Canals of Dawnland

The oldest and most unfathomable mystery of Dawnland is the origin of the grand canal network which crosses through all parts of the region. Most of the canals have been unused for centuries and are, in many places, overgrown or dried up or buried beneath rubble, but some of the main channels still provide, with some upkeep, a means of waterborne transportation which promotes commerce and travel between many parts of the province.

During the decades since the old rebellion, development and prosperity in Dawnland has relied on the restoration and use of these canals. The control and protection of the busiest lengths of the network has been the primary concern of the Scions of Lucidus. And as the organization has grown in power it has built chapels  adjacent to canal locks which afford travelers the opportunity to pay respects to the gods while also paying the respective tolls. The Free Tribes, in recent years, have led the organization of most shipping companies into a collective known as the Faermyn’s Guild, and the threat of not working the boats which transport goods throughout the canal network keeps the Scions and their toll rates in check. Most of the canals connect under the streets of the capital city of Sy’dell, and most of the trade is done with the Synder Mines to the north and the bountiful farmland in the west.

But some lengths of the canal network remain neglected at best or actively avoided by civilized folk. On rare occasion a band of treasure hunters might explore outlying and near forgotten canals in search of easy fortune among ancient ruins, particularly in the Sorrowind Swamp and Jadenvyne Jungle in the southern latitudes where an ancient civilization has been lost to the verdant growth of vines and trees.