The Living Trees
In the second year after the Rift's first attempts to pull lands and creatures into its fold and anchor them, it succeeded for the first time in doing so. In the charged emptiness the Rainforest Cliffs suddenly loomed, with an ocean stretching towards the shadowy horizon. Where all other lands had simply withered, or slipped away again, this one remained. This one grew stable. It even began to flourish.
At this time, the Rainforest Cliffs were thought to be inhabitated by only the Living Trees, and it is thought that their roots helped stabilize the Rift's volatile energies. In a sense, they're regarded as the source of all life in the Rift.
The origin of this legend is unknown, but most Native Riftians have heard it.
Akvo City
Rather late in the life of the Rift, it acquired a strange new place: Akvo, a fantastic underwater city built from coral. The people that came with it were hybrids between horses and various saltwater species, and they spoke their own language (Esperanto), but they were cunning and adapted well to the Rift. While their society was founded on the back of a strong military branch, they also valued art highly.
Akvo City quickly became a hub of activity, with a well-visited marketplace, and trade of all sorts—the malspira plant granting land-dwellers the ability to visit the vibrant city.
But in 1166, disaster struck. Vjanta, drunk on the power offered by a rivaling society, agreed to destroy Akvo City and the Akvians. The sea itself rose up against them, killing most and laying waste to a significant portion of the city. What remains is but a fraction, saved by the combined forces of the Akvian council and what deities they had to protect them. Of those deities, none remain.
Ever since Akvo was destroyed, it has remained empty and lifeless, as if a curse dwells there.
Vourib
Vourib is the oldest God in the Rift, and the source of many legends. It is said he helped shape the fledgling world, to guide its streams of powers and help it in its struggle to aquire more lands and life. Stories speak of a white bear, unmarred by blue crystals, wandering the North, offering insight when asked, and his warm body as shelter against the cold.
Most of the stories of Vourib's virtues have been washed away by centuries of blood and aggression, but one particular piece of information remains: Vourib is believed to have moved his mountains into the Rift by his own strength and desire.
Scint River
The Scint River was pulled into the Rift in the year 503, and was described as such:
In a mossy fold of land the Scint River snakes, running from somewhere to the north of the Portal and to the Southern Seas. Warmth is frequently trapped between the gently rolling hills and thick vegetation, and with it, humidity, making it an at times unbearable place. A fog is almost constantly rising from its placid surface, and in many places spectacular waterfalls section the shallow river off. In contrast to the Rainforest Cliffs around it, it's a relatively light place, but haunting whispers filter through the air, and haunting shapes linger in the water. Beware.
Following Kisamoa's ill-advised attempts to raise the dead in late 1173, the river flooded. The Rift discarded the river in order to save itself, leaving only a thin, black scar where it had once run.
The thread in which the Scint ritual went wrong can be found here: every broken promise.
Ajani, Matriarch of the Loricatrunc
The Loricatrunc are not a species known for their tolerance and kindness, but age has tempered Ajani's ferocity without softening the steel of her spirit. She is one of the eldest Loricatrunc, and one who can look upon the other species - including the equine population - and find something of value in interacting with them. Not much is known about her, but many speak of the wisdom in her eyes, and the kindness of her smile. She has won the trust of many a Rift creature despite having arrived only in 1168, when the burning Uwaritace was pulled into the Rift.
Ajani presides over the Giving Tree rituals, following a strange schedule depending on the Rift's flux (OOC: it's a Christmas event!). Ajani was also crucical in restoring hope to the Rift during the Reign of Kaos | Hopebringers SWP, taking charge of the situation and bidding the Hopebringers to visit certain places and creatures. In the end, it brought forth Hope, a deity that had slumbered in the Pinnacle.
