The Serpent's Tongue
Connecting The Great Inland Sea and The Crater Sea, The Serpent's Tongue is a channel which stretches for over 400 miles and separates the region of Bommbergonia from The Galacian Peninsula and Fruchtbarland. Although it is the busiest shipping route in The Shattered Continent, all but the most reckless captains stick to its edges in order to avoid the dangers that lurk in its unfathomable depths.
Formation
When the cataclysm shattered the continent, massive portions of its southern half sunk below sea level, and doubtlessly would have gradually filled with water if left alone, but tragically for those who survived that initial sundering, the worst was yet to come. A massive rift stretching deep into the earth had formed beginning at The Crater Sea and taking a meandering path to the south and east for over four hundred miles until it reached the freshly formed valley that would become The Bommbergonian Strait.
The ocean filled the rift and then rushed down it into the newly formed low lying regions, forming an unstoppable wall of water that wiped out everything in it's path. As it blasted through on its way to fill the future Great Inland Sea the onrushing water violently eroded the top of the rift and the surrounding area, widening the valley that had formed above it and forming the banks of the channel that would one day become the busiest shipping route on The Shattered Continent.
Geography and Climate
The Serpent's Tongue might resemble a river on the maps, but it's actually a saltwater channel ranging from four to ten miles wide which connects The Crater Sea to The Bommbergonian Strait and the rest of The Great Inland Sea. The climate is temperate on the bommbergonian and fruchtbarian coasts, although the channel has never been known to freeze over, and milder where it runs along The Galacian Peninsula.
The edges of the channel are shallow, rarely exceeding fifty feet in depth and often dipping below forty, and the main shipping channels are frequently dredged in order to keep them open, but only a little bit closer to the center of the river the bottom drops off into the ocean trench known as The Serpent's Tongue Rift. No-one is sure how deep the rift actually runs, but the sorts of incredibly dangerous creatures normally only found in the deepest ocean trenches rise from its depths to hunt anyone foolish enough to sail across its top.
The channel forms a natural border which separates the region of Bommbergonia from Fruchtbarland and The Galacian Peninsula, shaping the the kingdoms which would eventually form the modern nations of The Shattered Continent. Even with in the modern era the logistics of having to move armies across The Tongue and contend with its hazards are enough to dissuade most thoughts of invasion.
Usage
As the only water route between The Great Inland Sea and the oceans beyond, The Serpent's Tongue is the busiest shipping route on the continent, enormous amounts of both people and cargo moving up and down it on a daily basis. Two shipping routes exist along its length, running along its northern and southern banks and controlled by The Kingdom of Bommbergonia and Galacia respectively, with the two nations constantly shifting their tolls and tariffs in order to compete for traffic.
Smuggling
While particularly daring or foolish captains sometimes swap sides during the journey in order to minimize the fees that they have to pay, many smugglers do so out of necessity. By travelling at night with doused or hooded lights and either crossing over or moving out towards the center of The Tongue they can avoid inspection, but only at a tremendous risk to their lives and vessels.
Danger From The Depths
The Serpent's Tongue may be an incredibly busy shipping route, but there is a very good reason that the two shipping routes run only through the shallow edge regions and no sensible captain risks getting too close to the edges of The Rift, much less crossing over to the other side. No-one is sure how deep the rift actually runs, but the sorts of incredibly dangerous creatures normally only found in the deepest ocean trenches rise from its depths to hunt anyone foolish enough to sail across its top. The shallow regions on the edges are generally safe, although sailing anywhere near the edge of the rift at night while running lights is generally regarded as a suicidal act.
The Bow
The largest bend in the channel, the direction of The Tongue changes by around ninety degrees here, wrapping around Dalphin and forming a large bulge with an island in the center. It takes its name due to its resemblance to the famous dalphinian longbow, and ownership of the island in the center has been contested a number of times.
Daufys Castle
Constructed on the large rocky island which sits in the center of The Bow, this castle gives Dalphin, and Bommbergonia through them, a tremendous amount of control of the traffic down this important waterway. All ships moving down the river pass within the forts influence, the naval forces based on the island quick to respond to any perceived threat, and the bommbergonian customer officials based there are quick to board any suspect vessels. A number of attempts have been made by Galacia to take the castle over the years, but these attempts have been rebuffed successfully each time, the rocky cliffs and high walls of the fortress making it nearly impregnable.
The accusation has been leveled at Dalphin that the five towers of the fortress are arranged in such a way as to strongly resemble the famous "two finger salute" aimed directly at Galacia, but the dalphinians vigorously deny this, albiet with a grin on their faces. Further accusations that the very name of the fortress looks an awful lot like the words "Two Fingers" or "dau fys" in Dalphinian dialect, will usually result in indignant statements like "How dare you, Daufys is an ancient name with a great deal of significance to our culture", although the incessant giggling which typically brackets this statement somewhat reduces it's weight. The fact that a number of large alchemically fueled spotlights using expensive lenses procured from the dwarves of South Iron Port have been installed to illuminate the "fingers" of the fortress at night do little to support the Dalphinian denials.
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