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Istaros

The Istaros is a major river that flows several thousand miles from its source in the Mostreve Hills to the Sea of Storms. The Istaros Watershed has been central to many rich realms, including the Drankorian Empire and later the Istabor Alliance, but since the Great War it has been largely cursed and deserted, as nearly the entire river system flows through the Desolation of Cha’mutte.

Upper Istaros

The source of the Istaros is Lake Aeulian, which in turn is fed by the Andonne and the Valmont, which flow from the Sentinels and the Mostreve Hills, respectively. Here, the Istaros once flowed through riparian forests and scenic river valleys dotted with productive agricultural villages and minor tributaries. Now, this land is cursed, and few dare venture through the now-haunted, ash-choked landscape.

Near Isingue, the Istaros is joined by the ~Orenlas Tributary~, a major tributary from the east. The waters at this confluence were long known to be magically blessed, giving exceptional fertility to the soils of this land, which was the culturally and mystical center of the Istabor Alliance. Now, the city of Isingue is ruined, consumed by the Cha’mutte’s Plague, and the fate of the life-giving magic of the land is unknown.

The upper Istaros ends a hundred miles or so south of Isingue, at the confluence of with the ~Southern Plaguelands Tributary~, where the river enters a rocky, broken landscape, where the land was shattered by Cha’mutte’s magic.

Middle Istaros

The Middle Istaros, known as the Drogar to the orcs of Xurkhaz, starts just south of the confluence with the ~Southern Plaguelands Tributary~, among the rocky hills of the southern Plaguelands. The river flows through a series of gorges cut into the uplifted land, with several dramatic waterfalls created during the cataclysm after the Great War.

Here, the Istaros forms the eastern border of the Xurkhaz, as it enters a rocky desert for a hundred miles before spilling onto the flat arid landscape of the eastern Garamjala. Here, the river makes a wide bend around the Garamjala Plateau, before turning southwest and joining the Yandare. This is the section of the Istaros known as the Mahar to the Dunmari.

Lower Istaros

Once, the Istaros joined the Hara, forming a broad river that flowed past the famous city of Drankor, the center of the Drankorian Empire. Now, none know what remains of the lower Istaros, or if the Hara even still reaches the Istaros.

Names

The Istaros has many names. To the original Drankorians, the refugees from Hkar after the Downfall, it was known by its elvish name, Aistanë (EYE-stah-neh), meaning ‘blessed water’. To the orcs of Xurkhaz, it is known as the Drogar. To the Dunmari, it is known as the Mahar. The name Istaros is likely a corruption of the Elvish, in the years after the First Plague and the fall of Drankor.