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The River of Death emerges from somewhere in the deepest reaches of the South, it's cool black waters flowing slowly north toward the Inner Sea until it empties out on the coast jjust a bit east of Chiaroscuro. The water flows slowly, with calmness and a gentle meandering path through the South. The River is as large as any River of the East, and forms a natural barrier that divides the South into East and West.
Most assuredly not a natural waterway, the Silent River began it's path through the South some eight months ago and has already made a large impact on the Southlands. It disrupted many of the songlines and natural migration patterns of Barbarians far to the South, and it's path washed away a few villages entirely once it got closer to habitable lands. It had surprisingly little effect on Chiaroscuro, almost as if the city was originally built around it.
It is generally accepted that the River rose as a result of some sorcerous manipulation of the Father of Darkness, as it began its northern trek shortly after he rose the Black Manse and began his works within. Many looked at the River's arrival as a sign of great calamity, but its history has so far been fairly benevolent thus far. A single flood late last year was the extent of its evil, and many were surprised to learn that the River of Death left a layer of life-giving silt behind after its waters receeded.
Though more or less everyone accepts the Rivers sorcerous origins, a few have noted that it does not seem wholely new to the South. In fact, many point to the fact that the Rivers path follows ancient dry riverbeds as proof that the River is not something new but instead something summoned once again into the world. Even so, no ancient histories have come forward speaking to the River's origin and the memories of the South's savants hold no record of this waterway.
So far, the mystery of the Silent River remains unsolved.
Other Names for the River of Death: the Silent River, the Black River, the River Nile.
A number of villages were wiped away by the River's path, most of them in the Southern Reaches of the Narrow-band of habitable land. While some of these people fled entirely after the river destroyed their homes, more still simply adapted to the circumstances and rebuilt their homes on the banks of the River.
More than a few of these villages felt betrayed when, fairly late in the month of Resplendent Wood, the river flooded. Those who had built too close to the river once again found themselves having to rebuild their homes. That betrayal, however, was tempered by what many recognized as a fairly substantial deposit of rich soil.
So far, the Villages are still in a state of adjustment but many of the more resilient and flexible inhabitants remain quite optimistic for the future. Between the rich fishing that the river offers and the promise of both irrigation water and rich soil, the Villages are looking forward to relative prosperity for the South if they can survive the adjustments.
Most of these villages are located not far from Chiaroscuro, and several were once part of the city-states territory. So far, the Realm has not paid much attention to these villages, concentrating on the city itself. Especially if this optimistic trend proves correct, however, it is only a matter of time before the Realm decides to cement its power in this region.
Past the fertile shelf and hilly region abutting the Inner Sea, the River of Death remains a largely unexplored mystery. Other than a few Lunar Exalted, none of the South have had the opportunity or inclination to explore the River in more detail. This was even more especially true given the fact that the River was so close to the territory of the Father of Darkness.
In the aftermath of his fall, however, more than a few individuals are beginning to get interested about the River and several of them want to know from where it originates. Rumors are particularly rife about that last, rannging from everything from "deep in the Wyld itself", to "an ancient Shadowland deep in the South."
Hard information is hard to come by, however, and the groups that have the most of it have simply attracted more attention to the River. The Barbarians of the Deep South that dwell in the lands cut in half by the River probably know more than anyone else, and they seem to be in no little disarray. In many cases they've been ranging further and further north, harrying the borders of Civilization more frequently than simple raiding would suggest, and no few people wish to know why.
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