Jurdes 8, 5675

The ever-present foreboding proximity of the fortress of the Dark Magicians casts a dark shadow over this land. We finally reached our destination this afternoon, a spring near Lake Icavor where almost every army encamped while preparing to battle the Dark Magicians. With the current Great King unwilling to risk the lives of his soldiers against this seemingly invulnerable enemy, the permanent structures in the camp suffer the effects of disuse. We do not plan to make use of these dilapidated buildings, but will continue to camp as we have been for the past month.

I doubt there is a person alive who doesn’t know the legend behind the name of Lake Icavor. The tragic tale of the love between Icavor and Yanna’Reh is perhaps the most famous tale of all time. After Icavor dies at the hand of a servant of the Dark Lunari Mathol, Yanna’Reh’s tears fill the valley to become Lake Icavor. When she finally succumbs to the grief of her loss, a flower given to her by Icavor continued to grow beside the lake where she dropped it. No one knows if any of the details of the legend are true, but a single plant bearing the oft-described crimson-edged white petals does grow on the shore, and looks very out of place in this unwelcoming land. Nidiz claimed the woman guards the flower still, but other than his tale of her figure appearing and killing a Dark Magician, no one else has seen any such thing.

The saltiness of Lake Icavor makes it interesting. It is impossible to sink in the water. Most of us spent the evening in the lake taking care not to get water in our eyes. Pelmarco, however, walked toward the fortress of the Dark Magicians, obviously looking over the battlefield and remembering the great battles, heroic exploits, and the sacrifices he witnessed many years before during his time with the Red Exemplars. Perhaps someday he will witness the final battle and defeat of the Dark Magicians, although at his age, he doesn’t think so.