Lake Condova

Lake Condova is a large lake and wetland which lies on the northeast of Hashuru. Fed by the Ansarién river, it is best known for its summer floods when the lake can swell four to five times in size, though even in the dry season it is one of the largest lakes in the south of the Empire.

Condova forms the northern end of a belt of marshlands, known as the Great Marsh of the Nine Rivers, which stretches for hundreds of kilometres from northwest to southeast, eventually reaching the even larger Lake Thukdova. This vast area of swamps, lakes and rivers in turn forms the border between the Hashurukasane on its west, and the Ansakasane who inhabit the lowest reaches of the Ansarién.

Names and Etymology

 * Itarakoské: Condova silnuya, lit. 'Lake Condova'
 * Hashurukoské: Cyundova
 * Ansahaské: Shoséngalla or Mibegalla

The name of the lake in Itarakoské is taken directly from the name used by the Hashurukasane, through whom they first knew about the lake's existence. It is a tautology, however; Dova itself means 'lake' in Hashurukoské.

Cyun-dova in Hashurukoské literally means 'nearby lake' or 'hither lake', in reference to the position of the lake as being closer to Hashuru than to Ansa; this is directly opposed to the name Thukdova, which literally means 'thither lake' or 'distant lake'.

The Ansakasane, too, recognise the importance of Condova as a dividing point between them and the western foreigners; Shosén-galla literally means 'border lake'. It is also known to them as Mibegalla, 'north lake', referring to its position north of the lake that the Ansakasane view to be sacred - Thukdova.

Geography
The geography of Condova changes dramatically over the course of each year, with the volume of the Ansarién which feeds into it from the west. Two main seasons can be discerned; the dry season lasts from early autumn, around the 12th month, for about nine months to the 5th month. After this comes the flood season, which normally peaks around the 7th and 8th months and slowly dissipates thereafter.

Even during the dry season, Condova is a rather large lake, with an area of around 4,400 square kilometres; it is quite shallow, however, with an average depth of around 3.5 metres, reaching around 11 metres at most. The terrain in and around the lake is mostly a large floodplain, with a single channel known as the Condovamis which flows out of the lake and into the Ansarién.

In the early summer, the Ansarién becomes swelled with snowmelt, which is then greatly reinforced by the monsoon rains and tropical storms which are swept in from the east during the summer. At the same time, the thunderstorms over the Cloud Mountains feed rivers that flow into Condova. This glut of water in the summer, coupled with the generally flat terrain, causes dramatic changes in the hydrology. The Condovamis first reverses course, forcing water into Condova from the Ansarién; then the river disappears entirely as Condova swells and the Ansarién feeds directly into it. This vastly increases the area of the lake.

On most years, the lake would normally reach around 15,800 square kilometres, a nearly fourfold increase; on exceptional years with serious storms, however, Condova can reach up to 19,500 square kilometres. The plain around the lake's shores are so flat, however, that despite its vastly increased area it is still only around 5.5 to 6.5 metres deep on average.

Ecology
Much like its geography, the ecological shape of the lake is also determined by its cycles of flood and recession. Much of the floodplain is populated with long grasses, sedges, and flood-resistant trees; this luxuriant plant growth provides a habitat for reptiles and mammals during the dry season. Once the floods come, however, the area then becomes an ideal breeding ground for fish all along the Ansarién.

Past the high-water mark of the annual floods, the area around Lake Condova is thickly forested. While the eastern portion, towards Ansa, opens up gradually, on its west the plain shades into a series of low hills (about 50 to 60 metres on average); the plant growth here is dense, including not just trees but also vast groves of giant bamboo with stems 20 cm in diameter and growing some 30 metres tall. This area is home to large populations of deer and wild cattle, as well as more dangerous animals like the wild boar, black bear, leopard and tiger. Wolves are also a common sight here, roaming in packs of 10 to 20.

Fish
The water teems with fish all year round, but the flood season is when it is at its richest. By flooding over tall grass and mighty, water-resistant trees, the Condova provides the perfect nursery for many sorts of river fish. Young fish spend weeks in the waters and the plentiful shelter, before the natural recession of the flood washes them back into their natural home in the Ansarién.

While there are scores of edible fish species, just a few make up the staple protein sources of the fishermen. Great shoals of silver-white Kinik fish, which average about 12 to 15 cm in length, can be caught in traps which make use of water flows to channel fish in. Another sort of fish that is commonly trapped this way is the river lance, a long and thin fish about 10 to 20 cm in length. These two species are the main constituents of nikrelun, and of dried fish paste blocks.

Further up the trophic level are larger fish, generally too valuable to be mashed into fish sauce.