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.

is on the brink of collapse, now... I've tried to repair it as well as I could, but my knowledge is insufficient

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

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

solemn silence. As it drew close, Ananke released the wind filling the sails, skillfully guided

for the first

of the pier under his feet, Sunny enjoyed the fact that the ground was not swaying and

his limbs, Nephis looked around and

why was this place

smiled faintly as she headed toward the stone hall, and gestured for them

of Weave that is the furthest upstream. You know that the bodies of Riverborn like me don't age... however, humans are not created to be immortal. If one lives for too long and

around and looked at her ketch, tied to the

They prepare a feast and celebrate. When all is said and done, the weary Riverborn

a while, and then added

dream of your arrival. Ah... ironically, I ended up repeating all the same steps, stopping just shy of the last one. It feels strange, to

chuckled and

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

his head, thinking. If the bodies of all perished Outsiders were sent downstream, and 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

she a friend or an

Ananke sighed.

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, so I

a bit ominous, but he was not going to refuse a night of sleeping on solid ground, with a

the way, Ananke had mostly stayed awake, controlling the ketch and preventing anything dangerous from happening to them. She had to

He nodded.

course. Guide

nodded, and continued walking

steps were light and

interior of the grand

decor of the stone hall, Sunny could clearly see which ornaments and decorations had been inherited from the original Outsiders, who came from the Dream Realm, and which were crafted by their

much less sophisticated than their ancestors, not to mention extremely limited in terms

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