River Keter

The River of Crystal Tears

**The River Keter** (*kee-ter*) is a subsection to The Tunnel of Sorrow and acts as the boundary between the Tunnel and Kurldehv. The River is located in a similar area as the Tunnel, but described as a temple in ruins.

## About

The River is located in a delapidated temple where the ruin is indistinguishable from worn rock. The river itself is formed from the tears of those who have suffered by the hands of the sinners condemned in Yoltrund. This enchants the waters to make them highly acidic, melting skin from bone and eating away at the rock, which could likely be the cause of how the temple became so worn down.

## Journal Entry

*"I called on the protection of the Divines and pressed on into the unlit abyss. Strangely, the alien light that once lit the tunnel faded as I moved, but a new light took its place ahead of me. The cries grew stronger and my heart wrenched, sharing whatever torment they may be suffering. As one weeps for the dead and the damned, knowing their punishment eternal-so I wept. I pressed on until I could see a man, now shriveled and broken with his eyes empty of life and his mouth open in hunger; his words only a moan of torment. The man was skyclad and exposed and I could see whatever place this is held no mercy for him.*

*I called unto him "O you, whatever you may be, shade or man, please seek me counsel and pray tell, what is this place that makes you and I lament so in such woeful cries?" and the destroyed remains of the man could only weep as he turned and walked into the abyss, seeming to ignore my words. Intrigued, I followed, and the further I did so, the more of these people I saw; all either man or woman, shriveled and naked and burnt, crying to the point where their hollow eyes no longer tear.*

*My own sadness grows on the sight of this sorry crowd that only seemed to grow as all of us walked into the abyss. After what felt like moons while walking in this filth, the crowd was so huge that all of us were near shoulder-to-shoulder and soon, the crowd stopped and seemed to stay indefinitely, while lamenting and tearing at their skin and hair in anger and sorrow, cursing every known god and every known member of their family in every tongue that they could muster. "*

## Layout

The River is more straightforward than the other scenes, although it hides more than it shows. To get through, simply remember to always keep moving south. Interacting with the water is not recommended as it **WILL** kill you and you will need to reload. ***As of Canto III, autosaving is not currently in the game so be sure to save as soon as you load into the River.***

## Trivia

* The name "Keter" comes from Hebrew for "crown", and is the uppermost level of the Sephirot in Jewish Kabbalah. Although, the primary use for the word "Keter" for this realm may come from the SCP Foundation Object Class - Keter meaning that classified objects both (a) display vigorous, active hostility to human life, civilization, and/or spacetime, and (b) are capable of causing significant destruction in the event of a containment breach. Such subjects must be cataloged, contained according to special containment procedures, and destroyed, if possible. This may be indirectly connected to how the River acts as a sentient being in some tellings of Yoltrund and how dangerous it could be to human life if exposed on Earth.
* The River Keter is part of Canto I and was added into the game on 7 February 2018, a week after Early Access launch.