As opposed to the Thirr River Valley Visual Update thread, which has a very specific purpose, this thread is intended for the general characterization of the Middle Thirr. I do think the characterization is fairly solid already, but there are still a few blank spaces, and either way I think it would be advisable for us to put together a planning document for the region, though I don’t think we should set that as a top priority or anything.

Despite what the title of this thread might suggest, I’ve come to the conclusion that Middle Thirr is not much of an improvement over Thirr River Valley as the name of this region. At this point, I think mere geographically descriptive names might not be the way to go in this case. The reason I’m posting about this here rather than the obligatory name dedefecation thread is because I think the correct way to approach the issue is to round out our concept of the region and give it a name based on that concept.

-the Thirr is fertile, but delicate. Its soil naturally lacks nutrients and its abundant vegetation relies on surface decomposition for its nutrients.

-the region was originally essentially a thick jungle.

-the region was consistently undesirable to the Chimer; the bugherds couldn’t keep an eye on their herds due to all the vegetation, the farmers found their plants soon ceased to grow, pilgrims got lost.

Ooh, just got an idea for the bloodstone shrine story:

-Red Mountain errupts, the Inner Sea is created. The fertile floodplains that formed the core of Chimeri civilization are no more, and almost everything else aside from the already hostile Deshaan and Shipal-shin regions are covered in ash.

-the creation of the Inner Sea completely shatters the middle Thirr, destroying the ridge that divided the Lake Andaram watershed from the aforementioned floodplane and forming the modern Thirr in the process:

-House Indoril, having consolidated its core territory, quickly expands its influence and that of the Tribunal outwards.

-Indoril faithful establish missions beyond the House’s border. Originally, existing structures may have been occupied to that end, as was certainly the case in Old Ebonheart, but over time the missions evolved into the Chapels. I’ll expand on this in the relevant thread.

-either way, several such missions spring up around the edge of the Middle Thirr, and the region is enveloped into House Indoril territory.

-as was by no means uncommon at the time, the Middle Thirr flourished under the rule of the Indoril and Tribunal. (Imperial scholars would no doubt argue that the ashfall of Red Mountain had a positive effect on the ecology of the region, Indoril theologians would no doubt ignore them).

-due to its new geographic position, the general political and demographic structure that was beginning to establish itself in Morrowind and its new-found fertility, the Middle Thirr became very important and prosperous, becoming a center of production, industry and trade. These are the golden years of the Tribunal.

-fast forward to the Armistice, and things basically unfold as described my old post here. The main addition is the aspect of the Middle Thirr’s delicate ecology which makes how far the region fell a little more plausible.

So what do we have for the Thirr:

-it is a crossroads, a bridge, a gateway. So maybe something like ‘the Crossing’, though ‘the Crossing Region’ doesn’t sound very good.

-while it didn’t become a wasteland like much of Morrowind, it basically got shattered instead. Much like Sharai. The Armistice shattered it again.

Shattered Gate, Shattered Crossing, …

-it is an insignificant region that was thrust into the center of attention but suffers cataclysm after cataclysm, much like Morrowind itself. It was vibrant and new for a while, but is now showing signs of age. It could be seen as the core of Morrowind; the hearth. The hostile home made welcoming, soon to become and becoming hostile again.

the Open Hearth, … starting to go in a bit of a Lorkhan direction, actually, which I think fits the region well, especially considering Old Ebonheart.

I don’t think any of the above names really work, and they’re tending towards becoming thesaurus-y, but I do think this is a more promising approach than going purely off of the geography, and the name should end up specifically tailored to the region rather than a more generic name like Thirr River Region.