Swirling in a whirlpool of unconsciousness, I hear Ophelia's voice in my head.

"You can see that joy and pleasure can also be dangerous in their extremes.  Because of this, I will guide you through the rest of this land in a dream within a dream.  I will show you visions of what you would see.  I will tell you the story of this land, and of this world, while you sleep.  While your dream body lies in the forest of awareness, I will guide you through the rest of Raethania and on to Mt. Adophael.

This forest is alive in a way you've never known.  It has a slight awareness of self.  Like the rest of this land, it maintains itself through balance.  The fruit of the trees and shrubs is freely given to those who hunger, and the fruit grants nourishment in full no matter what the need.  No being ever need eat the flesh of another in this land.  However, if the desire for flesh is present, one can always go to a zone of renewal where flesh is freely available to those who would eat of it.  In all things here there is balance.

Scattered throughout the land, even in the deserts are sources of nourishment and water.  Pools of water, called refreshment nodes, dot the land.  In each pool there is sweet water that is of the temperature and consistency desired by any who partake of it.  One can enter these pools as well.  They serve as places of relaxation and refreshment.  You will notice these pools by the flowers that grow around them.  The flowers resemble what you call a Columbine...though much bigger and are colored in red and rich blue.  If the petals of the flowers are closed, the pool is in use and you must find another.  When the petals are open the pool is open to use.  On occasion, you will find a pool who's flowers are open, yet the pool is in use.  This happens when the being using the pool desires companionship.  No violence can happen in the sphere of a pools influence, so you need never fear attack while in a pool.  In addition, the pools have healing properties within limits.  Sickness, injuries and madness are washed away by the water.  Though it cannot restore a lost limb, the pools magick can heal not only the wound of a lost limb, but the despair that often accompanies such a loss.

Look, when you need nourishment, and you will find the atlantia.  This small bush carries berries of the most magickal sort.  Small and dark red, the berries are a miracle of nature.  One berry can restore a person dragging from fatigue.  It can quench the most raging thirst and it provides energy for an entire day.  Only one thing is asked of those who partake of atlantia...that you give back from what you have taken.  If you eat of the berry, spit its seed away from the bush, that the seed may one day grow into another of these wonderful plants.

Do you feel stained and dirty?  The moss of this forest, that grows at the base of the trees will cleanse you.  Its fine structure will remove dirt, grease, blood, sweat and any other substance that stains you.  It also brings with it properties that cleanse the aura as well.  It cannot remove guilt, remorse, hatred or evil.  But it can clean and refresh you.

You wish to know about the renewal zones.  Each section of this land has its renewal zones.  When a being has lived enough life to become over burdened with life.  When guilt, remorse, hatred, pain, or even an excess of memory have begun to weigh a soul down, when even the simplest pleasures become burdensome, the renewal zones come into play.  To you and me, the vines at the edges of the zone are unpleasant to smell, and do not please the eye.  But for a soul, weighed down and weary, they begin to look beautiful and their smell is soothing.  This is a sure sign that a being is ready for renewal.  In the case of the fae, who's free will is limited because of their limited understanding, this renewal comes about once in every fifty years.  They enter a renewal zone, where the overpowering scent of the vines causes them to fall easily into a deep and peaceful sleep.  The creatures of the zone then devour the body of the fae.  Once the substance of the fae is digested and processed, the spirit of the fae, which has slumbered, is directed to one of the pods growing on the vines.  The purified substance of the fae is reconstructed and the spirit reenters the body.  When the pod opens, the fae returns the life restored with the memories but not the burdens of its previous existence.

Renewal happens for most life forms on this planet.  The Fae are the highest form of life that experiences renewal.  Other races, such as elves, humans, haflings, do not experience renewal because the limits of their free will are much higher.  Their process is much different because they have a greater freedom to choose between good and evil.  Though there are Dark Fae, there are no fae that are able to make choices outside their nature, hence, they evolve slowly through renewal.

Humans and other races that do not experience renewal must go through the cycle of reincarnation.  However, this cycle is not as you understand it through the experience in your world.  In this world, past life memories are retained as a being undergoes reincarnation.  This means that a being can build up a much greater store of evil or good, thus more firmly taking control of their own destiny.  When a soul of one of the many races in Limbos achieves an amount of light that could be said to be half way between true neutral and true good, that soul makes its way to Mt. Adophael for the next phase of the soul journey.  The planet exists in neutrality.  When a soul passes too far above or too far below neutrality, it is time for it to leave Limbos and seek further development elsewhere in the system. 

Those souls that achieve an amount of darkness equal to half way between true neutral and true darkness, they make their way to the opposite side of the planet.  Here they find the land of Rahchya.  This land is much the same as Raethania, except that instead of a mountain in the center...there is a pit.  The Pit of Adophael.  It is here that the dark souls journey so that they may leave this planet and pursue their destiny elsewhere in the system.

In the deserts are the challenges of deprivation.  Though the atlantia grow everywhere in Raethania, they are few and far between in the deserts.  The vines of the renewal zone are sand colored and difficult to see unless a being is ready for renewal.  Many nomadic tribes roam the deserts, scratching a living from a harsh and unforgiving land.  The men are fierce, loyal and highly superstitious.  The women are cunning, beautiful, loyal and gifted with natural gifts that help their people survive the harsh lands.  It is in these lands that the Roccs live.  A Rocc is a being that takes its physical substance from the living earth.  All manner of stone is home for these sturdy beings, all manner but one.  Purity.  When ever you find pure veins of any mineral, there you will not find a Rocc.  Crystals are their treasures and their magick.  Many a nomad has perished trying to steal a crystal from a Rocc.  They cannot be harmed by normal weapons, being composed of rock, but they can be broken and wounded like rock.  In the desert, an avalanche is said to be the mating dance of the Rocc.

The nomads ride several different animals...all of which possess keen intelligence and senses.  Horses, camels and mules are used.  As well as giant lizards, horned toads, rumbella, quamires and phants.  There are large birds and flying reptiles that are capable of carrying off a full grown human, but as a rule, they do not like human flesh and are usually after their steeds and cattle.  Despite this, nomad legends are rife with romantic stories of women being carried off only to be rescued by an ardent lover.  There are even a few tales of men being carried off to be rescued by the woman they love.

The mountains of Raethania are both beautiful and treacherous.  Riddled with caves, they house a startling diversity of life forms.  Deep narrow canyons are common, as are lofty peaks.  Forests of all kinds grow through out the mountains like a patchwork quilt.  Gnomes labor in the mountain reaches, fashioning gold and other precious metals supplied by the Dwarves that work and live in the mines.  Though, traveling through the mountains, you will be hard put to find evidence of this mining.  Dwarves, though they dwell underground, are ardent worshipers of nature.  Once a month, the Dwarves make their way to the surface, where they hold celebrations of their love and reverence for nature.  All manner of beings are welcome at these celebrations, though it is usually the Gnomes that are the most faithful attendants.  It is through these celebrations that the Dwarves and Gnomes experience their own version of renewal.  Contrary to popular belief among human tribes, Dwarves are not squat and ugly.  Nor are Gnomes perpetually wrinkly and old.  These two races share the beauty of Raethanis.  Dwarven and Gnomish men are sturdy but handsome.  Gentle with their women and generous to strangers.  Dwarven and Gnomish women are slender though strong, and possess an earthly beauty that is quite remarkable.  They are kind to their children and perceive the men as just about equal in intelligence and gifts.  Gnomish jewelry made with Dwarven metals are beautiful and magickal items.  They are exported to the rest of Limbos and form the bulk of the artistic treasures of the world.

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