Post by Kenneth New on Jun 12, 2011 17:18:11 GMT -5
Halueth River and the Salt Fens
East of the Northern Plain of Sumarkia lies the Halueth River and the Salt Fens. This long waterway connects the Sea of Endymion with Bay of Cimber in the Northern Sea. Despite the name, it’s not a river, but a long shallow strait. The Halueth River ranges from a few kilometers to 200 kilometers in width. Much of its length is filled with low lying swampy islands, and swamp fens stretch for miles on either side of the bank. The fens are home to the Swamp Kith clans who ply the entire length of the waterways and control the amber trade from Vanirland and Cimbry.
In 1310, a group of Vanir traders led by Vidar Aleifr founded a settlement on Halueth Bay called Vidarshold. Technically in the territory of the Autarchy of Khryseon, the Vanir of Vidarshold are autonomous. Their shallow draft longboats are capable of navigating the treacherous Halueth River and they experience little trouble from the Kith clans who would prefer trade to conflict. The Vanir are a racially mixed group of humans, half-elves and dweir. Their culture is based on the warrior ideal and trade, but the steady stream of immigrants from the north are primarily interested in farming. The Autarch of Khryseon views this group as convenient interlopers, a useful buffer between the Khryseon heartland and both the lupari and the sergalla who attempt to cross the Halueth in canoes.
The Swamp Kith clans are the most populous group of kithauri in the region. More than four hundred clans divided into a dozen tribes live in the Salt Fens. For the most part they are subsistence fishers and small traders. With the Vanir longboats making regular transit between the Bay of Cimber and Vidarshold, a more substantial amount of trade is moving down the Halueth. At the current rate, the Swamp Kith will be closed out of the amber trade within a generation.
To the west of the Swamp Fens lies the Hyborian Forest, an ancient woodland inhabited by dragons, sergalla, elves and strange creatures seldom seen elsewhere in Rhiada. The forest stretches across the Bay of Cimber and the southern shores of the Northern Ocean. Even during the height of the Livonian Empire, this forest was never conquered, but rather acted as dark and brooding northern frontier.
To the east of the Salt Fens lies the rolling hill country known as Galidor, home to Lupari clans who’ve descended by the Forest of Lupar to the north. Magisaurs are also common in these hills and the few civilized settlements experience considerable trouble with both groups. Southern Galidor is the location of Vidarhold and the Sudvanis (land of Vanir farmholds). Even in Sudvanis, Galidor is sparsely populated. It’s possible to travel days between farmsteads without seeing another civilized being.
North of Galidor lies the Forest of Lupar which stretches northeast until it reaches the Niemocrands and the Eisen Mountains (beyond which lies Vanirland). The half of the forest stretching northwest of the Lupar Forest is called the Troll Wood due to the large number of trolls who make it their home. It should be noted that there is no open land between the Lupar Forest and the Troll Wood. It is one contiguous stretch of forest land. While the Lupar Forest is bounded on the west by the Salt Fens, the Troll Wood lies north of them and is bounded on the west by the Bay of Cimber.
East of the Northern Plain of Sumarkia lies the Halueth River and the Salt Fens. This long waterway connects the Sea of Endymion with Bay of Cimber in the Northern Sea. Despite the name, it’s not a river, but a long shallow strait. The Halueth River ranges from a few kilometers to 200 kilometers in width. Much of its length is filled with low lying swampy islands, and swamp fens stretch for miles on either side of the bank. The fens are home to the Swamp Kith clans who ply the entire length of the waterways and control the amber trade from Vanirland and Cimbry.
In 1310, a group of Vanir traders led by Vidar Aleifr founded a settlement on Halueth Bay called Vidarshold. Technically in the territory of the Autarchy of Khryseon, the Vanir of Vidarshold are autonomous. Their shallow draft longboats are capable of navigating the treacherous Halueth River and they experience little trouble from the Kith clans who would prefer trade to conflict. The Vanir are a racially mixed group of humans, half-elves and dweir. Their culture is based on the warrior ideal and trade, but the steady stream of immigrants from the north are primarily interested in farming. The Autarch of Khryseon views this group as convenient interlopers, a useful buffer between the Khryseon heartland and both the lupari and the sergalla who attempt to cross the Halueth in canoes.
The Swamp Kith clans are the most populous group of kithauri in the region. More than four hundred clans divided into a dozen tribes live in the Salt Fens. For the most part they are subsistence fishers and small traders. With the Vanir longboats making regular transit between the Bay of Cimber and Vidarshold, a more substantial amount of trade is moving down the Halueth. At the current rate, the Swamp Kith will be closed out of the amber trade within a generation.
To the west of the Swamp Fens lies the Hyborian Forest, an ancient woodland inhabited by dragons, sergalla, elves and strange creatures seldom seen elsewhere in Rhiada. The forest stretches across the Bay of Cimber and the southern shores of the Northern Ocean. Even during the height of the Livonian Empire, this forest was never conquered, but rather acted as dark and brooding northern frontier.
To the east of the Salt Fens lies the rolling hill country known as Galidor, home to Lupari clans who’ve descended by the Forest of Lupar to the north. Magisaurs are also common in these hills and the few civilized settlements experience considerable trouble with both groups. Southern Galidor is the location of Vidarhold and the Sudvanis (land of Vanir farmholds). Even in Sudvanis, Galidor is sparsely populated. It’s possible to travel days between farmsteads without seeing another civilized being.
North of Galidor lies the Forest of Lupar which stretches northeast until it reaches the Niemocrands and the Eisen Mountains (beyond which lies Vanirland). The half of the forest stretching northwest of the Lupar Forest is called the Troll Wood due to the large number of trolls who make it their home. It should be noted that there is no open land between the Lupar Forest and the Troll Wood. It is one contiguous stretch of forest land. While the Lupar Forest is bounded on the west by the Salt Fens, the Troll Wood lies north of them and is bounded on the west by the Bay of Cimber.