wall of China may impress on land, it pales in both size and scale in comparison to the Great Wall of Kentrikatos. At nearly 30,000 miles long and ranging between 40 and 60 feet across, the underwater wall is at least twice as large as the one on land. Add in the fact that the underwater wall has remained indiscernible to human eyes for millenia, and I think that the land-based wall doesn’t seem nearly as great after all.
Rainbow Room of Ariki Palace
Kingdom: Moanatonga
Location: Tasman Sea, between New Zealand and Australia
Description: The royal palace of Moanatonga is a breathtaking sight. With dozens of fairytale-like towers, more than 300 rooms, and an art collection that would make all of Europe jealous, you’d think it would be hard to pick a favorite part. But the Rainbow Room is easily the most magical space in all of merdom. Every single surface, decorative element, and furnishing is covered in nacre—the iridescent lining of pearl-producing mollusks. Plus there are special crystals in the ceiling that magnify the filtered sunlight so the room literally glows. It feels like swimming into a rainbow with every conceivable color bouncing off every gleaming surface.
Fantsona Spice Farms
Kingdom: Ranomalala
Location: Western Indian, between Madagascar and Mozambique
Description: Throughout history, the inter-kingdom food trade has been an important part of mer culture. And no food has been more coveted or valuable than the spices of Fantsona. Grown in shallower waters, where the fields see more sunlight than any other underwater agricultural zone, the spices are sown in parallel, alternating rows. No two rows of the same spice are ever grown next to each other. Because each crop displays unique color, form, and texture, the resulting design makes the seafloor look like a beautifully-woven striped fabric that seems to go on forever.
Ancient City of Pakasqa
Kingdom: Kimsayaku
Location: Pacific Southeast, off the coast of Peru
Description: Legend has it that this ancient—and lost—city is the home of untold mer treasures. An 18th Century explorer from Sorranza found a purported map to the city in the kingdom’s archives and set out on a quest to rediscover its riches. The explorer and her team were never seen again. Some believe they were attacked by sharks or captured by pirates, but others insist that they found the city and its riches and retired to one of the kingdoms in the Coral Sea, where they lived like royalty. Copies of the treasure map are held in the archives of every kingdom in the mer world. Just in case.
Honorable Mention
Costa Solara-Costa Ondala Tunnel
Kingdom: Costa Solara and Costa Ondala
Location: between the Western Atlantic and the Pacific Northeast, beneath Panama
Description: Also called the Sun and Waves Tunnel, this marvel was constructed more than two hundred years ago in order to connect the kingdoms of Costa Solara and Costa Ondala. Prior to construction, any trade or travel between the Atlantic and Pacific kingdoms either had to travel around the tip of South America—a frigid and dangerous route in the best of weather—or across land—never a preferred method of travel for merfolk. The tunnel runs for nearly 50 miles, roughly parallel to the Panama Canal. Unlike its deadly overland counterpart, there were no fatalities during construction.
If you plan to seek out any of these mer world wonders on your own, please reconsider. Without a mer guide—not only to help you find the site, but also to safely navigate any security measures—your chances of reaching any of them is exceptionally slim.
But if you do happen to make it to any of them, be sure to take lots of pictures!
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