God's hand

To the North of the Albine Mountains, close to the great plains, there is a big lake, with a size approximately a quarter of the Thyssalis Sea. According to many people, such lake has a shape similar to a hand. According to the one of the eldest myths of our ancestors, this shape is explained because the King of the Gods decide to rest one day there, so great and gigantic was his divine form that when he got up his hand creater a crater, and the rain and the nearby rivers filled it with fresh water.
— Sabinianus of Dubris (Ikarian geographer) an extract from his work, Geography of Teria (ca. 122 BP)

Geographical location

The lake known to the Davidovian peoples as the Hand of God, is located in northeastern Teria, where winters are more harsh that in the central and southern areas of the continent. Rivers here have larger flows due to the melting of the snow from the mountains and the intense rainfall that falls in this area. It is considered as Yeia's largest lake, dwarfing the rest of the famous great lakes of the planet such as Sun Lake in Unhellion, Lake Bareotys near Blati or the Great Lakes themselves in the Northwest of the continent of Teria.

by Azgaar

Its name derives obviously from its peculiar shape which reminded the Davidovian people of a hand with a thumb and two fingers. Other names used to refer to this lake also have the association with a hand. For example, the Nords know this lake as: The Frog's Hand.

Mythical origins

According to the davidovian myths God's hand lake was created when Abbon Shabai was wondering the earth, the time is not precised, some variations of the myth says that this happened prior to marry Tyr, other myths said that it was during Abbon Shabai and Tyr's Honeymoon where they travelled across Yeia, but dates aside, all these versions of the myth agree that Abbon Shabai sat there and rested for a while and when he got up the imprint of his hand transformed itself into this giant lake (some myths say that the hand made a crater that was later filled with water from the nearby rivers, others say that it was either Van, the god of water, or his daughter Orbaia, goddess of rain and healing waters the responsible for filling that area with water). Seris and Ikarian mythology tells us that the lake was the home of a very powerful and beautiful Tyrin named Mura, who helped the gods of heaven in their war against Khair, the god of evil. She is said to have turned anyone who crossed the lake with evil intentions into ice.

A vital and very busy highway...

The Hand of God is one of the most important, if not vital, routes of communication and transport of goods and trade in the Northeast of Teria, as it connects the main trade nodes and kingdoms of the north with the states of the center and the south of the continent such as the Blatian Empire, the Kingdom of Oronia or the Kingdom of the Snow Elves, which are wealthier and more developed. From the northern ports of this lake traders from the Grand Duchy of Liwal cross the great lake to travel to Blati to sell, among other things, fur and amber in the markets of the great metropolis in exchange of incense, jewels and silk. At the same time Crorai merchants, artisans and blacksmiths cross the lake heading north, to the lands of the Nords to whom they sell their products.

In the old days, before the Crorai succumbed to the influence of black magic, the snow elves used this lake to trade with the humans in the area and to transport magical minerals that were abundant in the regions near the lake. For them this lake aside of the more common name of God's hand, it was known as Aelith "Moon's lake". Some local legends talked about boats made of silver that used to sail this lake in the past, and some identify these as a reference of the old ships of the Snow Elves.

Most of the most important cities and capitals of the states that surround the lake are located in the vicinity of this important body of water.

...And a place of war and violence

The God's Hand is not only famous for being a trade route, but it is also a scene of plundering and raiding. For centuries, the great powers of the area have tried to dominate the lake, either through alliances or, in most cases, through war. The Nord tribes have crossed the lake for generations to plunder the ports and coastal settlements of their neighbors, something that the Crorai have also done. Both peoples not only stole wealth but were also famous for taking slaves with them. Nowadays, both the frequency and intensity of these raids along the river have decreased over the last two centuries. Mostly due to several factors: First, the coordinated attempts by both the Crorai and Gridefo to protect trade between various states by building a navy capable of facing the drakkars of the nords. Second, due to the diplomacy of the Crorai with the kingdom of Belowia which has recently protected its northern border by preventing bands of nord raiders from accessing the lake. And third, it would be the change of objectives by the nords, who now see the great lake as a secondary destination for their raids, focusing now on plundering the much richer northeastern coasts of Teria, causing a headache on the one hand for the Grand Duchy of Liwal and on the other for the snow elves and the successor states of Ikaria (Blati and Cloudia especially).

Contested By

Kingdom of the Crorai

Fauna of the lake

The waters of this famous lake are home to Lampreys, Salmons, Sturgeons and Trout, as well as a subspecies of the famous Teria Spongefish, the latter are in high demand by the chefs of the Blati aristocracy and those of the Imperial Palace. The forests near the lake are home to the tiger deer and brown bear while the margins of this lake are home of very peculiar birds such as ibises and their distant relatives the spoonbills.

by Andreas Trepte

There is also evidence that, during the Bronze Age, 6000 years ago, the area of the Hand of the Gods was home to now extinct types of Dragon Birds. Goats are also a very common sight on the nearby mountains and during summer it is not unusual to see birds such as storks and Emperor birds from southern Teria.