The Thousand Rivers of Tears

**The Thousand Rivers of Tears**, or simply **The Rivers** for short, is the name of the realm belonging to and inhabited by the love goddess Neiya.

It is a bleak landscape of ever-wilting trees and the eponymous rivers, which are cold enough to cripple a mortal on submersion.

## Physical Properties of the Realm

To a visitor, the landscape will not immediately do the name of the realm justice. The Rivers, despite the name, is mainly made up of bleak, off-white plains, gentle sloping hills and clusters of trees. Despite this, a single river always flows through the vista made apparent to a certain visitor. It is the same river, with a simple and weather-worn wooden bridge spanning it's breadth. It is possible to traverse the realm by foot, either by crossing the bridge or crossing the river manually. Whenever someone walks far enough to put the river out of sight, it will appear ahead of them. The river is always present, no matter how far one walks or where they turn. It is by this endless repetition that the realm earns it's moniker.

The river itself is both steady in it's flow, and extremely cold to the touch. A mortal being will lose their breath and sensation only moments after submerging themselves in the river, and simply dipping a finger in the water will bring excruciating - but not lasting - pain. It looks just wide enough that one might be able to jump across in places. Attempting to do so is always punished in the same manner - falling into the water. Being swept away by the river is the quickest way to meet Neiya herself, but it also means facing not merely one's own burdens of heartbreak and betrayal - but all of the heartbreak that Neiya herself feels. It is a transformative - if not lethal - experience.

It stands to reason then that the only way to cross is the bridge that spans the river. Made out of the same dark wood as the dark trees around it, the bridge can be found in various incarnations as one crosses the landscape. Inscribed with names, declarations of love in different languages, old memories, and promises, all of which have changed when one comes upon the bridge anew.

The bridge is in mild disrepair but all the same safe to cross. Setting foot upon the wood inspires all the emotions and memories of a being's previous love, affection or devotion towards a particular object, person or thing. More specifically it forces the being to face the guilt, grief, sorrow and anxiety of their choices and memories. Only by being entirely at peace, or forcing oneself through the bitter onslaught of emotion, can the bridge be crossed.

Other features of the landscape are almost always downcast and bleak. The trees that litter the plains on either side of the river bloom irregularly with beautiful petals reminiscent of peach trees, yet last no longer than a few minutes before wilting and falling to the ground in grey specks of ash. The trees themselves are gnarled and willowy, but are otherwise harmless. The ground is a blend of pale grass and ash. Cold winds blow gently over the open areas, but can be combatted by wearing enough clothes.

Having walked and crossed the river until there remains no doubt, guilt or grief, a being will finally break the cycle of repeating rivers, and instead come upon the very heart of the realm; the place where Neiya herself resides.

## The Pavilion

At the heart of The Thousand Rivers of Tears, reachable only by completing the emotional trials of the bridge, throwing oneself into the river, or being willed to find it by Neiya, lies a massive pavilion of marble and granite. A single path leads straight to it, as a last river encroaches on the ground to cradle the pavilion on all sides but one. The pavilion's exterior is partly overgrown by withering plants, and its' untouched state gives the impression of an abandoned place in disrepair.

Within it sits a throne, always clad with silver embellishments and silken sheets. The throne is always large enough to serve as a seat for Neiya's current incarnation.

## Connections to Other Realms

*GLOSSOLALIA.*In the cold river of sorrow, distant affection and regret, the endless expressions of bitter, remorseful lovers swirl and twist. These expressions of love, pain and edification sometimes swirl together to form in words and ink, and drift along their own streams that ultimately shift towards the realm of Glossolalia.

*NIFL.* Ever so often when a being passes over the bridge, the gentle cold winds of the Rivers become hostile and unpleasant, enough to freeze parts of the river itself. The realms of Neiya and Bikkjekaldt bleed together in this instance and it becomes possible to wander into the realm of Nifl. Likewise, a being submerged into the freezing river has a small chance of being whisked away to Nifl, supposing it does not carry them straight to Neiya first.

*THE ENDLESS WASTES.* Not all who face the choice of eternally passing a bridge to face their sorrows, and throwing themselves to certain doom in a freezing river, have the heart or determination to carry on. When all seems lost, and a creature truly gives up on hope itself, the unwary wanderer in Neiya's realm will find themselves accidentially wandering from the bleak plains into the wasteland that is The Endless Wastes.