A Local’s Guide to the Mireglass Bog
"Welcome to the Mireglass Bog—if you’re here by choice, you’re either running from something, running toward something, or you don’t know better yet. If you grew up here, well… you already know there’s no place like it in the world. For better or worse."
If you’ve lived in the Mireglass Bog your whole life, you know its moods better than your own mother’s. The bog breathes, shifts, and watches. The air is thick, the ground is treacherous, and the nights? The nights belong to things best left undisturbed.
The Mireglass Bog is more than just swamp—it’s a land of hard people, stranger creatures, and an ancient past that refuses to die quietly. Here, you’ll find folk who can gut an eel in one stroke, patch a roof with dried rushes, and navigate the shifting waters by starlight alone. But be warned: the bog is never empty, and it never forgets.
The People of the Bog
Bogfolk are a resilient and stubborn bunch. If the swamp doesn’t kill you by age twenty, odds are you’ll be around long enough to grow ornery and suspicious of outsiders. Life here isn’t easy, and neither are the people.
Tidekeepers & Peat Farmers – The ones who make a living harvesting the land, whether it’s cutting peat for fuel, gathering swamp gas for the refiners in Thallmurk, or trapping eels and bog-crabs for trade. Hard work, low pay, but honest.
The Broken & The Wary – Not everyone in the Mireglass is whole. Something about this place twists people—loss changes them, grief lingers longer here. Some folk turn inward, others disappear entirely. And some return… wrong.
The Fighters & The Fools – The ones who pick fights with the land, the city, or the things in the dark. Some do it for money, some for revenge, some because it’s the only way they know how to live.
If you’re from the bog, your past is likely one of survival, hard lessons, and the knowledge that nothing here comes without a price. Maybe you’ve lost family to the Bogshades, had to run with the Shadecloaks to survive, or you’ve just learned that trust is rarer than dry land.
Creatures of Mireglass Bog
The bog is alive in ways the rest of the world doesn’t understand. The beasts here aren’t just animals—they’re part of the land, twisted by its history and the old magicks that never left.
Bogshades – If there’s one thing to fear at night, it’s them. Tall, lanky spirits with yellow eyes and claws like razors, they drag people away and never leave a body. Worse? They’re getting bolder.
Mirefang Eels – You’ve seen ‘em—five feet long, meaner than sin, and with a bite that can shatter bone. They lurk in the deep waters, waiting for the unwary. Good eating if you can kill one, though.
Will-o’-Wisps – They say these ghostly lights are lost souls, luring travelers to their doom. Some folk follow them anyway, desperate to find lost loved ones.
Caorthannach, the Wailing Mire – A Great Spirit in the shape of a serpent the size of a ship. Once a guardian of the land, now something warped by an ancient injury. If you ever hear the trees groan like they’re breathing, run—it means Caorthannach is near.
The bog is hungry, and the things in it are always watching. If you were raised here, you probably know how to tell when something’s following you, how to keep a fire lit in wet air, and which places aren’t safe to speak in, even when you’re alone.
The Bog’s Strange Phenomena
This land doesn’t follow the same rules as the world outside. The bog has its own secrets, its own ways of keeping balance—and its own punishments for those who cross it.
The Wandering Mist – Doesn’t matter which way the wind blows, this fog moves where it wants. Sometimes it’s harmless. Sometimes people walk in and never come out.
The Drowned Echo – There’s a stretch of water near the old sunken chapels where you can hear voices calling your name. Some say it’s the past trying to return. Some say it’s something worse.
The Greenfire Lanterns – Swamp gas burns green-blue, lighting up parts of the bog at night. They say some folk can make the flames dance, bending them like will-o’-wisps.
If you’re from here, you probably grew up hearing the rules:
- Don’t follow voices at night.
- If the water turns black, don’t drink from it.
- If the mist moves against the wind, turn around.
- And if you see something watching you from the trees, don’t stop to see what it is.
The Hamlets of the Bog
Scattered across the Mireglass, the hamlets are where the real people of the bog live—not the city folk in Thallmurk, not the nobles in the High Towers, but the ones who keep the land alive.
Llynwraig – The Eel Catcher’s Haven
Built on stilts and half-sunken boardwalks, Llynwraig is where the best eel hunters and fishers in the bog make their living. It’s a rough place, full of drunken brawls and old grudges, but if you want a guide through the deep marshes, this is where you find one.
- Rumor: A whole family vanished last week, their house left empty. No signs of a struggle. No footprints. Just… gone.
Caerbryn – The Lantern Keepers
Nestled on slightly higher ground, Caerbryn is known for harvesting swamp gas for lanterns. It’s a strange place, where people whisper of old spirits and forgotten gods. The people here keep to themselves.
- Rumor: Something’s been stalking the gas fields at night. The workers refuse to go out alone anymore.
Tarrenfey – The Broken Town
Once a thriving hamlet, Tarrenfey has been withering away ever since the Rupture sank parts of the land. Half the village is abandoned, and more people disappear every month. The survivors cling to their homes, refusing to leave.
- Rumor: Some say the missing folk haven’t left. They’re still there, somewhere—changed, but watching.
Final Thoughts
The Mireglass Bog isn’t for the weak. If you’re from here, you’ve probably fought for every inch of your life. You know how to read the water, how to tell if something’s hunting you, and how to keep your fire burning through the night.
But most of all, you know that nothing here is truly dead. The bog remembers, and whether you love it or fear it, it will never let you go.
Welcome home. Try not to disappear.
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