Shrine of the Water Elemental

"The Water Elemental's Shrine lies to the north of the village, in a high enclave accessible only to those who know the source of all oceans. She is the mother of all rivers, all streams, all manners of water, and is a very deep, intuitive lady. It is said that she formed the valleys by letting her streams run free through the once flat lands, eventually wearing them down with their weight alone. Only the firmest and most resolute of land remained, and thereupon we have mountains.

"She is vital to the land's well-being. Those who visit her claim that she forms from the pool at the top of the shrine every once in a year, and then impregnates herself with the power of a marking on her left arm and a staff that grants its bearer the power of malleability. This staff, the Wand of Fuuyasarwa, is apparently one forged from a thousand streams of celestial milk. With it, she grows to become the size of the shrine itself, bearing the rains of tomorrow, and when she is at a size she can most handle, she gives birth to clouds---the ones that give us our sacred rain. That accomplishment done, she sinks to the water for another year of rains.

"Men have claimed to have fallen in love with her, yet she refuses them, as they cannot fathom what it is like to marry and live with an elemental...."

Art (c) Joseph Staleknight