The Chronicles of Tenroha

Chapter 1

Chapter One

The village of Echo can be found in the lush lands of Tenroha. The origins of Tenroha are a mystery to most, but it has been said that there are still people today that know the true story of its beginning, though no one has seen these people for more than five hundred years. This small parish got its name due to the enormous cliffs that surround the valley in which it lies. These cliffs create a natural amphitheater that causes the sound to reverberate back at you. Hence the name Echo.

Echo sits on the banks of the two rivers known as The Serpent's Tongue which flows into the river Quoe, which gets its name from the ancient bard. Through his never-ending search of new tales, he wandered the entire length of the land of Tenroha, much like the river does. No one has ever seen the source of the river Quoe, but it is believed, by many, to have begun flowing from a spring somewhere high in the Attikì Mountains.

The Attikì Mountains are a group of mountains that are so tall that you are unable to see the summit from the base. The base of the mountains is composed of a cliff face so smooth that it looks like a giant wall to an enormous fortress. The wall rises straight up into the sky to a height over-looking the highest of clouds. It is at this point that it begins to taper off to look more like normal mountains. There is no location at their base to begin, what would be, the long and arduous journey to the summit. For this reason, and it's the only reason, no one has ever attempted to conquer these spectacular mountains.

The Quoe river flows from somewhere in these mountains all the way across the land of Tenroha to the Ocean of Sorrows, which derives its name from the fact that anyone who tried to cross it has never returned. Throughout history, many expeditions have ventured out into this vast ocean, never to return. Because of this, the merchant ships and other various seaworthy vessels stay within sight of the mainland. Many a fisherman and seafarer alike say that they had ventured out past the sight of land only to sate their curiosity and return with claims of seeing giant sea creatures that could swallow a ship whole. Some say they have seen whirlpools big enough to engulf an entire town. Most people believe that these stories are just seamen's tales, but there are many who believe it to be true and  stay as close to the shore as possible.

There are many tributaries; small rivers, creeks and streams that flow into the Quoe River. Most are unworthy to be named, but there are some that have been deemed worthy enough to have a name. In Tenroha rivers and towns are named only after something of great importance has occurred near or around it. It is at the mouth of a river known as The Serpent's Tongue that sets the village of Echo. The Serpent's Tongue gets its name because before it arrives at Echo it splits into two separate paths to form what looks like a snake's tongue. After a while, they flow over a cliff and cascade down the side in the form of two separate waterfalls. At the base of the cliffs, the two rivers rejoin to form a small lake that empties out on the opposite side of a long valley in a single stream that flows out of the valley in which sets this little hovel of a town. After many leagues, the waters of the Serpent's Tongue merge into the mighty river Quoe, before traveling thousands of miles to enter the Oceans of Sorrows.

On a road, not far from the main part of town, lived three orphans on a small farm. It had been three years since the death of their parents, and the children had learned to fend for themselves. They were not a wealthy family, but their parents did leave them enough to make it on their own for a while. They had their family home and each other. Nìa, age eighteen, a very talented songstress whose voice could calm even the most savage heart. She would be the envy of every woman in the land if she ever left her home.

Since her parents had died, she had taken over the responsibility of doing the cooking, cleaning, and the mending of clothes. Her sewing had become exceptionally good, and the towns folk had started paying for her services. In the last three years there had become more to Nìa than just a pretty face. One of her favorite pastimes was reading, because in a book she could travel places that she had never been before and do things she had never imagined. Whenever the traveling merchants would come, she would look for new books to read. Though money was in short supply, she would find a way to get new books. Whether it was trading in old books or bartering with her sewing abilities. She also loved parties and would often plan one for no reason at all. She would always plan the parties to involve the whole town so that it would cut down on the expense on each person and help keep a family feel to the town. If one person did it all it would cost a great deal, but if everyone did something small, there was little to no cost.