For a split second as the waterfall closed behind the fae, it seemed almost too dark to continue for the Lilthe, but for the Whisperers, it was as clear as day. Behnd the waterfall was a gaping maw of a cave that spanned the entire heighth of the valley wall.

And it wasn't completely dark. Moments upon entering, the faes' eyes would adjust, revealling shots of the dying sunlight entering at various angles from the ceiling above them. Even more glowing phosporescent fungi hugged the walls here -- in different shapes and colors. In the flowing water beneath them, glowing fish and salamanders jumped and wriggeld into and out of the water. Even so, the water under them flowed gentle and profound, scattering dancing reflections on the ceiling of the cavern.

After a bit, the cavern narrowed, but not so much as to make it difficult or dangerous to fly. The gentle water was confined into a smaller space and flowed more like rapids. As the cave came to an almost uncomfortable width, it opened to an unfathomable gorge, the water pouring down into the darkness.

Looking back, they had flown out one cave of many littered along the wall in the depths of this gorge, and were flying toward another one. A keen eye could notice that the fungi in the cave they had flown out of had a bright white glow, and they were flying toward a cave marked with fungi of a similar color.

Out of this cave, a gushing stream of water poured into the gorge as well. The cave was narrow at first, but gradually opened up. The water flowed deep and calmy. Instead of a waterfall barring the entrace here, the water shallowed and moonlight poured in. Trails of dry land wound through the cave until the fae came to the Shadowgrounds. Land stretched out from both sides of the caves, on either side of the River of Promises.

It was here, near a massive weeping willow whose leaves barely brushed the water, that Destine waited for the others to arrive.

As Kyrylo flew through the waterfall the sight that greeted him caused him to gasp audibly. His eyes had adjusted very quickly to the lesser light and surprised he glanced around looking at the darkness covered beauty that surrounded him. Interested he watched ht wriggling creatures below them in a myriad of colors and flapped his wings slowly to locate where Destine had disappeared to. Seeing movement ahead he flapped hard to catch up; as much as the darkness was soothing to his eyes and a comfort to him personally, he did not want to get lost before they had even arrived.

The fungi that adorned the walls reflected their light all over the water, causing a sparkling of light on the ceiling. Admiring the general splendor he flew close to the water and ran his fingers through it chuckling when the slightly glowing fish broke and dove deeper into the water. Pushing forward he heard the sound of faster rushing water and flapped to gain altitude to see further along the way. Ahead the water churned white and bubbled around the large rocks that littered the water until it fell away and poured into a gorge.

Glancing down into the vastness below him he struggled to see where the water had fallen to, unable to see it he strained his ears and could almost hear the crashing of the water far below. Following Destine, he flew into another cave with similar fungi growing at its entrance and a stream of water emptying itself into the gorge; it seemed that there would be many returns here to explore the hundreds of others caves that opened to this gorge.

Flying for a short time he came to small bars of land lifting above the land. Eyes casting around he looked for a bit of land large enough to land on, all the flying was starting to take its toll and he was beginning to tire very much. Spotting a large Weeping willow in the distance he aimed for a small gap in its foliage and dove, hoping that the land underneath it was soft, or that there was a bit of water nearby if he happened to miss once more. Just as his feet neared the ground he noticed Destine standing not a few steps away and smiled, breaking his concentration and tumbling to the ground, landing with his feet splayed out in front of him with a few wispy branches tangled in his hair. "Your home?" he asked staring at the area around where he had fallen.

Oerttena's eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness in the cave. In fact, the darkness was much easier on her sensitive eyes that the daylight was. She felt she could see better in this cave than she could in the brighter gardens outside. Though the cave tunnel was not overly large it wasn't so small as to impede her flight. The sound of the tumbling waterfall behind her reverberated off of the cave walls making it quite loud but almost musical to Oerttena. She liked it in here, more than she would have expected.

She was not in a hurry to leave the caves, so she drifted slowly behind Destine and Kyrylo gazing into the water below. She noticed the salamanders and fish swimming in the water below and let a smile cross her face.

Suddenly, lost in thought, she realized that she was no longer staring into the waters below but a huge gorge with no end in site. It startled her. She gasped and panicked, loosing the current beneath her wings. She began to fall. She frantically flapped her wings and called out for the others, but they were too far ahead to hear her cries. Spinning out of control thought of her friends flashed before her. She saw the gardens, and the other fae, the fairy fish and the great lakes. She could see a conversation she had with Kyrylo, about flying! She remembered what they had discussed and it calmed her. She fell for what, to her, seemed like forever before she managed to catch the smallest hint of the air beneath her. She could not let it go, for if she did she would have surely found this gorge's ended. With that she had flight again.

Once she was focused, she realized that she hadn't actually fallen that far, perhaps a few meters. She slowly circled the gorge until she recognized the cave they had exited. "Now which way did they go?" she asked herself, finally realizing that there was an infinite amount of caves which all seemed to converge at this one gorge. She could have been lost forever in those caves if she did not discover which way the other fae had traveled. She landed on a large, jutting rock. She figured she might as well conserver her energy as she sat thinking.

