The waters of the Rhoyne suddenly began to glow an eerie green. Vast clouds of gray mist rose from the surface, carrying a heavy stench of decay.
Some of those closest to the whirlpool suddenly clutched their throats in agony. Gray-green crusts soon appeared across their skin.
"Everyone, fall back!"
"That's the Greyscale virus!"
Danyla hurriedly warned everyone to withdraw. At the same time, she drew her newly acquired dagger, the Water Goddess, from her waist, sliced open her palm, and soaked the Weirwood sapling at the bow with her blood.
The ancient Rhoynar had forged this dagger using water magic. It was as translucent as crystallized porcelain and as tough as Valyrian steel, and it held an exceptionally rich reserve of magical energy.
The quail-egg-sized pearl on its hilt was said to have formed from a mermaid's crystallized tears. Although that claim could not be verified, the endless Water-Attribute Magical Energy within it was undeniable.
Moreover, wounds inflicted by the Water Goddess on its wielder or anyone without hostile intent would heal quickly. Used against enemies, however, it made their wounds extremely prone to infection.
After absorbing Danyla's blood, the Weirwood immediately began to grow rapidly. Its once-tender roots slithered like nimble pythons toward the mist formed by the Greyscale virus.
As the mist entered the Weirwood's roots, those tender tendrils quickly grew into gray-green steel-like rods and plunged toward the riverbed.
The roots soon anchored themselves in the bed of the Rhoyne, slowly drawing the silt beneath the Weirwood to form a small islet in the river.
Danyla gathered those infected with Greyscale near the Weirwood and cut open their arms, allowing its roots to suck their blood while purging the disease from their bodies.
Although this left them terribly weak, they had at least escaped death.
Once