The Kojo River
The Kojo River is a massive, fast-flowing waterway located on the jungle planet of Eryn. Acting as a major geographical divider, the river cuts through the dense, sweltering landscape and serves as a natural boundary separating the Kalmansa Wilds to the west from the Sholorna Wilds to the east.
Geography and Environment
The Kojo River is characterized by its gray, turgid water that flows rapidly to the south. Despite the intense, oppressive heat of the surrounding jungle, the water of the Kojo River is freezing cold.
The river's path is treacherous and dynamic. In some areas, it is bordered by steep earthen embankments that drop directly into swift, wide currents. The river features dangerous rapids filled with slick, smooth rocks that can easily crush anyone swept away in the flow. Further downstream, the river drops off entirely, plunging over an impossibly high waterfall into a deep pool. This pool is located near the hidden ellr city of Aldaron, where the city's own glittering waterfalls cascade down the cliffside to eventually join the main river as it continues its journey south.
Near its southern end, where the Kojo River eventually meets the Kaja Ocean, the water can become brackish due to the ocean's backflow.
Key Events
Cariel's Awakening
After being brutally blinded, maimed, and left for dead by her rylak captors, the ellr slave Cariel (Magona) drags herself to the muddy banks of the river. Desperate for survival, she drinks the brackish water and uses the river's edge as a resting place. It is here, beside the water, that she is stalked by a lethal sakul bird and a kabul wildcat. Tapping into the trauma of her Broken soul, Cariel successfully soulbinds the wildcat, discovering her dark magical powers for the first time and saving her own life.
Lysa's Escape
Years later, the young ellr slave Lysa (Lys) is relentlessly hunted through the Kalmansa Wilds by a kabul wildcat. Cornered at the steep embankment of the Kojo River, she realizes she must choose between being torn apart by the cat or risking the deadly water. Clutching a stolen dragon egg to her chest, she leaps into the freezing river. The swift current sweeps her downstream, battering her against rocks and pulling her through violent rapids before she is thrown over a massive waterfall. She miraculously survives the plunge and is rescued from the pool below by the ellr of Aldaron, finally finding freedom from the rylak.
Jascyn's Flight
Following the death of the elite huntsake Skorn, Jascyn clings to the back of a massive, dying blue dragon named Ranu. The dragon takes flight, soaring high above the jungle canopy and carrying Jascyn eastward over the Kojo River. Crossing the river brings Jascyn into the Sholorna Wilds, showing him a breathtaking view of the world he had never before witnessed.