Abyss village

The abyss village is a human settlement located within Pantala underneath Lake Scorpion and near the abyss.

Description

Upon first discovering the abyss village, Cottonmouth founded a makeshift lab that was lit by oil lamps, with rough walls and damp stone floors. Within the tunnels, the sounds of clanging and muffled shouts could be heard as the humans were building or digging. The air smelled faintly of rotting greenery and the place was a mess, with piles of vines and pots of dirt strewn everywhere. There were also small creatures trapped in makeshift cages around the room; most were lizards, but there was also a monkey and a long-feathered blue-green bird.

The village is surrounded by several underground caves, which are used to collect water and fish. One of them was described to have a river sweeping through an above alcove and then waterfalling down about the height of two dragons into a wide, rippling pool, with pale fish flickering in the dark water. There is a hole higher up on the wall that leads to an odd sort of path descending from the hole to the shore of the lake, made of stairs chiseled into the stone. The cave has ledges, rock walls, and dark corners, with stalagmites casting long shadows.

A tunnel within this cave leads into a zigzagging, splitting, branching stone tunnel filled with stalactites. The ground slants downwards, each turn going lower and lower into the earth, until a faint green glow can be seen ahead. It glows brighter as a sepulchral, echoing cavern can be seen from a plateau studded with boulders, containing stalactites overhead, and overlooking the abyss.

Notable features

Salvation Tunnel

Another tunnel within this cave consists of a small gap that leads into a long, dark tunnel with a low roof. This leads to the Salvation Tunnel, which has many glinting, shiny diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. They are embedded in the wall in a design that frames an archway into a new tunnel, and they are designed to look like the breath of evil plant, with emerald vines, diamond flowers, and dark and blood-red rubies throughout. Further in, the Salvation Tunnel has stone walls and a ceiling that are covered with paintings of humans. Later on, there is a drawing of a dragon in a cave with smoke rising from its nostrils, humans doing normal human things, and the dragon again, flying low over a group of crouching stick figures, and then another painting depicting the dragon back in its cave, with little bones scattered at its feet. The walls seem to mirror one another, and the drawings become more unsettling as one progresses through the tunnel; more dragons appear, chasing the tiny stick figures, and more bones fill the empty spaces on the wall. A few dragons have human legs poking out of their mouths, and other paintings depicted several humans and human houses on fire. There are increasing depictions of fire, with trees on fire and painted flames covering wide swathes of the wall with small circles, which may have been human faces, poking out occasionally. Cricket speculated that the drawings must be very old, because the dragons they depicted did not match any of the current Pantalan tribes.

Later down the tunnel, Cottonmouth is depicted by himself within a circle of figures at a distance around him. He is slightly larger than the others, with a halo of light drawn around his head, and he was pointing farther down into the tunnel. A little ways on, he is depicted again, standing alone on a boat atop waves, with many other humans following him, crammed ten apiece into their own boats. They are later depicted going into a cave, with plants painted around it. The vines curl around the entrance and under the humans' feet, and they are painted to look like the breath of evil.

Society

The humans who live in the abyss practiced Abyss Worship for several centuries. The Guardian of the Abyss, a human chosen by the othermind, occasionally received messages from the abyss to pass along to the village. The abyss village is ruled by Leaders, who decided after Vole's Guardian of the Abyss initiation to abandon him and to stop the ceremonies that were used to choose new Guardians. These happened every ten years before their ban. The Leaders then forbid any mention of the abyss, despite it ruling their people for centuries, and all humans were instructed to pretend like it did not exist. Mole was the only human permitted to visit Vole or to go anywhere near the abyss. In addition, the Guardian of the Abyss was the only human able to go into the abyss.

The Leaders appear to function in an hierarchical system, as Mole was mentioned to be their only remaining heir.

The abyss village believes that a great and wonderful ancestor founded the village and created ties to the abyss. This human was Cottonmouth, and although the abyss village does not seem to know him by name, they still consider him a savior who could do no wrong.

The humans of the abyss village had fishing nets, which they used to catch prey in several underground lakes surrounding the village. They have also been mentioned to use knives, wheelbarrows, pulleys, and to have doctors, who use a special flower juice to make people sleep during surgeries. Mole and Raven appeared dangerous and spiky to Luna.

History

The Lost Continent Prophecy

The Flames of Hope

Raven mentioned that the village had abandoned Vole, who was the Guardian of the Abyss. She also said that the village only allowed Mole to visit Vole and no one else.

Inhabitants

• Mole
• Quartz
• Raven
• Vole

References

fr:Village du Gouffre