Kaath Falls

You ask Rio to help you cross the Sweetwater, so you can continue on the western trail. The Aaquatic shrugs and moves to the bank so that you can climb on. When you don't immediately get on his back, he smirks at you.
"What's wrong, human?"
You mumble something about squishing his dorsal fin. Rio laughs and shakes his head, throwing up a fine spray of water.
"You don't sit on me. It's more like a piggyback ride," he grins. "You'll get fairly wet, but you'd get wet up ahead anyway."
"Why is that?" you ask. Rio shifts in the current.
"Kaath Falls's up ahead," he says. "The spray'll soak you. Be careful, though... Leagus territory over there. Now, come on, I don't have all day!"
Though you remember to ask about the 'Leagus' Rio mentioned, by the time you're sitting on the opposite shore and wringing out your clothes, Rio chirrups a goodbye and disappears, nothing but a dark glimmer in the water.

Well, that was interesting. It's soon time to get moving again, though, and as you follow the curving path, you come to a small fork with a sign. One form says "Luka's House (Dead End)"; the other says "Kaath Falls".

For now, you decide to follow the path to Kaath Falls, and as you walk downhill, you soon begin to hear the sound of rushing water. A lot of rushing water. And when the trees fall away to open up, you see why: a massive waterfall, at least forty or fifty feet tall, the upper edge crested with rocks and the lower river next to where you stand full of pale foam. Sunning itself upon one of the broader rocks is a creature, who calls to you "Hello there!" before gliding down to you.

The creature seems male, and a bit older than his kind's prime might be. His coat is a uniform gold, with an orange tail-tuft and lion's mane. His hindlegs are tipped in yellow hooves, while his forelegs are pawed, and as he alights ont he ground next to you you see that the undersides of his wings have lighter orange sails. He tucks his wings in at his sides, then bows slowly to you.
"Shalnir," he says. "Leagus. And you?"
You stutter your name and return the bow.
"Welcome to Kaath Falls,"says Shalnir, blue eyes smiling. "My home, and that of my mate and son. Would you like the grand tour?"
You nod, and Shalnir turns around to step to the rivers edge. Then, seemingly magically, he steps into the foam and then past the curtain of water! Close examination of the water shows stepping-stones cleverly hidden, and you make haste to follow before you lose the surety of their existence.

Past the curtain of water, which soaks you thoroughly again, is a cave, strangely well-lit. The source of the light is a high glass window set into the rock ceiling, probably through one of the broad rocks that crest the waterfall, and it allows the sunlight to stream in and light up a cave full of gems! Well, not really gems, but crystals that shine like such. Sitting in the stream of light is another leagus, who nods to you.

This leagus is a female, a little younger than Shalnir but not much, with her coat a dark tan and her mane bright blue. Her tail is as long as Shalnir's but has a fringe of long blue fur, and the wings that are spread to the sun have gradiented pale blue sails. Her purple eyes regard you curiously, but she nods to you.
"I am Wysp," says she. "I see you have met Shalnir... welcome to our home. This is the crystal cave, similar to that of Czinthi's further east, but ours seems to have been born of magical forces."
Shalnir nods. "A crystal cave, by all rights, should not grow inside a waterfall. Yet here it is. If we chip away the crystals, they grow back within days, sometimes even hours."
Wysp nods to a round gem sitting on a stone. "You may take that one if you wish, but please, link it back to us."

"Oh yes, traveler," she adds as an afterthought, "have you met my son and Rora yet?"
You shake your head. Shalnir's chest puffs out with pride.
"DarkFlayme!"
"Yeah?" comes a voice from deeper in the crystalline cave.
"Come meet the traveler! And grab Rora!"
"ANOTHER traveler?" moans the stallion that emerges from a chamber beyond. "I swear, we get more than our share of them, Da."

The creature that comes into your view is nothing short of magnificent. Taller at the shoulder than even Shalnir, with a midnight-black coat and a mottled flaming red mane, the stallion regards you somewhat sullenly with pale blue eyes. Purple horns arc from behind catlike ears, and a long red braid trails to the ground. His tail is also long and completely covered in scarlet fur, and a gold ring pierces his left wing. He's a striking creature, and it's easy to see why Shalnir is proud of him... though not so easy to see how such a pair as Wysp and Shalnir produced a child so differing in colour.
"He is our last child," says Wysp, getting up to nuzzle DarkFlayme, "and our best."
"Mother!" DarkFlayme complains at the embarassment, but you can tell he loves his mother dearly.

"When we came to live in Tárakyna," says Shalnir, "DarkFlayme was just an egg. For a time, he was very lonely, but then Rora came to live here as well."
"Rora?" you ask, but your question is answered as you see another form walk from the chamber beyond.

This mare is mottled brown, but no less striking than DarkFlayme; on the contrary, she is just as beautiful. Her eyes are red and sharply intelligent, and her mane is a strange marblized blue and purple, seeming to stand up all along her forehead. Blue horns curve back from between her catlike ears, but it is her tail that catches your attention: covered in the same blue-purple fur as her mane, but tipped in yellow and sparking a thick patch of lightning as you watch. She smirks at you as Shalnir introduces her.
"Aurora Borealis of Thunderstryke," says Shalnir, "for her mane and her Power. We call her Rora."
"Hello," Rora smiles. You inquire about her strange mane and tail, and she smirks again. "I am ShadowRoam - and thus a mutate. My tail is my Power; lightning arcs from it at my command."
"Isn't she great?" grins DarkFlayme. Rora rolls her eyes, seemingly annoyed, but she also seems to be a great deal more patient with him than she would otherwise be.

After a while of talking with the family, Shalnir leads you back out from the waterfall and sends you on your way. Well, what now? Back to the Nine Points or further along the western path? Or follow the river?

Name	Shalnir	Wysp	DarkFlayme	Aurora Borealis
Title	Falls Guardians		Riverbank Guard	Thunder Seal
Gender	Stallion	Mare	Stallion	Mare
Sire	Wild	Wild	Shalnir	Gambit
Dam	Wild	Wild	Wysp	Storm
Birth Pri~erd	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Future Sight
Current Pri~erd	Retired	Retired	Crimson Skies	None (mate: Attilla)
Type	Leagus

Tárakyna (C) me, Jessica Dragontamer. Critters (C) their respective creators. Background courtesy of ABTA.