The Great Inward Stream (Ey Sea) and the Great Outward Stream (Dee Sea)

The first place where the Belt O'Dolly Dreams ends is an area, at least four thousand meters deep (although no one knows for sure) and about five hundred nautical miles wide, crossed by a very powerful stream NW-SE (North-West-South-West) no wind can counter : prevailing winds come anyway from the West. It is called The Great Inward Stream (Ey Sea), because it comes from the Ocean Wide and flows through the Known World's circle.

Ships may, during a short period each year – usually around the equinoxes, but it is not always the case – take advantage of an east wind, that alone allows to sail up the stream from Say Goodbye - Raybane in Cue-Bar to Madladscar Land. It is possible to sail the opposite way almost all year long, when the west wind is stron enough or when a south or south west wind occurs.

In all cases, sailing there ain't a piece of cake and it stands as the only way to link the Curry-Beans with the rest of the Known World. Nethertheless, this route is regularly sailed by experienced sailors.

The Great Outward Stream flows in the eastern part of the Known World, just south of the Equator, in an area where North East winds are prevailing during the austral summer and South East winds during austral winter. It flows from WNW to ESE. The Great Outward Stream logically carries out about as much water as the the Great Inward Stream brings in. It is however much narrower – no more than three hundred nautical miles wide – but not deeper : therefore, the Stream is much more powerful and the part that stands between Ni’On land in the South and Zebrydes islands in the North is deemed uncrossable, given that seldom is found a map that can estimate precisely its exact extant.

Under the irregular influence of the Great Eastern Swirl, the Stream gets so powerful that the sea around is always swollen with a permanent turmoil. When the SE wind blows hard, in the heart of austral winter, eery "gales by fine weather" may occur. In summer, NE wind's influence decreases but deadly typhoons use to plague the area.

This sea has a reputation and very few madmen dare to venture on it. Captain Lamarck is though told to have crossed the middle of the Great Stream on his journey "around the world"…

No one knows where those two streams come from or get to. Some say that they would carry in their wake loads of eery sea monsters, coming from Ocean wide and easily returning to it, hunting for easy catches in the bountiful waters of the Known World…

The Great Northern Stream and the Great Southern Stream

Thus are called the two seas located around the two Great Streams. The first one, as one may guess from its name, lies north of the Sea O'Many Mournings, the other one, south of this said sea. Just like the two Great Streams, a very powerful central stream runs across it, which flows around the Sea O'Many Mournings.

The combined width of these two seas being bigger than the Great Inward Stream's and their average depth being similar, it is obvious that streams are less powerful there. It is possible to sail against the stream there but it is seldom done because it isn't worthwhile. On another hand, those two streams are often used to sail along the coasts of Astound archipelago on the way to Djavavava and Underdamatress or, on the other side, between the Greater Curry-Beans and Zebrydes islands. The Great Streams may be found around fifty nautical miles from the closer shores but, in some places, it may be less than twenty miles from a cape.

The stream is stronger in the Great Northern Stream, which is the narrowest. it is told that it would also carry less monsters.

It isn't possible to cross the Great inward Stream sailing from the Great Northern Stream to the southern (or vice-versa), because the place where those three seas meet is particularly tumultuous : it actually gives birth to the Sea O'Many Mournings… The same could be said about the place where the Sea O'Many Mournings ends, at the junction between the two Great Streams and the Great Outward one.

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