The Feverwater docks
Foreword
During the Spring Equinox 384YE, the Advisor on the Vallorn Nathair Autumngale instructed the Department of Historical Research to research the Feverwater lake in Therunin (which extends into the Sarangrave), with particular reference to the docks there that are widely believed to be of Terunael origin.
Introduction
The Feverwater docks lie on the western shores of the lake that shares their name in East Ashes. They are a series of ancient quays of aged weirwood and white granite. The weight of their great age can be seen in the fact that a few have collapsed, submerged in the muddy waters of the lake. There are the ruins of quite a large settlement around the docks, swallowed up in the local forests. The structures here - the size of the quays and the expanse of the settlement - talk to this place being much larger than any kind of fishing village might suggest.
The docks unequivocally date back to the time of Terunael. They've been there as long as any Navarr can remember, and they predate the Empire by centuries. They were uncovered when the region of East Ashes was reclaimed from the vallorn. Since then they have been partially restored as a consequence of the establishment of the Dredgemaster's office in 377YE. However, as the proposals made after the Spring Equinox 384YE indicate, there is still plenty of potential for expansion and restoration here.
The Feverwater
The lake is freshwater and in places it is very deep. The shallows around the shores can be quite deceptive; waders are often taken by surprise by the precipitous drop-off that can cause an unwise explorer to disappear beneath the surface between one step and the next. The water is cold, and on the surface at least is very clear. The bottom of the lake is covered with a thick layer of fine silt - and the operations of the dredging boats that ply its waves cause that silt to be churned up. Heavy storms can have the same effect - and in part serve as a boon to the dredgers by uncovering wrecks that might have lain undisturbed for centuries.
The silt has some peculiar qualities in that it seems to preserve things buried in it that might otherwise have rotted away hundreds of years ago. Or at least that is one explanation; examination has revealed no discernible magical qualities in the silt and mud itself. A different explanation for why the remains of boats from the time of Terunael can sometimes be found in the deeps is that the hulls themselves have been treated with some kind of Winter magic, or that the Terunael used a now-forgotten technique for preserving wood (possibly involving an ambergelt varnish).
The land around the Feverwater is wild and untamed. The lake is massive - it is closer in some ways to being a small, inland, freshwater sea. The shores are marshy and forested, and cross between Therunin and the great Sarangrave of the Mallum. The eastern banks are controlled by the Druj, the western bank are in the hands of the Navarr. There is known to be a lot of dangerous wildlife around the Feverwater - in both territories - and the hydra that lair in the water are particularly vicious. The lake may also be home to a colony of marshwalkers - certainly there are reports from the time of Emperor James of a massive marshwalker emerging from the Feverwater without warning and making its way through East Ashes into the vallorn of Sweetglades. When it emerged into Peakedge Song it had been twisted and corrupted by the vallorn and wrought terrible destruction on the steadings of western Therunin until it was finally brought down by Imperial heroes using the Sentinel Gate.
The real threat of the Feverwater however is the Druj. Easily half of the shoreline is in the Mallum. Recent investigations of the Sarangrave - the Druj territory that abuts the Feverwater - have discovered that it is bounded to the south by the Bloodwater Marsh, and to the north by the Nesustak Forest. It has also confirmed what has long been suspected - that there is a vallorn east of the Feverwater - and in the discovery of Béantal Dol some of the mystery of the Feverwater Docks might be explained.
Béantal Dol
One of the enigma of the Feverwater Docks was why they were so large, and surrounded by such extensive ruins. Exploration of the Sarangrave has confirmed the existence of a former Terunael city on the far side of the lake, deep within Druj territory. The city ruins are overgrown by the vallorn and lie partially along the river that flows out of the Feverwater toward the Barrens. Obviously Imperial scouts have thus far been able to do little more than identify the outskirts of the area, so the presence of the ruined city is still pretty much speculation.
