I stopped in Gens Hollow for the night and met with King Anberdon. It was an uproarious evening on this, the eve of his daughters marriage. Lord Varse of Dark Mound was even in attendance. It was rare to see him outside his castle let alone so far north. I dared not pass up the opportunity to speak with him. We stayed up late into the night. We covered all manor of topics; his desire for stories was as voracious as ever. We discussed at length the rising tensions in the region and how he was dealing with push of Giants into his territory. He had, of course, brought a wedding gift as his attendance was intentional, while mine was coincidental. He brought the heiress a set of five goblets, one in each of the chromatic colours, each with a different magical enchantment. He had also come to retrieve a blade he commissioned Destanna for. He was excited to see the result, as it was first time she had used blood like his as a component. He was especially relishing in his refusal to let her use her signature blackheart iron. Ever obsessed with standing out I suppose. As I was not invited, it would be rude to overstay my welcome. I rose early and with sun at my back continued my trek to the Valley of Blood. Tamit passed in the following days. It brought me sorrow that my research was fruitless in those final days. Hopefully xir would fair better. 10 days after having left gens hollow faced with no easier path I started a much harder climb. I found myself lost in the rhythm the cold air filling my lungs. It was refreshing though I suspect those more poorly trained then I would consider this a death sentence. I am not sure how many days I climbed but I assure I climbed much higher then necessary. So high in fact I found myself on a peak so high I could see dragons fly unhindered by clouds. The glint of gold amongst the peaks reminded me I was under the ever watchful gaze of an old friend tucked away with his books. In the coming days I descended and in the distance I could see it, the valley, where my next journey would begin. While others might say it would of been faster to cross the Wild Mothers Menagerie, I am not a Dragon and I can not simply fly above. The many days I have taken would not be as treacherous as one night spent there and it is of the utmost importance I arrive in the valley as unscathed as possible. As I descended into the valley, my feet strangely finding purchase on what appeared to be smooth, crystal clear ice, even I, a relatively peaceful man could feel it, the heartbeat of violence, the desire for blood. My excavation of the titan steps needs to start quickly if I hoped to emerge half the man I am now.
The Titan Steppes
It took almost a full 10 days to find the entrance. I was sure the entrance, though covered in snow and ice, would be grand some relic of the past, begging to be found. When I found it I knew I'd found it. As I cracked open the ice I saw before me a raw natural tunnel, maybe the remains of a lava tube, or steam, vent or maybe even some sort of burrowing creature. I couldn't know for sure in the time I had. While I was very interested to find an answer I was not here to learn about the tunnels, the treasure of the titan steppes was much greater. Staring down that hole felt like staring into the gullet of a beast, like I was willing to stick my head into the mouth of a lion. And yet I could feel my blood pumping like I wanted to fight that lion, like I could win that fight with my bare hands. At the time I thought it was normal, but looking back the effect of the valley of blood was undeniable. I stared and I stared and finally, I found complete focus and took the plunge. I slid for some time, slowing my decent periodically with my pick, until my feet finally met a hard flat surface. I summoned a light but the the darkness around me seemed overwhelming, there was magic at play that far exceeded my paltry powers. this of course was a good sign. I methodically worked my way forward marking the ground with chalk so I could find my way back. There was nothing alive in this space, however large it was. Eventually I found another wall and as I worked along it an opening. As I crossed the threshold my light spilt out, no longer repressed by the darkness behind me. I found a massive spiral stair case tall enough for a Giant and wide enough for ten. Many sets of stairs for all manner of person, steps for the smallest halfling to the steps for Dragons or larger. Those for the smallest creatures were near the center of the spiral accommodating the tiniest legs, giving them the shortest distance to what I could only dream existed at the bottom.
It took many hours to descend. I worried I might have to rest on the steps, but I pushed through and I arrived in a massive chamber with sculpture befitting worship. The artistry of this space was beyond anything I could of imagined. If the the people of the world could get just a glimpse of what I found there, they would weep with joy. But beauty of long past artisans were not what I sought in the titan steppes and the valley of blood was not a place to appreciate art no matter how beautiful. As I walked across that chamber I could hear the voices of my ancestors reminding me of the stories and legends of the blessing that resided deep within the titan steppes for those who were deemed worthy. That from this chamber one who survived was destined to be a champion of hope and salvation. I had been so driven to find it, to prove it existed, to know what there was to know and to learn what could be learnt. And I did learn. I learnt a lesson I will take to my dying breath, for sadly what I learnt there was not mine to share. I do not know how long I was there or how closeI was to giving in to the rage that the valley of blood exuded, even all this way down. I left a changed man in so many ways, but as I made the climb back up those steps I couldn't help but see the shadows, the images of those who had climbed back up these steps, the greatness that surrounded me, the foot steps I had the honor of following in. Looking back I write these words knowing that I have not made clear how to find the titan steppes and have left you, my kind reader, whoever you are, with no proof they exist. I do this because if you are worthy, and are meant to find the steppes you will, because if you need my word to tell you they are their then you should not seek them out.
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