So I was recently pondering why Oslira does not provide Strongnet, unlike Engizi and Zola Fel. And I realized the answer is quite easy – the Oslira cult is not the cult of Weeders, who net fish. It is the cult of the Blue Serpent who was bound by the First Emperor, who is the mother of the Rice Goddess.
And this is played out in the marshlands around the Oslir River. The Weeders of Darjiin and Henjarl, that vast and generally powerless people of the Dara Happan underclass, revere Biselenslib, SurEnslib, and Yestendos the Reed Boy. They fish with nets. Oslira’s cult is about keeping the river goddess happy (and within her embankments). It is far more agriculturally oriented than Zola Fel or Engizi. Fishing is often with spear by the River Priests, while with net by the Weeders.
Among the Marsh Arabsof Southern Iraq , who are a great source of inspiration for the wetlands of Peloria (particularly Darjiin and Henjarl), we have a similar breakdown:
“Most of the Ma’dān spear the fish, but the members of a tribe called Berbera, who specialize in fishing, use cast nets and fixed shore nets to catch large amounts of fish and carry out poison fishing using toxic substances extracted from the Hindu datura (Datura stramonium) and other plants.”
Image – View of men in boats, spear fishing on Umm al Abid, Iraq, 1958 at Bridgeman Images.
Much of Peloria is continental semi-arid. Its great distance from any ocean and the role of the Rockwoods in blocking rain from the west makes me think it is more like Eastern Washington or the Hungarian plain than the comparative wet Mississippi valley.
Furthest is the wettest city of the Pelorian valley, at 34 inches.
Mirin’s Cross is 28 inches. Mirin’s Cross gets most of its precipitation in Storm Season.
Alkoth is 24 inches (think Kiev – the area of the Pripet Marshes). Alkoth is in a convergence zone that gets precipitation both in Fire Season and in Storm Season.
Glamour is 16 inches (Spokane). The presence of the Crater moderates the Northerly winds, but also means Glamour is in a rain shadow.
Raibanth is 14 inches. The presence of the Yelm cult definitely increases the number of cloudless days. Almost all of the precipitation falls in Fire Season, when the Pelorians worship Entekos the Rain Goddess and Dendara the Good Wife.
Yuthuppa is 18 inches. Almost all of the precipitation falls in Fire Season.
Elz Ast is 22 inches. Elz Ast is on the White Sea. Elz Ast is an awful place – the Pelorian version of Quebec City. Cold and miserable in winter even with the Kalikos Expedition.
Further west in Talastar and Brolia, you get more rain (maybe as much as 40 inches in Hazard Fort and Dorastor), because of the Rockwoods.
Further east it gets drier. The Arcos valley likely gets around 16 to 20 inches or so, and the Pentan grasslands get even less (probably around 12 to 14 inches). Yes, that means Pent is drier than Prax, but Prax gets its rain in huge useless downpours. And has the Desert Winds.