Shining Falls

Shining Falls was a beautiful 120-foot-tall waterfall that formed part of the River Delimbiyr in the Delimbyr Vale and once marked the southernmost point of the elf realm of Eaerlann.

Description
The waters fell in a great torrent around a high, horseshoe-shaped concave ledge, making for a breathtaking and beautiful sight.

Above the falls were the remnants of an old Eaerlanni portage road, though this had become no more than a light path used by deer. The ruins of a port could also be found.

Activities
The River Delimbiyr was navigable its full length, except at the Shining Falls, which forced a halt to all upriver travel, though efforts were made for the portage of water craft and goods.

History
In the days of Eaerlann, most trade up the Delimbiyr was taken off the river at Loudwater onto wagons that follow a portage path. It went north around the Shining Falls, before being returned to the river above them. The Eaerlanni elves had an outpost above the falls and the falls marked part of its southern border. By the 14 only traces remained.

The undead cavalry of Hellgate Keep were known to hunt humans for sport in the vicinity of Shining Falls.

Around 1368–1370 DR, the Zhentish forces occupying Llork and Orlbar worked to re-establish a portage part around Shining Falls, in an effort to continue trade upriver all the way to Sundabar. The destruction of Hellgate Keep in 1369 DR only made them more determined, but treants in the forest near the Heartblood River tributary blocked their efforts.

"Princess" Tianna Skyflower of the brigands known as the Half-Elven Renegades relocated her base to the edge of the High Forest near Shining Falls by 1370 DR, her purpose unknown.

Rumors & Legends
According to legend, behind the falls was a secret entrance to a lost tomb of the dwarf kings and queens of Ammarindar. This was in fact true, but tomb raiders had cleared them out long before the mid-1300s DR. By then, the caves were more often used as a hideout by bandits working for the Zhentarim.