Name that River!

[Irongron]

Some time ago I expanded upon the river that runs through Bendir Dale, making both the Gorge and Riverbank, and out to sea via the foothills.

For an upcoming update I'm expanding on this yet further, and it occurs to me; this river does not have a name...

Or perhaps it does and I'm not aware?

So if know of a name of that has been used for the river, or want to make a suggestion for one, please do so!

[Cortex]

beerstain river

[thimblegiant]

beerstain river

He said Bendir Dale, not Brog...

[Xerah]

shyr is the halfling word for river that could be used in a name.

Like, just call it the Shyr if it is the only river nearby, I could see that being a thing.

[Party in the forest at midnight]

Watershield River, it provides a natural barrier against all of the denizens of the wilds that would otherwise eat earthkin, like the nearby orcs and gnolls of the forest.

[ActionReplay]

beerstain river

He said Bendir Dale, not Brog...

Winestain River?

[Izaich]

The River Amblis, named after one of Bendir's first mayors, Lincoln Amblis. I especially like this, because rivers are known to meander, which is a synonym for the word amble!

[The GrumpyCat]

shyr is the halfling word for river that could be used in a name.

Like, just call it the Shyr if it is the only river nearby, I could see that being a thing.

Better yet the Shyr River

[Mythic]

Ambliss Shyr sounds like a nice name for a river!

[Subutai]

I'm not sure on a good name, having not played a halfling, but I'd like to make a bit of a point in favor of a simple name. The charm of Bendir, every time I pass through, is the rural, idyllic look. Much moreso than any other settlement on the server, it has the look of a place folks would want to go for a quiet, simple life. It might not always be so, and halflings are certainly known for being daring and adventuresome, but I feel a nice name like "The Shyr", or naming it after some local common usage for it (what might halflings ship up and down on the river, or what kind of agricultural activity might it be known for? ) would really fit well with the peaceful names like "Bendir Dale".

Last minute idea: What about Bendir River, River Bendir, Bendir Shyr, Shyr Bendir (whatever ordering Hin uses). If Bendir is in a dale (a valley) it would make sense that the river would go through the dale. Bendir Dale is so named because it's the valley that River Bendir goes through, or vice versa.

[theCountofMonteCristo]

I could get behind Ambliss River or Ambliss Shyr.

[woodbreeze]

I like the simplicity of ''The Shyr''.

[Red Ropes]

The Little Dab

[Kuma]

Valtheran's Slave Canal

[Red Ropes]

Valtheran's Slave Canal

i change my mind, this

[Opustus]

The Bendir Brook?

[Huschpfusch]

River of the Namless (Halfling that drowned in it)... or better yet: "Rîvör" or anything ridiculous like that
becäuse äll nämes äre möre äwesömê (=hin) with stränge stûff ön them.
But joking aside, whatever name is ultimately agreed upon - would be nice to have DM event then that gives storybackground to name and also thus gives reason for characters to start calling the river by its name.

[Seven Sons of Sin]

I think simple names give a more elegiac/epic quality, which is something I always lean towards. But I also like the sound of the Shyr.

Midriver.

Middle-river.

The Halfway, half-river, "the half"

The Westwardly (it flows west-ish to east), or the Westward, or the 'west-river'

Who are the founding members of Fort Bendir? Could call it "the Maliss." "the Ambliss", or "peace-river" after the Stonehold conflicts, which could be "the River Peace", etc.

[Ork]

The Shyr gets my vote.

[Durvayas]

'The Ambliss River' gets my vote.

'The Shyr' is too close to 'the shire' and honestly we have enough LoTR bleed on arelith to begin with. lets not make it worse.

[Dr. B]

Where does that River start, anyway? I think in the Arelith forest, right? Or a I thinking of the wrong river? It would be neat if the source could originate in the Dark Spires, starting as a little stream. It might make a lot of sense to connect the Nexus falls to that river, so that the headwaters start near Brog. The idea of a river connecting the two Earthkin settlements is thematically interesting, and perhaps the river's name could take inspiration from that.

[Subutai]

'The Shyr' is too close to 'the shire' and honestly we have enough LoTR bleed on arelith to begin with. lets not make it worse.

I agree with this sentiment.

[thimblegiant]

beerstain river

He said Bendir Dale, not Brog...

Winestain River?

Or the Brandywine...somehow has a nice familiar ring to it.

But really, what would a halfling call it? Personally, I'm a little baffled by halfling culture in FR, especially on Arelith. Some people play them like Kender and some more like Hobbits. Are halflings fun loving, curious and almost child like, or brave and quiet homebodies? Would they name the river after a mayor that accidentally fell in, or after a legendary battle where they nearly lost their homeland? Or something simple like "The Shyr", which is cool, but maybe too pedestrian for a hin?

Sorry - no suggestions from me, just asking questions.

[Xerah]

But really, what would a halfling call it?

They would 100% call it the Shyr. This happens often with things in human linguistics. A specific city becomes The City. A big island is called The Island. The nearby forest is called the Woods/Forest/etc. People assume if you are close to something, you have familiarity with it and can shorthand these things to descriptive terms. This is doubly so in the case of something unnamed when it is the only one of the THING in that area. Even if it were to get a name now, people would call it by the other name for a long time.

Or it can just all be retconned to whatever.

[Nikko]

'The Shyr' is too close to 'the shire' and honestly we have enough LoTR bleed on arelith to begin with. lets not make it worse.

I agree with this sentiment.

I don't know, I say if you can't come up with a linguistically and historically appropriate name go full Tolkien and just give up and name it Mount Doom.