A cluster of small lakes in northern Eyendra, scattered through the forest between Lean D'Riin and the coast. Unlike the lakes of Kama Sa'malina far to the south, Wer Azenzi's waters are tied to the Riin, the ancient civilization that merged with the Eyendra forest two thousand years ago. The lakes are where the Riin presence pools most densely, and that presence makes itself felt.
The name is Riin. No one knows exactly what it means anymore, possibly "gathering waters" or "waters that hold." The translation hardly matters. What matters is that these lakes are not entirely natural, and they are not entirely empty.
Geography
Wer Azenzi comprises roughly two dozen lakes scattered across a thirty-mile stretch of Eyendra's interior, beginning about forty miles inland from Zor and extending deeper toward Lean D'Riin. The lakes vary from small ponds to bodies covering several acres, connected by streams and marshy ground.
The terrain is dense boreal forest, old growth that has never been cut, canopy thick enough to block most direct sunlight. The lakes create clearings in the canopy, pockets where sky is visible and light reaches the ground. These clearings should be welcoming. Instead, they feel exposed. Watched.
The Riin Connection
The Riin built settlements throughout what is now Eyendra, and many of those settlements stood near the Wer Azenzi lakes. When the Riin merged with the forest, their presence didn't distribute evenly. It concentrated in certain places. The lakes are among the densest concentrations.
This means the Riin are more present at Wer Azenzi than elsewhere in Eyendra. They aren't conscious or communicating, just there, in a way that can be felt. Standing at the shore of a Wer Azenzi lake produces a sensation of proximity, not being alone, even when you are. The feeling intensifies near certain lakes and at certain times, following patterns no one has successfully mapped.
What the Lakes Do
The lakes exhibit phenomena consistent with Riin presence but distinct from anything else in Eyendra.
The showing: The lakes occasionally display images on their surfaces: scenes from elsewhere, not reflections of what's present. These seem to be glimpses of Riin life, moments from the civilization's past somehow imprinted on the water. The images are fragmentary, silent, and impossible to summon deliberately. They simply appear, persist for minutes or hours, and fade.
The knowing: People who linger near Wer Azenzi sometimes acquire knowledge they shouldn't have, phrases in a dead language, skills they never learned, awareness of places they've never visited. The knowledge is incomplete and often unusable, but it's clearly Riin in origin. Some researchers have deliberately sought this effect, hoping to reconstruct lost Riin culture. Results have been mixed; the knowledge comes randomly if at all, and extended exposure carries risks.
The pull: Certain individuals feel drawn to specific lakes, compelled to approach, to touch the water, to stay. This pull correlates with nothing scholars have identified; it affects some people and not others, varies in intensity, and sometimes reverses (pushing people away instead of drawing them in). The dragon's rules prohibit following the pull, but enforcement is difficult in the forest's interior.
Dangers
Wer Azenzi is dangerous in ways different from Kama Sa'malina's predators or Trauma Lake's psychological assault.
The danger is absorption. People who spend too much time at Wer Azenzi begin to lose themselves. No sudden transformations or violent deaths. The change is gradual. Interests shift. Preferences change. Memories blur. The victim begins to feel less like themselves and more like... something else. Something older. Something distributed.
Extreme cases result in people walking into the lakes and not coming out. They don't drown; they walk in, go under, and are gone. What happens to them is unknown. Possibly they complete a process the Riin began. Possibly they simply die. The dragon doesn't permit investigation.
The Dragon's Rules
Ezra Olkanis includes Wer Azenzi in her territorial prohibitions, but the rules here are different from elsewhere in Eyendra. Zor's people are permitted limited access, approaching the lakes, drawing water, even camping nearby, but with restrictions:
- No contact with the water beyond necessity
- No more than three days in the lake region at a time
- Immediate departure if symptoms of absorption appear
- No attempts to communicate with whatever the lakes contain
These rules are enforced through the same mechanisms as other pact terms: violators tend to vanish, and the dragon's involvement is assumed but never proven.
Hooks
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The showing keeps recurring. A specific lake has been displaying the same image repeatedly, a Riin figure doing something with their hands, a gesture that might be ritual or might be communication. A scholar believes this is intentional, that the Riin (or what remains of them) are trying to convey something. She needs assistance documenting the image and possibly attempting response.
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Someone came back changed. A hunter who spent too long at Wer Azenzi has returned to Zor speaking fluent Riin, a language no living person knows. He doesn't remember learning it. He doesn't remember much of anything clearly. But he can read the Archive documents that have baffled scholars for centuries, and what he's reading is disturbing him.
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The pull has victims. Multiple people from Zor have gone missing after reporting being drawn toward a specific Wer Azenzi lake. Their families want answers, but investigating means entering the lake region and possibly experiencing the pull firsthand. The council is debating whether to act and how.