Grand Feloran Canal
The Grand Feloran Canal is a series of natural and artificial waterways in Northern Felora that connects the Tealastrian Sea to the Yulan Ocean by way of Tìl Soren. It is the longest and oldest artificial river in the world, and it played a crucial role in the economic and cultural development of the Empire of Felora.
Construction of the Grand Canal began in the 3rd millenium EIE and it was completed in the 2nd millenium during the First Érintrélis Dynasty. In the following centuries, the Grand Canal grew to be an important transportation route and played a key role in the wealth and efficiency of the Feloran economy. To this day, it is used to transport grain, ores, manufactured items, and people throughout Felora, and it also served as a military defense line.
Purpose / Function
The network of canals were constructed for the purpose of transporting goods and people throughout the ancient Feloran Empire, with the Grand Canal being project conceived by Thaelin I in order to simplify the haphazard network of canals previously constructed over the previous three millenia.
Alterations
Over the centuries, the Grand Canal has undergone numerous renovations and expansions. The Invention of Lanteen Rigging lead to an extensive process of dredging, widening, and port renovations that took the better part of a century, as Felorans sought to continue to use the familiar canal to transit inland rather than along the wild and remote Tealastrian Coast. During the rule of Gardoum Naezorwyn II (1801 to 1460 EIE), the canal was extended and linked to the second capital Lumora, making it possible to transport religious materials and archeological findings to and from Lumora. The Kaelbryn Dynasty widened the canal and upgraded it's defenses.
Architecture
The Grand Canal consists of both natural waterways and artificial canals, and it was connected by a series of locks and sluices that allowed boats to navigate the changes in elevation between different parts of the canal. Lining the canal are a variety of structures, including bridges, locks, sluices, dams, and levees. These structures were built using a variety of materials, including earth, Erintrene Limestone, brick, and wood. Many of the structures were decorated with intricate carvings and other ornamental details, reflecting the importance of the canal as a symbol of the wealth and power of the Feloran State.
Defenses
At regular points between major settlements, the original construction included guard and customs towers that were used to protect the infrastructure, inspect and collect tarrifs on cargo, and levy transit fees. The canal also passes through multiple fortifications, such as Lulh'orn, which housed garissons of Oyemörn during the Empire. Today, the state and staffing of these fortifications varies, with many damaged or destroyed during the collapse of the empire, never repaired, and/or left to decay. In the Dotharan Alliance, some of these have been fitted with modern cannons, elsewhere, they are lucky to have a non-enchanted Feloran Trebuchet.
History
The Grand Canal was first constructed in the 3rd millenium EIE during the 1st Èrintrèlis Dynasty, but construction took over 500 years, utilising much of the Feloran Empire's orcish population as slave labor. It was later expanded and improved upon during the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907 CE), but the Abolishment of Slavery & the Je'thor Reformations put an end to the era of Feloran canal construction and other megaprojects. The canal connected the Palm Rivers near Tìl Soren and Lumöra, as well as providing a direct water route between the agricultural heartland around the capital and the capital cities of Vael'nya in the west and Til Formen'ya along the Dotharan Coast.
The Northern Invasions saw the canal take on new importance for the rapid movement of goods, materials, and troops to the Northern Continent in order to sustain it's new overseas provinces and push the frontier further inland. At the end of the fall of the Feloran Empire, General Glognozz Redfang used the canal to bring his force of three thousand to sack the imperial capital, Soren. Today, the canal retains its ancient use as a vital artery of trade and transportation for the Feloran Successor States and other societies that have risen in the Present Era.
On the Grand Canal by Trekman10 + Midjourney
Founding Date
3146 – 2620 EIE
Alternative Names
Grand Canal, Canal of 10,000 Slaves
Type
Canal
Parent Location
Related Professions
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Related Report (Primary Locations)
