#the forest of veils

[thecourtofindigo]

Melaco Town Pt. I - Natural + Main Areas

MELACO TOWN - MAIN AREA A small, semi-rural town nestled between several large, dense forests and shielded by misty black mountains to its far north. Train tracks run through it, and a freight train runs daily, sometimes at strange late hours.

Melaco Town is an eerie, odd place that becomes darker the deeper one looks at it. It feels quaint, old-fashioned and often abandoned by daylight, but lit up in fluorescent colours, seedy and sinister by night. Many of its citizens are nocturnal and very eccentric, and seem to be hiding dark, unthinkable secrets that they will likely take to their graves.

The weather in Melaco is inconsistent, but always windy and the air bears a chill even in summer. The local soil is of note, being extremely rich, oily and black and sprouting rare flowers that appear nowhere else in the world. Despite its unsettling qualities, the vast stretches of trees and nature around Melaco Town can be quite breathtaking to find oneself in. This quietness and magical aura was part of what drew Alexia and her brother to settle there.

WOODWARD FIELD A huge, grassy, hilly meadow that stretches across eastern Melaco Town to the foothills of the dark mountains surrounding its north side. There are sparse houses, but little else in the field - save for two unusual landmarks.

One is an archway that seems to have once been the gate to something, inscribed with the text "To the land of tomorrow for two - if one again breaks my heart to pieces". Its origin is unknown, but it seems old, is carved of stone and marble, and seems to have once been painted in garish shades of pink, violet, gold and blue.

The second landmark is a marsh spring with deep green water, surrounded by drooping willow trees. Several decayed, moss-laden stone totems jut up from the water. The spring is the haunting ground of two sister nature gods - Tar-Rokka of the Swamp and Tir-Ranna of the Storm.

THE FOREST OF VEILS A mysterious patch of deep woods located a short walk behind St. Martin Street, beyond the train tracks. The trees here have black bark and silver-white leaves and blossoms. The forest floor is also covered with silvery grass and flowers, and no other colour of flora will bloom there.

The forest gets its name from the pearlescent veils and strings of jewels strung up like spiderwebs between the trees - this is a naturally occurring phenomenon. Its treetops are extremely dense, allowing little sunlight in, yet it remains fairly well-lit due to the shimmering plantlife. The forest's sole inhabitant is an ageless, ancient child-eating witch named Wysteria, but there are hints that there was once a native group of beings there - whom Wysteria likely ran off, killed, or ate the last of long ago.

THE DAWNLIGHT BLUSTERS An extremely windy, forested patch of hills on the eastern edge of the town that seem to be perpetually stuck in autumn, painted year-round in bright greens, gold and red. It is a wondrous, beautiful place with an aura of childhood adventure, yet can become quite lonely and wistful, with few houses or people around.

The deepest groves of the Blusters also harbor a sinister place - Jane's Hours Estate - a supposedly cursed Edwardian-era manor that belonged most recently to the Rondo family, all of whom but the youngest member, Robin, met a tragic end there.

Robin Rondo still resides in the Blusters, in a fort of his own design, in the woods on the farthest edge of the Estate. Robin's fort is constructed of wood, scrap metal, bright colourful quilts and miscellaneous "junk", and is surrounded by pinwheels and childlike novelty objects of all kinds.

ABANDONED PARK The abandoned park lies concealed by tall tangles of grass and densely-woven, overgrown trees in a field between Julian's backyard on St. Martin Street and the small barrier of forest behind Goodnight Plaza.

All that remains of the actual "park" are rusted, unusable skeletons of playground equipment and a canopy laced with tiny baby roses. Outwardly, there is nothing special about this area, but upon entering, one can sense a "living force" there, like a massive heart slowly beating just beneath the soil.

Hidden deeply in a thick grove within the park is a disturbing monument of soft, oily scarlet stone that feels like candle wax to the touch. It is made up of a square door in the ground guarded by a statue of a man screaming in great agony, thick blood streaming from his eyes and mouth. Beneath it is the pathway to the Court of Indigo (the Depthless Stair). The monument itself, while worn by time, still serves as a seal to keep the Indigo under their curse - a curse set by a warlock which entails they will die in their natural forms if they touch either sun or moonlight.

One From the Clocks uses this path to stalk the above world for victims to use in his and Kanabiel's experiments (or for cruel pleasure), since he is still part-human and the curse does not affect him.

[esthesiaart]

Bellara Lutara. After seeing her pictures I am in love with her ❤️

[keryahoraculi]

By Pulse Noir

[shiftymelon]

07/30/2024

bridal veil falls, skagway, alaska

[warden-commander-of-ferelden]

Elven | Traslation Nadas | Inevitability; something that must be.

