Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #195

Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #195 

July 14th, 2023 

• Number: 195 

• Name: Deep Dive on a Site of Interest: Lake Natia Vai of Taodeas Part 6: Wosen Altar of Fire and Water 

• Location: Central Tuton Maug mountains on the slopes of Lake Natia Vai 

• Population (approx.): 40 in a settlement downslope of the altar 

• Brief: Centuries ago, a Wildfolk  druid, Dayn Oaktree, of the Wosen tribes (#126 and #161) received a vision and left her lands upon an epic quest to ascend Lake Natia Via and explore within. At the completion of her quest, she was rewarded by the Gods of Fire and Water with a dragonette companion. In return Dayn, and other wildfolk, built an altar to these seemingly opposing Gods on the slopes of the mountain at a crevasse on the top of the encircling ridge. In the years to follow, many young priests, druids or magicians have ascended the heights and entered the tunnels of the Natia Via in the hopes of being deemed worthy enough to have the chance of befriending one of the creatures therein. 

• Tellmei,22, Wildfolk woman, is a Wosen Druid who longs to bond with a dragonette. She is of average height and slightly plump. Tellmei dyed the ends of her brown hair green to symbolize her unity with the forest. She wears brown robes and has a belt made of solid leaves. Attached to the belt is a pruning knife and small bags that contain powders that help plants grow. 

• Tellmei knew her whole life that she would be a druid. Now she has sought a partner that will make her life complete. Tellmei is friendly with all the animals in her local forest but feels called to meet a unique creature. When Tellmei arrived at the altar atop the entrance to the tunnels, she heard voices calling to her heart. Finally, one voice became clear, it named itself Shyrry, a dragonette, and urged her to come forward and find her. 

• Tellmei feels joy and looks forward to binding with and bringing Shyrry back to her home, but she fears the dangers of the trials in the tunnels under the lake. Tellmei lives with her brother, Dall, and sister, Alinda. Their small tribe lives in the Graybark forest region of the Wosen nation, and it's their job to meet the forest's needs. Their parents died recently in a small forest fire, which has shaken their whole tribe. 

• Geography: Along the southeast curve of the ridge encircling Lake Natia Via, there is a great crevasse a hundred yards long, twenty wide and fifty deep. At the bottom Dayn discovered several tunnels into the depths under the lake. On the outer edge of crevasse is a gap where the wildfolk built a circular platform of stone 30 feet across. In the center is a dais upon which they set the altar column. This short pillar is topped with a bowl containing a pool surrounding an eternal flame resembling the island in the lake less than a mile to the west. A stone staircase descends the side of the mountain several hundred feet meeting a narrow switchback path that leads a further mile to a hidden Wosen settlement sheltered by stone and a copse of conifers. Huts and caves provide lodging for attendants of the altar, rangers and hunters who guard the site, and candidates preparing to undertake Dayn’s Journey like Tellmei. 

• Next Article: Notable persons and sites of the Arc part 7.