The Salt Rings of Bracken County

A working survey for the lore keeper. The county, its waters and its roads are real; the seven Rings and the family places are set down where The Shadowroot puts them.

Augusta Higginsport, Ohio Chatham Ohio River Bracken Creek Raccoon Creek Route 9 (AA Highway) Route 8, the river road Elder Creek Trail The homeplace The two pines Locust Grove church The low road Beehive Tavern (1796) Fort Ancient village site I Janus II Astraea III Lyra IV Tethys V Chronos VI Hestia VII Lunathir 2 miles N

The seven Rings

  • I

    Janus Keeper of the Threshold

    Bracken Creek Confluence

    Silt-choked creek water meets the Ohio in a shifting mud-line.

    Relic: Stag-mere Crown.

    38.7798° N, 83.9977° W location is real

  • II

    Astraea The Veil-Tender

    Limestone outcropping, the Elder Grove

    Behind the homeplace, where the limestone bleeds groundwater. The failing salt lick.

    Relic: Cardstock Grimoire.

    38.7585° N, 83.9410° W coordinates invented

  • III

    Lyra The Echo-Gatherer

    Ridge Cemetery Overlook

    On the clay bluff above the Augusta river bend.

    Relic: Iron Tuning Fork.

    38.7662° N, 84.0150° W coordinates invented

  • IV

    Tethys The Ocean-Tether

    The Sunken Vale

    The flooded threshold beneath the river country, entered by the Swallow. Extent unmapped.

    Relic: Pearl of Lunathir.

    38.7555° N, 83.9425° W coordinates invented

  • V

    Chronos The Time-Keeper

    Sunken Timber Piers, the Old Ferry Slip

    A thin place linked through water to Ailinn's crossing.

    Relic: Silver Bridle.

    38.7749° N, 84.0092° W location is real

  • VI

    Hestia The Hearth-Kindler

    Shifting submerged sandbars

    At the Ohio's centerline.

    Relic: Serpent-Dragon Scales.

    38.7712° N, 84.0333° W coordinates invented

  • VII

    Lunathir The Fallen Sister

    Old Stone Border Tollhouse

    Hand-cut limestone at the river's edge, on the Mason County line.

    Relic: Salt Key.

    38.7668° N, 83.9055° W coordinates invented

Other places on the map

  • The homeplace

    On the Hargate land grant, between Raccoon Creek and the river road, Route 8, with the Ohio behind. About 16 road miles from Maysville.

    38.7600° N, 83.9445° W coordinates invented

  • The two pines

    Northern fence line; Johann's board.

    38.7618° N, 83.9445° W coordinates invented

  • Locust Grove church

    Where the funeral is held. Up Locust Creek from the river road.

    38.7712° N, 84.1068° W coordinates invented

  • The low road

    Route 8 in the Locust Creek bottom, below Locust Grove. Gideon and Delphine, 22 Sep 2026.

    38.7752° N, 84.1110° W coordinates invented

  • Beehive Tavern (1796)

    Riverside Drive at the foot of Main.

    38.7738° N, 84.0060° W real

  • Fort Ancient village site

    Beneath Augusta, c. 1500–1650. Real, and theirs.

    38.7712° N, 84.0035° W real

Ring IV is drawn broken. The Sunken Vale lies beneath the river country; only its entrance, the Swallow, is marked, and its extent is left unmapped.

Raccoon Creek is the real creek, a tributary of Bracken Creek, drawn from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset. Every invented coordinate here is provisional until you lock it in the Trilogy Bible.

Base map: county line, Ohio River, creeks and roads from OpenStreetMap contributors (data as of July 2026); Raccoon Creek from USGS NHD.