Farynshire: County of Many Lands

My favourite place, and not just in Farynshire, is the glass lake on Mount Tlws, one of the Bloon Peaks.

Its real name is Llyn Dawel, and it sits in a hollowed out scoop (there is probably a more scientific name for this) halfway up Mount Tlws. It is surrounded by high crags, beloved by daring climbers. The tallest and most indomitable is Winter Grit, a dark twisted column that soars into the grey winter skies. Only the most daring climbers dare scale the sheer spike, and they insist that the view of the lake from the top cannot be bested.
I can well imagine, and I wonder how far down into the depths of the lake they can see from way up there – maybe right to the bottom that isn’t there.
For me, the best way to experience Llyn Dawel is by boat.

The only permanent human presence by the lake is a boathouse, several life preservers scattered around the perimeter of the lake, and signs informing visitors that swimming is strongly discouraged. The Bloon Peaks were made a Natural Park in 1887, and no new buildings have been allowed since then – so the boathouse is pretty old! The local Gully family dragged the stones up the mountain slopes, and their descendants maintain the boathouse to this day. They hire out the only craft allowed to sail on the lake – well, I say sail, I really mean float.

The long coracles are barely more than rafts, with raised sides that are just high enough to stop water lapping on to the thin deck where you sit. The coracles are well looked after, and you would never know that they are over a hundred years old. They are made from iron-threaded swordhemp, a local grass so tough that it is used to as thatch for the rooves of squat mountain cottages throughout the Peaks. The small flat paddles are also made from swordhemp, and push through the clear water leaving no ripples.

There is no current in the lake. No rivers or streams flow into or out of it. Some say that the waters run straight from the slopes of Mount Tlws into the lake, and it is this journey, through tree roots and over mountain rock and earth, this that gives the water such purity and clarity. Others say that the lake is an entry way to another world, and the water comes from that other place.

This is why you must not go alone to Llyn Dawel, and definitely not for your first visit. As you float out on to the lake you will be tempted to look down, to see another world. But you must resist temptation and always look ahead. Those that ignore this advice become mesmerised by the other world. There are records of some people who have been stranded in the middle of the lake for days, until they are rescued by Park rangers or mountain walkers.

I have been to the lake many many times. The first few times I heeded the advice and went with a friend, and we took turns in looking into the waters. Since I have started coming alone, I bring an alarm clock with me. I set it for ten minutes, and I look into the waters.
You can see the other world as though you were looking through a mirror. The crags, the mountain slopes, the wild sky, all crystal clear in the depths below, shimmering and dark. It is said that some have fallen into the mirror world, and some of them have never returned. They probably did not even know what had happened. They were mesmerised, and reached out to the beauty below, as their mirrorself reached back up to them. Once the two selves touch, it is said, then the person is lost (or at least has to be thrown one of the life preservers).

It’s up to you whether you believe the legends. But the lake is worth a visit even if you don’t. Just heed the advice.