Let's Build a Setting! "The Verdant Fissure"

[Thorongil]

37. For each familiar and well-known branch of the Fissure, three more are unexplored. While many of these uncharted lands lie on the fringes of civilization, some, nestled right between developed kingdoms, remain uninhabitable due to impassable terrain, dangerous wildlife, or hostile "savage" tribes. These hazardous areas force nomads, merchants, and armies to take the long way around. Travel between settlements that may only be a few miles away from each other as the crow flies can take weeks. Of course, fleeing criminals and other persecuted individuals will often try their luck at these deadly crossings if it means escape. Peddlers hoping for an advantage over their rivals (or desperately trying to turn their last coins into a full purse) will seek out rumored "safe paths". Anyone who manages to cross with their life intact would have an enormous head start on their pursuers or competitors, though for most people this advantage is simply not worth the risk.