Lore:Bjoulsae River

The Bjoulsae River is a major river that forms most of the border between Hammerfell and High Rock. It is the home of the River Horse Bretons, tribes of nomadic Bretons  that live throughout the river and nearby Bangkorai.  The river's water source is the vast Halcyon Lake, found in the dead center of Mournoth. The river advances southwest pass the kingdom of Evermore until it empties into the Iliac Bay.  There are two rivers that empty into the Bjoulsae River: one is the Jugular from the north somewhere east of Wind Keep,   and the other is the Yrinthi River, which is infested with pirates like the Bjoulsae and the Iliac.   Rowboat racing throughout the Bjoulsae River has been a popular pastime for centuries.  
 

History
thumb|right|Wayrest
thumb|left|Bisnensel-by-the-Lake
In the early years of the  , High King   of   sought to expand his   west into High Rock to liberate the proto-Bretons from the   of the  . His initial campaign only took him as far west as the Bjoulsae River, but anything beyond that was out of the  s reach.  However, sometime later their conquest expanded all the way west to what is now modern-day   by  . 

Sometime after their exile from  , the   King of  ,   and his people traveled to the Bjoulsae River and were eventually welcomed by the Direnni. In that time, they built their new city,   and even made peace with the local Bretons and the  s. These events took place between   and  . 

As early as  , the hamlet of   was built on the mouth of the Bjoulsae River, merely a rudimentary collection of huts.   In that time, it was constantly harassed by the Orcish war parties from their village-fortress to the north,   and the   pirates from the islands to the west. By then, the Orsimer had gained serious control over   and may have even built a settlement in the name of their king,  .  They were determined to control the Bjoulsae River when some of their own were displaced by the   in the south.  It was the former's constant raids that inspired King   of Daggerfall to write a letter to   in  . When the   ended in  , the destruction greatly opened trade in the Bjoulsae River, resulting in the formation of the  . It was created by the hard-working traders and merchants of the Bjoulsae River, and not only did it bring about a decline for piracy, it also led to a great expansion of the Bjoulsae's trade and community.  One such factor that contributed to this was Daggerfall's   trade, which came from plundered ivory from Orsinium. 

thumb|left|Evermore
thumb|right|King Gortwog of Nova Orsinium
At this point, Wayrest controlled both sides of the river bank and the merchant family, the  s built a walled palace on the north side of the river. Their palace served as the basis of the modern city as many buildings and banks were built around it. Wayrest became a kingdom in   and their first King was  .  Meanwhile, further into the Bjoulsae River, the River Horse Bretons built their own city and trading hub called   in  . 

After the destruction of Evermore and   in  , the   horde led by Emperor   crossed the Bjoulsae River and laid their eyes on Wayrest. The Siege of Wayrest, as it was called lasted for fifty-seven days since they did not have siege weapons to breakdown the walls, nor ships to sail into the city's harbor. The Black Drake left some of his forces in Wayrest and continued west toward  . Unbeknownst to them, Earl   of Cumberland took his soldiers on merchant trade ships to rendezvous with King   in Daggerfall. 

 's campaign over High Rock brought the   to the Bjoulsae River, in an important conflict called the Battle of the Bjoulsae. The navy led a surprise attack on Wayrest's naval forces and crushed them at dawn.   led a squadron during the battle before he succeeded   as an Admiral and before his resounding victory in the  . 

When strange reports of King  ' ghost roaming Daggerfall began to reach Emperor   in  , he sent an   of the   to quell the spirit. They traveled down the Yrinthi River from deeper in the mainland via an inconspicuous ship to avoid pirates and into the Bjoulsae River. From there they traveled to the Iliac Bay until they were stranded by an unnatural storm and washed up onto  .   Their exploits in the Iliac Bay had led up to the events of the   in  , on the 9th of Frostfall. On that same day, an ambassador of the Emperor,   sailed down the Bjoulsae on an Imperial barge and passed by the river village of  . At that moment, a large tidal wave passed through the coast and sunk the barge among many others. Not long after, the north Bjoulsae region and most notably   was caught in a battle between Wayrest and Orsinium. Many villages were caught in the crossfire and were burned down. The King of Orsinium,   took profitable portions of the Bjoulsae Rivercoast. 

Geography
Hammerfell
The south side of the Bjoulsae River is part of the province of Hammerfell, until it extends northeast toward Evermore and Halcyon Lake, which is already part of High Rock. The Hammerfell side of the river mouth is a forested region east of the  . It contains political entities associated with the  , which includes the  , the  , and the  .  All of them were absorbed into  , the Kingdom of   in the wake of the Warp in the West.  King   took many precautions to make sure they were kept under his control but a rebellion ensued with the True Crowns of the north, near  .  There is a small portion of the   that is located on the tip of the river mouth, north of the minor city,   and the valley of death, the  . 

High Rock
thumb|right|The Bjoulsae River Bridge
thumb|left|The Flooded Plantations of Gavaudon
The north side of the Bjoulsae River and further inland is part of High Rock. It runs alongside the southern coast of  , around the   and later the Fiefdom of Gavaudon to the east of it. It is said that the plains of Gavaudon are flooded by the waters of the Bjoulsae and that they provide very rich soil. It attracts the hard-working class of farmers who can withstand the cold and wet temperatures. The region has been known to have been raided by Orc war parties.  There is several aquatic fauna that lives on the north side of the river such as the common  , but also river fish like the  , the  , and the  . In the halfway point between the river and the Iliac Bay are sea fish such as the  , the  , and the  . 

The river advances northeast into the mainland region of Bangkorai. There is a large drawbridge that connects Stormhaven with Bangkorai and leads directly to the city of Evermore, which sits right on top of the river. At this point, the Bjoulsae River tightens into its original cascading streams and boats can no longer navigate further in. Evermore is the last stop on the trade route, but it is a nexus that branches High Rock proper with the north wastes of Hammerfell, and neighboring cities such as Orsinium to the north, and  's city-states,   and   to the east.  There is a bountiful supply of fish from this point, ranging from saltwater fish like the  , the  , the  , and the  . There is also river fish from the northeast such as the  , the  , the  , and the  .  As stated before, the Bjoulsae River continues northeast into the wilderness of   until it reaches Lake Halcyon. Along the way are minor settlements like the fishing village,   and the farming community of  .

Islands
thumb|right|Blackheart Haven
There are dozens of small islands throughout the mouth of the Bjoulsae River that are used by sea raiders and smugglers as hideouts or safe refuges.  Akaviri pirates have been known to inhabit some of these islands since at least the early First Era. 

; : A mountainous island that was notoriously used by the infamous pirate captain, Blackheart and his dreaded crew.  It has since been his tomb after he was lifted from a cursed caused by the Daedric Lord,  . 

;Unnamed East Island (Satakalaam): An island north of mainland Satakalaam, slightly larger than the eastern island. 

;Unnamed Island (Mournoth): A large and long island found north of mainland Mournoth. The eastern end of the island is directly on the river mouth, not far from Wayrest. 

;Unnamed Island (Wayrest): A large island located directly west of Wayrest city and southeast of Menevia county. 

;Unnamed West Island (Satakalaam): An island north of mainland Satakalaam, slightly smaller than the western island. 

Gallery
 

Notes
The mouth of the Bjoulsae River makes up the coasts of the Gavaudon, Mournoth, and Wayrest regions in Daggerfall. It appears as the name of a region in the files, but is not designated as such in the worldspace.

References