Shadow Slave

"This... is the House of Parting. It is the furthest point of Weave as one travels upstream."

Ananke's voice sounded uncharacteristically dispirited.

'House of Parting...'

Sunny studied the artificial island and the solemn structure built upon it, then turned to the old woman and asked:

"It's... a windmill?"

She nodded.

"Yes, my Lord. The tower harvests the wind to maintain the island."

Ananke lingered for a second, and then added:

"The cities of the Great River are actually more akin to flotillas, each consisting of many city-ships - some small like this one, some spanning dozens of kilometers across. They migrate sometimes, but mostly they have to stay in place. There is nothing to anchor a ship to on the Great River, though."

Nephis raised an eyebrow.

"Is the Great River so deep that no anchor can reach its bottom?"

Ananke shook her head.

"It is not that the floor of the Great River is too deep, it's that it doesn't exist. No one has ever managed to reach it, at least... so, we had to find other ways."

She pointed to the rotating blades of the towering windmill.

"There are various ways to make a city-ship resist the current, from mundane ones to magical. The House of Parting... you can't see it from here, but there is a great water wheel at the back of the island, constantly propelling it forward at the same speed as the River pushes it back. Its mechanism is mostly powered by the current itself, but the windmill lightens the burden significantly."

She sighed.

repair it as well as I could, but my knowledge

incredible human ingenuity - a floating city district that used the wind and the power of the Great River itself to fight against

people of Weave were gone, it was still pushing forward, refusing to become a thing of the

in solemn silence. As it drew close, Ananke released the wind filling the sails, skillfully guided the boat to the pier, and moored it to the pier with

ketch for

pier under his feet, Sunny enjoyed the fact that the ground was not swaying and took a few steps.

he stretched his limbs, Nephis looked around and

House of Parting... why was this place given such a

she headed toward the stone hall, and gestured for

upstream. You know that the bodies of Riverborn like me don't age... however, humans are not

turned around and looked at her ketch, tied to the peer of

to the House of Parting. Those who love them come too, to say farewell. They prepare a feast and celebrate. When all is said and done, the weary Riverborn sets sail to go on their last journey. They sail far, far upstream... until they reach the end of their lifespan and pass away. One way or

lingered for a while, and then added

considered going on such a journey too, before receiving a dream of your arrival. Ah... ironically, I ended up repeating all the same steps, stopping just shy of the

chuckled and shook

Weave downstream... all other human cities on the Great River are the same, I'd imagine. The Lower House is meant for those who were not given a choice, and died an untimely death. Their bodies, if recovered, are

the Estuary was the source of the Defilement... was that how Dusk of Fallen Grace had ended up becoming a Nightmare Creature? Or had she succumbed to Corruption first, and was given the river burial as a result? She had been wearing a burial

friend or

Ananke sighed.

of the supplies I stored on this island, and in the morning, we will continue on the way to Weave proper. There will be more supplies for you to take downstream there,

in a place called the House of Parting was a bit ominous, but he was not going to refuse a night of sleeping on solid ground, with a roof over

stayed awake, controlling the ketch and preventing anything dangerous from happening

He nodded.

Guide

woman nodded, and continued walking

steps were light and

into the river, the three of them were inside the House of Parting. The interior of the grand hall was beautiful and solemn, but at the same time strangely modest -

could clearly see which ornaments and decorations had been inherited from the original Outsiders, who came from the Dream

and earnest artisans, the Riverborn were clearly much less sophisticated than their ancestors, not

surprised by some of the things he had seen already... the wood that Ananke's ketch and the pier of the House of Parting were built of, for example. Where had it come from? The fruits that she had treated them to, as well. There was no soil anywhere on the Great River, so how could there be trees?