The Elara River was born on a Tuesday, at 3:47 in the afternoon, when a survey team led by Mira Sange watched a trickle become a stream become a torrent that cut a new wound across the Obsidian Ridge. Mira sent a message via the new telegraph line that had been strung between the northern outpost and Harma's Rest. The message was eight words: *The water is here. Come north, mapmaker.* Fendrel received the message in the map room of the public library, where he had been sleeping on a cot for the past six months.
