>"On the banks of the great, gray, greasy Limpopo river..." It was
>indeed Kipling, he wrote exceedingly good stories. Anyone who liked
>the cartoon Jungle Book should read the original Kipling. It would
>give them a nasty shock and a vastly superior story - personally I
>can't stand the cartoon since I read the book!
"...All bedecked with fever trees." Whilst Kipling was a tad jingoistic for me, his imagery is good. The great, grey greasy Limpopo is an _excellent_ model for the river between the wastes (prax) and Teshnos. A very dry, thorn-covered velt suddenly reaching a (relatively) lush river valley (at least when its flowing ;) filled with tall fever trees, hippos and crocodiles. Fever trees have to be seen to be believed - Tall, thin trees with bark and leaves of an almost irridicincet yellow, very jaundiced looking and very different from the other acacias on the velt. Of course the Malaria and other nasty diseases help as well...
In rules terms I would have them as Malia-trees that generate/attract disease spirits that are capable of possesing men and beasts - mostly the shakes (debilitating but mostly non-lethal), but a small chance of brain fever (highly lethal...).
Cheers,
Dave
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