[[waterways]]

The Rivers and Canals

The waterways of the city are used by many people for many purposes. Some travel along the rivers as it is quicker, or apparently safer, than the roads. Some use it to trade while others live on it such as those who comprise the floating market. They are however a vital part of the city and were the waterways to become unusable there would be a lot more than just thirsty people to worry about.

The Great River

There is only one river that runs through the city – its origin is lies towards the centre of the city from where it spirals out (sometimes above ground and sometimes below) across the whole city. The exact source of the river (both its location and who exactly is responsible for the water’s presence) is a secret known by only a few although rumours say that at the very heart of the city lies a fountain that spawns the river – attempts to follow it back to its source lead you to the dense citadels and narrow paths that belong to the various factions – everyone seems to want a piece of the centre and what they do have they guard jealously. Knowing who owns what in such a dense space makes traversing it safely nearly impossible and it is not a place to just wander in to unless you are very brave or very foolish. As such whether there is a fountain at the centre and what exactly it looks like, is not well known at all. The river continues to spiral out beyond the edge of the city and where it leads is unclear.

The river meanders along its course – sometimes wide and free flowing, sometimes narrow and impossibly deep, and although it begins cool and crystal clear as it stretches through the city it picks up the dirt and grime of the places it passes through until by the outskirts you can hardly make out anything in its murky depths.

The Four Canals

Radiating out from close to the centre of the city are four large canals that intersect the river at several points each as they stretch towards the outskirts of the city. The north/south canals are made of white marble while the east/west canals are made of black granite. Each canal is wide enough for three ships and deep enough for any boat to sail along. It’s not known who put them there for they’re almost as old the city its self. The start of each canal lies towards the centre of the city where each has its own circular port where ships can moor and people tend to gather for trade or information exchange. The water that fills the canal is still and does not flow yet the level never changes no matter how much things move between the canal and the river. There are many plants and creatures that lurk in the water, just as in the river its self, and many make their living from what is found there. The end of each canal is currently about a mile beyond the edge of the city, where the canals simply stop. Nothing is out there as there is no city to benefit from it and people rarely travel that far.

Mostly the canals sit at ground level, although at each junction of river and canal there is a way of moving from one to the other. The river’s flow is forever uninterrupted and so the Canals have many and varied ways of ensuing traffic can move from one to the other. Often the canals flow in aqueducts over the river with strange contraptions that move boats up and down between the two waters. Sometimes there are a series of locks that allow movement across the river. In one case the northern canal meets the river for the first time and there is no barrier, no lock, just open water between the two but still the river and the canal never mix – kept from mixing by some strange old magic now long forgotten.

waterways.txt · Last modified: 2011/09/27 19:59 by jamesi
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