The Frey River with the Brumma and Mund Rivers on other side, and the Polf River that these tributaries empty into. Howls and Howls' Wharf being supported by the Frey
The Frey, -as was later known the river Frauja, Frohila, later called by the werewolves of Mondwargh as Freya, and finally shortened as Frey- was a river, being was one of the tributaries to the great Polf River of Polforia. It was one of the rivers that flowed from south to north down the Reivelin Highlands to reach the Polf. It was an important water highway for the Werewolf tribe of the White Fang.
The Frey River often was the western border of Mondwargh. It was a river link with the west side of Mondwargh and with the werewolf clans of the White Fang and the Silver Moon, holding Mondwargh together
Description
Relation to Other Rivers
The Frey was a smaller tributary river than the (anti clockwise in location) Nur, Brumma, Mund, and Gred, and so, fell short of major river status. Even so, it flowed from the Reivelin Highlands to the south up into Lesser Polforia, much like the Mund river. and was located between the Brumma to the west and the Mund to the east.
Characteristics
As expected, it was born in southern Reivelin as a series of springs and meltwater runoff that merged into a fast running river tumbling down rocky slopes. It would slow down as the elevation decreased, and would then spread out into the increasingly flat land of central Polforia until it was a wide river, but often a shallow one, with little river 'islets' emerging occasionally. Even so, it didn't branch and 'braid' as some rivers over flat land do, being insufficient volume, and better defined than that. It was useful as a trade river for being deep enough to carry river boats down from the rich farmlands of Reivelin, and by its last half of its length, as it flowed along beside northern Mondwargh and into Lesser Polforia, its flow slowed considerably.
Over time, silting and the characteristics of volcanic ash deposits would see the river shift its course. It did not have a very deep bottom, but was well suited for shallow draft river boats.
Weather
It could swell up its banks considerably due to spring melting or rainwater, this could make it dangerous, but also useful for bottomland farming. The winter was known for freezing the river over, as the volume dropped and flow decreased.
History
Early
The Frey doubtlessly played a major regional role in the far past. As a river that was large enough to be broadly useful but small enough and often gentle enough to be crossed, it would bring settlements towards its banks. Tribes of Orcs, Beast People and Elf folk would either congregate at its banks or migrate over crossings.
Kanov Settlements
While Kanov peoples are rarely thought of (somewhat unfairly) as great builders of large communities, they do often build elaborate farm communities and villages. The course of the Frey -specially the fertile Reivelin- would be dotted with such settlements that had been settled, abandoned and forgotten and sometimes re-founded over the centuries in particularly useful areas, or as the river sometimes shifted. Settlements gradually becoming more elaborate over time, the lands between the Mund River to the east and the Frey River to the west being known as Western Kololardia, settled by Kanovs with Human serfs and migratory indigenous peoples.
This degree of poor development of a land would not much please the Confederation of Free Peoples, that is, the Dark Legion, but was seen as an acceptable issue so long as the werewolves remained loyal. As it was, this often swampy wilderness was difficult to tame as it was, so why not just leave it to the werewolves in a nearly natural state?
Mondwargh
The Kanovs were strong enough, and developed enough to fight the coming of the Werewolves of the Dark Legion. They would lose, but only after enduring the most savage fighting the werewolves were capable of, and demonic werewolf society being pushed and twisted in no small part due to the conflicts. The werewolves would win, expelling or subjugating the kanov people, they would found the demonic kingdom on Mondwargh, but their king, the Soul Shard demon werewolf known as Finsternis, would be assassinated by a werewolf uprising by Cyrti Burnt Paws. The werewolf realm as a unified kingdom would be a short-lived affair, and would split into a series of fiefdoms by the various clans due to the Pride of the Wolf ideology. What this meant for the region and the Frey River, was that for the next few hundred years, the region and the Frey River would remain underpopulated.
Polforian States Period
After the First War of the Power, west of the Frey River, there were colonies set up of Weseuros humans, elves, and Half Elf people called the Polforian States of the Outregam. These colonies were meant to prevent the rise of another demonic dark legion, and to profit from the land through colonization. The kingdom of Avaynti to the south, hugging the Southern Dargoina Mountains, foothills and valleys, and its vassal state of Reivelin to the north in the Reivelin highlands, in the forested region before it turned into the increasingly swampy lowlands sought to develop the region. There was a concerted effort to use the Frey River for trade, mills and farming, but the werewolves on the east side of the river would not allow it to happen.
