To the north of The Rift is a diverse and storied region known as the Merrow Crescent. Its name derives from the body of water in center of the region, which itself is home to a plethora of unique aquatic creatures; most prominent and infamous of which is the monstrous Merrow. These aquatic agents of chaos slip out of their watery homes at night, raiding nearby towns and cities, seemingly for the purpose of delight in murder; the bodies of their victims being stolen away before the sun's rise. However, as if fate itself demanded it, the Merrow are met by a natural enemy. The forest-dwelling Firbolg have come into conflict with the Merrow for centuries, setting up woodland fortresses and blockades to prevent a Merrow incursion from making its way to the woodland they deem so sacred. It's in the reverence of the three divine trees, each in the epicenter of three Firbolg capitals, that they pursue the protection of not just their homes, but the creatures that live among them as well. The protection of the region's woodlands is in jeopardy though, as news is spreading of the supposed fall of the northernmost Firbolg capital, Dun'Aille Point. Should one of the three divine trees be killed, the Merrow will burst from their watery hovels and raid the surface again, unable to be fended off for much longer; or so says Firbolg legend.
Beyond the central conflict of the region, there are many pockets of life to be found. Built along the southwestern hills of the Merrow Crescent are many many cities and thriving communities of Shannis Halflings. These small and friendly folk build simple houses into the elevated ground itself, using various wooden platforms and bridges to create sprawling complexes. Along the northern and eastern end of the Merrow Crescent, you can find a different kind of height deficient folk (don't tell them I said that). The Merrowood Gnomes are an intelligent bunch, being masters in the creation of large scale self-sustaining citadels. Tinkering with mechanical devices is in their blood, and it's no wonder that with the abundance of sulfur at their disposal, they've begun the early stages of creating gunpowder. What could go wrong. Additionally, the northern half of the region contains scarce populations of Snow Elf, Sanjin Human, and Minotaur; though their influence on the region as a whole is quite minuscule.
Last but not least, lies the headquarters of the esteemed Guidewind Corporate to the south, just bordering The Rift itself. The Guidewind Corporate serves as the de facto authority on travel across The Rift, as well as the primary facilitators of such travel; assisting those who desire to make it across, but don't want to risk losing their life on such a volatile journey. With such a prominent facilitator of travel placing its headquarters here, the south of the Merrow Crescent has lent itself to be quite homely to humans natives of
Tressa's other regions. Independent human cities such as Riftmount or Westerbrook now thrive in the vacant land of the southern Merrow Crescent, though their expansion may be reaching its limit as they inch closer the much more well-established players in the region.
This still does not cover the many amazing people and places of the Merrow Crescent, but I implore you to explore it for yourself, and be entrenched in all that this beautiful region has to offer.
The Merrow Crescent serves as an intermediary for several of the other regions of Tressa, and as such, it is very diverse in both climate and topography. The lower portions of the region are subject to long rolling plains and grasslands, punctuated with bunches of forest on occasion. Further north, closer to the titular body of water, is a dense woodland rich in undergrowth, and occasionally split by small rivers flowing between larger bodies of water. The east is mostly defined by a great plateau that hugs along the mountains of Northern Riftpeak, and out into the adjacent Erstland Valley; saturated equally with a mix of forests and plains. In the northern part of the region, cradled by a pair of mountain ranges to the east and west is a distinct coniferous forest, transforming gradually into a taiga as the trees grow further north, and eventually towards the northernmost coasts of central Tressa.
