rivers:misty_river [Misty River Campaign Setting]

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====== The Misty River ======

The Misty River is the great river upon which most of civilized society sits. It meanders from its headwaters far to the north, more than 1500 kilometers into the swamplands of the [[regions:unknown:Misty Delta]] in the south and, ultimately, into the [[seas:Great Shallow Sea]]. Overland travel being arduous, nearly all trade within the realms and kingdoms of the Misty River Valleys funnels into a central span of the river, to the lands of the [[races:Riverfolk]] and their [[races:riverfolk#River Controllers|Controllers]].

A rough map of the lower reaches of the Misty River.

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===== Central Empire =====

The [[nations:Central Empire]] controls a critical stretch of the Misty River and thus, all trade between the realms. Its people are known as the [[races:Riverfolk]] because of this control over the river. Their lands begin at a [[cities:North Gate|great citadel]] at the confluence three great rivers: the [[rivers:Upper Misty River]], the [[rivers:Rock River]] which flows in from the northeast, and the [[rivers:Zarka River]] from the west, and ends at the [[cities:South Gate]] citadel, hundreds of miles to the south.

==== North Gate ====

The citadel of [[cities:North Gate]] sits nestled along the river amidst the ruins of a great, ancient abandoned metropolis. Much of the area is now blighted and little grows for leagues in all directions. The [[cities:North Gate]] thusly operates mostly as a military installation of sorts, serving to prevent trade from flowing free between the three tributaries.

==== South Gate ====

The southern boundary of the Central Empire is the [[cities:South Gate]]. Nominally, this settlement serves a similar purpose as the [[cities:North Gate]], controlling the flow of goods to and from the [[rivers:Tanas River]] and its own tributary, the [[rivers:Carmi River]]. It also serves to control access to the wild swamplands to the south.

The [[cities:South Gate]] citadel itself occupies the neck of a narrow peninsula separating the rivers. The frontier trading village of [[cities:Cairo]] sits at the tip of the peninsula, and swamp folk are generally not allowed to venture further north than this. A bustling and infamous, but small, international harbor market in Cairo has seen the start of many adventures and misadventures alike.

==== The Grand Towers ====

The capital of the Central Empire is the metropolis of the [[cities:The Grand Towers]], about midway between the gates. The city boundaries are marked by two large, cylindrical towers at the north and south ends.

=== Eastern Banks ===

The eastern riverbanks between these two towers is a single, long, narrow harbor market, where the vast majority of trade in the realms is conducted.

The northern end of town is relatively sedate, dominated by dry goods warehouses. Just uphill from the river and safe from the occasional floods, [[cities:The Grand Towers#Jacob's Glenn]] is a vast residential neighborhood with a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. The southern end of town is known as [[cities:The Grand Towers#Smog]] a smaller district, home to factories and many machines of coal and steam, perpetually shrouded in (as you might guess from its name) a dense black smog.

=== Western Banks ===

The Riverfolk Controllers operate out of a secretive harbor on the Western Bank, at the bulge in the river that separates the north from the south ends of town. A third grand tower rises at the very tip of the bend, with a giant rotating beacon at its peak. The Controllers themselves can periodically be seen surveying the town from this vantage point. Behind this tower sits a massive, blocky monolithic stone edifice hiding away most of the Controllers' assets and machinations. Each morning, the gates upon the river open and the Controllers' watercraft issue forth in great numbers, hinting at a great subterranean harbor for their use alone.

Legend tells of a great prison within its depths as well - those who cross the Controllers are oft called to an "audience" in the Citadel, never to be seen again.

==== City X ====

==== City Y ====

===== Tanas =====

[[nations:Tanas]] is a remote, industrious mining nation far to the south and east of the [[nations:Central Empire]]. In good conditions, it is just over a week's journey by steamship up the [[rivers:Tanas River]] before you reach the first Tanasi outpost - [[cities:Gunterslock]]. Further northeast are the cities of [[cities:Prentice]] and [[cities:Blackstone]], engaged in forever war of class struggle.

==== Gunterslock ====

The city gives a grim, sooty first impression of the nation. The city sits upon a small, befouled lake, its southern shores occupied by giant mountains of coal. The main course of the river enters from the northeast and exits to the northwest, concentrating ashen waters into the lands just south of the lake and rendering them toxic and barren.

==== Prentice ====

The capital of Tanas is [[cities:Prentice]], a city that sits on a high promontory overlooking the Tanas River a few days upstream from the Gunterslock. The valley here is wide and broad, with the north and south ridges both many days by foot from the city center. A small set of harbors and warehouses serve as a waypoint along the journey south for shipments of coal from the nearby mountains. The stony edifice separating the docks from the city proper serves as a bulwark against the many fires that accompany handling such vast amounts of coal. The river here is a thin black sludge, but sitting so far above the surrounding land the city itself is bright and airy, giving the people of Prentice a famously sunny disposition.

==== Blackstone ====

Venturing deeper into the mountains, you will find the polar opposite of Prentice when you arrive at [[cities:Blackstone]]. The city sits in a small bowl at the confluence of several streams and small rivers that converge to form the very headwaters of the [[rivers:Tanas River]] itself. Here, the valley is narrower and the city is only a short distance from where the two ridges converge. A number of small villages sit at each of the many mine heads here, most no more than a day's journey from Blackstone. Blackstone is perpetually covered in a thin layer of soot, as the coal is collected here into large barges that are sent careening downriver - the smaller barges are often sent completely unattended.

The people of Blackstone call themselves Brothers, and often find themselves at odds with the merchant class of Prentice.

===== Carmi =====