Nahr Alab (nəɦr əlɑˈb)

The Nahr Alab is the largest river on the island of Saba. During the Nagarajya, the river was hailed as the first river and father of all rivers by the Naga. When the Nagarajya was overthrown by the Malika of Saba and her armies, she cleared the fertile lands along the Nahr Alab of the Naga, so that she could gift it to her loyal soldiers as a reward. In the centuries since, the Deva of the Nahr Alab has shifted under the pressure of belief from the Telmun, Kaphtori, and Suhqatri communities that live along the length of the river. The Nahr Alab has absorbed the story of the frog-hearted god, a folktale originally from the Telmun Islands, and incorporated it into his own identity. Before this transition, the Deva of the Nahr Alab appeared as a long serpent of brown water, with the head of a Naga and whiskers of a catfish. After centuries of pressure from the Egregoric Force, the manifestation of the Deva is of a submerged giant human, with an open hole in his chest where a frog sits instead of a heart. According to the legend, the god was attacked in his sleep by his brother, who stole his heart. But while the god lay dying, a frog jumped into the open cavity and began to croak rhythmically, somehow replacing the god's missing heart. While the Deva of the Nahr Alab may occasionally adopt the serpentine manifestation (most often at the supplication of a Naga), this new manifestation is now the more likely face for the god to appear with.

Geography

The Nahr Alab runs for a little more than 370 miles, beginning in the Jibal Al-Junun mountain range and passing northward through the most fertile lands on the island of Saba. It forms the border between the Maila Muhafazah and the Bhujangga Muhafazah, two of the richest and most productive areas on the island. It reaches the sea at the city of Giri, a major port on the northeastern coast of the island.

Type

River

Location under

Saba

Owning Organization

Malikate of Saba