Beyaz Swamp

The Beyaz Swamp is located in the southern lowlands of the Jinan Valley. This land is generally used to refer to both the swamp as well as the marshland that continues to the shore. The vast cypress forest in ancient with many trees over one thousand (1,000) years old.

The Beyaz Swamp can be divided into four distinct locations. The Azima Marsh is the northern stretch above the swamp; the Wetlands is the northern crescent of the swamp; Waqi are the large meadows where the land is drier, and the Kaf the southern marshes commonly flooded by the seas.

The most northern lands of the Beyaz Swamp, this marsh is thick with low plants and small rivers. The high tides of the sea push along the edges creating low-lying salt marshes near the estuaries. Most of the rivers flowing through this marsh have a high enough salinity to make it undrinkable for most people.

The true swamp, these lands are thick with cypress, mangrove, and black alder trees. Very few of the rivers that flow through the wetlands reach the sea, instead they terminate in small lakes and ponds inside of the wetlands. This internalized cyclic flow of water results in a brackish water well-suited to many unique fish, reptiles, and amphibians.

The largest section of the marsh is actually a wet meadow. The highest land in the area is surrounded by true swamps and marshes. The rain that falls upon this land has very little run-off as the lands surrounding the meadow are saturated. Instead the loose soil holds the water until it can slowly drain. During the wet seasons it is nearly impossible to cross the meadows without sinking several inches into the soil and moss.

The large southern stretches of marshland is controlled by the Kivar River that bends back and forth along its journey to the sea. Its headlands from springs in the Anor Mountains along with runoff from the Waqi Meadows provides silty freshwater. Over time the land has shifted leaving behind a pockmark of ponds.

The first recorded people to settle in the swamp were the Qaffiri Tribe, shoag that migrated up from lands in the south. By Y103 AE the tribe had grown to several thousand with villages reaching into northern grasslands. They warred with their northern neighbors, the Carthins, until the arrival of the Turanians in 2751 AE.

The Turanians settled along the grasslands north of the Qaffiri villages, pushing the Carthins farther north. Strong trade grew between the Turanians and Qaffiri. After the Turanians pushed the Carthins over the mountains, they have begun to lay claim to most of the Waqi, which has led to several clashes between them and the Qaffiri.