The opposite rivers of the two Realms

At the heart of the island of Cheebry, stands the Hanro Realm, also known nowadays as the Two Kingdoms, a secluded land surrounded by mountains where two symmetrical rivers that merge in the middle.

Geography:

From the mountains on each side flows a river, or rather two rivers that meet in the center of the realms and continue flowing down together towards the next country.

History:

For generations, the land was passed down from one king to the next, in the tradition of the Hanro people. The kingdom lived in peace with its neighbors and a lot of trade was taking place between the citizens and the surrounding lands, making the country prosperous and rich. But when King Dassian the third had twins from his second wife, he decided he didn’t want to choose between them. To him, they both deserved to be kings, being both the eldest. He decided to split the kingdom in two, creating a border where the two rivers met, and gave to each of his son a part of the kingdom. At first, everything was going well, each of the two kingdoms (as they are known since the separation) prospering without interfering on the other. At some point, dissension happened and citizens began to flee one kingdom for the neighboring lands or the other kingdom. In the kingdom from which people fled, the king asked his Mages to create a barrier, stopping the people from leaving to his brother’s kingdom. As soon as the middle magic barrier was formed, the rivers collided with it and stopped merging. The water was just gone. Afraid, the people continued to flee, and soon after that a magical barrier appeared around the entire land. We don’t know exactly what happened after that, but the few citizens that escaped had seen the beginning of this war and the changes on the land that followed. The river from the mad king’s (one of his surnames) side turned white and it was said to shine through the night like a light, as the land surrounding it blackened in return. On the other side, the water turned black, and became poisonous.

Consequences:

We don’t know at the moment when I write this essay, what really happened inside the magical barrier surrounding the Two Kingdoms, but the opposite rivers of the two realms don’t merge and flow downstream anymore. As a consequence, the lands where the rivers flew before the barrier dried and population had to adapt or leave their land. Following the creation of the barrier, a lot of kingdoms had to join forces and help each other. A few wars happened, and new borders appeared. The separation of the two kingdoms is still known to this day as a big tragedy for all of the Island of Cheebry.