Editing Maraqua

'''Maraqua''' is an underwater land discovered on October 6, 2000. The name is given to two underwater kingdoms, one of which was destroyed and is currently in ruins. In order to distinguish between the two cities, the historic city is referred to as ''Old Maraqua'' and the modern ''New Maraqua''. Maraqua is not the only underwater settlement, but it is the only salt water one as of yet discovered.

==Old Maraqua==
===The Destruction===
[[Image:Piratekiko.gif|right]]
:''Main Article: [[The Destruction of Maraqua]]''

Was destroyed by a whirlpool on August 18, 2001, following a flash movie released the previous day (17th August 2001) in which the Pirate [[Captain Dread]], a skeletal [[Kiko]], sailed to Maraqua in a submarine known in fanlore as ''The Revenge''. Here, he demanded his annual 'protection money' from the then King Koi, who refused to pay (giving reasons such as a 'poor Kelp Harvest'). From the tone of this conversation, it can be presumed that Captain Dread regularly came for this money. The whirlpool is believed to be the result of a curse from this Pirate. The whirlpool, said to be ten miles wide, lasted until the 31st May 2002, where is finally subsided to reveal the Ruins of Maraqua.

===Attractions of the Original Maraqua===
Maraqua once housed the Underwater [[Kitchen Quest]]s, later relocated to [[Mystery Island]], and was the sole supplier of [[Utility Fish]], which are now all retired and very expensive. [[TNT]] stated once that they originally planned for Utility Fish to be used as [[NeoHome]] utilities. Maraqua also sold Aquatic [[PetPet]]s (most of which were [[Old Neopets|redesigned]] and are being sold on Mystery Island). The Aquatic Foods Shop also disappeared, retiring the shop items, only to be replaced by [[The Kelp]] in New Maraqua, with new foods.

After the whirlpool ruined the city, the Ruins began to be populated again, first by a gigantic [[Slug Monster]], then by a [http://www.neopets.com/water/statue.phtml Mysterious Statue] (believed to be of the [[Darkest Faerie]]), then by a Bubbling Pit (listing all the available Maraqua-coloured Neopets), then by an [[Underwater Fishing]] area. The discovery and open trade with New Maraqua has promoted people re-entering the ruins, and it remains to be seen whether more will be made of this area.

==New Maraqua==
After the whirlpool destroyed the original city, [[King Kelpbeard]] set about building a new, more splendid city, with a strong army to protect it from its enemies. However, information of this was learnt by an armada of pirates, who set out to [[Curse of Maraqua|conquer the nation]].

===History===
As part of the [[Curse of Maraqua]] plot, Maraqua was rebuilt with the intention of being stronger than its predecessor so as to withstand any future Pirate attacks. New Maraqua has a standing army lead by [[Swordmaster Talek]], something Old Maraqua didn't appear to have. When [[Captain Scarblade]] learned that there were surviving [[Maraquan]]s, he lead another attack (this time with an army of pirates). They were fought off, however, in the plot.

===Maractite===
The Curse of Maraqua plot introduced the mineral [[maractite]], capable of travelling effortlessly through water as though it was in air. Information provided in the CoM plot suggests that supplies of maractite are running thin. According to the ''Maractite Axe'' card (of the [[Neopets TCG]]), maractite slowly decays when exposed to air.

===Attractions of New Maraqua===
In addition to having shops selling [[Maractite Weaponry|maractite weaponry]] and [[furniture]], Maraqua is also the sole supplier of collectable [[Sea Shells]]. There is a shop selling Maraquan PetPets, although, interestingly, none of the PetPets that were sold in Old Maraqua and now Mystery Island are being sold. 

The restaurant [[Kelp]], much like the [[Golden Dubloon]] on [[Krawk Island]], sells highly priced meals, and an avatar is obtainable from it. It is frequently very busy, making entering the restaurant difficult. 

==Maraquan Architecture==
Visually, Old Maraqua's structure was very different from New Maraqua's. Old Maraqua was built out of ''transparashield'', and had the look of a futuristic ocean colony. The smooth, bubble-like windows seemed to imply that there was an atmosphere inside the buildings. New Maraqua has a very coral-like appearance, is made out of [[Maractite]], and is open to the oceans.

==Plot Replacements==
In the [[Curse of Maraqua]] plot, several replacements were made to the characters from the original destruction movie. [[Captain Dread]] was replaced with [[Captain Scarblade]], Captain Dread's unnamed sidekick [[Blumaroo]] was replaced with [[Benny the Blade]], [[King Koi]] was replaced with [[King Kelpbeard]], and ''The Revenge'' submarine with a boat of the same name.

The original destruction movie was removed after the Curse of Maraqua ([http://www.neopets.com/pirates/maraqua.phtml the page it was found on] now only redirects to the [http://www.neopets.com/aboutus.phtml About Us] page) due to these inconsistencies, but the movie file [http://images.neopets.com/pirates/maraqua.swf still exists] on the servers. 

