Nivenmage

Nevea Falls

A pervasive presence weighed on Argenen; he felt undeniably that he was being followed. They had walked for a day under the lead of the Valiaphite, Everon, and had finally reached the river at noon the next day. Only a few hours into the journey, Argenen felt he was being watched, and the feeling followed him like a foreign shadow. He looked into the shadows between the trunks of the trees after every few steps. He saw nothing there, but the darkness only caused his trepidation to increase.

When they reached the river, Everon led them along it until they came to a crossing. The river was still wide and the crossing looked even less appealing, but Argenen welcomed the opportunity to leave the ominous presence behind for the sparser foliage on the other side. The trees were farther apart and the shadows were less forbidding, Argenen hoped inwardly that his pursuer could not follow him there.

The only stones they could step on were smooth and slippery, and the taller, jagged ones seemed to wait beside them for someone to slip. Instantly Argenen wished he hadn't been wearing his robes, for they were now wet and clung to his legs. Progress was slow but after some time, and before the sun had set, they were all across. They then followed the river north again, and this time Argenen was relieved to no longer feel the presence of a follower. They eventually heard the sounds of falling water, crashing over distant rocks, and soon saw the edge of the falls.

Everon led them down a path for a while, but soon they were forced to climb down over rocks or grasp the foliage when the floor became too steep. They were farther away from the falls, and they couldn't see them but could still hear the water. Then quite suddenly Everon stopped and Argenen looked up to see that the forest floor had become level again. To his right he could now see the glittering of sunlight on water.

"We'll camp by the lake.  The Soulless don't like the water." Everon said.

"Soulless?" Argenen repeated. "I didn't know they ever crossed the mountains."

"Serylor brought them; he's looking for something, probably trying to find a way to take his hordes across the sea." Everon explained in his mysterious tone.

"He's trying to find the Lifestone." Argenen said, more to himself than to anyone else.

"Yes, perhaps he thinks they can retrieve it for him." Everon mused.

"Is he wrong?"

"Yes, he is wrong. The Soulless cannot exist on that island, Serylor's power dissipates there. All the animals on that island are beyond his control."

"Why?"

"Serylor doesn't take away their souls when he turns them to his will. It appears that they are empty, and so they were called 'Soulless', but it's a misconception. He has put something in them, some dark power to control them. He's turned their souls black, but the protection on that island hinders him and his powers."

"That...protection, is that the Lifestone?"

"No, the Lifestone has only one power; I believe the protection was given by the gods and goddesses of the Realm."

"How could they? They would have had to know that Serylor would try to steal it..."

"They protected it from all powers, from anything that would attempt to take it. You'll find that even your own powers will be blocked on that island."

Everyone was listening intently, though only Argenen was asking questions. They reached the side of the water, a lake at the bottom of the waterfall. Argenen looked up and gasped audibly and uncontrollably.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Brumil said proudly. "I've been here once before, but the memory doesn't seem to be able to contain it, it's not the same."