[mycosprite]

Grey Veiled Amanita Amanita porphyria

[nights-silence]

Hanthana Mountain © Sri Lanka

[mc-260627]

new coli team finally gaslight gatekeep girlboss'd their way out of hell (grinding without ambush stones)

[she/her for gaoler and tundra he/him for veilspun]

[marejadilla]

Tom Bagshaw, "Pathfinder", 2024, digital painting. Bagshaw was born in Bath, England.

[devilous-ov-noir]

[artistictentacles]

Some chill sorta Mermay related painting I did yesterday to just draw for fun. It's been a while since I just did draw to relax and I'm happy I managed to do so. Selkies count, right?

[keryahoraculi]

By Aleksandra

[nerd-elf]

I’m loving Veilguard, it so beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

[fuzzy-worm-with-wings]

A bookmark I made of my favorite boy, Shadowsight <33 I drew it on paper and colored it on procreate using the multiply tool!

[purplecritter]

Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance (Ep. 4)

Official episode transcript here

My notes while I was listening under the cut... Spoilers ahead!

I did not miss the templars bro…

I am really hopeful that Arlathan will have similar vibes to the Brecilian in Origins! I loved the talking trees and lurking demons etc etc. Bring back the whimsy to Thedas ya know

This was wayy too offtopic to go in the main post but the beginning with Bellara hidden in the trees reminded me of (improbable reference in 3, 2, 1…) Jasmine in Deltora Quest: The Forest of Silence

Yikes I bet Tevinter has some pretty stocked up museums with all these artifacts 💀 No wait we literally already know they do, the fucking Archives in episode 1 were full of things that didn’t belong there

“Call me rabbit again and I'll run your throat, shemlen dog” Bellara 🥰

I love a duo that can slip into scathing banter so easily but they actually like each other a lot. I’m so glad the writers didn’t go the (overused) “I insult you and create a huge argument but you didn’t realize that it was only as a distraction and I meant none of it but now it’s too late and you’re mad”

(Said by Bellara to temporarily animate the surrounding trees, using an amulet) Var vhen'alas var vallasdahlen. Should translate to something like “Our land, our life-trees*” *vallasdahlen = trees planted in remembrance of those who dedicated their lives to the Dalish kingdom

I want to bring our Inquisitor to this river specifically so they can walk on it and maybe learn how to stop drowning in puddles 👉👈

Bellara’s 10 steps ahead of everyone and I love that for her

Bellara loves books! Which tracks with her fangirling over Neve heh. I wonder if she’s ever read anything of Varric’s lmao

Bellara & Drayden: nerd to nerd communication

Every time Nadia refers to Elio as “my love” I go 🥺

Ohhh Bellara wanting maps of the tears but also not having been able to save someone important to her vs Aldwir Rook losing a map specifically to save other veil jumpers... If you hear distant barking that’s just me

The Flicker = ancient Elven device, built with secret metallurgical techniques lost to time, that can act as a guide = technomancy ��� Dagnaaa where are you

Arlathan having “lyrium fields” makes me so nervous

Drayden: “I get the feeling our paths have converged here for a reason. This all feels connected” 🧐🎤agent of Fen’Harel

Drayden’s whole backstory 🥺

AWE Flicker sounds ADORABLE

“Remember Nadia, the Fade is capricious. It lies and it obscures. There's also truth. In all of my research and experience, I've learned one thing above all else: Trust your mind more than your heart. The demons beyond the veil, they will use your feelings against you. They will reshape reality. You must put a thought in your mind's eye and weight it like an anchor, immovable and untouchable. Focus on–” “Elio. I will focus on Elio.” “But focus on how you know him to be and not–” “–on how you want him to be.”

The Fade without being a mage / conscious that it’s being manipulated by a Demon is nightmare fuel btw

The bridge specifically being described by Elio as being made of obsidian makes me 100% sure that the obsidian part of the previous episode’s mirror/eluvian/portal was at least fade-touched, if not directly from the Fade

“I can't leave the way you came. In order to protect myself here, I had to cast a spell disguising me as an inhabitant so the spirits of this realm didn't come for me [...] I can't [end the spell] unless I destroy the font that I used. But I hid it for safekeeping. Back there. Just outside of the Black City. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what made it safe.” 🧐Eliooooooo what did you doooooo

Mhkay demon Templar raising an army of lyrium-corrupted knights from the Fade. What.

dathrasi = qunlat for animal (derogatory)

[emoloserstims]

you want a martyr? ill be one. Collide with the sky stimboard !!

x 🌼 x / x x / x 🌼 x