 The Tears
A long chasm where two wide rivers converged, the waters merging into one by falling off either side of the rift into the bottom, was a hard landmark to miss even in the tumultuous days following the Valterrian. The area has served several uses spanning the five hundred years to the present day. These range from a failed attempt at a village along the rivers’ edges in the earliest days to a pirate’s hideout in the chasm itself more recently. Those pirates were displaced by a growing number of warriors travelling to the area for meditation and training purposes. The area has been favored by warriors seeking peace since the beginning, but the difficulty of traversing The Unforgiving discourages many young hopefuls. Travelling up the coast and then up river by boat is another method of ingress, but to get to the headwaters requires the last fifteen miles to be traversed afoot.
Many Captains refuse to travel this last leg due to the very reason that the area has gained notoriety-- The Tears--the small ‘islands’ that dot the river bottom. These rock formations are extensions of the long sheets of stone that comprise the river bottom; the protrusions standing stalwart in the face of erosion due to some hardier element running through them. They’re irregularly shaped, the knobby surfaces rough except for the occasional patch of slick algae or tuft of grass. They generally stand close enough together to allow an athletic visitor to hop from one to the next, picking a winding path along. However, longer distances exist and require wading if an alternate, longer route is not desired.
Standing, or sitting, on one of these islands, two sheer walls of water hedging the visitor in on either side and up through the winding corridor, focuses an entire awareness into the basic elements. Self and environment. Very little can be heard over the pounding of thousands of gallons of water plummeting into the river. The skin gains, or loses, sensitivity, depending on the person, from the constant mist billowing through the corridor. Clothing becomes a hindrance or a great help, depending on how well prepared a person is. This exposure to chilled water pushes the pilgrim down parallel paths; they meditate to control their body’s response, and they practice their art to stave off debilitating chill. Both mind and body can be honed to sharp edges in this environment.
Shallow caves line the walls behind the waterfalls, and most remain empty of any sort of animal denizens. These caves, some just deep enough to provide a temporary respite from the moisture, have been home and camp to countless people, and all have some traces of their previous occupants. For some it’s as simple as a skeleton, other’s have been stocked with wood and basic camp tools, a great find as the nearest forest is at least a day’s walk away. A rare find, as well.
In addition to shelter, the area provides an abundance of food. In the spring, massive numbers of fish travel up through this area, branching roughly in half to make their ways up the shorter of the waterfalls to go home to their respective rivers of origin for spawning purposes. This influx of nutrients draws other wildlife to the area, most notably bears, large cats, and large reptiles. Wild fruits and vegetables grow in large patches on the banks of the two rivers. Climbing up out of the river basin to the source rivers can be difficult, requiring a long distance of backtracking to find a low enough cliff to scale, attempting to push up through one of the short waterfalls, or searching the caves for a carved tunnel up and out.
Within the last fifty years, the area has gained a reputation as a place of reflection and reformation. One of the warriors instrumental in ousting the pirates was a Cerulean Akalak by the name of Sulow. Sulow had been inducted into the Cerulean at a relatively young age, 39, due to a complete inability to control his darker urgings. He left Riverfall around mid-life, having decided a change was in order. Not just of landscape but of self, he wanted to find the control and peace that so many of his non-Cerulean brethren enjoyed. Soothed by the seclusion and environment, he made the area his home and welcomes any visitors that desire to control their inner demons as he has.
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by Flicker on January 17th, 2011, 1:01 am 