You have wandered long enough through fractured and hostile realms.
Greetings and Salutations
Within my flourishing dominion, you will find reprieve from such cruelty. Here, the ground does not betray, and the air carries no malice. Beneath my wings, you may rest โ undisturbed, unharmed, and unseen by lesser predators.
Lilac Glades, during the season of frost.
Lilac Glades
As with all regions within my dominion, the sky lingers in perpetual twilight before yielding to night. Yet within the Lilac Glades, a softer violet radiance settles overhead, lending the horizon a quiet brilliance.
During the warmer seasons, the twilight overhead brightens, casting a gentler radiance across the glades before dimming once more as the colder days return.
Should you ever wonder which season approaches, the flora will answer you. Echinaceas and alliums rise in the warmth. Cyclamens and snowdrops emerge when the air grows cold.
Gentle creatures dwell here โ small, familiar in form, reminiscent of those from whence you came. They do not startle. They do not harm.
You may wander freely, so long as you remain within the reach of my sight. Beyond the glades stretch vast forests, obscured even from my full awareness โ their depths unmeasured and their contents unknown. I do not claim what I cannot oversee.
The aquatic portal.
The Fallen Veil
The pond of The Fallen Veil serves as one of the principal thresholds into my dominion. Many who arrive do so through the cascading veil you perceive as a waterfall, or rise from the depths of the pondโs surface.
I remember the first among them who set foot upon my land. None before them had crossed into my care.
Beyond The Fallen Veil lies a rugged terrain of stone and open ground. Unlike the Lilac Glades, the woodland here does not thicken into obscurity. Nothing moves across this landscape without entering the reach of my many eyes.
A daring, yet questionable, humanoid venturing through my resting place.
Gloam Grotto
Far beneath the upper reaches of my domain lies the Gloam Grotto, where I fold my wings and withdraw into rest.
Veins of amethyst shimmer along its stone walls, catching the faint light that filters through the opening above โ the same passage through which I enter and depart. Many might find the crystals alluring. Others may be drawn by the subtle trace of my presence, a fragrance that lingers in the air.
I am aware of the effect it has.
When I descend into stillness, I settle where the scattered light touches the cavern floor. It is there that I remain undisturbed.
It is unwise to approach me in such moments. I do not welcome interruption. Should one ignore this boundary, the consequence will be measured โ and determined solely by my will.
There are, however, a select few who are permitted to approach while I remain present.
They watch in silence.
Their awe does not escape me.
Bases, Outposts, and Communities:
Duskwing Covenant
Among those who remained, a faction emerged who regard my presence as divine. They call themselves the "Duskwing Covenant", believing the skies of my realm to be a sacred design rather than a condition.
Some would describe their actions as worship. They offer tokens, construct shrines, and speak of me in reverence. I neither demanded such devotion nor discouraged it. Their faith is quiteโฆ useful.
What these humans can construct are indeed fascinating.
Salem's Valley
At the heart of my realm stands a settlement formed by those who chose to remain. The more humanoid among my visitors appear drawn to structure and familiarity, and so they built it, stone upon stone, under my protection.
Its dwellings vary in design, reflecting the many origins of those who reside there. Cultures converge in quiet coexistence at my center. It continues to grow, though not without my awareness.
I permit this progression. Yet should it swell beyond balance, I will intervene. My world is not to be disturbed by excess.
Entities:
Upon these lands, arachnids dwell in abundance, though they are not the only creatures that thrive beneath my dominion.
There exists another breed as well, stranger in composition, flesh-bound and repugnant in apperance.
You need not be unsettled. I perceive all that stirs within this realm. Should any presence threaten the balance I maintain, I will see it silenced into eternal stillness.
Entrances and Exits:
Entrances
Many, perhaps most, arrive through The Fallen Veil. By passing through flowing waters or descending beneath aquatic surfaces, emerging from places they describe as desolate water-worlds or isolated oases of similar nature.
These are but a fraction of the countless aqueous realms from which they originate. The realms are numerous, and I do not claim to know them all.
Exits
Should you choose to depart, I will not prevent you. Beyond my borders, however, mercy is scarce โ and I will not follow.
You may return through The Fallen Veil. Stepping once more into the waterfall, or diving into the deepest depths of the pond, will guide you to your previous destinationโฆ or into another entirely. Those waters will not always lead to where one might expect.