[Alvadas Location] Verlyna's Emerald Pool

[Cadence]

Verlyna’s Emerland Pond can usually be found on the outskirts of Alvadas. The pool of water is surrounded by bright green shrubbery and the gnarled roots of twisted trees, giving the water a rich, emerald color. A waterfall no taller than the average human trickles down from between tow moss-covered rocks. If one looks closely, it may even appear as if the water is coming out of thin air. There is no stream or underground gazer that transports the water to and from the pool. The popular belief is that the water from the bottom of the pool disappears into some unseen holding facility from which it is then released by the waterfall. Others believe the pool to be a powerful illusion. There are also those that attribute the pool’s seemingly magical properties to the drowning of one Verlyna Devette in its waters. Verlyna was a powerful hypnotist, thought to have been alive a few decades after the Valterrian. Young and ambitious, she had done everything she could think of to gain power. She hypnotized almost everyone who she came in contact with, toying with their perceptions of reality and bending their will until it broke under her piercing, emerald gaze. A dedicated follower of Ionu, Verlyna made her home in Alvadas so she could better serve the deity. It is rumored that Verlyna had born the fourth of Ionu’s gnosis marks, though it has never been proven. Verlyna could have had a successful career as one of the most powerful hypnotists of her time. However, her insatiable thirst for power overwhelmed any reasonable beliefs that she may have held. One day, she happened upon a small pond, cradled in a grove of trees on the edges of Alvadas. When she looked into the pond’s waters, she admired her reflection and a fatal idea entered her mind. What if she tried to hypnotize herself? It was a foolish plan, but Verlyna was determined to go one step further than any other hypnotist had gone. She stared into the eyes of her reflection and began the process. As she was getting to the pinnacle of her concentration, a bird flew up from a nearby tree, startling the woman. She lost her balance and fell into the pool. Unable to break the paralyzing hold that her own mind had imposed on itself, she sunk beneath the pool’s surface, never to be seen again. There are reports of people seeing flickering images in the depths of the pool. Those who believe the legend of the hypnotist think it is the residue of her powers that is weaving the illusion. Others find the story to be a silly myth. However, nobody has attempted to enter the pond for fear of drowning in the same manner as the hypnotist had.