If there is a city - and there is other evidence to suggest the existence of Béantal Dol - then it is likely that the original purpose of the Feverwater Docks was to facilitate trade between that city and the city of Tharunind - and presumably with the other cities to the west. The Mallum as a whole - and we include the Barrens here - has always been inhospitable territory. It is easy to imagine cargo ships passing between the Docks and Béantal Dol, and from the Docks being exported to Therunin, and from there even to places as far away as Miaren or Liathaven.
Likewise, Béantal Dol's location would make it an obvious stopping point for caravans from Cavan - the recently discovered city in the heart of Axos - and indeed there is some Axou history that suggests the original settlers of Cavan might have come originally from Béantal Dol. According to Eilian Sweetwater during his 381YE visit to Axos, the scholars there claim that "(the Terunael) came by land... from the north-east, down through Kabanja." There is also talk of "the shores of Tharunind" which might well refer to the Feverwater.
Indeed, extrapolating from the Axou histories it is likely that one of the early casualties of the Druj assaults against Béantal Dol and Tharunind were the trade routes connecting the two cities to Cavan - and potentially to the cities to the west and north. There's little indication that the Terunael spent much time "civilising" the land between their cities after all. Indeed, Béantal Dol and Tharunind are almost unique in that they are so close to one another - the other cities were all separated by many miles of monster- and orc-haunted wilderness.
Some scholars in the Department speculate that this proximity, and the reliance they had on each other for trade, most likely meant that they were closely allied culturally and politically. Those more familiar with the history of Tassato Mestra and Tassato Regario scoff at this idea and point out that there are few things that make people dislike one another like proximity. Regardless, such speculation must remain in the realm of theory until a proper examination of the ruins of Béantal Dol and Tharunind can be undertaken.
The Hulks
Over the years that the Feverwater has been dredged, it has become clear that there are a surprising number of derelict vessels at the bottom of the lake. Only a handful of relics of Terunael have been brought up from the depths, but among those that have emerged have been some that seem to date back to the rise of the vallorn itself. Obviously both Béantal Dol and Tharunind participated in the "great work" that ultimately caused the downfall of the Terunael Empire. It's also known that after the initial burst of vallorn energy, the blight spread more slowly. There was time for some of the people on the shores of the Feverwater to seek refuge elsewhere.
Tragically, what little evidence we have been able to examine, suggests that both the people of Béantal Dol and those of Tharunind attempted to escape the vallorn by crossing the Feverwater to their sister city, presumably unaware of the scale of the disaster. Much of the valuable metal harvested from the depths of the Feverwater represents the remnants of the wealth these fleeing Terun sought to carry with them. Quite why so many of their boats ended up sunk rather than beached on the shores of the lake is uncertain but one theory raised by a traditionally dour and cynical member of the Department's ranks is that, in the face of the disaster, the Terun of Tarunind and Béantal Dol might well have ended up fighting each other in a confusion born of their terrified desperation to escape the horror that was consuming their Empire.
Conclusions
The Docks at Feverwater were once the centre of bustling trade between several Terunael cities, but were destroyed when the Vallorn consumed Therunin. There may be further evidence in the depths of the Feverwater - occasionally ancient documents in sealed containers or ancient relics which provide snippets of insight under the careful gaze of the Skein of Years are brought up in the nets - but such things cannot be predicted and are few and far between. It's unclear that there is anything else particularly to learn here, but if there is then the best option for something to come to light probably lies in the silt somewhere along the eastern and southern ends of the Feverwater - in the area that is part of the Mallum - and the best way to find them probably lies in the proposed expanxion of the Docks as proposed in Summer 384YE.
Further Reading
- Therunin - the Navarr territory where the northern and western shores of the Feverwater lie
- Sarangrave- the Mallum territory where the southern and eastern parts of the Feverwater are located
- Dredgemaster of Feverwater - Imperial title who oversees the dredging operation on the Feverwater
- Terunael in Axos - Historical research dealing with the city of Cavan
- Make a deal - Summer 384YE wind of fortune dealing with opportunities to expand the Feverwater docks