The World - Tenebris Cove

  • Legends
  • There are no legends of Tenebris Cove.
Tenebris Cove is located on a small island on the northteastern part of the Archipelago. The island looks simple and unassuming, but travelling around to the other side reveals its secrets and its purposes. Access, however, to the cove is normally restricted only to Qaitu due to the sacredness of the cove: it is a spiritual place where they conduct funerals. Outsiders may only visit on invitation and must be escorted there and back.
     
      Upon landing on the beach, two pathways are noticeable, one on each side of a large central cave. Both lead to the same place: a large clearing at the top used as a cemetery for the Qaitu's sky burials. Back on the beach, the large cave sits directly across from the entrance to the cove, hemmed in by steep, forested stone walls to its sides and a thick strip of beach before it. The walls immediately inside the cave are covered with paintings, some elaborate and some simple, depicting spirits and some rituals. Although it has not yet been fully explored, delicate crystal formations, deep pools, and impressive stalagmites have been noted, especially in the deeper areas. A peculiar rock formation, used as a shrine during the funerary rituals that take place in the cave, is off to one side. The cave is very haunted, according to the Qaitu, who believe that spirits pass through here to reach the afterlife.
     
      The flora and fauna of the cove are a bit peculiar, something most visitors take note of sooner or later. The creatures are unusually plain, being mainly solid colors, but at night display a startling array of bioluminescence, turning the waters and parts of the cave walls into a spectacular rainbow of color. Most of the plants' blossoms also open after dark, the most remarkable of which is a beautiful and delicate, but very deadly, milky white flower that is used in the funeral rites of the Qaitu.