Lore:Redwater Spring

Redwater Spring
Type	Spring
Continent	Tamriel
Province	Skyrim
Hold	The Rift (Stony Basin)
Appears in	Skyrim

The source of Redwater Spring

Redwater Spring, also known as the Bloodspring of Lengeir's Feast, is an underground font, formerly sacred to Arkay, now profaned and flowing with a blood-like substance.

Described as 'ancient' by even the eldest vampires of Skyrim, the Spring was a shrine to Arkay in the First Era, headed by the priest Lengeir. Through some turn of events, Lengeir's lover contracted vampirism and infected him, after which they rampaged through the shrine, slaying priests as they cowered in the waters. Upon placing the viscera of the last priestess in the Bloodstone Chalice, the Spring began running blood-red. The facility fell into ruins and finally completely collapsed underground in an earthquake during the Second Era.

What exactly the liquid flowing from the Spring is remains unclear. It is commonly identified as blood in the legends, and even those who partake of it may believe so at first. However, the power granted by the spring fades unusually quickly and leaves behind a weakening of the mind, fostering addiction. Mortals typically contract a plethora of diseases. It is only when the liquid is held within the Bloodstone Chalice and infused with the blood of a powerful vampire that its full benefits are felt. Even then, the chalice must be periodically renewed with vampiric blood to continue operating in full.

The addictive properties of the raw liquid from the Spring were exploited by the vampire Venarus Vulpin, who rediscovered the Spring in 4E 201. He brewed particularly nasty skooma with the liquid and established a drug den above the Spring to hold addicts as human cattle. Vulpin was later killed by the Volkihar vampire clan, who harnessed the power of the Spring for themselves using the Chalice.