Blackwater Falls

This place. It's not just haunted. It's hungry.

— Kalas Pascal

At the crown of the Badlands of Non, southwest of the Shattered Lands, sit what some describe as one of the great Wonders of the Worldspace. Unfortunately, it's potentially more 'graveyard' than 'wonder'.

The majestic Blackwater Falls is a freshwater waterfall fed by the Sheowvath river that flows to the southwest out of the Shattered Lands. Water rushed down over the rocky ledge and into the plunge pool that forms the headwaters of Mire Lake at the north end of Inuth Canyon.

Water from the foot of the waterfall merges with greater stretch of Mire Lake. Black water slowly becomes a rust brown, then finally a dark blue. The deep blue waters continue south, becoming the Black River that winds through the canyon and badlands until it reaches the Ancient Vale far to the south.

A Hint of Something Uncomfortable

What makes this location unique from other waterfalls is many wrecks from caravans, to airships, to lightning ships from different ages. Each ruin has been mysteriously preserved as if they crashed only a few short months ago. Yet, there is never any physical sign of crew.

Then there are the falls itself. Clear blue waters of the Sheowvath turn murky, then ink black at the falls. Cresting past the edge, it cascades down in thick sheets where it churns in the lake below, a frothy red foam. Some visitors recount seeing faces, shades in the frothing waters. Warriors, soldiers wearing uniforms from a thousand years ago or more.

Necromantic aura aside, the geography is quite remarkable. Again, necromantic aura aside...

— Skyfarer Thrynea Galell

An Unusual Composition

The rock composition has been studied many times over the centuries. Sparse grassland gives way to black rock that looks more like frozen bubbles of stone than actual rock. This composite rock filters the river water like a natural charcoal filter. The current belief is that some of the black ink appearance of the water of Blackwater Falls is the dust from the local black stone.

Medical and technomancer tests show the water is purified and safe to drink. It is also unusually cold, despite the waterfall being well inside the arid region of the Badlands of Non. This shift in temperature is more apparent in the spring and fall parts of the Illuria year.

During those times the water is at its coldest despite the surrounding badlands best efforts of sporadic heat waves. In addition, unusual ice deposits form a crust on the banded rock walls on either side of falls itself in the canyon. Sapphire and emerald tinted ice hang from the rock formations in long icicles. Then there is the actual spring and fall equinox.

On those days, some visitors have reported that the inky blackness of the water changes. Black shimmering water shines with glimmering lights, like stars in a night sky. But it isn't a reflection of the night sky overhead. The actual reflection returns once one of those two equinox have passed.

Fauna & Flora

Life finds a way, even in the most inhospitable places.

— Skyfarer Thrynea Galell

Blackwater Falls has a modest, if not thriving ecosystem, despite overtones of what technomancers call a 'necromantic sink'.

Herds of kynou migrate here, following the path of blood-spike cactus groves as they wander north across the badlands for water and food. Bramble leopards come down from cave dens further along Inuth canyon or from up along the grasslands at the edge of the Shattered Lands.

Birds of many kinds frequent Mire lake. Ravens are especially present in good number, feeding on the coral fish and switchtooth eels that live in the chilly waters.

Plants such as the Rust Scrubtree, tumbleweed, and two varieties of Tossflower grow along the river and lake shores. The soil is especially fertile along the shore of Mire lake and parts of the Sheowvath river before the waterfall. The immediate waters of the waterfall itself are chilly enough that only the hearty Arscilla Tombflower seems to thrive there.

History

The falls have carried its share in the march of Illurian history. Much of it bloody.

Blackwater played host to two major battles in the 2nd Age of Illuria. In the 3rd Age, it was the site of a failed invasion from the Underground Empires. Blood was spilled again in the 6th and 7th ages during the two Great Alliances that fought against the djinn Silver Snow Crusade. Some say the faces of the dead warriors and soldiers can still be seen in the waterfall's mists.

Then there is the legend of the Zahad Emperor and his demise at the hands of his hated enemy, Garlant the barbarian. A legend that states the Blackwater Falls played host to the single event that ended the 2nd Age of Illuria. The death of the necromancer and ruler of Zahad, the Shadow Hand Emperor. This legend also explains why the water of the falls is black, yet its frothing pool at its base is blood red.

So... still want to go?

— Kalas Pascal

Contents

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Alternative Name(s)

Midnight Falls

Type

Waterfall

Location under

Badlands of Non

Inhabiting Species

• Splatterwort Water Grass

Related Myths

• Birth of the Blackwater

Natural Resources

The waterfall has been tapped more than once as a source of energy. Frozen remains of waterwheels or charred batteries for elemental magic can be found along the shore near the foot of the waterfall.

Records a century before the Final War detail the efforts involved by first the Coalition, then the Dark Horde. Those installations were destroyed during the Final War.

In recent years, some attempts have been made to explore or rebuild either facility. So far no configuration of runestones have proved adequate to handle the unusual feedback from the generators. At present, all efforts were put on hold when the reconstruction team vanished in an unexpected elemental-fueled explosion in the waterwheel closest to the waterfall.

A few attempts have been made to revitalize the area and make use of the rich soil. Druids from as far as Great Northern Swamp have attempted to found at least one grove. The first attempt twenty years ago was overrun by an unusually large number of blood-spike cactus. A second attempt, five years ago, was partially successful, but the druids had to leave due to unexplained health issues.

Samples from the fall's source show signs of a necrotic rot in water's inherent magical energy. Necromantic sigils have been detected, randomly forming of their own accord. It would explain the person-shaped vapors rumored to appear in the waterfall's mists.

— Skyfarer Thrynea Galell

On Visiting the Falls

Despite the unusual atmosphere of the falls, it attracts visitors. Most are the sorcerous kind, but there are some that are interested in the wrecked airships and lightning ships that sit half submerged in the shoreline or Mire Lake. There are a small number that come for the view or are thrill seekers looking to spot shapes in the mist.

But the haunting chill or sense of a 'presence' in the falls leaves almost all visitors, save for necromancers, unsettled. Reports continue to circulate of wandering undead abominations, made from past visitors that never left and lightning ship wreckage, forming on their own to walk the water's edge.