Oraxes (The Maw-Hold)

Pillar Focus: The Reef-Wardens (Salvage & Industry) Location: Suspended over the Abyssal Trench, a two-mile-deep chasm within the reef.

Built on the steep cliffs of a volcanic caldera, Oraxes is a "Vertical City." It consists of hundreds of white coral villas and workshops that descend the cliffside in elegant tiers toward the water’s edge.

• The Water-Stair: A single, grand staircase of 1,000 steps that runs from the highest mountain peak down into the Abyssal Trench.

• The Artisan Terraces: Where the "Master Architects" and "Technicians" live. Their villas are draped in flowering sea-vines that smell of salt and jasmine.

• The Drowned Aqueducts: Instead of carrying water to the city, these channels move pressurized "Ichor" from the deep-sea pumps up to the villas to provide light and heat.