< Scavenger Lands | Hundred Kingdoms | River Basin >
A little over 70 miles from its source to the Maruto, the Sarine River is a fairly fast flowing body of water that cuts deeply through rich hills and across fertile plains, connecting a string of interconnected but independent villages. From Nulam near the rivers source, to the small township of Gordon's Knot where it meets the Maruto, the villages along the River Valley are fiercely independent and often somewhat sheltered. This is largely because the Sarine River is such a tricky waterway to navigate, both fast flowing and with a fair number of bends and turns. Inexperienced or distracted pilots run aground regularly, and it can take over two days to travel upriver from the Knot to Nulam but barely more than a day to go the other direction.
The River is also home to a large number of hidden grottoes, high bluffs and other natural features that have attracted bandits and worse in the past. Everything from Yozi Cults to groups of the Fair Folk to the Anathema have at some time hidden somewhere along the River. This has, in part, risen to the villages natural wariness of outsiders. Even the inhabitants of neighboring villages tend to be distrusted, and regular traders are only slowly accepted, while actual unfamiliar faces are watched very closely. Harsh justice also tends to be the rule in the area, with the people getting less and less accepting of such deviance the further out the river you go. Villages like Nulam and Ironguard are effectively isolated for hundreds of miles except via the River, and thus have little tolerance for things that might go uncommented upon in lands more often traveled.
The Goddess of the River, known to most of the Villagers as only "The Lady", is a secretive and quiet woman who is said to dwell somewhere deep under the water at the Rivers source. Lake Sarine itself is hidden high up in the hills from which the River emerges, a beautiful and yet dangerous expanse of crystal clear water. Sometimes, rumors say, you can see the Ladies hidden palace deep under the waters...
The Villages of the Sarine River Valley have not been united in any real fashion since the Districts of Laris and Velen broke apart in chaos and collapsed into the current Hundred Kingdoms. None the less, each Village is aware of the others and all except Ironguard (which is not actually on the River) cooperate in maintaining the tow path that assists river boats heading upriver. Each village maintains one or two outposts, which it keeps staffed and has total responsibility over, keeping several strong oxen on hand to help pull the tethered riverboats against the River's fast current. Though a few have tried otherwise, this arrangement has never led to any larger agreement, the areas inherent xenophobia and fierce independence always working against such desires.
The largest settlement on the River, Gordon's Knot is a medium-sized town of about 800 or so people. Laying as it does at the confluence of the Sarine and the Maruto, the Knot is the only settlement to receive anything approaching regular river traffic. Most Villagers make it this far upriver at least once in their life, even if they don't reach any further afield, and thus for many along the Sarine the knot is "the big city." It's markets are fairly diverse, with access to unusual services and rare goods that one can't find anywhere else in the area. In addition to its size and greater traffic, the Knot differs from the rest of the villages of the River in that it owes some allegiance to the Theocracy Of Oldun. While usually not extending past the occasional Bureaucrat, the Towns "official" loyalties are none the less useful.
Heading upriver, the first Village after the Knot is Lumen. Situated on a trade road that runs along the north bank of the River, Lumen lays fairly close to the borders of Madaan, and managed to get razed to the ground 40 years ago not long after that nation was conquered and reformed. The villagers rebuilt, however, and these days the sheep herders and weavers that dwell there have grown fairly prosperous. Further down the same trade road is the even smaller village of Verin, known for its potters and its particularly rich farms. More or less taken over by a small mercenary company some 15 years ago, the Village is currently an "empire of about 200 people", consisting of the Village itself and the outlying farms and ranches.
On the southern bank of the river between Lumen and Veris, the quaint fishing village of Godswatch only consists of about 50 people or so. Incredibly insular, the fishermen and hunters of this town have been known to string criminals and outsiders up on their docks and are seldom visited even by Merchants. Most of the villagers look related to each other and the other towns on the River whisper quietly of all kinds of foul activity that no doubt goes on in the small village. The towns leader, a Small God of Fishermen known as Reoris, keeps a tight order and surrounds himself in worship and his God-Blooded children (who are some of the best sailors on the River).
The last village on the River itself, Nulam huddles at the last point on the River that can be safely navigated by riverboats (further upstream being, literally, number of streams and creeks). A village devoted overwhelmingly to agriculture, it supports a fair sized population of tradesmen and outlying farmers. It is also by far the most isolated of the villages, even compared to its neighbor Ironguard. Located in the hills surrounding Lake Sarine, the small mining town of Ironguard is the final destination of the trade road that heads through Lumen, Verin, and Nulam. While operated by a member of the Guild the village itself is more or less independent, its profits going directly into the pockets of the Guild Merchant who owns the mines.
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