Description:

The west river is a vast river that spans from the Tarkot Mountains to Kesuk Bay where it meets the ocean and joins the sea. Different pieces of the river have different meanings and lore. It holds many names by many packs. The Yiyąą, the Idjín, the Tįgha, but universally it is known as the west river. All understand that the river is safe ground. Any toko may pass through any territory or space so long as they are within ten tail lengths of the river and taking no prey but the fish that swim in it, that is because tokota law states that nobody may own the river, regardless of pack or claim to it, and should any attempt to do so, they lose the right any lands formerly claimed as their own. To those that live in the Tarkot Mountains, the river is life. The fish found in the river is how they bulk up for the long winter months. If you don't know how to fish in these mountains, then you won't be lasting long. The tokos honor the river here, it's seen as sacred and to swear on the west river and break your word is an offense punishable by scars or exile. In some cases, even death is warranted. The river is always held in the highest regard in these mountains, and to speak ill of it is to outcast yourself.

Unlike in the mountains, way down in the flatlands of the Qammutiq Flats, the river is seen as a sign of death. Here it is fast-flowing and dangerous, and those few that dare enter its rapids and survive are considered either blessed or cursed depending on who you might ask. The Ila pack with not go near the river during its fast-flowing months, and very few dares go near it when the waters are slow, and even then it's only when they must survive. No fish from this river is ever eaten by them, though the lake that it forms is considered acceptable in times of dire need. By some, it is said that the reason for the river's danger comes from tokos who drowned in it long before, who cling to those that enter it in an attempt to free themselves from the river's clutches.

In the Iluq Forest, the river has two purposes, it serves as a food source with its fish, but more importantly, the river serves as a guide to any loss in it. Its waters are clear of fog up here, and if you should find yourself lost in the forest, it's said that the best thing to do is to listen for the sound of the water, as the river will always guide you home. The waters wind throughout all of the forests, and most tokos use it as a landmark to follow so that they might be able to find their way through the densest and foggy areas. Here the river is seen as a single spirit rather than many, a kind and motherly spirit who feeds and guides lost pups home. Whenever a tokos from the Taktuq pack is lost, the river is the one they ask to bring them home.

Finally, the river comes out in Kesuk Bay, here it holds one more meaning, spirits coming home. According to the Yakone pack, the river's summer waters are those that died in the year before returning home to visit the new pups of the year and bless them. Their lore states that every year once every pup has been born, the spirits come down from the sky to the mountains, race down the river under the cover of night, and return to them to see the pack's newest lives. On the night that every pup has been born for the season, parents keep their pups awake by the river so that they might be there to greet the spirits and accept what blessings they may bring. The flow and area around the river can change, sometimes it is fast and racing, and other times slow and calm, but no matter where you find the river and what pack lives around it, you can be sure that it has a meaning to them.

Landmarks:

Lore:

It reaches to the top of the Tarkot Mountain and extends through all the lands of the tokos.

To some the river means death, to others life and still to other's more it is the return of spirits from long before, it really depends on who you ask.

Pack to pack, the rumors and stories vary greatly, some warn that spirits with drag you into it's depths and drown you, others warn that if you speak ill of the river that you may face exile or outcasting, and still others tell you that if you are ever lost, it is the river that you should ask to guide you home.

Original location inspiration by Rosae-Aurelia
Location art by USERNAME