The Old Lake
Geography
The Old Lake is a part of the greater Old River system. Its a small sweet water lake surrounded by willows and oak trees. The lake is an essential part of Yeffield - providing it with water, food, and trade with surrounding villages. Its thought that the water is slightly magical - being influenced by the Red Ruins. This leads to a few strange occurrences surrounding it.
The lake is approximately 117 square kilometers in area. However it has a very long snaky shape, and therefore stretches quite far across the landscape. Settlements such as Lumeport also take advantage of the lake.
Fauna & Flora
The lake is rich with wildlife. Due to small quantities of ichor within the water - animals thrive here.
Fauna. The Lake is most known for its Draft Crabs - gigantic crabs used empire wide to drag barges through waterways. These crabs are also used to traverse the Old Lake. Sweetwater Serpents are also common. These creatures are actually not snakes at all - rather very large worms. They are reminiscent of earthworms however instead they feed on the silt at the bottom of the river and are, of course, much larger. In Yeffield and surrounding villages they are often farmed to use as feed for the crabs. They aren't really eaten by humans.
More regular animals exist too. Turbot is a common fish in this area. Tench and eels too.
There are of course, more hostile creatures too, however these are generally thought of as anomalies. The more swampy areas of the Old Lake, such as the land between Lumeport and Yeffield are occasionally plagued by the Quilled Alligator. A particularly deadly creature in these parts. Occasionally you get spirits and undead in the lake too, this is vary rare though.
There's an old myth in these parts that the lake is haunted by a particularly terrible monster. It sleeps in the center of the lake, the moment it awakens it will wreak havoc from Lumeport to Orlet. The locals believe it to be a dragon.
Flora. The lake itself is rich with various forms of aquatic plants. The only noteworthy of which is Steelroot and Deadmans Cress. Both these plants are local to most areas of the Cradle.
Deadmans Cress is a waterleaf imbued with Ichor, it grows up with spindly green tendrils to the surface of the water - where it spreads out as a bunch of leaves. It has mild healing properties and is used by the Clergy to treat the sick.
Steelroot is a particular root which grows in the silt of Ichor infused freshwater. Its hard to find but has rather potent numbing properties. It is used as an anesthetic by more trained doctors. The shame is that fishers around the Old Lake are more likely to sell it off to wealthy merchants from larger cities than allow local doctors to use it.
The lake itself is surrounded by willow and oak trees. Children in the area like to play around the trees, every town has its own rope-swing from some drooping willow.
Natural Resources
The lake is rich in clay, particularly surrounding the banks. This clay has a slight reddish cover, supposedly from the Red Ruins up north. The clay is used by most settlements surrounding the lake as an essential part of their architecture. Resulting in the typical white buildings with red shingled roofs.
Additionally, every now and then various materials from the Red Ruins will end up here. Scrap metal, souls, bricks, concrete, bones, all sorts. Its common for Drifters to visit the lake in the search of artefacts. Creating a small, but meaningful, tourist economy for the surrounding towns.
Wild Draft Crab fighting an unlucky adventurer.
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