Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken

The wharf roaches sang, and the maw of the great serpent moved along in silent song, the scholars of Gobh knew their slumbering Wyrm slowly encircled the perceivable universe forever dreaming and moving about the mindscape. Dared they not to sleep themselves they sang to exhaustion. And when one scholar fell another would take it's place. Singing, singing whilst others crawled along the massive teeth-like structures of crooked bones and marrow, moving and twisting as the Hollow Wyrm sang in silent foreign tunes like whispers in the dark

And in its mind an island began to take shape. A continent on the world's spine. Rising. Rising among the mountains. And below were the pale forests of yore, that which could only exist in the wyrms mindscape and dreams.

A great pale forest of glimmering trees and by the spring of one lake the queens gardens. A place of immense beauty where a great many species of flowers, herbs and shrubs grew. Their colours varying from blue to red to orange. All arranged in a strange harmony which the eyes of animals could hardly perceive. Ones mind grew weary and tired from the sight and it's body turned to nourishment for the plants.

The Hollow Wyrm sang.

The scholars of Gobh sang.

The wharf roaches sang.

And from their harmony came the continent to form on the world's spine.

The northern part of the continent were wide open planes where many great animals could roam and graze from the lush shrubbery and low trees which grew there. Few features could be seen other than some hills and small springs where rainwater naturally collected during the spring and autumn. The only feature that was noticeable was the lonely mountain to the north-east where a great river emerged from hidden springs and high glaciers. It ran down to a small lake which then continued with its outflow towards the eastern sea and the home of the World Tree. Another feature was the great northern lake which bound the lush planes with reed and sedges provided a rich environment for birds to nest and search for fish. The great lake had two outflows, one which joined with the lonely mountains outflow to form the eastern delta, and another southern flow that split into two going into a small alder forest.

The great planes after passing the northern rivers and lakes began to disperse into gradually forested landscapes where deciduous trees and broadleaf undergrowth dominated the lands. The soils were heavy and dark, filled with mulch that was turned by diligent worms and beetles alike. Eating, decomposing, reviving. Here roamed smaller yet more elegant beasts bearing horns and hoofs that were white as snow. They wandered the forests during the summer and hid in the mountains during the winter, away from predators. The mighty forests spread far and wide and surrounded mountains as well as the great lakes.

To the south of the forest lay again more open planes, however, these were less barren than its northern cousin as the land was more temperate and had more varied and lush vegetation. It was rather soils touched upon by the great volcano in the west and many weeds and grasses grew here which favoured the existence of some peculiar animals to wander the lands akin to the hoofed beings in the north, albeit shorter and fatter. The only place they avoided was the great “deltaic swamp” to the west where nothing but marshy lands trapped them to be feasted upon by birds, beasts and insects alike.

The Isle to the west of the deltaic swamp was inhabited by a great white forest that bloomed once every year. The trees leaves were pale, nearly silver, in their appearance and the flowers as white as flour. The bark spotted but yet elegantly ashen. It spread wide across the isle and was distinctly different from that which grew on the mainland. And when the wind blew through the mountains in the west and rustled the tree crowns in the sun, a faint song could be heard ,. The mountains would gently hum to the forest and the pale forest would return the gesture.

At the centre of the whole isle complex was a great many mountains. Some were indeed very large but they were surrounded by many smaller ones and they in turn by spikey reefs of stone. Here lived many predatory fish, perhaps even hiding leviathans in the great caverns, but also proved to be a source where great schools of fish emerged from mating. It was a safe barrier for many species after the great journey had been completed. But entering or leaving was dangerous still for any being – not even the birds could enjoy such safety.

Action: Shape land x 7 (14 points) 1 fantastical (3 points) = 17 points

MAP