The Rockway (/ðə rɑːkˈ weɪ/ (Aeillan: /rokgouei/))

Ρόκγουεϊ

The Rockway by Javak

The Rockway, close to the Spartharii River Eastuary is a section of the river demarcated by a chain of sharp rocks that make the area dangerous to navigate for any known ships. As such it serves as the Head of Navigation for maritime transiting from the Yulan Ocean into Cyrenica, and the western interior of the Aeillan Region. It as a result, breaks up that artery of commerce and forces most trade through the port city of Halion.
The Rockway happens to be part of the of the stone corner, which makes up the border between the Exarchate of Spathos the Exarchate of Halion, and to a lesser extent the Cantons of Salemesia, and is located just south of one of the few major fords of the Spartharii south of Spartharotoxitos. This has given control of the Rockway some significant strategic importance.

Geography

The Rockway is situated close to the mouth of the Spartharii River, just north of where the river breaks down into a rocky delta. On both sides of the River near the rockway are a pair of small granite hills, which are believed to be the source for most of the rocks in the rockway. The river here is quite shallow with a steep, and rocky riverbed, with the frequent rocks breaking up the current and creating a section of incredibly dangerous rapids.

Ecosystem

The Rockway has little in the way of a biological ecosystem with the tumbling waters making it difficult for anything to survive. Still transient animal life frequently crosses the rock way to get into the River Spartharii. Rocks do have some life clinging to them in the form of liches and mosses, but that is the extent of living of the ecosystem in the region.

Fauna & Flora

There is little in the way of Flora and Fauna living in the Rockway. Just a handful of liches and mosses can claim to cling to the rocks, or survive the churning waves. Instead animals transiting through the territory is the source of most life in the area. Many oceanic fish, most notably, the Ilosi Salmon, must tranist the Rockway to spawn upriver, which makes it a ready fishing point for Bears, who use the Rockway as the furthest south they'll range in the Western Reaches.

Natural Resources

The Rockway hasn't much in way of resources, being hostile to life, and with few mineral resources to speak of. Historically there have been periods where runoff from Dwarven mining would result in some limited gold or silver bonanzas, but for the most part, the Rockway could only be considered a dangerous place to secure Grainite, which is quite plentiful in the Rockway.

History

It is believed that the Rockway was once an underground section of the Spartharii, underneath a single granite ridgeline. This ridge known as the Water-Eater, was used by Dwarves in the ancient pass as a natural bridge between the western lands and the heart of the what would become the Western Reaches. The Water-Eater took on significant cultural importance to the proto-Cyrenic peoples in addition to its Strategic importance, and became a religious site to what would become the Cult of Aquellus the Lord of Waves. 
The Water-Eater was destroyed in the conflicts between the Yulan-Tai and the dwarven cultures of the Reaches, when a Yulan-Tai sorcerer used powerful magics to case the ridgeline into the waters below. This destruction would result in the breaking of dwarven resistance in the area, and marked the creation of the Rockway. In the post-Yulani period the Rockway was known as little more than a major hazard in the waters between the upper Spartharii and the sea. In the post-Imperial Period, the Rockway was often used as a secure point upon which to anchor the borders of the Spathoi and Halish, and as a result, several fortifications were built along its banks.

Type

Rapids

Location under

Western Reaches

Contested By

• The Exarchate of Halion
• The Exarchate of Spathos