Wannib River

The Wannib river is the longest river on the continent, stretching for 400 km, from its source in the Groki mountains, to its mouth in the Yngarian Bay. In the north, the Wannib has been of huge cultural importance to the Yethisi, serving as a ward against Desert Ghouls; while, in the south, the Wannib historically marked the border of the Aelder Wood and the lands of the Jarnish Colonies. The river's source can be found in a small dwarven town, just a short distance from Grok Makar itself.
Most of the river's course is located in modern-day Yethisia, where it is known as the Dama by the Yethisi (though the Groki name, Wannib, is more commonly used outside of the region). From Danaerid's histories, it seems that in the days of ancient Maniq, the Dama was used for trade between the richest Maniqi cities. However, during the course of the Desolation, the river was diverted, and its course greatly changed. As a result, the very heart of ancient Maniqi civilization has been lost to the sands, including their capital city, Ad-Maniq.
During the years following the Desolation, the river's natural magical properties became known - the waters of the Wannib are anathema to the cursed manadi. The burgeoning Sufi-Nazadi Kingdoms settled along the river's banks, taking advantage of the river's mystical protection. The Wannib would enter into their culture, as the boundary between life and death, and the mother of their civilization.
During the years of the early Sufi-Nazadi kingdoms, the Wannib's magic contributed to the divergence of The Cult of Dama from more mainstream Naidhalean theology. The river became the focus of Damari worship, as the mother of the Yethisi people, alongside the sun-father, who gave them his warmth and the powers of his crown. Adja Kriggsdottir records that, during the height of The Warring Times, the Yethis become a kind of safe haven, maintaining neutrality from the disputes of the gods they did not worship. The dual protection of the Frijan Seal and the Dama granted the Yethisi people a measure of prosperity, during a time of terrible strife and conflict. As a result, the Wannib became a symbol of sanctuary for many in the ancient kingdoms.
During the brief reign of the Jarnish Empire, the Wannib was used to ferry soldiers throughout their Yethisian territories. The Jarnish were staunch in their traditionalist worship, and as a result the Damari religion was heavily suppressed, and many of its worshippers forced to conduct their rites in secret. Shortly before the Zaiki Miracle, the river would serve one last use for the short-lived Empire, as Jarnish colonists used it to make their way south, into the lands of the Aelder Wood, founding the first Jarnish Colonies.
In modern-day Yethisia, the Wannib continues to mark the border between the populous lands of the eastern desert, and the dangers of the west. However, since the beginning of Thaerseimai, the Wannib's protections have seemingly waned, as desert ghoul sightings have become more and more common along the western banks. Among the Yethisi, this presents a clear sign that the ruling bloodline is no longer worthy to bear the crown. In the ancient past, the Yethisi turned on unworthy rulers, for the good of their peoples, and as a result the Yethisian Succession Crisis represents a source of great contention among the Yethisi, who believe that the selection of a worthy king to be a matter of life and death. After the coronation of Aqad's Mylosian vizier as Exarch-Regent, following the death of Exarch Aqad, during the Yethisian Invasion, riots overtook the cities of Nazadi and Iferi, and though suppressed, the seeds of rebellion continue to lurk among the children of the Dama.
In the south, the Wannib was once revered as the western-most of the four life-giving rivers of the Aeldrin. It also marked the natural border between the lands of the ancient forest giants and the rest of the Aelder Wood. After the arrival of ancient Jarnish colonists, the Wannib would become the site of their earliest colonies, including the town of Yngar. The Yngarians fished its waters, and traded along its banks.
During the reign of Maknor Wildfyr, the river would once again act as a sanctuary, protecting the eastern Aelder Wood and the ancient Yngarians from the wildfires that decimated the western woods, and caused the extinction of the forest giants. For a long time afterwards, the Wannib served as the western border of the Aelder Wood, and was fiercely guarded by Aeldrin tribes.
After the arrival of the Empire of Nara Tok, the Wannib would mark the very first border between the Empire and the Aeldrin, and as a result, remnants of imperial fortifications remain along the rivers southern course.
In the modern day, the Wannib's banks are home to some of the greatest cities of the south - Nazadi and Iferi in Yethisia, and Selucia in Volodaria. Its waters provide sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of imperial citizens, while the roads along its banks provide a route for the Southern Lumber trade.