This part of the plain once more leans in close to the shelter of the forest. Here the grasses are gradually replaced by reeds that grow in a thick swathe by the lake. To get to the lake itself one would have to follow the edge of the rushes West until they were replaced by sand. Here the grass is a thick and springy covering speckled with a fine white flowered ground cover and corsican mint which gives a sharp but pleasant scent as you walk upon it. A grey Mahnon Pah'llock mare stands here, eyes distant, still as a statue but for the lake's wind rustling her mane and tail occassionally. Finally she blinks and looks at you, her blue eyes bright with intelligence.
"Greetings to you traveller. Quite a step you have been thus far." She nods knowingly. "And far more I would wager, before your travels are done." There is something in her tone that seems almost prophetic but you shake off the feeling and look around, admiring the lake. "It is beautiful isn't it." Her voice, like many of the older Mahnon of the Tir, holds an edge of sorrow. "I remember as a foal... and there were many of us then... Coming down here with my friends and harrassing the sea dragons to let us jump from their backs into the water or give us rides across the lake." She smiles, a clear, happy expression, unusual in one who is usually so distant in thought. "Ah! But I was a terror then. When I wasn't day dreaming I would be in on all the plots..." She sighs. "Sadly time passes... things change. Responsibility and fate rob one of some things." She shrugs, you would not think to recognise an equine managing such a thing but somehow she does it quite well. "Come, let us walk a while. The lake changes in it's splendor as you move around it." She sets off at a steady walk, and somehow you are compelled to follow. She is right, as you round each contour of the expanse of water the view seems to alter, each more breathtaking than the last. Tarben'anu, for who else could it be, least you to the west first, then around to a small cove, half hidden by rushes. Here grow a few water lilys.	Tarben'anu Body: Blk.w Mane: flx,flx Markings: N,N Forefeet: h,h Hindfeet: h,h Tail: H*,H* Horns: D,D Mutation: n,m* Sire: Bunyip Dam: Kano
"This was my favorite place for daydreaming." She sighs and folds up her legs, lying down. "After the death of so many of my kin the night the Bulette attacked us this is where I hid, for hours I stood up to my hocks in the cold lake waters, too scared to move. Unable to tell if I was safe. Eventually one of the dragons found me... I don't know how... and took me to the cavern of hot sands. There they had gathered all the Mahnon Pah'llocks who lived and were still within the Tir. Many were mortally wounded and did not survive more than a few days. Others turned inwards from the shock and never woke. Most of us that remained were foals. We had run while the adults tried to defend us..." She sighs. "It was shortly after that that I began to foresee and realised that I was of Song... Sometimes I wish for the old days to be back... romping as a child. But then I would be without other gifts I have gained. My son, Tarkba'ani for one." She rises and smiles, not without sorrow. "I fear I am rarely good company for merriment in such moods, not when there is so much to think upon. Many others are of lighter heart than I and you will easily find them around. Farewell traveller." She lopes away smoothly, the feathers of the amulet woven into her mane fluttering in the breeze. From here you can just see Zimi's'tai's grey form out on the plain. You could head in his direction or continue round the lake towards the East rocks that line the lake shore and into the forest.