Creatures/Yanaze

Yanaze

In the time before the First Age, the river that is now called Yanaze had a different name, but was still the heart of the River Province. During the war against the Primordials, the Titan Isidoros sought to destroy the human cities of the East. He descended from the sky and sat at the river delta for seven days and seven nights with his mouth opened wide. At the end of this time, he had swallowed up every last drop of water in the river and its tributaries.

Greatly distressed by the Black Boar's act, Gaia appeared to the great Solar shaman Mbenti Rainmaker, and made him privy to knowledge which would allow him to restore the lifeblood of the East. Through sundry sacrifices, sorceries, and ritual dances, Mbenti and his allies coaxed the Greater Dragon Yanaze down from the sky, where she had been in the habit of sunning herself. The Solar shaman spoke flattering words to the dragon of water, marvelling at her beauty and magnificence. When he became tired, his Lunar mate, Taka Plainwalker, took his place; by the time her throat became hoarse, Mbenti had rested and was able to relieve her. The two Exalted continued in this fashion for twenty days, trading places whenever one began to falter. Yanaze, who was as vain as she was mercurial, was so taken by their flattery that she lay down in the river bed so that she could comfortably listen to the two Exalted singing her praises. Eventually, after several years, she fell asleep, and Mbenti and Taka were finally able to cease their accolades.

To this day, shamans from many different Scavenger Lands tribes continue to perform yearly rites to honor the spirit of the Yanaze River. Few of them realize that the river itself is a slumbering dragon, lulled to sleep by the pleasing whispers of her human worshipers.

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