Well of Crystal Sound

(...this excerpt may be giving too much away, but love this legend in Tales...)

‘Back in Valaris’ beginning, once it became a habitable world, there was no sentient life. The humans of today did not evolve here; they came from faraway worlds, much the same as happened elsewhere. One starship came and saw it was good, and then there was another and another, a familiar tale. This was and is a paradise world and the humans who settled were happy, but, being human, being sentient, they were selfish also- another familiar tale- and denied entry to other races. Now, around the time that selfish mindset began, a space warp materialised in the heavens above that made it impossible to travel the stars again, the same warp still in position today. It also, of course, denied entry to other settlers, and put an end to other races interfering with the humans already here. Thus, without any great effort, the humans got their wish, and the Valarians were born as a people apart. There were enough settlers to work this new land, but don’t they say ‘be careful of what you wish for’? They no longer needed their grounded starships, and, as time passed, these fell into disrepair and along with it all technology. These things were literally allowed to rust away. It surely made those initial years harder- they had what they required to ease transition from ship life to land tenure, but no one cared. It was claimed the warp overhead cleansed them, and they returned to an earlier human way of life, the ways that hadn’t known technology- we would call it the dark ages...or darak times. Still, it was paradise, so what more could one desire? Only to be left alone and the warp achieved that. However, in the time of discovery to enforced isolation one other sentient race made Valaris their home also, and I’m sure they were made to feel unwelcome, probably threatened, certainly ostracized, as humans have been doing for time immemorial. I cannot say who they were or how many or how long it was before they realised Valaris could never be a home, but that day came…and the warp trapped them. Had they the kind of magic we possess, staying or leaving would’ve been easily decided, but they didn’t, not in the way we know. They retreated to this Forest; it was even larger then, and proved a haven for a time. They built this Well…’ Taranis thumped the wall behind him.

It was an ordinary, round, stone well. Looking in, the water was a stone from overflowing, the liquid fresh; there was no bucket, no handle and no rope in sight.

‘They built it with only four left. They were farseers and had that kind of extraordinary magic. Who they were, as in a race name, has been lost, but an inquisitive little boy one day spied on them and the tale has lived on. The four gathered around their well and linked hands, peering deep into the depths to infuse the water with all magic they possessed. The liquid- water being pure and life-giving- became a medium for their song…and when the story was told and retold over the ages since then, all shake their heads and sigh in deep regret. As the story goes, one could see magic made music, and the music, the song, the harmony, the sound and purity of vibration gently lifted out, droplets pure and beautiful, sad and filled with longing. One could hear magic as it soared out on gossamer wings, filled the Forest and rose into the air, the atmosphere and beyond; crystal sound, astonishingly lovely and terribly haunting. They were calling home, sending crystal harmonies to penetrate the warp…’

Taranis sighed eloquently. ‘We don’t know if they succeeded, but hope it came to pass, for when the music was at its purest, its saddest, they simply vanished. The sound slowly dropped back into the water and it still retains magic to this day. Dip your fingers in and you feel it; drink it and your ailments of mind and body disappears. Sadly, no one has made it sing since…and that, my friends, is how this came to be called the Well of Crystal Sound.’ Taranis fell silent, his gaze faraway.