There was a culture clash between the victorious allies of these new colonies and the werewolf 'demons', who were discounted as wild demons. The werewolves themselves still following the "Pride of the Wolf" ' dogma would not have been easy to treat with even if the colonies had honestly and fairly tried. So, the Frey River was a site of bloodbaths of werewolf raids, with the clans then retreating to the east side of the river and their hinterland home ranges within Mondwargh. After the abandonment of the High elves' colonizing effort of Daimar'Yar at the mouth of the Polf River, and its 'reversion' to a 'demon' state; further attempts of scaled up use of the river as trade were halted. Save for local use, the river lost importance and became known mostly for being a sometimes bloody borderline.
The colonies needed to look to the west for their trade and sustenance. Roads being long and often dangerous in their own right. The Avaynti Kingdom and Reivelin lasted longer than most of the colonies as no major Remnants of the Dark Legion threatened them. But the recovery of the orcish nation of Brûm to the north would change this, as did werewolves from Mondwargh, (and other wilderness threats, tribes of orcs and goblins would also do their part from many directions). The werewolves of Mondwargh would ultimately do much to bring down these colonies to the west, until the populations had left, or been killed or captured. Avaynti fallen or being abandoned in the 2380s by pressure from Brum and the peoples from the Dargoina mountains, and Reivelin following in the 2390s The White Fang in particular would take part in bringing down Reivelin, and take survivors as slaves into the village of Livegnet just on the east side of an old Frey River crossing.
Return of the Dark Legion
Circa 2436 A.a.H., the returning Dark Legion of Demons would reinstate it's authority over the werewolf clans of Mondwargh, using force, diplomacy and cohersion during the Wars of Reunification.
With the return of the Dark Legion -and the conquest of Reivelin-, much of these lands would be put into use again, and trade would flourish again along the Frey river, no longer a dangerous frontier, but an integrated part of the legion, which served to carry the supplies produced by fertile Reivelin to the larger demon cities down the Polf river.
Examples of this expansion, would be the founding of towns as Howls and Howls' Wharf on it's northern, lower half and in the more swampy regions.
(SHABAZIK Note: the following text is interesting, but I feel doesn't have much relation to the Frey river. As well as clarification, while Rippien the Tasteless did use the White Fang, the White Fang wasn't the only clan that served his purpose, neither was the first one. He was a member of the Dead Moon clan, and several clans had already turned to the Dark Legion -mostly northern clans of the lowlands, more linked to the rest of the Legion due trade in the Polf, unlike the the southern clans of the highlands and mountains, who in general resisted the take-over. There wasn't an argument that the werewolves had already done their part by eliminating the colonies: that had happened decades before the return of the demons, so wasn't ever considered.
Because of changed river course, it can't serve to travel the lenght of western Mondwargh. For that, they have to go to the Mund river instead, and go up some of the Mund tributaries.)
the Soul Stone werewolf Rippien the Tasteless, a Fallen Knight of the reconstituting Dark Legion would come into Mondwargh lands of the White Fang. Very likely using the Polf and Frey rivers, very likely because the White Fang were among the first very large werewolf tribe he would have encountered. Also, the White Fang had a grim and terrifying reputation; so Rippien saw them either excellent enforcers to exert the will of the Dark Legion, or to be crushed by the Dark Legion as an example to the other werewolves. Hence, he treated with the coincidently named Freya White Fang which would begin the Dark Legion's War for Reunification in Mondwargh, resulting in years of war to force the various peoples to give up their sovereignty and to form legions of werewolves, kanovs and orcs to fight for the Dark Legion to conquer The Five Kingdoms of the Northwest, and all of the continent of Aels.
Clearly, the argument that the werewolves had already done their part by eliminating the colonies bordering to west wasn't sufficient.
This war of reunification would largely coincide with the arrival of the escaped werewolf slaves from the colony of Roccasone, who had escaped in a slave revolt in 2437 A.a.H. Led by a revolt leader Pumori of the White Fang, niece of the Wild Fang alpha, Freya, Pumori had spent some time in her ruined childhood home in Rievelin, and then crossed the river to treat with the White Fang. The need to hunt and fight, and for loyal support for Freya, would allow Pumori to rise quickly in the White Fang, it would also make her a favorite of Rippien when he would stop by the Howling Keep, again, probably using the Frey River to get there.
The Frey River would be useful during the War of Reunification, and afterwards, the towns of Howls and Howls' Wharf would spring up in White Fang lands by or near the river. While very modest to most developed regions, this would represent the most development that this low river-land region of Polforia had ever seen, and it would arise in the course of decades. The Frey River being necessary for the existence and speedy construction of these towns. Further, the river would allow individuals to travel much of the length of western Mondwargh to hold meetings such as the alliance the White Fang had with the Silver Moon in the southern highlands of Mondwargh, or for the Werewolf Council.
End
Like most all features of Polforia, the Frey River would be destroyed in 2675 A.a.H. as a result of the The Cataclysm.