The Delta
Separating the countries of Bhanakhiri to the north and Kaldiloora to the south is The Delta. No one calls it anything else; it has never had another name. In The Delta are villages on stilts and villages made of hundreds of boats tied together. Marketplaces exist that are nothing but more boats. Some areas of dry land have existed long enough to have people build homes on them, but none last long. The Delta is always changing, and what is here today may be gone next month, or this afternoon.
The Delta developed from the flow of the Lenggor River. As it reaches the low, flat lands near the coast, the river broadens, slows, and separates into many long fingers that make their own ways to the sea through the surrounding forest. Some branches are met by the tide coming in and form a brackish mangrove swamp. Others flow out of the forest, wide and still deep enough to float rafts of boats.
The Delta is part of the land of the River Peoples. Between the Ular River to the north and the Lenggor River to the south, the tribes of the River People live isolated lives with their own strange language and their own traditions and superstitions. The inhabitants of The Delta are usually those who have left the seclusion of the deep jungle to deal with the outside world. They live in The Delta, perhaps returning upriver to obtain more goods to trade, or deliver new acquisitions. What these reclusive people might want with many of the things available from traders is anyone’s guess, but things do make their way back into the secretive enclaves.
Another secluded group living among the River Peoples is the tabaxi, or cat-people. Having little use for fixed villages, families of tabaxi prowl the area between the Ular and Lenggor as well as over the Kulgera Ridge into the eastern part of the Seething Jungle. They sometimes interact with traders who can get them new and interesting weaponry, as weapons are nearly the only possessions of value to tabaxi.
The language of The Delta is a trade tongue (called Delta Speech) that uses a debased version of the speech of the River Peoples and is combined with many words learned from the ancient ones and handed down for generations, and some terms borrowed from its neighbors. A person who speaks Bhanikhat or Kaldilooran can probably understand a third of what is said, while someone who speaks the ancient language could likely comprehend more than half and communicate the rest through gestures. Most people now on the river speak some form of The Delta trade tongue; the only people who truly speak the language of the River Peoples are the tribes far upriver.
The deities of the River People are as strange as anything else. Most prominent among them are the Night Sisters — the powers represented by the moons. Noh-ro the Guardian, also called the Pale Sister, is worshipped by many, and is probably the favorite among the tribes. Less popular is Be-Le the Witch, the Dark Sister, but she is very important to some formidable people. The veneration of ancestors is also essential to the culture. The River People appear to have spirit houses similar in nature to those of Bhanakhiri, if less sophisticated in construction. The little buildings are specifically for the spirits of the ancestors, though, and people make daily sacrifices at these spirit houses, putting out food and drink to satisfy their ancestors and keep them from becoming angry with the descendants who are still alive.
Other beliefs are even more unusual. In a certain part of the deep forest, homage is given to some of the great powers among the fey. (See “Weirdling Forest” below for more information.) In addition, some among the River Peoples commune with powerful spirits called loa. Although some seem to be spirits of nature such as the sky, sea, and earth, they do not appear to be linked to the Kaldilooran creator-spirits. (People of both cultures emphatically deny any relation.) These loa choose to be caretakers of humanity and purveyors of justice, but rarely intervene unless properly invoked. The River People often entreat the loa in various daily matters, but that is in the nature of hoping perhaps something might go their way rather than expecting divine assistance.
Region
The Delta
Parent Organization
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