Canagua Valley is an ancient, inhabited valley reached by one of the hardest passes of an east–west mountain chain. It is at once road, dwelling and prison: the Green Dragon was freed from it.
| Type | Place (valley) |
| Variant names | Canagua, Canegua, Caguana, Canaguay |
| Neighboring region | Ohio Valley |
| Spanish entry | Valle de Canagua |
Geography
The pass that opens on the valley is said by trackers to be the hardest to descend. The country is large, with tall forests ringed by mountains, trails and copses, and in the middle “a valley less dense than the rest that cut through the place” — the corridor actually walked. Those who know the land as their own have every advantage; outsiders need a guide. The valley has its foothills, over which “the Shadows” are seen to stretch. Beyond the pass lies the separate Ohio Valley, where black dragons dwell. The crossing time is not recorded.
The threshold
At the mouth of the corridor stands “a kind of great door frame that seemed not to be accompanied by walls but by strange writings”. Who built it and what it regulates are not stated.
Inhabitants
The settlement is old, with “a number of places” that are ancient. On it settled “a mixed community of different indigenous groups, even some Europeans assimilated, so to speak”, arriving “after a long journey”. The place “also suffered scorn and attacks” from various unnamed powers.
The dragon’s prison
The Green Dragon “was freed from the Canagua Valley, which was its prison”, and green dragons live in or near the valley. An important magic item was last seen there; its nature and whereabouts are not recorded.
Other valleys
Not to be confused with the Valley of the Renegades; the Sacred Valley of the Pine, west and south of the tribal territories, guarded, two weeks’ travel away; the Sacramento Valley; or the Little Death Valley. The valley “where they sing music” of the matricial clans (clanes matriciales) may or may not be this one.
Open questions
- The name’s spelling is not fixed; Canagua is the most frequent form.
- Whether the Green Valley — with a clear river running north to south and a huge waterfall heard from afar — is this valley is not established.
- The link of the Chowán river to a valley with a garbled name is unclear.
- Whether the whole valley or an enclosure within it was the prison, and who freed the dragon, are not stated.
- Who attacked the valley, where the community came from, how it is governed, and what the threshold writings say are unknown.