Elderwood Flow

The Elderwood Flow is by far the least explored and least traveled of Elysoria’s great rivers, few have traced it beyond map sketches and myth. Rising from the mist-veiled eastern slopes of the Titan’s Ridge, it carves a winding, 900-kilometer path through the dense and timeless forests of the Elderwood and Northern Elderwood, eventually spilling into the vast waters of the Elderglow Basin.   More than a border, the Flow is a living ribbon of dark water that separates—but never severs—the two ancient woods. Despite the naming distinction between north and south, the forest canopy along the river is equally thick, equally reverent. Towering trees lean over its banks, their roots grasping the soil like old memories. Moss drapes from branches, and light filters down in watery shafts, dancing on the current.   Its tributaries—many unnamed—descend in silver threads from the foothills and hills beyond, swelling the river slowly and giving rise to pockets of marshland, quiet pools, and deep reflective stretches where the water seems to pause, listening. Fog is common, especially in early morning, and there are long stretches where the river is barely distinguishable from the forest around it.   Very few use the Elderwood Flow for travel. It leads nowhere men have settled, and the forest around it is not to be tamed. Those who sail its course are rare—mostly botanists, alchemical plant collectors, or mapping expeditions seeking to chart what was never meant to be marked. Their stories often include strange sounds from the banks, trees that seem to move, and encounters they cannot explain but are careful not to mock.   The river has never been bridged, dammed, or diverted. It flows as it always has: unhindered, unclaimed, and unbothered by the affairs of the world beyond the trees.