grimmutterings

A jewel in the heart of Beyond, The Shining Vale is an almost perfect circle of picturesque mountain ranges, with lush pine forests, gently rolling foothills and wildflower meadows within its center.

The Shining Vale is aptly named, it shines.  There is a soft green glow to the entire area, that seems to emanate from the very mountains that are its borders, and it sits over the interior like a beautiful mist on a rainy day.

There are many tales as to how and why The Shining Vale exists or even how and why it came into being.  None proven or disproven.  Exploration and study of the Vale is almost impossible, as The Shining Vale allows only one visit.  The Vale carefully protects its secrets, and a return visit is always fatal, the foolhardy, brave or ignorant dropping to the road before even reaching the single path to the interior.

Dikeledi gives rare guided tours of The Shining Vale, and they are truly a once in a lifetime experience.  The Vale is rumored to have the power to heal the body and mind, and all who visit return with no clear memories of their trip but with an overwhelming sense of peace and wellbeing. 

Only Dikeledi returns to The Shining Vale, he lives in a small cabin in a wildflower meadow by a lake in the interior of the Vale.  He climbs regularly to a high peak in the mountain barrier of The Vale and can sit for hours looking out over Beyond.  Often the eagles visit him, and larger beasts have been seen circling the peaks.  The Sentinels from the Great Mountains in the North, it is rumored.

There are times when the Shining Vale seems to emit energy, a rumbling beneath your feet, a noise with a sound you can hear in your very bones.  The soft green glow ripples and becomes alive.  Dikeledi has returned, The Vale is talking to him, welcoming him home.

The area is regarded as a gentle place, a place of magic and mysticism.  Some say it was the beginning of Beyond, and some say it will be its end.