River Durran

The major river of northern Tarusia, the Durran serves as highway, boundary and watersource for the Moran Duchy and the Kingdom of Mor. It's two main branches, the North Durran and South Durran join at the great border fortress of Durranmeet from where they flow past the two nations' respective capitals - Kingsholm and Morton.
Though the river is generally placid and slow moving shipping is generally towed upstream by oxen, horses, prisoners (or other convenient source of power), with downstream journeys assisted by rowing crews to provide steerage. These are usually hired for a stretch of the river but have the freedom (with the exception of the prisoner gangs) to ply their trade over the whole river system.

Geography

The Durran drains much of the north western part of Tarusia with the Moran Mountains and hills of the northern plains as its sources. From the multitude of streams, rills and small rivers that run down from the mountains it builds as its two main branches flow to their meeting point at the border fortress of Durranmeet from which it makes its way through the plains of northern Tarusia before reaching the Northern Sea at the great port of Durranmouth.
The capital of the two nations mark the limits for reliable navigation in shipping large enough to ply the coastal trade routes and beyond those points smaller craft ply the narrower reaches feeding the trade routess of the continent.
Though fed by the Moran Mountains, the Durran itself flows in a broad, shallow valley with the foothills a few hours' walk from the river. This makes both branches fairly slow moving for most of the year, and easily navigable, though the river can rise dramatically in the spring thaws which account for a number of marshy areas along the river's course.

Fauna & Flora

The river is notable for the Durranfish - a large, salmon like fish which spawns in the headwaters of the North Durran (why only the North Durran is a mystery, but such are the ways of nature) and spends several years at sea before returning to spawn. These runs of fish occur every three or four years and are a major source of food and trade for the communities of the North Durran.
The salt marshes opposite Durranmouth are home to a number of species not found elsewhere and which provide the characteristic flavour of Durranmouth cuisine as well as some unusual medical treatments. Common throughout the system, end especially in the regious around Morton, is the mogfish .
Further upstream, on the South Durran, the Fenton Fens are reported to be home to several strange creatures but these are generally regarded as extinct or mythical.

Type

River

Location under

Tarusia

The Treaty of Durranmouth

Signed in the year 107MD the Treaty of Durranmouth set the river as the boundary between what would later emerge as the Moran Duchy and the Kingdom of Mor though these were but two of the signatories for they grew over the following yeas to dominate their respective banks of the Durran. This treaty has done much to stabilise the politics of the region particularly as the Duchy and the Kingdom rose to prominance.
More than just setting the river as a boundary, the treaty also secured its role as a trade route by permitting free navigation of the river to shipping registered at its' main towns (though in practice the larger seagoing ships of Durranmouth seldom navigate beyond Durranmeet and the river fleet of the Duchy seldom put to sea). It also imposed limits on activities affecting navigation or use of the river as a water source - and thus the Durran has few of the weirs, mills, dams or bridges often found on rivers (indeed there are no bridges crossing the river downstream of Kingsholm or Morton) and the towns along the river are more mindful of their waste disposal than many riverside settlements.