Emerald River

The Emerald river is a long, verdant, winding river that divides the Sintallian Forest in two. The river gets its name from a unique species of algae that blooms during the months of spring, turning the water a deep, emerald blue-green. It is also rich in minerals gathered by a number of tributary streams from the Behemoth's Back Mountains. This unique algae is central to an entire ecosystem of strange creatures that call the Sintallian their home. Some species of salmon have adapted to the seasonal blooms, and use them as a means of safely swimming upstream to the warm waters of the Emerald basin near the foot of the mountains to deposit their eggs. Large, red-furred bears roam the shores of the river to catch their meals, and tall Sintallian stags venture to the Emerald basin to drink their fill. The Emerald basin is a popular attraction for sight-seeing travelers and wealthy nobles seeking to retire from busy Ambrosian life. It is said that if the light of a sunset strikes the calm waters of the Emerald basin in just the right way, the entire basin seems to radiate a golden glow.