She decided to wait for Caer and Ora to cross her path. When they finally passed she lifted off, following them to the waiting Destine and Kyrylo, feeling quite ashamed for falling but proud she recovered so quickly.

Caer flew slowly through the dark caves, trying hard to make out the area in front of her. Eventually she arrived in the streams, and the moonlight cast an eerie but strangely comforting light on the waters. She could hear voices and eyes on her even though she knew the other faeries were making their own explorations and taking no heed of her. Caer shuddered and shooed the spirits away, then flew towards the trees and the luminous patches of moonlight.

Caer sat down carefully on a circle of flat stones and took in the view. Compared to the lively gaiety of the Mirror Lake Garden, the waters here seem old, calming and gentle. The willow trees seem to caress the river gently, forming sparkling ripples in the moonlight. Caer smiled and felt more comfortable now, and listened idly to the susurrus of the stream.

Destine sat on a massive root that jut out of and back into the ground, close to the water. The branches of the willow tree cast shadows on each other, creating an almost undulating back drop for her lithe frame. She sat with her knees brought up to her chest and her hand palm up in front of her.

On her palm was Tristan, slowing moving his wings up and down, and twitching his antennae. She giggled and spoke with him in soft tones. It seemed as if she were being comforted. Though she tried not to show it, through her shy smile and giggle, small worry lines pulled at her face.

Destine looked over expectantly when Kyrylo emerged from the cave -- wide eyed and full of youthful exhuberance. Tristan lazily flew off and Destine turned to face the cave, with her legs hanging from her perch.

"Your home?" Kyrylo asked, straightening himself.

Destine smiled and turned her head to look at the massive willow tree. "Yes."

This willow tree behind her was not too close to the cave entrance, but closer than any other tree that lined the shores, and at least twice as big. Like the other trees its branches lightly grazed the water's surface, but some of the branches were braided in various fashions -- knotted with shimmering stones, entwined with vines and flowers from all over the Gardens. The tree's branches were so verdant and decorated that they formed a visually inpentrable dome shaped curtain around the tree. The soft glow of phosphorescent plants inside were the only indication that one could pass through.

She turned back and smiled at Kyrylo as the others came up behind him.
"Some Lilthe and Whisperers who don't frequent here call me Protector of the Shadowgrounds." She looked away abashed. "But this is where I've made my home. I'm supposed to live with this tree. I felt it when I first came out of that cave." She paused and looked embarassed again. "I suppose they call me that because I'm the first one they see when they emerge from that cave."

She continued matter-of-factly. "But I know almost every inch of the Drowned Valley. So I guess they can't be too off."

Looking up Kyrylo saw that Destine was busy talking to her moth and politely looked away until he took off and flew into the distance. Examining the tree that she had pointed to behind her he admired her home; it certainly seemed to suit her with its calm and slightly dark interior. Some of the long hanging branches of the tree had been braided as if she had possibly done it when she was bored or on a whim whenever the desire took her. Occasionally beads and other trinkets were woven into the curtain of hanging branches, glinting as the softly swayed in the soft light. The soft glow that gleamed beneath the water of the branches indicated that withing the curtain of green there was a lighted area. Smiling he took in all the sights before sighing happily and nodding his approval to Destine, "it's beautiful".

"Some Lilthe and Whisperers who don't frequent here call me Protector of the Shadowgrounds."

Eyebrow quirking he took another look around the area and smiled to himself. He thought the name might be very fitting as well, because of her huge tree from which he was sure on top of could show all of the Shadowgrounds. She certainly seemed to know the place very very well and loved it here. For the next few moments he mused about someday maybe being called 'he protector' of something and broke out into a huge grin at his random thoughts.

Except for Kyrylo, who maintained an impish, gleeful look of curiosity on his face while admiring Destine's home, the fae slowly made their way from the mouth of the cave looking awestruck, but weathered and exhausted.

Worry lines rose on Destine's forehead. She addressed them all.

"It's been a long journey, and I can see that you all need some rest." She gestured at the trees dipping into the water. "All the trees along the banks of the river is this area are quite suitable. Nature has furnished them, and many travelers have found comfort under them."

Destine sighed, closed her eyes, and rubbed her shoulder. "I, too, could use some well-deserved rest. We can pick this up later. You can call for me here tomorrow or whenever you'd like -- I'm sure you'll do fine wherever you choose to call home in the Gardens."

She smiled at each of them again, lastly Kyrylo. "Welcome to the Thousand Gardens. I have only one thing to leave you with. The Thousand Gardens are beautiful and full of hope and light -- a paradise even; but, don't be mistaken -- some shadows really are darker than others."

"Even here there are many paths you can follow. You'll know where you need to go." Destine put her hand on her chest and almost grinned. Small tears welled up in her eyes. She took a deep breath, blinking a bit, and turned toward her home. She grabbed a smaller vine near her face hanging from the tree. After an effortless tug, a space opened among the layers of branches like a curtain -- just big enough for her to enter.

Destine vanished immediately when she turned -- the moonlight sparkling off her wings looked exactly like the leaves hanging around her. A breeze picked up and camouflaged her even more, then died down again, leaving only the sound of the river patting softly at the rocks.

((ugh, cheese sauce))