Lake Thukdova

Lake Thukdova is a large lake which lies along the course of the Ansarién river, in the southeastern portion of the Empire. Fed by several major rivers, of which the largest is the Ansarién, it is a sacred lake to the Ansakasane, and lies in the southern region of a belt of wetlands stretching south from Lake Condova, through what is called the Great Marsh of the Nine Rivers.

Names and Etymology

 * Itarakoské: Thukdova silnuya, 'Lake Thukdova'
 * Hashurukoské: Thukdova
 * Ansahaské: Mavagalla/Hekkorogalla

As with Condova, the Itarakoské name is derived directly from the name in Hashurukoské. To the Hashurukasane, the position of Thukdova on the southeast of the geographical barrier between them and Ansa earned it the name, which literally means 'distant lake' or 'thither lake' as opposed to Condova, the 'nearby lake'.

To the Ansakasane, who worship the lake, it is known as Mavagalla, 'Great Lake', or sometimes just Galla, the lake. Alternatively, it is also known as Hekkorogalla, literally 'marsh lake', because it feeds into a large marsh even when it is not in flood.

Geography
Lake Thukdova, much like Condova to its north, is not normally a lake that sits along the course of the Ansarién; rather, it gathers inflows from much of the eastern Teak Mountains, and overflows into a broad, flat marsh, which then joins the Ansarién. This marsh is part of the Great Marsh of the Nine Rivers, and its low-lying and flat terrain is what enables the swelling of Thukdova on most years.

In the dry season, Thukdova is still a large lake, at around 5,120 square kilometres; much of it is very shallow, however, averaging about 3 metres deep. Once the flood season comes, the flow from the Thukdova over the marshes first increases slightly, but is then overwhelmed by the Ansarién and reverses back into Thukdova. Lacking an outflow, the lake quickly swells over the floodplain surrounding it, swelling up and merging with the Ansarién; this flood tends to come around the 6th month, peaking in the 8th month and receding thereafter.

The flooding of the Thukdova can vary widely depending on the level of rainfall each year. There are years when the Thukdova does not really flood at all; the marshes become a lake, but the lake itself does not swell. This is usually taken to be a great, evil omen for the year to come - not least because of how dependent local agriculture is on rainfall. Alternatively, the Thukdova could swell up to some 17,500 square kilometres, three and a half times its usual area, if the summer storms come with regularity; in years where typhoons sweep in from the sea and add even more rainfall to the lake, it can even swell up to 23,200 square kilometres, inundating vast areas of farmland with devastating effects on the economy. Besides those years, however, the flooding of the lake is generally seen as a boon rather than a curse, for the abundance of aquatic riches it brings.