Al’ratha and Eld’ratha - The Dancers

Al’ratha and Eld’ratha are twin strongholds that were once held fast together by gossamer-thin bridges of Celestial Steel, which often looked as if they were structured from pure light itself. They were known jointly as ‘The Dancers’ and were the heart of music and song in Celestium, where the Graces gave voice in praise of the Light of the Keeper. The Graces most gifted in song, in music, and in poetry gathered there to perfect their craft. Brought into being on the very inner edge of Losivaa the constant presence of the Graces and their works made these strongholds a tranquil and undisturbed haven just outside the circle of the Asivaa. Many of the songs surviving from the days of Toru Dae were born within the walls of the twin castles.
At the close of the period Laanus Dae the music ended. No songs were sung again in those halls, as the bridges of light ruptured and collapsed, allowing the islands to separate and drift, though always remaining within sight of one another. The great castles themselves fell prey to the dark and cold, their empty vastness crumbling to ruin at the onset of ice. More disturbing yet, the decay of the flow of time fractured the harmony of this former sanctuary. Those who drew near to the islands in later days were assailed by an onslaught of discordant sound, as if all that had once been beautiful within the haven of The Dancers had been twisted and mutated by the decay of the Light of the Keeper. So unsettling is the noise that even the great birds of Celestium avoid the path of The Dancers if at all possible as they traverse the vastness of Losivaa. However, the discordant noise has no effect on the Shuravai, who have made these two strongholds their home. The halls of the Dancers hold record of the time of the height of the glory of the Keeper and the Graces – but few in Celestium have been known to dare the approach in search of what may lie within. It is deemed wisest, sometimes, for things to remain lost.