Rakhdumis

The Rakhdumis is a major river of Hashuru, and one of the major right tributaries of the Ansarién. Rising in the Teak Mountains, far to the south of Hashuru proper, it flows for more than half of its course through what is known as the Great Teak Forest, with its drainage basin accounting for much of the central portions of the rainforest. This provides a valuable transportation, used since distant history by the Hashurukasane to travel into the forest.

Geography

 * Length: 1,412 km

While it is known, or reasoned, that the Rakhdumis arises in the Teak Mountains, little is known about much of the river's first quarter or so, owing to inaccessibility and waterfalls which make the river unnavigable. These waterfalls include the Lunakh Falls and the Rapids of Comurakh; the latter is named after Comurakh, a frontier fortress and town founded by the State of Hashuru.

North of Comurakh, the course of the river is well mapped out. It flows in a northwesterly direction from the town, before turning north and then - at the city of Gantomar, which stands on the edge of the forest - turning to the northeast. By now it flows through mostly open terrain, with many areas around its banks under cultivation.

At the lower part of its course, the Rakhdumis splies into several separate waterways, creating a large area of marshlands and swamp forests; it then merges with the Komekhmis, another major river of the rainforest. This long confluence creates one of the largest swamplands in the central of Hashuru. The merged river, which is also known as the Rakhdumis, then flows north for a short distance before becoming the southern 'finger' of Lake Murandova, flowing almost at a right angle to the main body of the lake which is formed by the Ansarién.

Ecology
The Rakhdumis is known to be a home of the Murandova Porpoise, a subspecies of the Ansarién Porpoise which lives throughout the middle and lower courses of the river. Besides this, it also hosts many species of fish, including a grey variation of the ubiquitous black river catfish which is so beloved of the cuisine of Hashuru.

History
The lower course of the Rakhdumis has had a long history of settlement, given the ease of transport. In the earliest records of the State of Hashuru, it is clear that the area was settled by peoples culturally linked to the forest-dwelling populations farther south, who had spread north all the way to Murandova.