There are a number of canals in Elessa, but the largest and most trafficked is the Baierkulei Canal, a project begun by Judge Octavius Markussohn Riviere, Tribune Gregory Marshallsohn Becker, and Commander Brian Pietersohn Janssen in the early 19th century, and completed by Judge Forrath in the early years of his rule in tandem with Becker and Janssen. By the 1880s, the Baierkulei was the second heaviest-trafficked stretch of waterway in Elessa, defeated only by the stretch of the Heilige going through Den Elessa itself.

The Baierkulei connects the River Azarag with the River Heilige, cutting through the marshiest parts of Forcett and Meergaarten – areas which previously had to be navigated by skilled guides who could handle the natural flora and fauna, the dangerously murky waters, and the demons, wraiths and other forms of feral magic that thrived on marsh and swampland. While none of these are gone, the Baierkulei’s 13-lock system allows larger ships to pass through and also provides a measure of safety, keeping the water clear and replacing an uncertain, circuitous journey with essentially a straight shot.

The engineering of the Canal, however, didn’t come from Elessa. Octavius Riviere famously travelled back and forth from Shufen in his youth (something no longer simple or easy with the Den Niederung disaster and the formation of the Vliegenvallei) and when the idea of a canal was raised, he wrote to a friend in Shufen, remembering the waterways he’d seen there. Rather than attempt to translate the actual engineering into Elessan, the friend in question came to Elessa and took on the project, with several of his own men in tow. The engineer’s name was Péng Cùan Lēo, and indeed an Elessanized version of his name lives on in the bridge crossing the canal at its final port in Kringwalde, Meergaarten (Kwanlow Bridge). Cùan Lēo was responsible for designing the lock system; each lock, operated by pulley and crank with later steam- and thaum- assistance, controls the water level on either side to allow boats to travel through without severe drops or changes in water level or speed. Each lock has a settlement founded around it, profiting off of the trade that the Canal brings, and while some are smaller than others, the Baierkulei is still majorly trafficked to this day.

The thirteen locks – and their settlements – are as follows:

Baierkulei/Azarag – Ximbet
Baierkulei 2 – Minette
Baierkulei 3 – Red River
Baierkulei 4 – Arlogne
Baierkulei 5 – Lafraai
Baierkulei 6 – Kikkerduivel
Baierkulei 7 – Menaarde
Baierkulei 8 – Gehricht
Baierkulei 9 – Swanbeak Mountain
Baierkulei 10 – Bjorns’ Falls
Baierkulei 11 – Fen Nuthu
Baierkulei 12 – Zeerkyung
Baierkulei/Heilige 13 – Kringwalde

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Out of Universe Notes:

The Baierkulei Canal is inspired by both the Rideau Canal and the Trans-Canada Railway! As a resident of Ottawa, I’ve always been fascinated by the Rideau Canal, but the history of the Railway — and it being the origin point for our massive Chinese population – is also equal parts interesting and horrifying.

The language of Shufen looks and sounds like Chinese (Mandarin, in particular) but it isn’t; the language is actually a mix of Mandarin and Irish Gaeilge sound sets, while the words are either transliterated from one or the other language or produced anew. The process in which they’re bastardized from Shufendao to Elessan, however, is very much in keeping with how Chinese is translated (or not) into English.

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