==Yooyuball==
Maraqua's [[Altador Cup|Yooyuball]] team could be described as "a house divided," due to the antics of their star forward [[Elon Hughlis]] is more concerned with his personal accomplishments than actual wins and losses, making him a headache to the team. He looks down on his teammates who aren't as talented as him, and they endure him due to his tremendous ability. Maraqua would love to trade Hughlis to another team, but no other team would give them as equal a player in return.

After getting beaten in the first round of [[Altador Cup 2006]], fans thought Maraqua would cut its losses and get rid of Elon Hughlis. When it became apparent that Hughlis wasn't leaving, free agent forward [[Jair Tollet]] accepted an offer from [[Roo Island]]. Considering Hughlis insisted on scoring most of the team's goals, Maraqua decided having three defenders in the lineup worked best for them, adding hefty defence man [[Oten Runeu]] to their starting unit. As a result, Maraqua now has one of the toughest squads in Neopia to score against.

*[[Barit Jowes]] - ''Right Defender''
*[[Elon "The Black Hole" Hughlis]] - ''Centre Forward, Team Captain''
*[[Filo Desenz]] - ''Left Defender''
*[[Jair Tollet]] - ''Left Forward (2006)''
*[[Oten Runeu]] - ''Centre Defender (2007)''
*[[Tonie Plessix]] - ''Goalkeeper''

==Colour==
A citizen native to Maraqua is called a '''Maraquan''', yet this can also mean the special [[Rainbow Pool|colour]] of a Neopet. Maraquan Neopets are shaped and designed to be native to the water, and despite this Maraquan Neopets can even be seen out of the water moving about. As of January 2007, there are 33 Neopets which can be coloured Maraquan:
<table align="center"><tr><td width="350" valign="top">
*[[Acara]] - ''June 6, 2003''
*[[Aisha]] - ''June 24, 2003''
*[[Blumaroo]] - ''August 8, 2003''
*[[Bruce]] - ''December 5, 2005''
*[[Buzz]] - ''April 21, 2004''
*[[Chomby]] - ''August 7, 2003''
*[[Cybunny]] - ''April 12, 2005''
*[[Draik]] - ''November 19, 2003''
*[[Elephante]] - ''Febraury 7, 2005''
</td><td width="350" valign="top">
*[[Eyrie]] - ''October 10, 2005''
*[[Gelert]] - ''February 1, 2005''
*[[Grarrl]] - ''October 14, 2004''
*[[Grundo]] - ''August 24, 2005''
*[[Hissi]] - ''November 2, 2005''
*[[Ixi]] - ''July 11, 2005''
*[[JubJub]] - ''March 29, 2005''
*[[Kau]] - ''September 29, 2004''
*[[Korbat]] - ''March 29, 2004''
</td><td width="350" valign="top">
*[[Kougra]] - ''March 11, 2004''
*[[Krawk]] - ''August 21, 2003''
*[[Kyrii]] - ''April 21, 2004''
*[[Lupe]] - ''March 31, 2005''
*[[Meerca]] - ''March 9, 2004''
*[[Moehog]] - ''October 5, 2004''
*[[Mynci]] - ''October 6, 2003''
*[[Pteri]] - ''February 16, 2006''
*[[Ruki]] - ''July 29, 2006''
</td><td width="350" valign="top">
*[[Scorchio]] - ''January 12, 2004''
*[[Shoyru]] - ''February 10, 2005''
*[[Skeith]] - ''August 16, 2005''
*[[Techo]] - ''July 6, 2004''
*[[Uni]] - ''February 25, 2005''
*[[Zafara]] - ''September 29, 2005''
</td></tr></table>

==Trivia==
*[[The Neopets Team]] gave a hint Maraqua would return in the [[Advent Calendar]] of December 27, 2004, which showed all current bands of the [[Concert Hall]] playing to a version of ''Feed the World'' with the words "Rebuild Maraqua - Let them know Neopia loves them!". A '''Rebuild Maraqua Poster''' was given out as a prize on the same day.

==See Also==
*[[The Discovery of Maraqua]]

==External links==
*[http://neopets.com/water/index.phtml New Maraqua], [http://neopets.com/water/index_ruins.phtml The Ruins Of Maraqua]
*'''Caption Competition:''' [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=17 #17], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=21 #21], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=552 #552], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=669 #669], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=683 #683], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=716 #716], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=724 #724], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=810 #810]
*'''Editorial:''' [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=2 2], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=13 13], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=20 20], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=29 29], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=43 43], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=44 44], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=51 51], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=54 54], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=58 58], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=67 67], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=87 87], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=94 94], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=95 95], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=96 96], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=97 97], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=98 98], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=115 115], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=119 119], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=132 132]

[[Category:Neopia]]
[[Category:Colours]]
[[Category:Curse of Maraqua]]
[[Category:Altador Cup]]
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