In the evening, if you keep very still and listen, the Fen speaks will whisper its secrets. These settlers, I fear, lack the will to har them, just as those who came before that I fear will not hear it.

Found in Weaver's Fen

Secrets

I met a settler who spoke to me in the tongue of my people, but I pretended not to understand. That life feels far away now, and they are my family no longer. I believe he knew that I understood, yet respected my silence.

Forgotten Words

I happened upon another lost in the Fen. I cannot say I pitied him, but I did resolve to help him. I placed a small sack of food and medicinal herbs along his path, so that he might find it. Then I piled rocks in such a way to point the way to the Ancient Road. He should soon find his way home, has he the wits to decipher the sign.

A Reluctant Gift

Weeks have passed since I guided the wayward settler back to the path. At first, I thought he had come seeking another gift, but instead he lay down a satchel of his own, nestled atop a ring of flowers. I am almost moved by the notion he would risk the journey back through the swamp simply to thank me.

A Gift Returned

Today I spied a hunter. A woman bound for the lakefront. I offered her no aid, as she had no need of any. I wonder what creature she hunted out here amongst the trees and brambles that encircle the crater.

Lake's Second Visitor

I saw the banners of a king held high by his soldiers as they marched along the ancient road. Each tradesman and fisherman they passed, they greeted kindly. They did not seem to be marching to war, but rather to tour the settlements Fen. \n\nThough they appear to be men of honor, I fear what acrimony they may bring to this land. Time will tell.

Strange Banners

Hunters of the Fen and those from west of the isle seek to capture the ridge at the top of the hill. I see that now. They move quietly through the swamp, and while I have no wish to see more blood spilled, I left gifts and markers to aid them on their path. While I am hesitant of their intentions, I have more to fear from those they call their enemies.

The Black Ridge

I saw a man of the South today. There was no mistaking him: thick beard and eyes full of fear. He came not seeking something, he was running from it. \n\nAs he ran, he cast off his garments, as if they were somehow contaminated. I thought for a moment that he might be mad, until I saw the golden crest upon his discarded trappings. I knew, then, that he was shedding any trace of his homeland, just as I had.

The Desperate Man

I traveled North long ago, to a mountain that was tainted by poison. The great peak loomed over all, and within its long shadow, umbral forces toiled. \n\nI believed it must be some realm of the dead, where those on this isle go to die – but it was the mountain itself that I feared most. I dared not return there for many years, fearful of what terrible revelations might follow.

This Devil's Peak

When I had gathered my courage and I returned to the mountain many years later. Perhaps ten summers had passed. Perhaps a hundred. And in that time the mountain had grown angry. \n\nNow, a great stone crown that rested in the air above it. And in its shadow labored a greater collection of shades than ever, industrious as insects upon a corpse. What power they served, I could not see, for I dared not draw any closer.

Now Devil's Crown

The Lost, their eyes roiling with grim despair, have come to plague the denizens of the Fen. We shall never be rid of them – another malediction of this forsaken swamp – as if our troubles were not already legion. Time has not been kind to our land. And each day it becomes harder and harder for those who call this place their home.

A Lost Plague Upon the Fen

Today something happened that I did not expect. \n\nTucked into the pocket of a desiccated corpse, I found a peculiar talisman. Squared corners, shaved bezels. An evil visage glared back at me as I wiped away the muck and grime. I cast it deep into the mire, where I prayed none might find it.

The Talisman

It appears I have made a terrible mistake. For the hillock where I discarded the talisman has begun to change. A strange, red moss has begun to sprout from the mud, as if the symbol itself had struck deep into the earth and it was now bleeding. \n\nYet when I prodded the growth with a stick, countless holes opened, like small, hungry mouths, each one seeking to drink in all that was around it. \n\nThe talisman had given birth to a new stain upon the marsh. I lit a fire using the oils of the Fen and watched the evil smoke rise into the air as the moss twitched and writhed.

The Grave

The journey back to the lake was a mortal, but necessary risk, for I needed to heal the child. Hiding from torchlight behind narrow trees, I narrowly avoided the patrols of these strange and evil-looking men.

The Journey

The Fen waters run red, and these evil-looking men trudge through them without a care. Countless battles rage, yet they seem only strengthened by this senseless loss of life.

Blood Waters

The moon is radiant tonight, reflecting on the perfect stillness of the lake. I found the otherworldly plants needed for my oils, but lingered to take in the splendor of the blue lit cliffs dancing above the water.

Found by the Lake of Mallory's Notch

The Crater

The battle rages on in the pass. Traveling back to the Ancient Capital will require crossing through the desert now. A much more dangerous path for any still determined to reach this sacred site.

Battle in the Pass

The soldiers threw themselves upon the demon, dying in multitudes as his mystical fires engulfed them. Their sacrifice was perhaps too great for this forsaken marsh.

The Beast

So strange. Though my eyes are as sharp as the day I first stared out across the sea, and my legs are as strong as the day I first walked these shores, I feel the weight of an old woman’s heart. I have seen so much I cannot unsee across the centuries, and the gravity of eternal youth begins to wear upon me. The Fen is drenched in blood. And though more settlers have come. I know they will only know peace for a single beat of this island’s remorseless heart. \n\nI could leave again, for elsewhere, but I sense that nowhere I could go would offer any lasting peace. \n\nIt is not a sad thing. A pitiless thing. The only place I wish to dwell is here, upon Aeternum, yet it will not accept me. I shall sleep and dream of its shores, its waters, and the songs in the Fen. And I shall hope that others come to hear it as I do, and finally, embrace tranquility.

Found in Hazel's Cave

Tired

A desolate swamp haunted by the ruins of failed settlements and rumors of the dark magic

Venla's Diary Chapter - NWGuide Database of Lore

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