Meander River

Winding its way through plains and heath, Meander River runs a twisting course from the Blackrock Mountains to the Crescent Sea. Springtime flooding helps maintain a rich soil while the river itself provides water for farming. The river plain extends for several miles in each direction from the river, and most of it is actively farmed. Tilled farmland extends as far from the river as possible, eventually hitting the rocky soil of the heath to the west or the thick grasses of The Plains of Eauxe to the northeast. The river itself provides a home to a variety of freshwater fish, predominantly large river trout, and, strangely, a large number of turtles, from small box turtles to large snapping turtles and even dragon turtles. While the spring floods bring rushing, dangerous waters, the rest of the year the river moves slowly, living up to its name.
The farmers here are a solid, easygoing folk, well in touch with the river and its “moods.” While many of the fields begin almost at the water’s edge, the farmhouses themselves are usually far away from the flood zone, often not even visible from the river shore itself. Farmers along the river raise corn, rice, wheat, and a number of vegetables as well as a significant amount of cotton.
While their fields grow, Meander farmers fish the river in flat-bottom boats, careful to avoid known territories of some of the larger and more dangerous river denizens. Fall harvest is transported by barge either to the trade route near the Blackrock Mountains or toward the sea to Bret Harth.
The Plainsmen of Eauxe are happy to allow farming along the parts of the river that pass through their plains so long as the farmers share part of their harvest in fair trade and provide clear paths to the river’s edge to feed cattle and horses as tribes pass through. Equally, the farmers in these areas are glad to trade with The Plainsmen as their simple presence provides additional safety.

Type

River