Lake of Mists

The Lake of Mists is the second largest freshwater lake in the Endless Waste. Fed by the heated waters from the Firepeaks and underground thermal springs.

Environment
The water of the Lake of Mists is warmer than normal. The difference in temperature causes thick fogs and damp mists throughout most of the fall, winter, and spring. The Lake of Mists has always been a place of mystery. Once part of the mighty Raumathar Empire, the lake is still surrounded by settlements and ruins from that age. Most notable of these is Almorel. However, many of the other small settlements have burial mounds and ruined keeps that are shunned by the locals. Stranger still are the creatures rumored to be living in the lake, somewhere near the bottom of its immense depths.

Trade
The settlements around the lake rely on the fishing and lumber industries for their trade. The lake is rich with sturgeon, salmon, and other fine game fish. The fishermen, in small boats of two to three men, go out every day to bring in their catch. Some is sold fresh, but most is dried, smoked, salted, or pickled and shipped toward Rashemen and Murghom. Smoked sturgeon and caviar from the lake are especially prized by the nobles of both courts.

The small forests around the shores of the lake are filled with old oak, walnut, and pine. These are cut and then floated to the towns. Most of the lumber is taken to the small mills or carpenters and used locally. Some, particularly the walnut, is towed across the lake and floated down the Clearflow to Murghom or loaded on wagons at Almorel. However, because lumber is difficult to ship, only a little is sent this way.

Notable locations
The settlements around the lake are mostly composed of Raumvira, a stocky, thick-bearded race. These people trace their ancestry back to the fall of the Raumathar Empire, although the nomads who surround the lake have had their effect, too. The Raumvira have not formed into a single country, but the towns generally support each other in a loose confederation. Government and titles are much the same from one to the other. These all follow the pattern set by Almorel, the largest of the Raumvira settlements.

Generally, the head of a settlement is the mechnik or sheriff. He is not the sole ruler, but heads the veche, the city council. Serving on the veche are the starosta, elders of the town. The veche hears cases and makes rulings in most matters. However, issues that affect a particular business must be presented to the appropriate guild or ulista. Matters relating to the fisheries are referred to the fishermen’s guild, the isad. The farmers are organized into the verv, and the lumbermen have formed the khod. Each guild has some power to approve or disapprove all judgments that affect it.