The Three Rivers Continent
Brief Overview
The Three Rivers continent is the most populated continent of Fels and its second largest, after Tronapt. It extends from the Tundra of Zamariaat 87ºN to the town of Lusby in the land of Loos which sits only at 4ºN. The continent is so named due to the rivers of Mypsio, Lorss and Coutte, north to south. The Lorss and the Coutte rise in the Coloysi Hills in Romblesey in the south-middle section of the continent and drift eastward to the Sea of Marnopyre. The Mypsio has its spring in the Redpeak Mountains further north.
They each run parallel to each other for the most part and are separated by approximately four hundred kilometres. The Coutte is the southernmost and slightly the longest at 1900 kilometres. They are all navigable for most of their lengths. There are no rapids. The continent is uniformly between 1800 and 2000 kilometres wide for most part. The Khuior Desert and the Horrid Barrens at degrees 38 to 47 North also bisect it. The continent at the Beak of Corovan extends out some two hundred kilometres at which point it is only four hundred kilometres from the west coast of Tamarudhe .
Large southern islands
Two large islands depend off the southern coastline of the Three Rivers continent; Lwedne to the south-southwest and Forosth-Stanf to the east-south. Forosth is the southern part and Stanf, the northern. Lwedne bends to the north to be only three kilometres from the continental coastline at Tosban. This is known as the Straits of Vorth. These straits extend for one hundred kilometres, but never wider than eight.
The original colonists constructed tunnels and bridges but these have long since faded into disrepair and obscurity. The body of water lying between Lwedne and the Three Rivers continent is known as the Fairge, an arm of the Equatic Ocean. The Fairge supports many islands, the largest being Chird. Others include Cibl, Rohc, Lefve, Filiaxe and Helopsy. It also supports many small and minor islets and archipelagoes.
Narrow straits exist between the continent and Forosth-Stanf, at both ends. To the south are the Straits of Szarn, to the north, the Straits of Pyre. The resultant arms of the sea are called, from north to south, the Maingulf, the Belly and Surdje Bay. Peninsulas from both the continent and Forosth-Stanf mark each three. Islands here are not as numerous: Lyskx is the only one of size although the Straits of Szarn contain the archipelago of the same name.
To the west of the continent is the Erianic Ocean, the southern part of which has been named the Myrtna Sea. In truth, they are the same body of water, although convention states that the Myrtna Sea lies to the south of the Khuior Desert. This water extends to the Tronapt continent. To the south east is the Sea of Marnopyre. The Beak of Corovan and Tamarudhe continent borders this to the north.
To the north of the Beak is the North Eastern Waters which extend all the way up to Fels' north pole. To the south, past the Fairge and the isles of Lwedne and Forosth-Stanf is the Equatic Ocean. This is the largest ocean on Fels and more-or-less sits on latitudes 3ºN to 34ºS right around the globe. This ocean extends to Merhupneo continent.
Lands and Peoples of the Three Rivers Continent
Nobody on Fels can accurately recall history prior to the Collision. This event occurred in the Anno Domini year of 2455. Since then, about 12000 years have elapsed and so records of these times are scant, almost mythological. The Three Rivers continent is easily the most inhabited of the four continents. Nobody in authority is of a mind to conduct a census as there would seem to be no logic to do so.
In a broad estimate, some sages would put the number at 120 million. The population is evenly scattered throughout, concentrated mainly in Mynatan and lands generally to the south, north and southwest. Parts of Zamaria and Orchland, to the far north, are scarcely inhabited. The Deserts of Khuior and the Horrid Barrens are likewise sparsely settled.
In the countless years since the Collision, there have an extraordinary number of racial groups, regimes and lands, most of which have subsided into the murk of antiquity. Demographically, people are quite diverse.
Lwedne
On the island of Lwedne exist the Veltor Wanderers and Inforagers. These folk are highly nomadic, are circumspect of odylicism and are very xenophobic. Where they have settled, such as towns like Mauroh, Hlan or Ghustivorth, they have become more tolerant. They are renowned far and wide for the produce of Lwedne's central jungles and of their spirited dances. The Inforagers are not native to Lwedne; they are from Forosth originally, where their antecedents live a totally settled life.
The fear of open water for both races has checked their depredations into the continent itself, although they have crossed the various Straits to loot and pillage. They, in short, live in an odd association with their surrounding races, trading on one hand, and pillaging on the other. The Veltor Wanderers are a tall people, flaxen-haired with aquiline features which give them a haughty appearance. Twelve millennia living in the tropics have tanned them to a fine copper.
The Inforagers are more general in appearance. They distinguish themselves more by culture and practices. Each of them wear cicatrices in their skin, each cicatrix demarcating a sept or a clan. The cicatrices are usually on their top part of their hands or on their cheeks. The Inforagers are more inclined to use horses whereas the Veltor Wanderers are mainly pedestrian.
Chird
In the Fairge is the large island of Chird, home to the Chirda. These are a stout race of people, distinct from their neighbours both in language and appearance. They are uniformly short and swarthy with long black hair matted into fantastic patterns. The Chirda are great artisans and they are famed for their gold-smithing and jewellery, particularly jade and amber. They are generally more adept at odylicism which makes them even more objects of rumour and speculative wonder. The Chirda also excel in the art of diplomacy and governance. They are often employed far from Chird as arbitrators and consuls. Few towns south of the River Coutte do not have a Chirda Consul.
Most realms or polities do not maintain embassies or consulates per se with their neighbours but generally there will be a Chirda present due to their patient and wise manner. They are selective about who they let dwell on Chird nonetheless. Chird, geographically, is a volcanic island with a central cone. The island is densely vegetated with jungle and tropical mists linger over a lot of the Chirda uplands. Any one leader does not rule Chird; there are a number of elders or doyens who oversee the remainder of the population. Hordana is the name of the principal settlement.
Other peoples on the islands
Elsewhere in the Fairge are the islands of Rohc, Cibl and Lefve. Rohc is uninhabited; Cibl is home to monastic Veltor Wanderers who live in total isolation. Lefve is a thin strip of dune hugging the north coast of Lwedne almost like a lamprey, technically a barrier island. It is uninhabited. To the east of Chird, some 150 kilometres, is the Codhby Archipelago. These stony and mountainous islands are the home of corsairs and maverick sorcerers and their spawn. A lot of rumour and little truth exists about the Codhby's and most Fairge-going craft avoid them. Further south, toward the Equatic Ocean proper are, in order, the Szarn Archipelago, Filiaxe and Helopsy.
The Szarn's are haunts of pirates and misfits as well although they are clever enough to leave local shipping be. The Archduke of Telxerxes in Forosth uses Filiaxe as a prisoner settlement. As such, it is not a place for the casual wayfarer to visit. Helopsy, which means "island" in the Gartha language, is barren and devoid of settlement. South still, off the south-western edge of Forosth lies the Arosd Archipelago.
This is the last bastion of the Attuned Wind, a people who built vast and wondrous architecture. They do not number many and live in general disdain of the world about them. To the folk of Forosth, the Arosd are a realm of ghosts and horrors and are left very much alone. The remaining sept of the Attuned Wind dwells in Mansion Lammace on the main isle of Grifne.
On to Forosth and Loos.