The River Ucronos is the great river of the ancient world of Vala, “the one that can go up time”: traveling upstream on it is traveling back through the years. It separates the Caldero from Star City and links the Caldero’s levels.
| Type | Place (river) |
| World | Vala Cristalis |
| Other names | Río Cronos; “los cronos océanos”; Oukronos (old archival variant) |
| Spanish entry | El Río Ucronos |
Description
- It is “very, very wide”: it cannot be crossed head-on, only at a set point, avoiding the deepest water. There is a bridge on some stretch.
- Downstream, or where it widens, it forms “a sort of giant pond, even a lake”.
- It drops off a cliff in a waterfall of some 500–600 meters; two places of power gather there.
- Its region is wintry, a “somewhat Mexican highland” with little precipitation; the climate is calmer near the water.
- It carries gold-bearing material downstream and deposits it in arcanic territory.
Uses
- Route. It is navigated by boat, upstream “on the river bird”, and is the usual way to travel long distances in the region.
- Time. Going upstream on the Ucronos is going back through the ages.
- Cleansing. Its waters wash magical marks from objects. After a week outside the city, the usual way to remove the white dust is to wash “with the waters of the river Cronos”.
Its width forces long detours, and the route is exposed to the sky: a dragon turtle and a draconiche once intercepted travelers on it.
Paintings in the Tower depict the river and its landscapes.
Open questions
- How far back each stretch takes a traveler, whether one can return, and whether a boat is required are not recorded.
- The order of waterfall, bridge, crossing point and pond, and the river’s source and mouth, are not fixed.
- Who runs the “river bird” and what the fare is are unknown.
- Whether “los cronos océanos” is a genuine local name or a mishearing is undecided.
- Why the waters cleanse magical marks, and whether all of the river does so, is not established.