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 is insufficient to keep

actually the creation of incredible human ingenuity

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

sails, skillfully guided the boat to

the small ketch for the first time in a long, long

enjoyed the fact that the ground was not swaying and took a few steps. He was swaying like a drunk himself

his limbs, Nephis looked around and

House of Parting... why was this place

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

however, humans are not created to be immortal. If one lives for too long and her soul grows weary, she might want to rest in the

ketch, tied to the peer of the House of

too, to say farewell. They prepare a feast and celebrate. When all is said and done,

while, and then

journey too, before receiving a 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 return to the

and shook her

the furthest point of 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 sent downstream, to return to the Estuary - the origin of everything. Of course, every Outsider departs on

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 river burial as a result? She had been

a friend

Ananke sighed.

in the morning, we will continue on the way to

House of Parting was a bit ominous, but he was not going to refuse a

Nephis had enjoyed plenty of rest on the way, Ananke had mostly stayed awake, controlling

He nodded.

Guide the

woman nodded, and continued walking toward the

steps were light and

of the grand hall was beautiful and solemn, but

decor of the stone hall, Sunny could clearly see which ornaments and decorations had been inherited

the Riverborn were clearly much less sophisticated than

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?