Cities and Towns of Delmora
The settlements of Delmora follow the courses of its great rivers and the shores of the eastern lake, where seasonal floods and fertile soils have shaped human and nonhuman habitation alike. From river-carved capitals to floating raft-cities, Delmora’s settlements serve as hubs of trade, spirituality, engineering, and cultural memory.
Major Cities
Kelmarin
Located at the confluence of the Twin Rivers, Kelmarin is the political and economic capital of Delmora. Its tiered construction follows the flood gradient, with canal-bound districts arranged by craft and function.
Braskir’s Hold
A dam-city built at the mouth of the Great Lake, Braskir’s Hold regulates floodwaters and secures trade routes. Its sluice-gates double as defensive bulwarks.
Zelmari Wharf
Midway along the central river system, Zelmari Wharf is a mercantile city known for its floating markets, shipwrights, and Ruvin architecture built atop reinforced stilt causeways.
Varul’Kai
The Ulshari capital, half-submerged in the Great Lake. Its halls descend beneath the water, housing the Sunken Archives and sacred Depthkeeper enclaves.
Kel’Ruun
A drifting raft-city that migrates seasonally along the lake’s north shore. Known for flexible architecture and spiritual ceremonies that align with the phases of the moon and tides.
Mara’s Reach
Mara’s Reach is Delmora’s southernmost city and its primary seaport, where the inland riverways meet the ocean. Mara’s Reach is a fortified delta-city, resting on an artificial foundation of sunken stone platforms and canal locks. It operates as Delmora’s maritime gateway, funneling riverborne goods into international trade routes.
Towns
Halveret Cross
A trade town located at a shallow river ford, where merchants from across Delmora converge during the dry season.
Meveth’s Rise
A northern town perched atop river-carved bluffs. Known for windwatch towers and early-melt irrigation systems.
Talren Gate
Situated at the northern mouth of the Southern Spur, this town serves as a customs checkpoint and guardian of the southern routes.
Dovris Bend
Built at a dramatic river meander. Known for its spiral temples and rotating ferry bridges.
Luraen Ford
A fortified farming town reliant on flood-irrigation systems. It oversees key grain transport along the mid-river.
Velinhar
A stone-built town at the base of the Northern Highlands. Known for its cold-resistant aquaculture practices.
Keshvar Landing
A lakeside port-town that trades in algae textiles and fishsmoke, popular among lake travelers.
Mossglen
A riverbank settlement surrounded by willow forests. Renowned for its weavers and herbalists.
Ulthwen Reach
A mixed Ruvin-Ulshari town on a river-lake inlet. Serves as a neutral meeting place between factions.
Perched on a rocky island where two tributaries merge. It features defensive stone terraces and layered docks.
Calthmere
A trade-focused town nestled in a lowland floodplain. Uses elevated trellis housing to avoid seasonal inundation.
Zarthis Hollow
A foggy lakeside town built partially underground. Home to seers and silent sanctuaries.
Villages
Villages are numerous and primarily agricultural, spiritual, or centered around fishing and minor trade. A few named examples:
- Rasthir Hollow – A crescent-shaped lake village known for water gardens and bioluminescent algae farms.
- Vernil Spring – Nestled beside a freshwater tributary. Known for reedcraft and pilgrimage festivals.
- Torlis Fen – Built on stilts over a floodplain. Renowned for amphibious livestock herding.
- Eshar’s Drift – A mobile barge-village of seasonal farmers and traders.
- Luthen Spire – Features a bell tower that serves as a flood gauge and weather signaler.
- Dremel Wash – A riverbend farming cluster dependent on seasonal silt deposits.
- Kareth’s Circle – Centered around an ancient, overgrown stone ring believed to mark a forgotten flood oracle.
(Additional villages can be inserted here as your worldbuilding expands.)
Outposts
- Ravenspike Watch – A tower at the edge of the Northern Highlands, used for weather prediction and border defense.
- Saltford Bastion – A supply depot at the southern end of the river route, where brackish water begins.
- The Overflow – A defensive structure built to divert excess floodwater from reaching the central river towns.
- Thalen's Gap – A canyon outpost used for monitoring landslides and spring runoff surges.
- Shroud Basin Post – A fog-shrouded lake station housing the Keepers of Stillness.
- The Southwater Span – A minor customs outpost and ferry checkpoint near the southernmost lake routes.