Shadowmire Construction

The city of Shadowmire was built on a river delta in the Glades of Crestan. Because of the region's low altitude (much of it lies below sea level), it has developed into a vast salt marsh. It is difficult to construct permanent buildings here, but the residents of Shadowmire have developed a style of construction which has allowed them to establish the city as the long-standing capital of Crestan.

Lowering the Water Level

The first obstacle to building a city in the Glades was the altitude of the land. Because the region is so low-lying, it is extremely susceptible to tidal flow and is submerged in anywhere from a few inches to several feet of salt water. To counteract this, folk have built a series of canals throughout Shadowmire which allows the land to remain dry even at high tide.

The soil and silt which were dug up to create the canals was spread around the city to raise its level as much as possible. The folk constructing the city's base also brought in stones to help shore up the foundations.

Shadowmire Buildings

Despite all the work that has gone into ensuring the city's streets stay out of the waters of the marsh, unusually high tides still wash over the ground. These surges are quite strong and can wash away building foundations or anything that is not secured properly. As such, the buildings of Shadowmire all built upon stilts, raising them up to five feet above the ground. Each stilt is secured with large stones, and newer buildings are also anchored with metal rings attaching them to solid ground.

Most buildings are connected to one another by long boardwalks. They are not strong enough to carry horses or livestock, however, so carts and large loads still use the original streets.