Tidal Torture

Tidal Torture is a form of imprisonment and torture that is used predominantly by the Naldorese in the prison complex of Kaz'Agvor. Since it's invention it has been used by other cultures that live close to or near tidal waters.   Tidal torture is a way of keeping a person imprisoned and unable to rest through the use of the rising tides of the sea. Tidal torture typically makes use of cells, which are built near or just beneath the water line, the height of the cell depends on how much the water rises. Usually the ceiling is built just high enough for a small pocket of air to remain when the tide is at its highest.   As the sea rises, the imprisoned person is forced try and keep their head above the water if they wish to stay alive during the high tides. Some cells might have a place to stand on or hold on to, but the worst of the worst are condemned to cells where they often have to stay afloat and tread water for hours on end. Even though this type of torture is somewhat predictable and slow, the person being tortured hardly has any time to fully rest between the tides and will become exhausted in a matter of days. In Naldorec, the freezing waters of the Boreal Sea are an extra strain on the vitality of the prisoner.  

I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, arms flailing, feet kicking, desperately trying to stay afloat in a sea from my nightmares. In those moments I swear I can still taste the salt of that damned place in the back of my throat.

— A former prisoner