Weave (City-Ship)

In the real Tomb of Ariel, Weave had been besieged and then destroyed, with its remains and corpses scattered as if they had rained down after a monstrous explosion or impact that created a devastating shockwave, followed by a tsunami.^[3]

Weave was constantly under attack, where every victory in battle came at a terrible price. As Priestess, Ananke led its defense while the city was besieged by swarms of the Corrupted, described as far more terrifying than any before. When the decision came to abandon Weave, they severed the anchors of the Houses of Youth so they could sail downstream, allowing civilians time to flee while warriors held the enemy back. The retreat happened under desperate conditions, with the city surrounded and only minutes away from eradication, as the defenders tried to escape from all sides. Although the evacuation was partially successful, Weave was ultimately overwhelmed during the chaos of battle and collapse, marking the end of the city the River People had once hesitated to leave.^[7]

At that moment of destruction, the sky above Weave was described as rippling, as a vast darkness escaped from rifts torn in the azure expanse like a flood. A dark and formless presence then plummeted into the River, striking the heart of the city where the Temple of the Nightmare Spell stood, and the impact shattered and drowned most of Weave instantly. This entity was known as the Dark Wanderer, something that had always existed in the Tomb of Ariel and appeared once in a few generations, moving across the sky like a comet made of pure terror. No one had ever seen what lay beneath the churning darkness surrounding it, and it was believed to be either a Corrupted being of immense power or a manifestation of the River dying as Ariel’s realm began to unravel. It was also said to appear more frequently after the Great River died, and was considered by many to be an omen of great destruction, as it had been seen before other catastrophic events such as the final siege of Verge.^[7]