This article is a Work In Progress!
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The Great Cresway Canyon is a massive canyon that the Cresway River has cut through the plateau, bisecting it almost cleanly in half. The majority of the canyon is between 5,000 and 7,000 feet deep, though the deepest point is the base of the XX Falls. The water from the XX lake cascades over the cliffs of the XX mountains for a staggering 10,000 feet into the XX basin. The water then begins it's 150 mile journey southwards, winding through the canyon until it passes out of the plateau to feed into the XX lake.
The XX people, the inhabitants who have managed to survive in the badlands, have a myth about the creation of the canyon. The myth goes about how the followers of two gods would argue between themselves about which of their gods was stronger. Both groups argued fercly until they were about to go to war when a wanderer came between the two groups and proposed a game of tug of war. The worshippers agreed and called down their gods to appear and
were competing to see which was the stronger by playing a game of tug of war. XX, the god of smiths, was asked to create a chain strong enough to withstand the strength of these two gods. He gave them a tighly woven metal chain he called XX, called them both foolish and bade them leave him in peace. The two gods then stood upon the plateau with the Cresway River between them. The first to fall in the water would be deemed the weaker of the two. A wanderer happened to be walking by when the gods were ready to begin and they told them to call out when to begin. When the stranger called out for them to start, both gods pulled with all their might. At first nothing seemed to happen, but slowly the ground trembled and began to buckle and crack around them. Hours passed as the two struggled on, but both were so evenly matched that neither could gain on the other. As the sun reached it zenith, a lound CRACK was heard throughout the land as the mighty chain XX suddenly snapped in two. So great was the power released in that moment that the entire plateau was broken in two, creating the Great Cresway Canyon. The wanderer chided both gods for their behaviour, for how could one be stronger than themselves? It was then that the wanderer was revealed to be the Avatar of XX and all became aware that the two gods were actually one in the same. The God of XX congradulated their Avatar for brining their followers together in the spirit of competition. The followers of both gods embrased each other and continue to this day to compet in contests of strength, encouraging each other to continue to grow stronger.
I know this article is still a wip, but I just want to say that I am so glad to see I'm not the only one who sometimes struggles with names. I do a similar thing as you where I just put a place holder for the time being so I can write the rest of the article. That being said, I love the mythology behind this canyon!