Serpent's Tongue

Serpent's Tongue is the location of the convergence of the Black Adder River and the Atheris River. Upstream is West Atheris River, and downstream is East Atheris River. It also serves as one of the three ritual locations the Druids of Immer Grove use for containing The Withering.

In the center of the meeting of the rivers stands a massive monolith, sometimes referred to as Serpent's Head, erected by the druids as a focal point for their magical rituals performed on the springs and rivers. The monolith protects the waters beyond from becoming plagued. While the water upstream is unusable and corrupted, the water downstream is clear and healthy. The natural magic from the spring sources may even exist yet in those clear waters, as the stone was designed specifically for cleansing The Withering, not the springs' natural magic. However, any latent magic is typically too weak to detect by the time it's far enough from Serpent's Tongue to be trusted by most.

History

Created when Silver River and Crystal River were created several centuries before, it acts as a collection nexus. Full of power from two of the druids' sacred springs, Silver Pool and Crystal Spring, and the corrupting power of The Withering as it tries endlessly to corrupt the lands beyond the rivers, getting absorbed into the rivers and carried to Serpent's Tongue, the site often draws the attention of both those who hunger for dark power and those simply drawn to magical energy.

Long since renamed, along with the rivers, it's now visited four times per year by the druids to cleanse the area, preventing it from becoming too corrupted.

Inhabitants

While there are no permanent residents, since it's physically little more than the meeting of two rivers with a large pillar in the center of the water, many magical creatures are drawn to the area due to the aura of power. These are mostly evil or neutral creatures, however, as the corruption tends to drive away good creatures.

Locations

Serpent's Tongue is an area consisting of several other locations. To the south east is Immer Wood, home of the Druids of Immer Grove. To the south west lies The Dark-Touched Lands, corrupted by The Withering, and the very purpose for Serpent's Tongue. To the north lies the fertile Lesser Eldesa Valley. Between the three run the Black Adder River and the West and East Atheris Rivers.

Ritual

The Ritual of Serpent's Tongue is a magical ritual performed by the Druids of Immer Grove four times per year on the solstices and equinoxes. Involving secret magic and always performs by the oldest and most powerful druids when possible, it cleanses the stone of all of the dark corruption it has absorbed from The Withering over the interceding months. The ritual is performed at a specific time of day, depending on the time of year. The winter solstice is considered midnight, the summer solstice noon, with the equinoxes at dawn and dusk.

The ritual needs at least three members to be performed properly, one standing over the waters of all three sections of river. However, it has been performed successfully in the past with only one, albeit with only partially successful results, making several miles worth of land near the downstream river unusable for several years afterward.

This ritual is a counterpart to the Ritual of Gray Falls and the Ritual of Crystal Spring.