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Message: <blockquote data-quote="nogray" data-source="post: 8200669" data-attributes="member: 28028">I've started worldbuilding some ideas for my next (high fantasy) campaign, and I've come up with a couple fantastic sites/features. These aren't large-scale features of the world, but rather small mysteries about which an adventure or two could be planned. Or they could be just bits of fantastical color to sprinkle in.The Dreaming Lady[spoiler] In the city of Brindenshale, near the center of the town’s public square under a sturdy pavilion, lies a beautiful young lady in a state of apparent sleep. She is exotic in appearance; though definitely seeming to be human, her ethnicity is tantalizingly elusive. The Dreaming Lady, as she is called by the local townsfolk, has lain in the town square nearly 400 years without showing any signs of being touched by the march of years. Open flames in the town square are drawn towards the Dreaming Lady, and the square is suffused with a subtle, enticing perfume. A small contingent of guards is posted around the Lady, and the membership in the Dreamer’s Guard is highly sought after among the city watch.The Dreaming Lady has become the subject of worship recently; many healings are attributed to her touch, and the city’s prosperity and peacefulness are attributed to the presence of the Lady. The cult that has formed around her is regarded as something of a heresy by most established religions in the area, a fact that contributes to the necessity of the Lady’s guards.Most days, the Lady lies immobile, but she occasionally moves slightly, twitching a finger or breathing a slight sigh. The most common movement is the Lady’s eyes. They will, occasionally, move as those of a person having dreams. This is often of only brief duration, but around the time of the closest encroachment of a hostile army, the Dreamer’s eyes moved rapidly for close to three days straight. Cataloguing the movements of the Dreaming Lady is another part of the duties of the Lady’s guards.Legends say the Lady appeared in the midst of a disaster. The town was ablaze, and a young guard, Delmar Brighteyes (later called Delmar the True), was evacuating residents from a boarding house when he noticed the fire closing in on what seemed an unconscious ragamuffin clothed in dirty rags. Drawing closer, Delmar noted her clean, nearly glowing skin and long, dark hair worthy of any noblewoman. Delmar fought forward towards the heat, but as he gathered her up in his arms, the hallway behind him, and through which he’d planned his egress, collapsed, trapping the pair and surrounding them with flames. The fire inexorably approached Delmar and his newly-rescued charge. As the flames drew closer, the apparently-still-unconscious young lady weakly raised her hand and the blaze surged forwards as if beckoned. In the instant the fires touched her outstretched hand, each and every flame in the town was ripped towards her and vanished, leaving only smoldering scorch marks where an inferno had raged just moments before.Thanks to Delmar’s tale, the Dreaming Lady was credited with saving the town. For several years, the town dedicated resources to trying to awaken or communicate with the Lady. Eventually, the townsfolk resigned themselves to being unable to help the Lady regain consciousness and enshrined her in the town square. Late in his long life, Delmar formed the Dreamer’s Guard from within the ranks of the town’s guard and militia, and he and the guard have been credited with many acts of heroism. Though a human, Delmar lived hale and hearty for nearly 150 years after finding the Dreaming Lady. On the day he passed, the Lady is said to have shed a single tear. [/spoiler]The Still Falls[spoiler]  High in the Granitespine Mountains (?), there is a unique tributary to the mighty Maiden’s Tears River known as the Still River. From the point the spring issues from a split in a granite outcropping to the spot it merges with the larger tributaries, the water of the Still River exhibits peculiar properties.No fish swim in the waters of the Still River, an alarming fact to several circles of druids, but more peculiarly, the river’s waters are deathly quiet. No babbling or lapping of water can be heard, and the river’s current could not be guessed at by looking at its mirror-still surface. About halfway up the mountain, there is a waterfall, above which is a treacherous stretch of rocky bed that would, in any other river, cause tempestuous white-water rapids. In the Still River, however, the water seems to be calm on the surface, despite the strong current. Where the water plunges over the precipice and falls to a small lake, it remains, to all appearances, a smooth, calm flow. The water does not splash or raise mist, and the sound is not the deafening roar one would expect, but rather an eerie stillness, nigh unto silence.The rocks beneath the Still River’s surface are sharp and hazardous, as they do not seem subject to the erosion that other rivers cause. Swimming in the river’s waters is difficult; it is no more difficult to float; in fact, it seems slightly easier, as the river’s water is heavier than normal by a slight fraction. What seems difficult is to move forwards. The waters of the Still River seem to offer no purchase and little resistance to the swimmers strokes, and thus there is nothing that pushes the swimmer towards their goal. For similar reasons, navigation by boat must either be by sail, pole, or rope; oars do not seem to impel vessels as they would in other bodies of water.The waters of the Still River are sought after for various alchemical processes. Though it is poor for cooking or brewing, as neither sugar nor salt dissolves in the water and teas and coffees do not seem to brew properly, this lends itself to the value of the waters. They are remarkably pure, if peculiar, form of water. (It should be noted that attempting to quench thirst by drinking just water from the Still River is futile and is not recommended. Tales tell of people who have died of seeming dehydration despite drinking their fill from the Still’s waters.) There is an alchemical distillation process that preserves the purity while removing some of the other peculiarities of the water. Even the Still River’s undistilled water has its uses in alchemy and other arcane pursuits. [/spoiler]</blockquote>

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