The Stilled Lake

A large tarn located in the heart of the Iron Mountains on the northern most continent, Ishvald. It is difficult to reach with few visitors since the extinction of dragons. However, tales of the Stilled Lake are passed down by the dwarves in their stories.

Summary

Though visitors are rare now, chatter among dragons was time stood still in this Tarn. The wind does not blow, plants do not grow, animals do not visit. An eerie silence hangs in the air at all times, unbroken even by sound of the perpetually still water. Occasionally, the fog in the center of the tarn clears to reveal a large island with a barren surface. It is said that if you step foot onto the water, you can walk across the water without danger of falling through the crystal clear surface. Below, the bodies of several dragons lay, pristine as they day they were consumed by the lake after their deaths. Those who reach the island are said to disappear. Some are found laying on the bottom of the lake, others are never seen again.

Historical Basis

This myth can be traced back to the end of the Reign of Scale, when Dwarves began their purge of dragon kind from the world. Dragons used this Tarn to hide their young, however, the stone dwarves eventually found it and raided the haven. Dragons that escaped to the tarn in the center disappeared behind a wall of fog. When the fog cleared days later, the island was empty. The dwarves did not dare to venture fully to the island, but found the corpses of a handful of the dragons that had escaped to the island sealed beneath the surface of the Still Lake.

Spread

The myth is rare off the continent of Ishvald, but still survives among the various dwarven clans. The Iron Mountains dwarves long sealed off their ancient tunnels leading to the tarn to protect people from going up there after several people disappeared on the center island.

Variations & Mutation

Several variations of the myth exist among the Nalem and the Dwarves. Variations include tales of the lake swallowing anyone who was deemed unworthy beneath the glassy surface, the island transporting those who reach it to another world, the lake fighting against allowing people to reach the island, the fog consuming victims and burying them beneath the lake, and so on.

Cultural Reception

The dwarves repeat the stories as warnings to their young and travelers; even they, who are old as the stone of the earth, do not know all the secrets the world has. 
The Nalem folk use it as a scare tale. The young men and women of their tribes taking the challenge to climb the mountains, find the tarn, and venture to the center as a means to prove bravery, cunning, discipline, and skill. None have made it to the Tarn so far, but their ventures have brought back new knowledge and relics none the less.