Stoller Waterway

The Stoller Waterway stands as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, achievement in cooperation between engineering and magic. It is a mostly artifical waterway that cuts nearly straight across Ardann i'Parastha, about midway between the Crystal Mountains and the Obsidian Mountains. It flows from east to west, from the city of Sragaaf in the country of Rakau to Ahg'are in Pah'tagonya, bringing water from the Living Ocean to the Golden Ocean. The center of the waterway is Yepper Lake.

The Waterway was the brainchild of Westervelt, the ruler of the city of Drev, and Lorenz, the chief wizard of the Purple Castle. Some six hundred years ago, before even The Great Magic War, the entire continent found that it was difficult to move goods quickly across the country side, as there were no major rivers, and only a smattering of roads. The two rulers came together and proposed the most ambitious public works project ever.

A large number of Dwarven smiths and miners were enlisted from Inik's clan in the Crystal Mountains to aid in the endeavor, and the Elves of Pestranis Forest were enlisted to help discuss what the impact on the rest of the continent would be, and work began. Rakau was chosen as the starting point, because the land was unpopulated. Over the course of twenty years, the Ystimor River was built, leading from the Living Ocean to Yepper Lake.

The lake itself was originally simply a valley, on the edge of which Drev sat. As the valley filled up, it was determined that the other half of the waterway would not be completed in time before it overflowed. A choice was made to use the existing Lastirio River's course would be used as the western end of the waterway, and the Quorrel River was constructed, flowing through western Willhiness and into Dusharend. It is said that the payment made to King Goerist III to allow the redirection of the Waterway through his land has ensured the reign of the House of Weilan's power, even to this day.

In the end, the Waterway has proven a great boon, especially to the city of Drev, which has become the center of commerce in the northern half of the Ardann. Sragaaf, which only came into being after the Waterway's completion, now rivals Siilcar for prominence on the northeastern coast. Ahg'are, though, suffered somewhat from the fall of the Purple Castle during the project's final stages, and has only recently begun to recover as a center for exporting goods across the ocean to Lanad i'Sarois. The depradations of Camlek and the Wars of Arin have also devastated many of the countries with which Pah'tagonya once traded, meaning that vessels coming out of the city mostly ply the coastline.