Editing Thunder Rift (section)

===Locations of the Rift===
The '''Farolas Hills''' are a region of smooth, evenly rounded brown knolls littered with sagebrush and small trees that occupies the far north and west portions of Thunder Rift. They terminated to the east in grassland, and to the west against a sheer cliff-face. Here, the dwarves have built the fortress-city of ''Hearth-Home'', which guards one of the only exits out of Thunder Rift from roving clans of orcs.

East of the Farolas Hills is the northern sector of the Great Grasslands, where one can find three locales of note in close proximity: '''Lake Ostrel''', a major lake fed by a mighty waterfall known as the Plunging Cataract, with the human town of ''Kleine'' on its shores.

East of Kleine lie the '''Burning Hills''', a rocky, geothermally active badlands punctuated by steam vents and geysers, home to scattered stands of birch and pine.

East and south of the Burning Hills lies the '''Gauntlin Forest'''; covering nearly a quarter of Thunder Rift, this forest is almost as diverse in terrain as the wider rift. The forest density varies from sparse, straggly and dank on the Burning Hills borders to deep, thick but surprisingly well-lit in its southern reaches. Within the forest, one can find jagged hills in the north, rifts and ravines along the riverbanks, flatlands in the west and pleasantly rolling hills in the southeast. The east, which connects to the avalanche-prone walls of the Rift, is a jumble of ravines and hills, a realm of steep bluffs and rocky riverbeds. Magic runs thick and strong in the Gauntlin Forest, tamed in the elf-control parts, but recently prone to wild surges elsewhere, leading to bizarre, shifting terrain, unnatural phenomena, and the appearance of unearthly creatures. In the far east of the forest, a narrow goat trail leads up the steep cliff face and through the mountains to the lands beyond Thunder Rift - although, good luck getting out that way!

'''The Great Grasslands''' stretches from Thunder Rift's northernmost portion to almost the bottom third of the valley, interrupted only by sporadic forests. Encompassing everything from dusty plains to fertile farmland, these rolling prairies are littered with ancient battlefields, which are eagerly scavenged by violent, territorial bands of thugs-for-hire and would-be smiths. The weather is notoriously unpredictable here, due to the openness of the lands and the winds that sweep out of the surrounding mountains. The Grasslands are littered with homesteads and small villages made up of farmers and ranchers; the need to defend themselves means the people of these remote settlements are often surprisingly handy [[fighter]]s.

South of the Farolas Hills lie the '''Gloomfens''', the cursed unnatural swamp created by the great war between warriors and wizards. Stretching from the Great Grasslands in the east to the Rift walls in the west, it is a curiously deformed place, easily the ugliest part of the Rift. This muck-filled swampland consists of muddy plains, distorted and stumpy trees, and still pools of brackish water thick with scum and algae; the very air is still poisonous to breathe, and lies heavy with mist at all times. The only active water in the Gloomfens is a thin river that emerges from a large pond at the base of the western canyon wall, lazily trickling through the polluted fens until it collects into a wide, knee-deep basin and runs to the Drake River's delta in the grasslands. Above the source of this little river sits a strange keep with a creaking waterwheel perpetually turning at its side; nobody knows anything about it.

South of the Gloomfens lies the enchanted '''Brichtwood''', a magical place as beautiful as its northern neighbor is hideous. Lying under a perpetual summer, it is home to deer and small animals, which display uncanny courage towards humanoids. The source of all this strangeness is a magical spring at Brichtwood's center, which has the power to heal wounds, break curses and cure diseases. Those who know of the spring's power, which only remains in water drunk directly from the spring, guard it fiercely against abuse. And this protectiveness extends to the forest as well; would-be defilers will find the animals and even the plants will rise up against them and pull them down if they rouse Brichtwood's wrath.

Due east of Brichtwood lies the towering, unearthly trees of '''Grakken Wood'''. Although periodic attempts have been made to settle this dark, gloomy forest, all have come to ruin - and the ruins all share the appearance of having been crushed by something massive. Combined with the other signs - trees with huge claw marks, massive boulders split into pieces, trails worn deep into the earth by huge feet and remnants of battles between large opponents - and the wise give this place as much distance as they can.

Just east of northern Grakken Wood lies the '''Melinir Area''', a region of hills dotted with mines. In the east lies the town of Torlynn which, depending on if you've played ''Quest for the Silver Sword'' or not, is either recovering an evil spell that plunged its surroundings into an unnatural winter or still actively afflicted by it. South and west of Torlynn lies ''Melinir'', largest city of Thunder Rift, which sits of the shores of Lake Ganif, home to Mage Island and itself the northern borders of the Black Swamp.

South and west of Melinir lies the '''Marshwood''', a damp and sodden forest whose soil overflows with accumulated water. Infested with swarms of small stinging gnats, the Marshwood is gloomy, dank, and thoroughly depressing, and that's how the official [[splatbook]] describes it. In the past, particularly foolish settlers have tried to set up cabins here, and all have perished - worse, their clearcutting the trees around their cabins in the intent of setting up croplands and gardens have created a vicious cycle of oversaturation. The "groves" made as a result have become sucking quagmires that just grow increasingly boggy as the water builds up without anything to drain it; the ruined cabins are all starting to sink into these giant mudholes.

East of Marshwood, the pooling water accumulates and drains to form the real quagmires of the '''Black Swamp''', a green maze of moss-covered willows and cypresses full of bayous, quicksand and insectile pests. Worst still, the only known repellant in the Black Swamp is a rare plant called dinsweed, which looks too much like poison ivy for the average person to tell them apart.

Directly east of the Black Swamp, where the canyon winds aggressively push the moisture back west, are the lightly forested and cave-riddled '''Horned Hills''', which are home to the largest, most easily traversed known route into or out of Thunder Rift.

In Thunder Rift's southwest corner lie the '''Bone Hills''', a jagged, bleak and harsh environment of constant erosion. Every rainfall triggers flash floods that reshape the ravines, home to sporadic clumps of sagebrush and stunted trees, the whole landscape covered in thick, choking clouds of bone-white dust. Rumor has it that there's an exit from Thunder Rift to be found here, but nobody has ever proven it. This was the home of the dragon Ash the Red, and rumor has it a new wyrm has settled here.

Finally, the most notable waterway in Thunder Rift is the '''Drake River''', which flows through the entirety of the valley. Emerging from Lake Ostrel, this many-forking river follows a generally southward course; descending into the Great Grasslands, it splits into eastern and western branchess. The eastern branch flows into the Gauntlin Forest, joining a tributary from the Burning Hills, then separates again; one goes east to the forest's depths, the other descends south to rejoin the western branch. The West Drake River takes a southwestern route through the Grasslands, fed by tributaries from the Gloomfens and the mountains of Wizardspire, which it descends south to receive before turning southeast to enter Gauntlin Forest and converge with the East Drake River. The converged Drake descends south through the elven lands before emerging north of the Melinir Hills, where it forks again; an eastern branch flows past Torlynn into the Black Swamp, the western branch curves around the hills and partially into and through the Grakken Wood, where it is fed by runoff from Brichtwood. At Brichtwood, it forks yet again; a southern branch descends through more prairies before crossing into the Marshwood, where it flows east and south until it finally empties into the Bog of the Black Knight and leaves Thunder Rift. In comparison, the other branch flows past the city of Melinir and into Lake Granif, then emerges as a small stream on the other side and flows into the Black Swamp before seeping through a ravine in the Horned Hills. Naturally, this makes it a ''major'' trading and travel hub for the entire Rift.